Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2644

Nanny State Watch

Yes, San Francisco again:

[N:]ewly proposed legislation would ban toys from most kids meals sold at McDonald's, Burger King
and other chains unless the meals meet more stringent calorie and
sodium limits. The legislation also would require fruit or veggies in
each meal.

San Francisco - Burger King - McDonald - United States - Fast food

A Poem For Friday

Or: the eloquent haikus of Pete Wehner in a classic Chait pwn.
















Arts - Pete Wehner - Washington Post - United States - George W. Bush

Reality Check

XML - Data Formats - Markup Languages - Multimedia - Tools

Support For Marriage Equality Accelerating? Ctd

I'm a little taken aback by the speed of events. Within one week, all the gay citizens of Mexico can get married and (perhaps) all the gay citizens of California as well. That follows Argentina's move as well. That's marriage equality in three land masses with 180 million people in this hemisphere. And then the sharp uptick in support in the US as a whole. But in some ways, nothing quote compares with this notice from the Prairie Advocate in rural Iowa. It reads as follows:

Donald Fair and...

Bush's Cordoba Connection

Megan Carpentier connects the dots:

[W:]hen Bush adviser Karen Hughes was appointed Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy,
the Bush Administration saw improving America's standing among Muslims
abroad as a part of its national security strategy. And, as such,
Hughes set up listening tours,
attended meetings and worked with interfaith groups that -- shocking,
by today's Republican standards -- included actual Muslims.

One of those people was Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.

Chait:

I suppose by...

Your Emails Are Polluting The Earth, Ctd

A reader writes:

While I understand Ms. Butler's point about the environmental impacts of e-mail traffic (as an energy consultant, energy use of data centers is something I think about more than most I would guess), I think she misses a few key points in her article. 

The first would be the fact that memory space is highly reusable.  If I get an email with four photos attached, and keep it in my inbox for the rest of all time, then yes, there is a real increase in the demand for storage and...

Lessig On Obama

Very nicely put:

It's certainly not fair to criticize Obama for not being a Lefty. He
wasn't ever a Lefty. He didn't promise to be a Lefty. And there's no
reason to expect that he would ever become a Lefty.

But Lefties (like me) who criticize Obama are not criticizing him
failing our Lefty test. Our criticism is that Obama is failing the
Obama test: That he is not delivering the Presidency that he promised...

Now I'm not sure whether it is leftist, or rightist, or centerist to...

"Depressing Because It Is So Persuasive" Ctd

A reader writes:

I have to disagree strongly with the John McWhorter. His insistence that the failure of so many blacks to avoid the perils that come with not finishing high school and getting pregnant before marriage cannot be explained by structure or bigotry is too outrageous to let pass with no reply.  In fact they can be easily explained by structure (overt bigotry is probably not as much of a factor.)

The school systems in black neighborhoods are underfunded and undeniably worse on...

The Hottest Celebrity Stoners

James Franco, by a mile. But I've always had a thing for Woody.
















James Franco - Arts - People - Celebrities - Entertainment

Objectivism On The Playground

All Johanna really needed to know she learned in Atlas Shrugged.
















Atlas Shrugged - Objectivism - Ayn Rand - Philosophy - Movements