Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2741

The Blegging Bowl 4 & Final

by David Frum

By far the most frequent objection to my proposed mission statement however was to its inclusion of the phrase "peaceful American-led world order."

Plaintively in some cases, ferociously in others, people asked: why should American world leadership be a goal of any kind of conservative politics?

My answer: consider the alternatives. For 60 years, the democratic countries have known ever-rising levels of affluence and security. This benign system of collective security and free...

Face Of The Day

by Chris Bodenner

Participants wrestle during the 13th Annual Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon Beach on July 17, 2010 in Boryeong, South Korea. The festival features mud wrestling, mud sliding, and a mud king contest. By Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images.

Korea - Boryeong - South Korea - Daecheon - Games

The Blegging Bowl 3

by David Frum

Another fundamental objection to my proposed mission statement for conservative reform is that it is not libertarian enough. One reader offered this alternative statement:

Conservatives believe our central purpose is to promote freedom; we do this by promoting individual liberty, supporting the division of powers through Federalism, reducing government to the lowest level necessary, and supporting free markets while keeping taxes low.

No question: conservatives do believe those t...

The View From Your Window

Christchurch, New Zealand, 11.30 am

New Zealand - Oceania - Business and Economy - Government - Travelogues

On Friendship, Ctd

by Patrick Appel

Todd May returns to the subject:

Several comments insisted that one would never become friends withsomeone unless there was something to be gained. This is certainlytrue. Close friendships are not simply exercises in altruism.Friendships that come to resemble relationships between donors andrecipients begin to fray. Eventually they come to look like somethingother than friendships. The non-economic character of friendship doesnot lie in its altruism, but in its lack of...

Dissent Of The Day, Ctd

by Patrick Appel

A reader writes:

I think your reader typifies the kind of paranoia regarding Iran that seems to be driving us toward war.  Iran doesn't begin to compare to Japan of the 1930s and 1940s.

The Japanese had already occupied huge chunks of China in the 1930s; the Iranians could barely hold off the semi-competent army of Sadam Hussein in a war of attrition that lasted a decade.

The Japanese had an industrial base that could build aircraft carriers and first-class fighter aircraft. ...

Mental Health Break

by Patrick Appel

Graffiti Proposal from PR!MO on Vimeo.

Multimedia - Development Frameworks - Vimeo - Flash - Legal

The Blegging Bowl 2

by David Frum

As mentioned below, some readers raised more fundamental objections to my suggested mission statement for a reformed conservatism:

A reality-based, culturally modern, socially inclusive and environmentally responsible politics that supports free markets, limited government and a peaceful American-led world order.

The first of the fundamental objections bristled at the phrase "culturally modern." Was this code for jettisoning social conservatives from the Republican party?

Two...

The Blegging Bowl 1

by David Frum

Yesterday I posted a bleg asking readers of AndrewSullivan.com and FrumForum.com for help writing a one-sentence description of a modernized, reformed conservatism. We've had a stunning response: almost 200 suggestions, via email from AndrewSullivan readers and in the comments section at FrumForum. They are enormously helpful, and I am very grateful. Let me share some of these ideas, and then offer a response.

To remind: here is my first draft, for which I asked for improvements:

A...

The View From Your Window Contest

by Chris Bodenner

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. Have at it.

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