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Today on the Dish, America descended into myopic decadence as our democratic institutions deteriorated, and crony capitalism emerged as the central charge of both OWS and the Tea Party. The Pope made room for agnosticism, and in our video feature, Andrew discussed the essential theologians. 

Russell Kirk predicted that stupidity would prove to be the conservative movement's "fatal impoverishment," and Rick Perry faced a hard road. Daniel Foster acknowledged the dire economic consequences of "massively disproportionate income gains," J-Pod suddenly realized that the Republican field is terrible, and the GOP is a living stereotype. The case against austerity appears to be strong, Scott Galupo imagined that Romney would revert to Keynesianism in office, and the former governor is still afraid to take a simple stand. Santorum legitimized the frontrunner with a Christianist assault, we puzzled over Cain's real chances, and the flat tax fantasy fell through. McWhorter identified an authentic thread of black culture in Cain's candidacy, and the pizza tycoon mimicked Romney's Hewitt-sanctioned line of attack.

News from Libya isn't all bad, the neocon chutzpah on Iraq is staggering, and Africa is going gangbusters. Chinese architecture modernized along Chinese lines, many in China sympathize with OWS, and readers weighed in on the bystander effect and the Good Samaritan instinct. 

DC police cracked down on lawful local businesses, and the Oakland police shot an Iraq vet in the face, causing serious brain damage. The U.S. experienced strong productivity growth, we itemized recession-era household budgets, and the defense industry braced for budget cuts. Douthat tried to debunk the Pinker thesis by pointing to concealed acts of violence, Ron Paul defended gay rights, and the British monarchy updated its succession rules. A Londoner in America yearned for the British Siri, Steve Jobs's narcissism was unmasked, and we plunged into the demographics of the world's seven billion here, here, and here. Two bros made out, a tourist resisted a happy ending in Vietnam, and a successful ad campaign failed. 

Campaign ad of the day here, GDP explained here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here (and above). 

Thursday on the Dish, white evangelicals doubled down as support for marriage equality deepened, real GDP finally returned to its pre-recession peak, and we collected blogger reax to the news. Andrew clarified his sense of hell, Mormonism isn't obviously Christian, and we revisited the Mormon Jesus's appearance in the Americas. In our video feature, Andrew revealed his secrets to longevity with HIV.

Herman Cain arrived at something of a foreign policy doctrine, the Hermanator's candidacy is without historical parallel (and yet he doesn't have a chance), and Karl Rove clung to his own abating influence. Perry's "plans" are geared toward primary voters and not analysts or economists, he considered skipping some of the debates, and shifting costs around is not the same as controlling costs.

The Arab Spring didn't come out of the blue, the SCAF is holding Egypt back, and it's possible that poorly-designed architecture provoked the London rioters. 

The Oakland police unloaded on peaceful protests, we wondered if OWS would survive winter, and the U.S. is losing ground on social mobility. Obama may not deserve the blame for the medical marijuana crackdown in California, we accepted Internal Realism in baseball, and gay couples are raising children in every corner of America. Relocating, with movers, is for the rich, readers complicated Toby Ord's unbridled celebration of population growth, and scientists "think God's thoughts after Him." Siri is incapable of conversing with the Scots, compassion is central to Confucian ethics, and we should vaccinate ourselves for others too. Andrew and our readers shared their favorite renditions of the Star-Spangled Banner, and we assessed Groupon's declining value before its IPO. We deconstructed bigotry, borrowing basic concepts should be legal, and older people don't watch horror movies because they have stimulation fatigue.

Hathos alert: 90's edition here, VFYW here, MHB here, and FOTD here. 

Wednesday on the Dish, Americans moved towards redistributionism, and the theocon blogosphere condescended to the Vatican on inequality. Israel and the EU over-reached, we dreamed up a better pro-life movement, and Andrew entertained the President Hillary scenario. The Mormon debate continued, and we parsed the national anthem further here and here. 

Karl Rove, et al tried to deflate Herman Cain, but Republicans really like him (they admire his contrariness). The GOP debates are excruciating but worth it, Romney reinvented himself as a champion of the middle class, and Bill Kristol's eyes wandered to Louisiana. A reader alerted us to a glaring pop culture gap, and Republicans would rather grasp at a narrative of Obama's inevitable doom than stand behind an actual candidate. 

