Poem for the Weekend: 'Along with Youth' by Ernest Hemingway

POEM FOR THE WEEKEND: Along with Youth, by Ernest Hemingway.

A porcupine skin,
Stiff with bad tanning,
It must have ended somewhere.
Stuffed horned owl
Pompous
Yellow eyed;
Chuck-wills-widow on a biassed twig
Sooted with dust.
Piles of old magazines,
Drawers of boy's letters
And the line of love
They must have ended somewhere.
Yesterday's Tribune is gone
Along with youth
And the canoe that went to pieces on the beach
The year of the big storm
When the hotel burned down
At Seney, Michigan.

What if 'On the Road' had been written today?

KEROUAC TODAY: With modern technology in the realm of commuting and travel, what would Jack Kerouac's On the Road look like if it had been written today? Ari Schulman explores the question. "While On the Road’s reputation rather outstrips the literary merits of the book itself, the mythology surrounding it taps into our deeper aspirations for the possibility, freedom, and adventure granted by travel, and deserves to be taken seriously in understanding what we seem to want out of travel today. The mythology of the road has come to be wrapped up in our desire to imagine ourselves as part of stories like Kerouac’s, to experience them for ourselves, and so to partially emulate them in our own journeys. How, then, would the new technology of location affect an On the Road today? Can we imagine its characters, and by extension ourselves, escaping into the Western night, navigating by GPS and choosing where to go with Yelp, supplied with surrounding-relevant multimedia by GeoTour, encountering city streets with their iPhones held up and overlaying the view, and still having the same adventure? Something about this image is absurd."

Bachmann wins Ames Straw Poll; why it matters

BACHMANN WINS: The Ames Straw Poll, with "4,823 votes, narrowly escaping a major upset at the hands of Texas Rep. Ron Paul who won 4,671 votes."

WHY IT MATTERS: Nate Silver explains. "It is easy to make fun of the Ames Straw Poll. It can’t exactly be described as democratic when you — or the candidate hoping to secure your vote — have to pay your way into the polls. But Ames has a pretty good predictive track record. Since the event began in 1979, the candidate winning the Iowa caucus has placed first or second in the straw poll every time. Two successes in particular stand out. In 1979, George H.W. Bush won Ames despite polling at just 1 percent in a Des Moines Register survey — he went on to win the Iowa caucus. And in 2007 Mike Huckabee, in the low single digits in both state and national polls, finished second in the straw poll, the first tangible indicator of his upside in Iowa."

Adjusting to a plugged-in world

FOR THE DIGITALLY FATIGUED: Adjusting to a plugged-in world.

Quote of the Day: Friedrich Nietzsche

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "He who has attained the freedom of reason to any extent cannot, for a long time, regard himself otherwise than as a wanderer on the face of the earth - and not even as a traveler towards a final goal, for there is no such thing. But he certainly wants to observe and keep his eyes open to whatever actually happens in the world; therefore he cannot attach his heart too firmly to anything individual; he must have in himself something wandering that takes pleasure in change and transitoriness." – Friedrich Nietzsche. I thought: while we're on the topic. 

Sentimentality, honesty, and the writings of Charles Taylor

SENTIMENTALITY VS. HONESTY: Mark Oppenheimer explores the work of Charles Taylor, the religious philosopher. Money quote:

The tension between liberal democracy and certain kinds of preference—whether the preference is construed as ethnic, religious, national or all three—at times feels unbearable for the Western liberal. Americans, as it happens, are particularly ill suited to dealing with the claims of religious and ethnic pride. We get to eat our cake in a country that is basically nice to us all, Scientologist and Sikh alike. The United States, for all its paroxysms of xenophobia, is unusual for being a country where ethnic chauvinism has basically no popular support or institutional sanction. (Representative Peter King’s recent hearings on American Muslim support for terrorism are a shameful exception.) Here, even outright bigots tend not to think anymore that their bigotry should be written into the law. With two possible exceptions—affirmative action and the case of self-governing Indian reservations—America pretty uniformly sides with liberal democracy, one adult/one vote, hedged by colorblind constitutional rights. Yet this is decidedly not the case for many other countries, even our closest cousins: Britain contends with Scottish nationalism and, of course, the once-violent conflict in Ireland; while Canada has, in addition to its native peoples, the far more politically charged issue of Québécois nationalism.

