Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2773

NOM On The Rocks?

Stephanie Mencimer profiles Maggie Gallagher's outfit:

In the past month alone, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM)and its allies have suffered a series of significant legal setbacks,culminating with last week's nearly unanimous Supreme Court ruling in acase arising from a Washington State ballot measure. Collectively,these defeats, in states from California to Maine, could make it muchharder for these activists to wage war on gay marriage. For this, NewJersey-based NOM really has no...

The Case Against AC, Ctd

A reader writes:

I think AC is an abomination because I would always freeze in the summer - in stores, in offices - which caused me to have to carry around a wool sweater in August.  Yuck.

On a more philosophical note, air-conditioning has only exacerbated a go-go, workaholic, culture. There's also an arrogant and distasteful, conspicuously wasteful "domination of nature" aspect to it, as epitomized by the indoor ski slopes in Dubai. In more "slow" locales like Italy and Spain, there's not a...

Palin's Chances, Ctd

This could weaken them. Doug Mataconis analyzes:

If the Republican primaries in states like California, Florida, andTexas are required to award delegates proportionally, it would throw acurve ball into the nominating process that would have interesting, andunforeseeable, consequences. At the very least, these new rules wouldseem to favor candidates who have national, rather than merelyregional, appeal within the GOP and would also be advantageous forthose candidates able to convince voters...

The Evolutionary Case Against Monogamy, Ctd

Dan Savage joins the debate over Sex At Dawn:

I'm not saying that everyone everywhere has to be non-monogamous; the authors of Sex At
don't make that argument either. (Lots of monogamists, however
around insisting that everyone everywhere should be monogamous—and
monogamists get a pass because, hey, they mean so well and wouldn't
be nice if everyone

The point is that people—particularly those who value monogamy—needto understand why being monogamous is so much harder...

If Life Gives You Lemonade, Make Talking Points

This Terry Savage column is one for the record books. Kos calls it the "most assholish opinion column of all time." I can think of competitors myself.
















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Mental Health Break

A reader writes:

This guy really loves rainbows.

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What American Parents Get Right

Steinglass a shrewd point:

However limiting and intellectually repressive parenthood may be inAmerica, it's much more restrictive for mothers in traditionalistgender-segregated societies like Japan, Italy and Greece. That comesout in childbirth statistics: women in Japan, Italy and Greecehave simply stopped having children. In other societies withgender-segregated traditional family roles, like Vietnam, higherbirthrates result from intense Confucian pro-natalist social pressuresthat...

The Freedom To Have A Mullet

Kevin Sullivan thinks Max Fisher's take on Iran's new hairstyle rules is misleading. This is correct:

I don't know that this idea - that Iran is a Pyongyang-style policestate - meshes with the accounts of most respected Iran scholars oranalysts who have spent significant amounts of time in the country.Private life is an incredibly precious thing there, something even thisdreadful regime must handle (and regulate) with care. There's a sort ofunspoken agreement that the regime can put the...

How Torture Happens

The New York Times is, for some reason, unafraid to use the word "torture" to describe the acts committed by Chicago cop, Jon Burge. I guess Dick Cheney didn't call. But the eventual conviction of this criminal gives some small shred of hope that justice might eventually be done in the cases of Bush, Cheney, Addington, Yoo et al. There was no public outcry - as so often, the public is only too happy to pull a Noonan when screams in cells can be kept off our radar screens. The press did this, ...

The View From Your Window

Lee's Summit, Missouri, 8.30 pm

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