Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2790
July 2, 2010
The Last M. Night?
Chris Orr reviews Shyamalan's latest, The Last Airbender:
A slow-motion car wreck? A chronic illness that worsens
worsens without ever quite proving terminal? A night out on the town
Lindsay Lohan?It's hard work coming up with a metaphor equal to the taskof describing the precipitous cinematic decline of M. Night Shyamalan. Thewriter-director's career over the last dozen years has been like an exercise inentropy: from the critical and commercial success of The Sixth Sense; to the...
The Final Solution? Ctd
A reader writes:
Your reader stated, "if you choose to believe that homosexuality is chosen, and a sin, then a medical cure for homosexuality presents a legitimate challenge to that belief."
I grew up in a highly evangelical culture, and I can attest that your reader overstates the case that the finding of evidence for sexual orientation in-utero would conflict with evangelicals' beliefs. The hard belief that orientation is in no way biological was dropped years ago by nearly all evangelicals...
Bush's Third Term
Josh Green reads favorables:
Palin's poll numbers are nearly as horrible as George W. Bush's--but
only one of them launched two wars and destroyed the economy. That's
remarkable. But what's more remarkable, in light of this, is that the
idea of George W. Bush running for another term (were such a thing
possible) would be greeted by gales of laughter from the political
cognoscenti, while the prospect of a Palin presidential campaign is
taken seriously.
Again, I sure hope Josh is right and...
The Science Of Fag Hags, Ctd
Jessica Dweck picks up a study we covered awhile back:
One issue that goes unmentioned in all of this analysis is therapidly changing face of the fag hag. Cultural observers like Tablet'sAlana Newhouse and Salon's Thomas Rogers have argued that while the "classic fag hags were theatrical, brassy,unconventional … the Liza Minnellis, Bette Midlers and Liz Taylors ofthe world," influential shows like Sex and the City and Real Housewives have
From Pink Collar To Blue Collar?
Annalee Newitz questions Hanna Rosin's thesis:
It's unlikely that the female dominance of the working class will last very long. As Ann Friedman points out,the aspirations of job-seekers will shift with the market. Men who wanta respectable working class income can certainly tackle nursing, childcare, and food preparation with as much aplomb as women. What we'relikely to see over the next decade is a shift not only in how manywomen are part of the working class, but what kinds of jobs all...
Bartlett Agrees (Kinda) With Krugman
He offers a very helpful guide to the newly popular theory that fiscal consolidation actually helps growth rather than smothering it. He's unconvinced:
I remain skeptical that immediate fiscal consolidation is desirable; I think the case for additional short-term stimulus is much stronger. (The necessity of long-term fiscal adjustment is unquestioned.) But if stimulus is effectively impossible, as I believe it is, we may have no choice but to test the theory that consolidation can be...
Ads On YouTube
Our favorite video site is adding a "skip ad" feature:
The idea is as simple as this: If an advertiser's commercial isn't
captivating enough to watch in its own right, it'll be skipped by
viewers. If viewers don't watch the ad, Google doesn't charge the
advertiser.
Google - YouTube - Advertising - Television - Hulu
The "Easy" Social Security Fix, Ctd
Yglesias says this chart is reason to lift the Social Security cap:
The quantity of a given person's income that's subject to Social
Security taxes is "capped." What's less well understood is the fact
highlighted by this chart from John Irons' recent testimony (PDF),
namely that trends in the US income distribution have meant that a
higher and higher share of national income is escaping the Social
Security system.
Andrew Biggs counters. I'm not wedded to this. What the Dish is wedded to are ...
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