Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2793

Stuck In Traffic

Richard Florida spends some time in the car:

Commuting costs America an estimated $90billion dollars per year in terms of lost productivity and wastedenergy, according to the annual Urban Mobility Report. Our own detailed calculations by Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI) research director Kevin Stolarick find that every minute shaved off America's commuting time is worth an estimated $19.5 billion dollars. That translates into $97.7 billion for five minutes, $195 billion for10 minutes...

The Legacy Media And Torture, Ctd

Sargent's two cents:

We all agree that pickpocketing constitutes "theft." A pickpocket doesn't get to come along and argue: "No, what I did isn't theft, it's merely pickpocketing,
and therefore it isn't illegal." Any newspaper that played along with a
pickpocket's demand to stop using the word "theft" would be taking the
pickpocket's side, not occupying any middle ground. There is no middle ground here.

Theft - Crime - Pickpocketing - South American Theft Groups - Identity theftimg

High And Low Roads

Jim Henley travels them:

I don't presently care to argue that there is never any "need" to godown any given low road. In some cases I may support some low roads forsome purposes. Locking up murderers, for instance. In other cases –torture – I have a much easier time saying "Never go there." But whatwe see over and over again is that we judge high-road approaches asfailures unless they produce nigh-instant and complete favorableresults, while we show nearly infinite patience for journeys down...

The Daily Wrap

Today on the Dish, Garrett Epps relayed Kagan's response to marriage equality, Adam Serwer picked up on her philosophy, and Bernstein wasn't so sure. Andrew asked if the Israeli-Palestinian relationship was apartheid and aimed both barrels at the NYT over torture. Greenwald piled on.

Sharron Angle finally talked to the media - about church-state separation - while a Tumblr transposed her and other Christianists' words with Christ. Palin-Johnston spat here. More Trig discussion here and

Why Does Trig Matter? Ctd

A reader writes:

Why does he matter?  Because despite all the sentimentality and the cozying up to parents of children with developmental disabilities, Sarah Palin doesn't stand for the policies that will help those families. I am the widowed mother of a nineteen-year-old daughter with Down syndrome. In another six months she'll be eligible for Medicare via SSDI. But ten years ago, when my husband became disabled and stopped working, hanging on to our group health coverage was critical...

Quote For The Day II

"If Obama says we're not really fighting a 'war' in Afghanistan – we're just visiting – will the NYT stop referring to it as a 'war'?"- Glenn Greenwald.
















Glenn Greenwald - Afghanistan - New York Times - War in Afghanistan - Warfare and Conflict

Not As Powerful As We Pretend

Rory Stewart continues to believe that the Afghanistan war is doomed:

The only way in which we could move beyond the counter-insurgency theory, or the hundred other theories which buttress and justify the Afghan war, is by rejecting their most basic underlying premises and objectives. Instead of trying to produce an alternative theory (on how to defeat the Taliban, create an effective, legitimate and stable Afghan state, stabilize Pakistan and ensure that al-Qaida could never again threaten...

Malkin Award Nominee

"Soccer is a socialist sport," - Marc Thiessen, AEI.

Yglesias dutifully counters.

Marc Thiessen - United States - Sports - Soccer - CONCACAF

The Bad Jobs Numbers

Leonhardt clutches to shards of hope:

It's worth keeping something in
mind: The official government statistics are probably understating job
growth right now. That tends to be the pattern after recessions end. As the economy is
starting to add jobs again, the Bureau of Labor Statistics understates
job growth. And the opposite happens during recessions: That's when the
government understates job losses.

Employment - Bureau of Labor Statistics - Government - Recession - United...

Where "Inaction" Gets Us

Douthat takes a hard look at the long-term debt.
















Business - New York Times - Ross Douthat - Barack Obama - United States