Also makes mention of the Nietzschean idea that our highest goal as humanity is not to preserve life and prevent suffering. Worth a read.

Bachmann, the dangerous candidate

THE DANGEROUS CANDIDATE: A reader tweets, with regard to Michele Bachmann: "The most dangerous candidate in the upcoming election, and her political viability scares me." Agreed.

STRONG FOLLOWING: We've got even more on the Iowa debate (I know: it just goes on, and on).

AAAmerica: how the US compares with the world's other big debtors

AAAMERICA: The Economist has an interesting chart on the S&P downgrade, which compares the US with the world's other debtors. As they explain: "The maths underlying the downgrade of America's sovereign debt by Standard & Poor's may or may not have been lop-sided, but it is true that the country's debt burden does not compare well with those of other countries that still get AAA ratings. The attention of the markets has turned to France and, in particular, its banks (whose shares are now covered by a ban on short-selling). Yet France would appear to have more room for manoeuvre than America does."

Bert, Ernie, and the argument over sexuality in children's programming

BERT AND ERNIE, NOT GAY: According to NPR, it's official: the 'most beloved pair of bachelors on Sesame Street are not gay.' The creators of the show, Sesame Workshop, released the following statement. "Bert and Ernie are best friends.  They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves. Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics, they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation." Well, thank God that's over. To be honest, though, this sort of thing has always been a source of great amusement; anyone remember Jerry Falwell's fit over the Teletubbies? My favourite episode in that saga was when Falwell asserted that Tinky Winky must be gay because he totes a handbag, to which the producers of the show retorted, it's a "magic bag." Undoubtedly the controversy over sexual orientation in children's programming will continue, much to my dismay.

Iowa winners and losers, continued

WINNERS AND LOSERS, CTD: At the Iowa Debate, according to Matt Yglesias.

But what Pawlenty’s been reminding us these past few months is that you can’t win an election on paper. As Republicans think about who they want to serve as their standard-bearer, obviously they don’t want someone Barack Obama will run circles around. Pawlenty looks like someone who’d get clobbered. Will Perry? You can’t tell unless he actually gets in the arena. If he gets in and he’s gone, then Romney’s got a big problem. If he doesn’t get in, or if he gets in and looks weak, then you have Romney vs Bachmann in a battle of two candidates who seemingly can’t win. And yet someone has to win!

Jonathan Chait concludes:

I think Romney, not Bachmann, has the most to lose. Perry is Romney without the weaknesses -- a tall, handsome, alpha male with extraordinary hair who fulfills the cinematic vision of a president. Perry has made his career doing exactly what his role calls out for him here -- knifing less-ideologically pure Republicans and playing to the party's id. Ask yourself: what Republican voter would prefer Romney to Perry? Perhaps Mormons, or those who worry the party has grown too extreme, or those who think it risks defeat by appearing too stridently conservative. That doesn't sound to me like a majority of the primary electorate.

Erza Klein's take on the event here. Mine here.

Herman Cain's penchant for quoting Pokémon

HERMAN CAIN AND POKEMON: He likes to quote it. Frequently.

Coping with the death of a blog

THE MEDIUM'S FADING, AGAIN: Coping with the death of a blog, according to Glenn Fleishman.

UK riots: we're dealing with thugs, not activists; four days of drastic change

FOUR DAYS: Of drastic change in the UK's political system. Although I recognise that there are issues that need to be addressed politically, it is of unparalleled importance that we overcome the delusion that these thugs – violent and unprovoked – should be treated so kindly as to have their actions labelled as politically motivated. The violence we have seen projected upon television screens, and, for some of those reading, in neighbouring streets and suburbs, is not the product of politics but of ignorance. Cameron, for a few faults, is utterly correct on this most unpleasant of issues. His words were both appropriate and politically transcendent.

What builds society, what encourages civility, is people taking responsibility. Putting each other before themselves. Parents understanding that it is their responsibility, not the school's responsibility, to bring their kids up with the right values. Neighbours understanding that it is their responsibility, not just the council's responsibility, to look out for each other. Business people understanding that it is their responsibility, not just the government's responsibility, to think about the social and environmental consequences of what they do.

