INTELLECTUALLY GROTESQUE INDEED! Jonah Goldberg apparently cannot distinguish between arguments about suboptimal economic outcomes of private monopsonies and those dismissing cowardly opera house owners as something less than an existential threat to speech. Truly, it’s a subtle distinction, and Jonah should not in any way feel bad about missing it. But really — do read […]
Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein is a former Prospect writer and current editor-in-chief at Vox. His work has appeared in the LA Times, The Guardian, The Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Slate, and The Columbia Journalism Review. He’s been a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and more.
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Quick Hits
It’s Friday. But, worse than that, it feels like Sunday. As if I shouldn’t need to be thinking today. So, some quick hits: • New York banning trans fats fron restaurants? For or agin’? I’m vaguely uncomfortable with this, but every time I actually think it through, it seems like a strong bit of public […]
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The Best-Reviewed Book of All
Eric Alterman notes that Peter Beinart’s book is racking up some great reviews. Not necessarily great in that they really like Beinart’s effort, but great in that they’re fascinating, well-crafted, deeply provocative pieces of writing. He links to three in particular — Kevin Mattson in the Boston Review, Frank Rich in The New York Review […]
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Girls Just Want To Have…Fewer Beatings
The WHO just completed a survey charting the frequency of domestic violence against women in a sampling of countries. The results are…not good. Think about that for a second: In Peru, one out of every two women is beaten by their spouse. Often viciously. There’s been some talk lately of setting up a UN agency […]
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PLUS, I DON’T…
PLUS, I DON’T LIKE OPERA. I think Peter Beinart‘s TRB this week deserves a response. The editorial focuses on the lack of (online) liberal outrage after the Deutsche Oper yanked the opera Idomeneo, which features Muhammad‘s decapitated head, out of a desire to avoid controversy. The liberal blogs said nothing. Not so with the conservosphere, […]
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HARD TIMES AT…
HARD TIMES AT THE LA TIMES. A couple weeks ago, Los Angeles Times publisher Jeffrey Johnson became a hero to journos and Angelenos alike when he stood firm with the paper’s editor in resisting The Tribune Company’s requests for further firings at the paper. This week, he himself was fired, replaced by a longtime Tribune […]
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THE HARD PART….
THE HARD PART. All due respect to the Reverend Schenck, but this is more than touching. This is the one of the most purely Christian acts of public Christianity since Himself blew town. For almost 30 years, we’ve had to put up with reactionary politics and retrograde social idiocy gussied up in Scripture. We’ve had […]
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Set Wallets On Open
As we enter the election’s homestretch, folks interested in putting a bit of money behind races that can flip on the cheap should check Hilzoy’s excellent and comprehensive rundown of various candidates and races you may not have heard of, but should nevertheless take a look at. I mention this every so often, but these […]
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HUZZAH! Could Mark…
HUZZAH! Could Mark Foley be turning the right…liberal? — Ezra Klein
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LOUIE, LOUIE, WHOA,…
LOUIE, LOUIE, WHOA, BABY. If you ask Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, the reason former Rep. Mark Foley hit on teenagers was specifically because Foley is gay. (In fact, you don’t even have to ask Tony; he’ll spout this stuff without solicitation.) If you ask Mark Foley why he hit on teenagers, […]