Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2641

The View From Your Window Contest

You have until noon on Tuesday to
guess it. Country first, then city and/or state. If no one guesses the
exact location, proximity counts.  Be sure to email entries to
VFYWcontest@theatlantic.com. Winner gets a free The
View From Your Window book, courtesy of Blurb. Have at it.

Country music - View From Your Window - Web Design and Development - Web design - Operating Systems

An Online Ivy?

Anya Kemenetz profiles TED:

[It is:] creating a new Harvard -- the first new top-prestige education brand in more than 100 years. Of course TED doesn't look like a regular Ivy League college. It doesn't have any buildings; it doesn't grant degrees. It doesn't have singing groups or secret societies, and as far as I know it hasn't inspired any strange drinking games.

Still, if you were starting a top university today, what would it look like? You would start by gathering the very best minds...

An Insight Into Today's Right

They have an enemies list - throughout history. Money quote:

Out of all the gangsters, serial killers, mass murderers, incompetent
& crooked politicians, spies, traitors, and ultra left-wing kooks in
all of American history -- have you ever wondered who the worst of the
worst was?

Jimmy Carter is the worst of the worst. Barack Obama is the second worst. Yes, worse than every mass murderer and serial killer in American history. Worse than Dahmer and Manson. Whoever these bloggers are, they...

Malkin Award Nominee

"There's no denying the elephant in the room. Neither is there any rejoicing over the mosques proposed for Sheepshead Bay, Staten Island and Ground Zero because where there are mosques, there are Muslims, and where there are Muslims, there are problems," - Shavana Abruzzo, New York Post.

It's amazing what can happen when elites indicate that it's legit to stigmatize an entire religion. Mercifully, the president is standing up for core American values.

United States - Staten...

Walking Antennas

Stephen Heiner gave up his Blackberry, experienced withdrawals, and eventually acclimated:

We have allowed ourselves to become 24/7 radio beacons. We are always on. Always ready to transmit or receive. There is a nervous habit that the younger generation has of checking their cell phones every 90 seconds or so. Just watch them. They didn't hear a text message notification, but they are checking their phones just in case. And who knows, one might feel the urge to send a text message because...

Faces Of The Day

Same-sex couple Kristen Orbin (L) and Teresa Rowe embrace as they wait
to hear a decision on whether same-sex marriages will be allowed to
resume in California on August 12, 2010 in San Francisco.
California Supreme court Judge Vaughn Walker lifted a stay on same-sex
marriages in the state just over one week after his ruling that Prop 8
was unconstitutional. Marriages will be allowed to resume on August 18.
By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

San Francisco - Same-sex marriage - ...

Support For Marriage Equality Accelerating? Ctd

Ari Ezra Waldman updates us on the federal judge in Massachusetts who ruled last month that DOMA was unconstitutional:

This case was not appealed to the First Circuit, the appellate court
sitting in New England.  This means that, as to Massachusetts, certain
parts of DOMA, and its enshrined discrimination against same-sex
couples, are officially unconstitutional.  No delays, no stays, no
injunctions.  Just equality.

I have been delinquent in following the DOMA cases which strike me as...

Cool Ad Watch

The Daily What has details:

The James Dyson Award-winning Copenhagen Wheel from MIT's SENSEable City Lab instantly transforms any standard bicycle into a "hybrid electric-bike" capable of offering a smart cycling experience complete with real-time exercise analysis, traffic data, and environmental conditions.

Market availability expected within 12 months.

Bicycle - Massachusetts Institute of Technology - SENSEable City Lab - James Dyson Award - Cycling

Is Rand Paul A Libertarian?

 The Senate candidate from Kentucky says "not quite":

In my mind, the word "libertarian" has become an emotionally charged, and often misunderstood, word in our current political climate. But, I would argue very strongly that the vast coalition of Americans — including independents, moderates, Republicans, conservatives and "Tea Party" activists — share many libertarian points of view, as do I. I choose to use a different phrase to describe my beliefs — I consider myself a constitutional...

Will Marriage Rights Come To Britain Soon As Well?

The UK has separate-but-equal civil partnerships that are recognized at a national level. But the Liberal Democrats are moving to support of full civil marriage equality for gay couples:

The Liberal Democrats are to use their first party conference in government to adopt a radical new policy calling for gay marriage.In a move that risks causing deep divisions with both the Tory right, and the traditional Methodist wing of the Lib Dems, a motion backed by the leadership will advocate civil...