Although many people might look at these remarks and simply think, 'conservative', my sentiment on the issue couldn't be more remote from this most parochial of perspectives. Ideological thinking doesn't have a seat at the table in a time of crisis. It would truly be a source of great shame if either party politically profited from the deplorable thuggery we have witnessed, albeit from far-away countries, in the until-recently-peaceful streets of the UK. It's not a political issue now; it's one of morals. But if there is one thing to remember, it is this: we're dealing with thugs, not activists.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Those lashing out – randomly, cruelly and violently – feel they have nothing to lose. They do not feel bound by the moral code of the rest of society because they do not feel part of the rest of society. We cannot live in a society where the banks are 'too big to fail' but whole neighbourhoods are allowed to sink without a trace. The polarisation is not between black and white. It is between those who have a stake in society and those who do not." – David Lammy, Labour MP.

Ed Kilgore on the Iowa debate, Ron Paul

GOP PRIMETIME: Ed Kilgore reflects on Ron Paul's performance in Iowa. "The biggest question is how much damage Ron Paul did to himself, right when he seemed to be breaking into a more mainstream Republican electorate, with his fiery remarks on foreign policy. The visual image of Mitt Romney, standing next to Paul and looking at him like a lab specimen as he defended Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear program, was striking. The loud hooting and cheering of Paul’s supporters in response to his most controversial (to conservatives) statements reinforced the idea that his is not a candidacy that’s ready, by any stretch, for the GOP primetime." And the others? "As for how the debate might have shaken up the calculus among the three contenders, Tim Pawlenty got off some good prefab lines at the expense of Barack Obama (and, to some extent, Romney), but his attacks on his main straw poll rival, Michelle Bachmann, were shrill and complicated, and the general impression is that Bachmann—who otherwise did not dazzle as she did in the last big debate in New Hampshire—got the better of their exchanges." Read on.

DEBATE FACTCHECK: One might be in order.

One of China's most beautiful towns

ONE OF CHINA'S MOST BEAUTIFUL TOWNS: Fenhuan (considered one of China's 10 most beautiful towns) shows some truly picturesque sites and still portrays a sense of elegance to this very day. The solemn town may not hold up to other places in today's standards, but from what I can see it still is a sight to behold. I've always wanted to go to China to sightsee; this will definitely be on my list. - posted by Ciaran  

Speed-writers? From Christopher Hitchens to William F. Buckley

SPEED-WRITERS: The secrets of authors who work at great pace, from Hitchens to Buckley.

What distinguishes humans from other animals? An exploration through Shakespeare

SHAKESPEARE'S BEASTS: What distinguishes humans from other animals? Russ Mcdonald reviews Andreas Höfele's Stage, Stake, and Scaffold: Humans and animals in Shakespeare’s theatre.

The Iowa Debate: Bachmann misrepresents, Huntsman attempts to distinguish self

THE IOWA DEBATE, WINNERS AND LOSERS: Bachmann misrepresents the debt deal, whereas Huntsman attempts to distinguish himself on it, reports Caucus.

Mrs. Bachmann misrepresented the debt ceiling debate when she complained that Congress had given a "blank check" to President Obama by agreeing to raise the debt ceiling -- even though it had to be raised to pay for the bills that Congress had already approved, not for future spending.

If Mr. Huntsman felt as if he had not gotten the attention that he deserved during the debate, he made one last attempt in the final moments. As the clock ticked down, Mr. Huntsman pointed out that he had been the only Republican presidential candidate to support the debt ceiling deal worked out by Mr. Obama and the Republicans in Congress. "We are 25 percent of the world's G.D.P.," Mr. Huntsman said, saying that the idea of letting the country default on its debts is unthinkable. That idea puts Mr. Huntsman at odds with his rivals on the stage, who say they would not have raised the debt ceiling. Mr. Huntsman is hoping that he comes across looking like the adult in the room who will take care of the fiscal reputation of the country.

Although it often feels as if Huntsman is trying to distinguish himself on too many levels – politically, that is. One wonders whether or not this might serve to alienate the Republican constituency up to whom he's trying so hard to cosy, although personally, I agree with things like this. "I support civil unions," Huntsman said. "I believe our nation can do better a job with equality." Huntsman, according to ThinkProgress, has one of the more liberal positions on the issue, and even went so far as to reach out to LGBT groups in Utah. This all sounds good, but I have doubts as to his political prospects in that room. Although, to his credit, I suppose he can't have been too liberal for Utah. My ideal candidate on the GOP side, for sure.

