Unemployment got us down, but experts promised this recovery was never going to be quick. Bradford Plumer proposed taxing pollution, McWhorter argued the drug war isn't a product of racism, and Greenwald flogged Politico for anonymous sourcing. "I'm Not Racist But" tickled our casually bigoted funny bone, and the readers got sweaty over biking in the US and Europe. The rest of the press caught on to Dagan upending the debate on Israel, and we all agreed that Palestinian rap is much better than the Coldplay-endorsed version.
We remembered Clarence Thomas' weinergate, people thought gays already had discrimination protection in the workplace, and one woman vowed to not look in the mirror for a month. We believed in ourselves thanks to this kid, and America out-nannied the Netherlands. We perused the Ebay for illicit drugs, rebel friends influenced us to have sex and take drugs, and readers dreamed erotically of Andrew. Question of the day here, quote for the day here, chart of the day here, view from your airplane window here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
RUSHES from Daniel Etura on Vimeo.
Thursday on the Dish, Andrew fisked Romney's speech, and deconstructed some of his untruths. Andrew refused to rule Palin out, Josh Green continued to drink the Kool-Aid, and Michelle Cottle urged more crazy women to run. Larison believed in the fringe, Cain studied for the big test, and Palin got caught in an odd lie about the debt. Andrew stayed (fairly) mum on Weiner's weiner, offered his simple advice, and contemplated what it means for privacy today.
Andrew revisited the ACA's effects on Medicare spending, Britain's healthcare crisis sounded familiar, and Douthat predicted compromise on the deficit would go down easier than one on immigration. The internet tried to solve cutting Medicare, Manzi couldn't calculate the impact of saving GM, and young people needed to save on their own for their retirement. Grand Rapids lip-dubbed, dads picked kids up from school on bikes, but not in this DC heat, and young people don't want cable.
Syria tried to make meager concessions, and Nadia El-Awady felt more feminine without her hijab. Andrew dared the GOP to call the former head of Mossad an anti-Semite for calling for a two state solution, Jews still loved Obama, and a philo-semitism primer here. Quotes for the day here and here and here, VFYW here, MHB here, FOTD here, chart of the day here, dissents of the day here, hathos alert here, and prayer Tina Fey style here.
Osaka, Japan, 7.40 am
Wednesday on the Dish, Andrew likened Palin to Father Coughlin for her bizarre populism, charted the rise of Cain and unable, and couldn't understand the National Review's refusal to condemn her. Newt fizzled, Cain sizzled, and Sarah still reigned as the ultimate mean girl. Alex Massie dubbed her a very effective political troll, while she still managed to play the victim, and her full Alaskan email load was on its way.
Andrew attempted to understand the GOP's deadly game of debt chicken, and vowed to keep at what fiscal conservative even means today. Medicare couldn't last, but Americans still couldn't come to terms with that. GOP governors refused to set up healthcare exchanges, the Ryan plan stood only to get more unpopular, but the Dems still didn't offer any alternatives. The recovery slowed, we picked apart a new study on what makes for good teachers, and tried to glean the real truth about cellphones and cancer.
Syria stayed awake to the sound of gunfire, Haleh Sahabi was murdered publicly in Iran, and change came slowly to Egypt. Andrew displayed little sympathy for the settlers' ghost town of Hebron, and reasoned through Israel's dependence on US support. Andrew welcomed news of a man cured of HIV, readers rode bikes to work without sweating, and Tarantino's next movie sets its gory sights on the South.
Home news here, chart of the day here, cool ad watch here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here.
By Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images.
Tuesday on the Dish, Andrew condemned the torture and murder of a child in Syria, and the entire population united against a regime which refuses to progress.
Andrew frisked Palin's rogue bus tour, Beinart called her campaign now or never, and the press scrambled to cover the paparazzi candidate. Palin, however, rose to the occassion by calling Obama un-American, loved the smell of emissions while greenhouse gases reached an all-time high, and kept using her children as props. Readers egged Andrew on, using Carla Bruni's "hidden" baby bump as an example, and the GOP commissioned polls to reinforce their views. Roger Ailes churned out the anti-Obama memes, and we explored the edge Obama still has over others, especially among Republicans and the elderly.
The Ryan plan split the GOP over healthcare, and Andrew reminded everyone how much more expensive private healthcare is than a public version. Conor Friedersdorf criticized the flipside of the terrorism threat, Tyler Cowen searched for the driverless car lobby, and medical marijuana hit a million patients. Readers recalculated the real cost of a bike rider's commute, we celebrated high-risk takers and looked down on low-risk takers, and Angry Birds taps into our primal urges. Sharing is caring (with coworkers), the post office approached collapse, and we grilled headphone users on what song they're listening to. McArdle begged parents to vaccinate their kids, Kelly Hodgkins trained us in mental push-ups,
Correction of the day here, quotes for the day here, here, and here, MHB here, FOTD here, VFYW here, and contest winner #52 here.
Monday was Memorial Day!
–Z.P.
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