Andrew Sullivan's Blog, page 2814

Searching vs Waiting

James Sturm is in the middle of his four-month break from the internet. The Dish missed this dispatch from a couple weeks back:

Whether it's a sports score, a book I want to get my hands on, or tuning into Fresh Air anytimeof day, I can no longer search online and find immediate satisfaction.I wait for the morning paper, a trip to the library, or, when I can'tbe at my radio at 3 p.m., just do without. I thought this would driveme crazy, but it hasn't. Anticipation itself is enjoyable and...

Creepy Ad Watch

Copyranter reaches into the archives:

Ad illustration magic from the year 1890. Yep, just crank the handle
and start grinding up the pigs and cows and turkeys and chickens and
lambs and lobsters and running carrots and coconuts with legs and what
the hell is that green thing lower right?

A Dish reader passes along an honorable mention from the present day.

Chicken - Turkey - Coconut - Home - Cooking

The Weekly Wrap

Today on the Dish, Andrew laid into the MSM for missing the McChrystal story. Freelancer Michael Hastings and Jon Stewart did the same. Andrew also clarified his point about the indefinite occupation of Afghanistan and a reader got his back. Additional Afghan coverage here, here, and here.

In other media news, Weigel was outed by someone on JournoList and summarily ousted from the WaPo. Julian Sanchez and Phil Klein came to his defense. Goldblog went on the offensive and soon retreated, but...

Face Of The Day

A festival-goer relaxes in a hammock at sunset during Day 1 of the Glastonbury Festival on June 24, 2010 in Glastonbury, England. This year sees the 40th anniversary of the festival which was started by a dairy farmer, Michael Evis in 1970 and has grown into the largest music festival in Europe. By Ian Gavan/Getty Images.

Glastonbury Festival - England - Music festival - Music - festival

What Will The Feds Do If California Legalizes Pot?

Chris Good isn't sure:

It's unclear what would happen if California did
marijuana. The ballot measure doesn't legalize the substance
throughout the state: it allows for counties to legalize on their
creating what the ballot initiatives backers hope would mirror
and "dry" counties elsewhere, in which alcohol is legal or illegal.

Atthe end of the day, it could come down to manpower. If the measurepasses, county cops can enforce the laws of their counties...

"Do Intelligent Arguments Make A Difference?" Ctd

A reader writes:

This thread reminds me of a quote by Max Planck that I found in Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions":  

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.

Ambreen Ali responds to DiA's inability to "think of an instance where voters on any side have been persuaded by a reasoned opposition on any issue":

...

Mashing Up Movie Directors

Kubrick vs Scorsese from Leandro Copperfield on Vimeo.

Many friends after seeing my video "Tarantino vs Coen Brothers"
requested me to do a new video duel of directors, so I decided to do
now a tribute to my two favorite directors, Stanley Kubrick and Martin
Scorsese, were 25 days re-watching 34 films, selected more than 500
scenes, and a hard work editing.

Vimeo - Martin Scorsese - Coen Brothers - Stanley Kubrick - Quentin Tarantino

How Will Petraeus Deal With Karzai?

Joe Klein asks:

How will Petraeus see Karzai: as the boss (the final arbiter ofmilitary action), a partner or a subordinate? The latter is clearlyout--those who've gotten into fights with Karzai, like Holbrooke andAmbassador Karl Eikenberry, have lost. But the former isn't getting usanywhere. Petraeus had some dicey moments with President Maliki inIraq, but he managed to build a successful partnership. Can he do thesame in Afghanistan? (One big problem: Maliki was the exact opposite ofKarzai...

When Deficits Mattered

Bruce Bartlett remembers George H.W. Bush fondly:

Twentyyears ago, the last serious Republican effort to reduce the budgetdeficit took place when George H.W. Bush agreed to negotiate withcongressional Democrats on a budget deal. As a consequence, manyRepublicans disowned his efforts and abandoned him in 1992, leading tohis defeat. Today, the idea of cooperating with Democrats on deficitreduction is viewed as a total loser by all Republicans.  Until thatperspective changes, the elder Bush will...

Making Oil And Water Mix

Josh Harkinson examines the connection between fishing and oil in Louisiana:

The two industries have developed a comfortable, sometimessymbiotic coexistence. Pearce says the best fishing is often around theartificial reefs created by new and abandoned rigs. And when fishprices are low or the catch is down, people flock to the rigs fortemporary work; when oil prices dip, they go fishing. Shell Oil is alongtime sponsor of the annual Shrimp & Petroleum Festival inMorgan City, whose website says...