The contemptable realm of self-help and the uptick of Facebook philosophers

WHAT WE NEED NOW: Tony Schwartz administers what could only be described as 'self help advice' – tips on how he manages to live his live well in turbulent times. God help me. "We're all in this together. Like it or not, we live in an increasingly interdependent world." Oh, how profound! Speaking of online profundity, has anyone else noticed the sudden uptick in the number of Facebook philosophers? The other day I noticed a status – "You can't die if you never lived in the first place." – which, to my horror, was met with amazing levels of approval. Being the sarcasm-doling cynic I try ever-so-hard to be, I remarked, "How profound." My comment was deleted. Thrice. Oh, I give up.

Books without Borders, an employee speaks of time at the world's 'dumbest' bookstore chain

BOOKS WITHOUT BORDERS: A former employee chronicles the retailer's decline, and his time at the world's 'dumbest' bookstore chain. 

We went to work for a company that seemingly cared about quality literature and regional reading tastes, and gave its employees a small-but-fair wage for full-time bookselling careers, with excellent benefits. It sure didn't feel like selling out. Until suddenly, one day, it did feel like selling out. Because it was. Our displays were bought and paid for by publishers; where we used to present books that we loved and wanted to champion, now mediocre crap was piled on every flat surface. The front of the store, with all the kitchen magnets and board games and junk you don't need took over large chunks of the expansive magazine and local-interest sections. Orders came from the corporate headquarters in Ann Arbor every Sunday to change out the displays. One time I had to take down some of the store's most exciting up-and-coming fiction titles (including a newly published book that was gathering word-of-mouth buzz, thanks to our booksellers, called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) to put up a wall of Clash CDs. One month, for some reason, the cafe sold Ernest Hemingway–branded chai.

The diversity of the titles in stock dwindled as ever-larger shipments of diet books and lawyer thrillers arrived on Ann Arbor's orders. New employees didn't care about books and weren't particularly curious. The store didn't resemble the interests of our staff or customers anymore; our shelves represented the money that publishers were willing to shell out for real estate. Book lovers stopped buying from us; slithering, pre-offended armies of bargain hunters became our clientele.

I found the line about Ernest Hemingway-branded chai particularly amusing. Of course, I've proclaimed my love for online shopping numerous times (even going so far as to list the books I've purchased recently – douchey, I know) and I have no plans to turn back yet. The one area of book evolution I simply refuse to touch would be the Kindle, which I don't abhor, but in which I simply see no appeal. A friend of mine today told me of a quote from Stephen Fry, who said, "Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators." Indeed, Mr. Fry, indeed.

Ethically pseudonymous

ETHICALLY PSEUDONYMOUS: Rachel (yes, that's the only name we have) feels that people should have the right to choose what name they use online.

Blackberry hacked over riot dispute

BLACKBERRY HACKED OVER RIOT DISPUTE: A hacker group calling themselves "Team Poison" have hacked Blackberry's website after the company offered to assist police in investigating the recent London riots. The hacker group defaced the site and threatened that action would be taken if Blackberry handed over user details. Blackberry believes that riot plans may have been passed through the instant messaging service and had promised to co-operate with the proper authorities. "Team Poison" argue that in doing so that it could lead to people being falsely accused. I really don't know what to say; it is really a situation of "damned if you do, damned if you don't." - posted by Ciaran

BANNING THE RIOTERS: From social media sites. David Cameron's considering it. "The prime minister said the government will review whether it is possible to stop suspected rioters spreading online messages, in his opening statement during a Commons debate on Thursday on the widespread civil disorder for which MPs were recalled from their summer recess." Sounds like a fairly good idea.

Guns, a secret history: how both sides of the debate distort the past

GUNS, THE SECRET HISTORY: The Atlantic's Adam Winkler presents one of the great ironies in the American pro-gun movement: no group has more ardently supported the right to carry a loaded gun in public than the Black Panthers. The founding fathers? They supported gun control, as did Ronald Reagan, whom the NRA endorsed in his campaign for president. In the debate over guns, he writes, both sides have a distorted view of history and the law, and there's no resolution in sight.

