Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2799

The Palin Model, Ctd

Bernstein pushes back:

Is the Sage of Wasilla winning?  Is she "getting away with it"? Well,that's where it gets interesting.  For her troubles, Palin is massivelyunpopular.  Pollster.com has her at favorable/unfavorable averages at 35/52...that'spretty awful.   For a comparison, Romney is at 32/33; Obama iscurrently at 52/40.  What Sarah Palin has done is to retain theextremely strong support of a fairly small number of Americans.  Butthat's probably something she would have even if she was...

Not Just Nationalism, Ctd

A reader writes:

I find it pretty ironic that in your post on pan-Africanism you have a photo of Kevin-Prince Boateng, born and raised in Berlin.

Another writes:

Using Kevin-Prince Boateng's picture is actually a very interesting choice. He has both German and Ghanaian citizenship. His half-brother Jerome is also German/Ghanaian and also an international soccer player - but with Germany instead of Ghana.They've already played against each other in this World Cup. It's the first time brothers...

Quote For The Day III

"You can support Pamela Gorman here, just to drive them crazy," - conservative blogger William A. Jacobson, on the latest Palin clone.
















Conservative - Politics - Republican - United States - Parties

The Court And Gay Rights

Something possibly profound happened in the recently concluded case, Christian Legal Society vs Martinez. It's summed up by a letter from a lawyer for the anti-Prop 8 side to Judge Walker:

 




According to SCOTUS, gays and lesbians are now a class with respect to equal protection in the current court - hence the importance of this precedent with respect to the Prop 8 case.

My main fear with Elena Kagan, of course, is that she disagrees with this and will burnish her credentials among the...

Deference Journalism

A reader writes:

I thought that the rise of social media and quick, easy access to information would render our politics more transparent, but it appears as though the opposite is true.  Social media has enabled politicians to bypass the traditional channels to create their own narratives and directly reach their audience. 

Sadly, it appears as though this arrangement suits most journalists.

They seem more than happy to summarize Facebook posts or write articles about incoherent tweets.  If...

The Final Solution? Ctd

Jim Burroway provides more background:

This case isn't the first time we've seen researchers suggest thattrying to prevent homosexuality is an ethically defensible position. In2001, Aaron Greenberg and the controversial J. Michael Baily, both ofNorthwestern University, published a paper in the Archives of Sexual Behaviornoting that "As we learn more about the causes of sexual orientation,the likelihood increases that parents will one day be able to selectthe orientation of their children."...

Why Does Trig Matter? Ctd

Because he is at the center of her politics:

The federal medical care overhaul would limit contributions to healthsavings accounts and raise insurance costs for people including thosewith special needs, former Republican vice presidential candidate SarahPalin said at a fundraiser Tuesday for developmentally disabledchildren. She warned that new rules aiming to raise $13 billion by limitingcontributions to flexible spending accounts amount to a "hefty taxhike" for families of special needs...

Mental Health Break

A reader writes:

This is a time-lapse from our Dutch neighbor in our little town of Moraira in Spain. Rogier is a surfer and works in a bank. I think he's actually an artist.

Spain - Directories - Australia - Game seven - National Basketball Association

Another Reason To Love Dogs

They won't leave you stuck under a tree.
















Humor - MC Frontalot - Music video - Nerdcore hip hop - London

Why Does Trig Matter? Ctd

A reader writes:

Just to add to the chorus of mothers not believing the birth story: when I was pregnant, I remember my obstetrician telling me she might have to duck out of my scheduled appointment at any time because one of her patients who was pregnant with her third child was in labor, and that third babies "just sort of fall out."  Labor with each child is progressively shorter, statistically.  Especially after the water breaks.  I can only imagine how fast the labor is for fifth babies...