We should trust nascent Tunisian democracy, a religiously dominated democracy doesn't mean terrorism, and we can't have both hegemony and democratic revolutions in the Middle East. Google stifled the Green Movement, the laws of war matter, and our policy of neo-imperialism has failed. A moral crisis loomed in China, American power hangs on the rise of developing countries, and Russia simply isn't a threat.

A larger population makes life better, cell phones improve healthcare, and anthropology degrees are for the rich. Scientists neutered mosquitoes in the fight against malaria, over-treatment drives Medicare spending, and electrostimulation is hot. 

Correction of the day here, cool ad watch here, app of the day here, FOTD here, MHB here, VFYW here, and another VFYW contest winner #73 here. 

St. Louis, Missouri, 12 pm

Tuesday on the Dish, Andrew reflected on hell as a temporal, phenomenological reality. He reviewed Obama's big mistake, and elaborated on the Mormon question. Evan Smith senses that we've reached peak-Romney, and we delved into the Bain Capital founder's role in the corporate takeover economy. Perry plunged into birtherism, his new plan isn't exactly a profile in flat tax courage, and the Texas miracle was government-sponsored.

Qaddafi died in an ugly (but ultimately "convenient") lynching, Larison insisted that the war is still a failure, and a Republican congressman called out the GOP on Iraq. Our experience in Iraq shouldn't necessarily inform post-war reconstruction in Libya, Friedersdorf exposed the neocons on Iran, and we sized up Netanyahu's "crazy-quilt" coalition. War leaves material remains, and the Pentagon subsidizes competition for our own defense industry.

Occupy has a history, we followed OWS on Facebook, and Ken Makovsky predicted that the movement would escalate. It's virtually impossible to put yourself through college (debt-free), the debate over border security serves as a deliberate distraction, and scientists are having a hard time tracking down a control group that hasn't used cell phones. The Star-Spangled banner isn't about swagger, small businesses are relatively unproductive, and Erica Grieder championed boring efficiency measures. Musicians are still getting screwed over, religious beards express masculinity, and parents are only slightly more likely to oppose marijuana legalization than non-parents. We discussed the ethics of sweatshops, America's young demographics represent a critical advantage, and human beings can't sit still. Sam Harris probed questions surrounding science and consciousness, the GOP lost Pat Robertson, and a father read a virtual bedtime story. 

Hathos RED ALERT here (related quote for the day here), FOTD here, MHB here, VFYW here, and VFYW contest winner #73 here. 

Monday on the Dish, we finally got a clean end to the Iraq disaster, and Andrew hoped Obama would aggressively deploy his successful foreign policy in the campaign. Andrew and The Vatican got on board with OWS, the New York General Assembly marched to a different drummer, big banks subvert capitalism, but we don't really deplore the banker mindset. The greatest systemic failure of all time was probably unavoidable, the administration unleashed an ambitious mortgage program, and hermit crabs faced a housing crisis of their own. Reihan remembered the indigent, the Church of Scientology engaged in creepy criminality, and the TSA is creepy too. In our video feature, Andrew reconciled his sexuality and Catholic faith. 

Romney's reckless neoconservatism quashed the big GOP foreign policy debate, Romneycared for illegal immigrants, and, in the absence of an actual campaign, Herman Cain is counting on his lucky number 45. Rick Perry flirted with birtherism, Santorum crusaded against individual freedom, and Rubio rewrote the Cuban exile experience. We indulged in some Bush nostalgia, referenced the Republican dictionary, and Pat Buchanan fearmongered a "nation within a nation." 

We relived Qaddafi's final moments, Freddie DeBoer advised against premature congratulations, and Libya braced for a wave of war crime prosecutions. We cheered Tunisia's leading Islamist party, and drones trivialize and perpetuate warfare. 

Jonathan Rauch celebrated the King of the gay rights movement, Steve Jobs hurt people, and humor masters the future. Serious gamers make great surgeons, simple training improves voluntary muscle control, and neighborhoods breed healthy neighbors. Divorce drove women to college, and Siri will probably replace human assistants. We looked at racial discrimination on eBay, social accountability might motivate us to cut back on energy consumption, and sex is an "old way" of feeling good. 

Correction of the day here, VFYW here, FOTD here, MHB here (a mental health vacation here),  YouTube horror show here, and the cutest occupiers of all here. 

– M.A.