Civil-rights activists, even those committed to nonviolent resistance, had long appreciated the value of guns for self-protection. Martin Luther King Jr. applied for a permit to carry a concealed firearm in 1956, after his house was bombed. His application was denied, but from then on, armed supporters guarded his home. One adviser, Glenn Smiley, described the King home as “an arsenal.” William Worthy, a black reporter who covered the civil-rights movement, almost sat on a loaded gun in a living-room armchair during a visit to King’s parsonage. The Panthers, however, took it to an extreme, carrying their guns in public, displaying them for everyone—especially the police—to see. Newton had discovered, during classes at San Francisco Law School, that California law allowed people to carry guns in public so long as they were visible, and not pointed at anyone in a threatening way.

Read the whole thing. It's worth it. 

The Newsweek Bachmann cover: Ruth Marcus is unimpressed

TEA PARTY QUEEN: Michele Bachmann on the cover of Newsweek.

AN INJUSTICE, SOME ARGUE: Well, Ruth Marcus does, anyway. "This was a photo that made Bachmann look especially deranged. It reminded me of those open-mouthed shots of Hillary Clinton that right-wing Web sites use to make her look more like the Madwoman of Chaillot than secretary of state." True, indeed.

Google+ may not be able to sustain its growth

GOOGLE+ BE DAMNED: Why Google+ may not be able to sustain it's growth. Google + is growing at an incredible rate; hell, social media experts are not ruling out the possibility that it could outgrow Twitter by the end of this year. It has a strong user-base in the United States of America and is making it's presence felt in markets all across the world. The social media service is being constantly improved and surprisingly, mostly on the basis of user requests; a field Facebook hasn't touched with a 10 meter pole. However, traffic patterns have been showing a steady decrease in users over the past weeks, as much as 10 percent less. Can Google really keep this pace and it's users? - posted by Ciaran

Rioting brings about karmic retribution, and we like it

PAYBACK FOR RIOTING: Karma is a lovely thing, isn't it?  – posted by Ciaran

Rapid social change isn't nearly as unusual as people may think

THE CULTURAL EVOLUTION: Charles Kenney explains that rapid social change isn't nearly as unusual as people think. "For all that culture might have a role in determining relative attitudes and perhaps even relative levels of development, then, it isn't a dead hand blocking all progress. In fact, cultural change appears to be part of a global and historically unprecedented virtuous cycle of improving quality of life that encompasses growing incomes but spreads far beyond to things like lower crime and violence, more widespread education, improved health, and the increasing ubiquity of democratic values and respect for civil rights. Indeed, to return to the 21st century phenomenon of same-sex marriage, discrimination against homosexuals is yet one more area where we are seeing signs of progress. Even while a married lesbian couple in India had to flee threats of honor killings in India last month, World Values Survey results find that the proportion of Indians saying homosexuality is "never justifiable" has halved in less than 20 years, from 89 percent in 1990 to 48 percent in 2008." Read the whole article.

Bored in math class? Try drawing squiggles

WHEN BORED IN MATH CLASS: This girl likes to do elaborate squiggles. I prefer to practise cursive, but squiggling's a nice thought. 'Tis somewhat mesmeric.

Allen Ginsberg's failures

THE FAILURES OF ALLEN GINSBERG: Steve Silberman thanks the poet for them.

Mistakes in scientific studies surge

SCIENTIFIC MISTAKES: They've surged.

Chait: "People are unhappy with the status quo, but they don't want to put the Republicans back in charge."

CAN OBAMA WIN AGAIN? Jonathan Chait seems confident. "What ties [his likely victory] together, I think, is the public's deep distrust of the Republican Party. Americans turned against the GOP en masse at the end of the Bush administration and never turned back. Republicans won the midterm elections in part by simply escaping public wrath against Democratic-controlled Washington, and in part by exploiting a much smaller, older, whiter electorate than you'd see in a presidential year. But very high-profile, very crazy Republican rule in the House of Representatives has rekindled and actually deepened the public's distrust." He concludes, rather astutely, "Obama's path to reelection seems perfectly obvious. People are unhappy with the status quo, but they don't want to put the Republicans back in charge." I'd consider myself one of those 'people'. Well said. 

The mathematics of changing one's mind: John Allen Paulos reviews 'The Theory That Would Not Die'

MIND-CHANGING MATHEMATICS: John Allen Paulos reviews Sharon Bertsch McGrayne's The Theory That Would Not Die, subtitled – perhaps fittingly, in an age when subtitles have become breeding grounds for circumlocution – "How Bayes’ Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines and Emerged Triumphant From Two Centuries of Controversy."

