Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2807

The Daily Wrap

Today on the Dish, Andrew spoke ill of Senator Byrd, readers dissented en masse, and Nick Gillespie pushed back. Due credit to Byrd on the Iraq war here. Andrew fisked Douthat over reasons to stay in Afghanistan, called out Cantor on the deficit, and commented further on the Weigel-WaPo row. Dave spoke out. Dissension in the Vatican here. Get your Palin fix here and a huge dose of Trig-gate here.

The nationalism of the World Cup explored here, here, and here. More Cup coverage here, here, and ...

Think Yourself Old

Dan Ariely trumpets a study:

One of the most interesting analyses on the ways in which ourdecisions kill us is one by Ralph Keeney (Operation Research, 2008),where Ralph puts forth the claim that 44.5% of all premature deaths inthe US result from personal decisions – decisions that involving amongothers smoking, not exercising, criminality, drug and alcohol use, andunsafe sexual behavior...Using the same method to examine causes of death in 1900, Keeneyfinds that during this time only around...

Ross On Afghanistan: Getting Warmer, Ctd

Noah Millman picks apart the Douthat column I took issue with earlier today:

Failure is always an option. Ruling it out in advance doesn't
make success probable or even possible – it just rules out doing any
kind of cost-benefit analysis of trying to achieve it. Worse, it rules
out asking whether "success" actually advances our interests in the
region, or actually sets them back.

Ross Douthat - Cost-benefit analysis - Conservatism - New York Times - United States

Face Of The Day

Kenyans hold up fliers during a 'No' rally called by religious leaders in opposition to the proposed Kenya constitution in the lakeside town of Nakuru on June 27. The rally, attended by Kenya's former President Daniel Moi, is the second since a series of grenade attacks rocked a similar rally in Nairobi on June 13, killing at least six and injuring scores more. The attack is a sharp reminder of the 2007-2008 post-election violence and is generating public tension as campaigns for and...

World Cup War, Ctd

A reader writes:

I happened to be an exchange student in Potsdam, Germany during the 1998 World Cup and became completely swept up in all the excitement. One of the more surprising expressions of nationalism I experienced was two lines of graffiti, written in English, in a stall in the student dormitory I was assigned to:

Two world wars and one World Cup!
Doo-dah, Doo-dah!

Germany - Soccer - World Cup - Sports - Competitions

A Financial Equivalent Of Drivers' Ed

James Surowiecki wants one:

Some [critics of proper financial education:] suggest that financial illiteracy is an example of what economistscall "rational ignorance"—inattention that is justified because thecosts of paying attention outweigh the benefits. But few decisionsaffect us more directly than the ones we make about our money. Criticsalso argue that financial education may make people overconfident, andtherefore more likely to make bad decisions. In fact, the reverse istrue: the less...

How Awful Is The Vuvuzela?

Apparently it can hit the Brown Note:

South Park went there.

Hosting - Web Design and Development - Free - Protocols - HTTP

One Reason The Press Is Liberal

Robert Stacy McCain is on to something here:

One of the reasons why there
are so few conservatives in America's newsrooms is
because the profession of journalism is relentlessly derided by
those who claim to speak for the conservative
cause. No kid who grew up listening to talk radio
could possibly believe that becoming a reporter is a
worthy ambition. (To be a talking-head pundit on cable TV,
yes; to be a mere reporter, no.) ...

There are indeed such things as conservative...

The Violence Of Writing

Goldblog backtracks further. TNC takes a step back:

Fallows offered some really wise words on how to criticize peoplein print, the gist of it being, "Speak to those you would criticize asthough they were standing right there."... It'sfun to be mean, and it makes your side howl - and sometimes it'seven necessary. But  my game is as follows - stating my opinionsdirectly, clearly and without equivocation and without undue malice. Iam not a violent writer. Fuck Pat Robertsonwas cool. But that's...

Chart Of The Day II

Catherine Rampell tries to understand why educated women today are more likely to have children than educated women in the 1990s:

Perhaps this has something to do with Claudia Goldin's findingsthat some of the fields that require the most educational investmentupfront — like pediatrics, or veterinary medicine — also happen to befields whose work schedules allow for a healthy work-family balance.High-achieving women who want children may be discovering this, andmaking their career choices...