Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2769

Palin vs Actual Mama Grizzlies

A reader writes:

No one I know of has yet really pointed out how ridiculous Palin's whole "Mama Grizzlies" spiel is. When she became governor, one of her first acts was to submit a piece of legislation titled the "Active Management - Airborne Shooting" bill. Ostensibly authored by Palin with her name on it, the bill sought to legalize for the first time in our state's history the airborne shooting of bears as part of her predator control advocacy. You can read more about it here.

Beyond...

Mental Health Break

The Dish prefers these pink elephants to Palin's:

Web Design and Development - Hosting - Free - Sports Related - Directories

California Cannabis Update

Ryan Grim surveys the state's congressional delegation on Proposition 19 and gets three yays from Democrats and a wavering nay from a Republican:

Three may not seem like a high number, but it represents the most
public support that legalization has garnered from a single state's
delegation -- and it signals the effect that ballot initiatives can
have on advancing the public debate over marijuana policy. Many of the
rest of the Democrats in the delegation said they were open to
supporting it.

T...

Charts Of The Day

How Britain has changed since 1997.

(Hat tip: Yau)

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Why Would A Carbon Tax Be Crippling?

Steinglass why a carbon tax can't replace a payroll tax:

The payroll tax is a tax on human labour; it discourages companies from
employing people. A carbon tax is a tax on fuel; it discourages people
from using carbon-based fuels. If we shifted our tax structure to tax
carbon more and human labour less, we would certainly use less carbon,
and we would presumably use more human labour. What are the multipliers
showing that this leads to a net loss in production? Why?

...

Christianist Watch

(Hat tip: Jack Stuef)

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Hewitt Award Nominee

"The greatestthreat to the United States today, the greatest threat to our liberty,the greatest threat to the Constitution of the United States, thegreatest threat to our way of life; everything we believe in. Thegreatest threat to the country that our founding fathers put togetheris the man that's sitting in the White House today," - Tom Tancredo, citing the Cold War and al Qaeda.



United States - Tom Tancredo - United States Constitution - White House - Cold War
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Obama And Afghanistan: Pragmatism Or Amoralism? Ctd

Exum counters Bacevich:

Just because you disagree with the Obama Administration on Afghanistandoes not mean that the administration lacks a moral compass. Theyprobably just did a strategic and moral cost-benefit analysis andarrived at a different conclusion than Bacevich did. I understand thatAndrew Bacevich is upset about our policy in Afghanistan. Butconcluding as he does -- without any evidence to suggest that moralconsiderations, such as an obligation to the Afghan people, were notweighed...

Liberating Beagles

Here's a heart-warming video of a rescue of 90 beagles who had spent their lives being experimented on in a laboratory in New Jersey. The lab had gone bankrupt and these admirable volunteers found the dogs and freed them. The activists believe that the beagles had never been outdoors in their entire lives. And yes, this happened on July 4:

Beagle - Dog - Pet - Recreation - Breeds

Taxing The Sugary Stuff? Ctd

Jonah Lehrer is all for a soda tax:

Just look at cigarettes: If you want to decrease the numbers of smokers, raising the price of cigarettes is the only proven solution. In fact, a 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes causes a 4 percent reduction in demand. Teenagers are especially sensitive to these price changes: a 10 percent increase in price causes a 12 percent drop in teenage smoking... And let's not forget that nicotine is an extremely addictive substance. (While high fructose...