Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2774

When The Washington Post Uses "Torture"

The paper does do so, as long as it is not committed by white men with enormous power:

"My children are not animals," she said, meaning Javon and his two older
brothers, both also behind bars. One is awaiting sentencing for armed
carjacking; the other, a trial in a torture-kidnapping case.

"The police is always trying to pin stuff on my kids that they didn't
do," she said.

Torture is what street criminals do; it is not, by definition, what Charles Krauthammer's friends authorize. It's...

The GOP Establishment (And Mike Allen) Loves Palin's Ad

Philip Rucker takes the temperature of the GOP establishment:

Republican strategists are already praising the video. For a political
figure used to an off-the-cuff style, Palin's video has a professional
and polished feel that could strengthen and broaden her emotional
appeal among female voters. One prominent GOP media consultant described the video as "brilliant," adding: "I wish I'd done it."

Glynnis MacNicol further analyzes the ad:

Truth be told it almost manages to make Palin look...

Aid To Egypt And Israel

James Gibney wants to end it:

I don't think we should use the threat of aid cuts to try to bully Mubarak into reforming Egypt's political system, or Netanyahu into making concessions in Israel's talks with the Palestinians. Instead, for larger strategic reasons, we should just flat out cut aid to both countries and redirect some of the money toward other goals that have gone neglected.

Agreed. But, as James knows, the merits of the case from the point of view of American interests barely...

A Breakthrough Against HIV?

Great news:

In a significant step toward an AIDS vaccine, U.S. government
scientists have discovered three powerful antibodies, the strongest of
which neutralizes 91% of HIV strains, more than any AIDS antibody yet
discovered.

Looking closely at the strongest antibody, they have
detailed exactly what part of the virus it targets and how it attacks
that site.

The antibodies were discovered in the cells of a 60-year-old African-American gay man, known in the scientific literature as...

One Spending Policy Palin Is Clear About

There are three major areas in which spending cuts have to happen - on a massive scale - if the US long-term fiscal crisis is to be tackled. We all know what they are: Medicare, Social Security and defense. No other programs come close to these in terms of spending. So one might expect a presidential candidate like Sarah Palin who says she favors restraining spending to outline how she would slash these programs, especially as she refuses to contemplate any tax increases at all. She has said ...

Maliki, Abdullah Praise Fadlillah

It is indeed odd that the neoconservative chorus got a 20 year CNN correspondent fired because she admired an ayatollah for backing women's rights, while they do not mention this:

Jordanian King Abdullah II sent a condolence letter to Fadlallah's family in which he expressed his sorrow for the marja's death, saying the late cleric had devoted his life to serving his country, along with his Arab and Islamic nation. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki paid tribute for late Fadlallah, who...

"Moms Just Know When There's Something Wrong" Ctd

Several readers have remarked that there are no black or Hispanic or indeed any minority faces in the Palin presidential campaign web ad that has just been unveiled. This is odd because there are usually a token few thrown into the mix. Frum notes this too (although a reader of his finds a sole Indian-American woman in the background around 45 seconds
in):

Now listen carefully to the audio, whichtwice warns of a "fundamental transformation of America," twiceemphasizes a threat to children...

Why The Bush Tax Hikes Are Inevitable

Donald Marron spells out the math:

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that tax revenues will
from 14.9% of GDP in 2010 to 20.7% in 2020 and 23.3% in 2035 if
law remains in place...

That rapid growth reflects six factors. First, the economy will recover, lifting revenues from currentlydepressed levels. Second, the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts will expire, aswill tax cuts enacted in the 2009 stimulus. Third, the AlternativeMinimum Tax, which is not indexed for inflation, will...

Face Of The Day

One of Andrew Zuckerman's astonishing bird photographs, featured in the Daily Telegraph today. They are all photographed with high definition cameras against a white background, sharpening the portraiture and elevating the beauty. More background on his technique here. You can buy his book here.

Bird - Andrew Zuckerman - Photograph - daily telegraph - Recreation

Michael Steele Was Right, Ctd

I'm not entirely sure how comfortable I am with this, but Ann Coulter and I are on the same page:

At this point, Afghanistan is every bit as much Obama's war as Vietnam was Lyndon Johnson's war. True, President Kennedy was the first to send troops to Vietnam. We had 16,000 troops in Vietnam when JFK was assassinated. Within four years, LBJ had sent 400,000 troops there.

In the entire seven-year course of the Afghanistan war under Bush, from October 2001 to January 2009, 625 American soldiers...