Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2778

July 7, 2010

Taxing The Sugary Stuff?

A recent USDA study found that a "tax-induced 20-percent price increase on caloric sweetened beverages
could cause an average reduction of 37 calories per day, or 3.8 pounds
of body weight over a year, for adults and an average of 43 calories
per day, or 4.5 pounds over a year, for children." Reihan's response:

I tend to think that some kind of soda tax is inevitable. As Alan Viard suggests, it is very tempting to tax seemingly frivolous goods,like tanning and "luxury" vehicles. I would much...

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Published on July 07, 2010 14:20

Why Doesn't India Win The Gold? Or China The World Cup?

Free Exchange tries to explain why some of the largest countries fare so poorly in international sporting events:

People...need a certain level of wealth before they are able to takethe kinds of risks necessary for what must be one of the highest-risk,highest-return kinds of careers. Take music: it is very easy to ask,why don't more (pick your developing country) people make a career inmusic or art? Well, because it's risky; risk appetite is low at verylow levels of income. It also takes a...

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Published on July 07, 2010 14:08

Hair Like Sarah's

Palin's hairdo is all the rage among Hasidic women:

In Brooklyn's Borough Park ... stylist Gail Rosenzweig said half of her Orthodox Jewish clients want Palin's style. "It's a fashion statement," said Rosenzweig as she worked on a Palin wig. Even though Palin is a Christian from Alaska, where Jews make up less than 1 percent of the state's 670,000 population, Rosenzweig said her clients "like her classic look. It can be worn up or down." Shlomo Klein, an Orthodox Jew and vice president of wig...

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Published on July 07, 2010 13:44

Allowing Concealed Weapons In Mosques

Bobby Jindal goes there. Churches too, of course. Because, as Jesus put it,

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth". But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Do these people actually believe they are Christians?





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Jesus - Christian - Eye for an eye - United States - Health
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Published on July 07, 2010 13:28

Mental Health Break

Stop-motion graffiti artist Blu, of MUTO fame, takes his technique to the next level:





(Hat tip: Wooster)





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Web Design and Development - Hosting - Free - Graffiti - Stop-Motion
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Published on July 07, 2010 13:20

How Dumb Is Mitt Romney?

Ambers:

Romney is signaling that he'd take American foreign policy in a radical
old direction, back to the days of confrontation and brinksmanship.

Fred Kaplan:

In 35 years of following debates over nuclear arms control, I have never
seen anything quite as shabby, misleading and—let's not mince
words—thoroughly ignorant as Mitt Romney's attack on the New START treaty in the
July 6 Washington Post.



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Mitt Romney - United States - Washington Post - Nuclear weapon - Romney
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Published on July 07, 2010 13:16

Netanyahu Wins Again, Ctd

Milbank gets tough:

A blue-and-white Israeli flag hung from Blair House. Across Pennsylvania Avenue, the Stars and Stripes was in its usual place atop the White House. But to capture the real significance of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's visit with President Obama, White House officials might have instead flown the white flag of surrender.

And the Cairo promise is aborted by the pro-Israel lobby:

A Pew Research Center poll last month found that the percentage of Muslims expressing...

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Published on July 07, 2010 13:04

Why Does Trig Matter? Ctd

Dana McCourt is tired of the debate. So am I. But only one person can end it, and it isn't me.





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Social Sciences - Public Speaking - Communication - Dana White - Forensics
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Published on July 07, 2010 12:59

The Case Against AC

Salon interviews Stan Cox. Joyner is as unimpressed as I am:


It's hard to tell if Cox and others like him hate air-conditioningbecause of its impact on the environment, because it caused people tomove south, or because it allegedly led to the resurgence of theRepublican Party as a Southern-SouthWestern party. Whatever the reason,it hardly qualifies as serious scholarship. If Cox wants to spend thenext week without air-conditioning, that's is choice. I, on the otherhand, will be keeping him...

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Published on July 07, 2010 12:57

Yglesias Award Nominee

"I have a soft spot for gritty old leftists. Don't get me wrong: I'm fully aware of the horrors their beliefs and activities brought upon the world. It's just that when I've met them in person, I've always found them likeable, even simpatico. Being right about politics is one thing; having personal qualities such as integrity, honor, and courage is another. These are, as we math geeks say, orthogonal variables. You can be dramatically wrong yet filled with admirable personal qualities. Contra...
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Published on July 07, 2010 12:55

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