Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2806
June 29, 2010
Quote For The Day
"When I first heard her say that, I thought to myself, "That has to be a joke. It's sarcasm, right?" But then I went back and replayed the clip – no sarcasm! She meant it! If I'm hearing [Lara:] Logan correctly, what Hastings is supposed to have done in that situation is interrupt these drunken assholes and say, "Excuse me, fellas, I know we're all having fun and all, but you're saying things that may not be in your best interest! As a reporter, it is my duty to inform you that you may end up ...
Chart Of The Day
Dylan Matthews balances Social Security's balance sheet by lifting the contribution cap:
Currently, wages over a certain yearly total ($106,800this year) are exempted from Social Security payroll taxes. Medicare'spayroll tax has no such cap. This has raised the question of howraising the cap could extend Social Security's solvency....Congressional Research Service looked at this questionin 2008 by evaluating three different proposals. The first would raisethe cap so that 90 percent of...
The View From Your Recession
A reader writes:
Once you quoted someone who referred to the self-employed as being "on their own" because they don't receive unemployment benefits. If memory serves, you have not yet run an email from one of those people, so I thought I might as well do it.
I am a self-employed commercial artist, who "went freelance" in 2002. For five or six years I was able to round up enough work from various magazine and ad agency clients (many of whom you would recognize) to earn a half-way decent living...
Guerrilla Gardening
Kelly Rand spies an urban design project:
Greenaid
takes old gumball machines, rehabs them and turns them into "seedbomb"
dispensers. The seedbombs are made from clay, compost and seeds and are
perfect for the cracks, crevices and empty spaces found in daily life.
They can be temporarily placed in sidewalk cracks, empty planters and in missing concrete pieces from parking lots.
Suck UK commercializes the concept with hand-grenade replicas.
Seed - Urban design - Clay - Compo...
Dissident By Accident?
Steinglass
I've..interviewed highly educated, self-conscious dissidentswho knew precisely what they were getting themselves into and had areasonable sense of what strategies were likely to be effective. I'm happy to report the statements of this...sort of dissident.Moreover, I'm obliged to. They're political activists who are makingnews. My job...
The Blogosphere Slows? Ctd
Joyner yawns:
This reminds me of the brilliant pieces telling us that China is
overtaking the United States economically because they're growing at a
much faster rate. Mature, large entities do indeed tend to be
"stagnant" relative to emerging upstarts, given that there's much less
for the former to grow. But it doesn't at all follow that the
upstart's rapid growth is sustainable. Indeed, it's almost a
mathematical given that it isn't.
(Image via Steve Rubel)
United States ...
"Subliminal Talents"
Jonah Lehrer - Social Sciences - Psychology - Science in Society - Skeptical Inquiry
Caring For Kids
Tony Woodlief defends parenting:
Instead of asking parents and non-parents whether they are happy right
now, we might ask whether they are becoming more like the people they
want to be. And then we might see children not as factors that may or
may not be contributing to our happiness, but as opportunities to
practice what most of us -- perhaps me most of all -- need to do more
often, which is to put someone else before ourselves.
America's Loss To Ghana
The best reaction thus far:
Ok Ghana you win again. Tell you what...Double or nothing over women's tennis, basketball, hockey, war, baseball, golf, swimming, diving, oil spills, box office proceeds, internet porn sites, criminals incarcerated, women's downhill, bass fishing, NASCAR, or GDP?
Ghana - sport - Fishing - United States - South Africa
Andrew Sullivan's Blog
- Andrew Sullivan's profile
- 153 followers
