Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2671

Defining Islamic Extremism Down

Serwer on a rhetorical sleight of hand:

Kristol isn't the first person to invoke "decent Muslims" whose decencyis predicated on their opposition to religious freedom for otherMuslims. Sarah Palin memorably "peaceful Muslims" to "refudiate" the project, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, saidthat opposition to the community center "will not and should not insultany decent Muslim because decent Muslims should be as opposed toIslamic extremism as you and I are." By this...

What Broke The Senate? Ctd

Packer defends his article:

The main criticisms of the piece have come from Republicans, and their argument (for example, David Frum's—stilldoing the hard work of keeping both sides honest) is that what looks tothe left like obstruction is really only the...

Kanye's Id Meets the New Yorker's Superego

Kanye West's tweets get the New Yorker cartoon treatment.

New Yorker - Kanye West - Twitter - Politics - United States

The Daily Wrap

Today on the Dish, we parsed Prop 8. Andrew chose conviction, Allahpundit prickled, Kerr downplayed, and Boaz blew Hinderaker out of the water. Obama disappointed; Drum doubted; and Drudge played dirty. There was wonder over Judge Walker, calculations for Justice Kennedy, and predictions for the Supreme Court in toto. Your thoughts, both personal and legal, here.

On the nation, Andrew attacked the tax cuts; in legislative accounting, Frum pushed Packer and Douthat joined in. Exum stood up

Gay-Baiting At Drudge, Ctd

And by the way, the photograph of the alleged body-scan? A hoax. So this was a lie illustrated by a hoax. Sometimes a lesbian joke is worth it, I suppose.
















Drudge Report - Hoaxes - Gay Lesbian and Bisexual - Humor - Recreation

Cartoon Of The Day

From Mike Luckovich at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Prop 8: Your Thoughts

A reader writes:

I live in California and I am excited about the ruling that came out yesterday. A couple weeks ago, my partner and I spent two weeks in Berlin and on our return, she was told by the US immigration officer that we were not family. Our family is transnational (I am on a US work visa), interracial (I am African she is Caucasian) and homosexual. Traveling is a source of stress for us because, in addition to me needing three visas for a two-week vacation, my partner and I often...

Wikileaks Is The New Napster

Raffi Khatchadourian, author of a long profile on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, gives another reason to dismiss Marc Thiessen's call for military action against the website. It wouldn't work:

Thiessen's argument calls to mind the music industry's effort toshut down Napster—a Web site where recorded music could be traded anddownloaded without regard to copyright—in the nineteen-nineties, inthat it loses sight of the broader technological and culturalrevolution that the Internet has brought...

Does It Matter That Walker Is Gay? Ctd

Eric Martin provides another parallel:

This reminds me of conservative complaints aired during Sonya
Sotomayor's confirmation hearings: that her Puerto Rican roots would
unduly influence her decision making process regarding civil rights
cases.  Again, though, the assumption is that being a Caucasian means
being free from any and all biases.  Which is on its face preposterous
as all people are influenced by their past experiences and particular
perspective. 

Conservatism - Puerto...

They Shoot Dogs, Don't They? Ctd

A reader writes

As a resident of Baltimore, I am disappointed that when you turn your attention to violent crime, including, or perhaps especially, perpetrated by police officers, it features the shooting of a
dog. I believe that dogs should be treated with decency and dignity, but so should humans.  What about the six year old girl who was hit by a police cruiser on Tuesday and remains in the hospital after police claimed that she had been released? How about the 40% of rape victims whose...