Bayes’s theorem, named after the 18th-century Presbyterian minister Thomas Bayes, addresses this selfsame essential task: How should we modify our beliefs in the light of additional information? Do we cling to old assumptions long after they’ve become untenable, or abandon them too readily at the first whisper of doubt? Bayesian reasoning promises to bring our views gradually into line with reality and so has become an invaluable tool for scientists of all sorts and, indeed, for anyone who wants, putting it grandiloquently, to sync up with the universe. If you are not thinking like a Bayesian, perhaps you should be.

Apparently it's actually been rather handy, despite its initial appearance of uselessness.

McGrayne devotes much of her book to Bayes’s theorem’s many remarkable contributions to history: she discusses how it was used to search for nuclear weapons, devise actuarial tables, demonstrate that a document seemingly incriminating Colonel Dreyfus was most likely a forgery, improve low-resolution computer images, judge the authorship of the disputed Federalist papers and determine the false positive rate of mammograms. She also tells the story of Alan Turing and others whose pivotal crypto-analytic work unscrambling German codes may have helped shorten World War II.

Mathematics has never been a point of great interest for me, so I'll leave the probability work to you. Although, for those of us considered somewhat less than mathematically inclined, McGrayne is quick to include simple examples, retold skilfully and concisely by Paulos. Take a look at the full article.

London in lockdown

LONDON IN LOCKDOWN: The Guardian reports. "Some of the 1,500 officers drafted into London from elsewhere were housed at army barracks, and Essex police used some army vehicles as backup transport. The tough tactics had at least a temporary impact, with little trouble reported in London. Large parts of the city nonetheless remained in virtual lockdown, with thousands of shops and businesses closing early and some boarding up windows."

NAME AND SHAME: Could it work on the looters? The Sun intends to find out.

Less than half support Obama for second term

OBAMA AT RISK: Less than half support a second term. "Fifty-one percent of voters surveyed said they don’t think Obama should have a second term at the White House, while 47 percent signaled that he deserves four more years. These numbers are hardly encouraging for Obama, who is back to raising cash for his reelection campaign after a brief hiatus – attending two back-to-back DNC events Monday evening -- but he is faring pretty well compared to his colleagues in Congress. Only 24 percent of those polled think a majority of lawmakers on Capitol Hill deserve re-election." What about democrats? Apparently they're below ideal levels of optimism. "Finding it hard to defend his often listless and repetitive performances, Democratic strategists and commentators are privately agreeing with Republicans and comparing Mr Obama to Jimmy Carter, another Democrat who remains the post-war benchmark for a failed president." Obama, in many ways, is comparable to that awful phone you used prior to 2007; it works on some level, and there are no favourable alternatives. We're all just waiting for the iPhone to come along.

God's blog, according to Paul Simms

GOD'S BLOG: The New Yorker published this cute little article. "Pretty pleased with what I’ve come up with in just six days. Going to take tomorrow off. Feel free to check out what I’ve done so far. Suggestions and criticism (constructive, please!) more than welcome. God out." A reader replies: 

Unfocussed. Seems like a mishmash at best. You’ve got creatures that can speak but aren’t smart (parrots). Then, You’ve got creatures that are smart but can’t speak (dolphins, dogs, houseflies). Then, You’ve got man, who is smart and can speak but who can’t fly, breathe underwater, or unhinge his jaws to swallow large prey in one gulp. If it’s supposed to be chaos, then mission accomplished. But it seems more like laziness and bad planning.

Have a look at the whole thing; it's rather amusing.

Riots in London, thuggery and violence

RIOTS IN LONDON: InFocus has an excellent photoessay.

VIOLENT THUGGERY: There are some disgusting people out there.

IT'S NOT ABOUT RACE: Kenan Malik explains why. "The riots are not about race.  Many on the left have seen them as a response to racist policing. Many on the right have been pouring out racist bile against ‘immigrants’. In fact race has played little role in the violence. This is not to deny that young black men continue to be the primary target of police stop and search (an issue that has been shamefully ignored in recent years). Nor is it to deny that there is a legacy of bitterness about, and resentment of, police tactics in many inner city communities.  But the riots were not in any way defined by racial divisions, antagonisms or resentments."

The Murdoch mafia: how News Corp behaviour has been accepted

THE MURDOCH MAFIA: Rupert Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff reports on the state of Rupert Murdoch's grace-fallen media conglomerate. "As it happens, much of this pattern of conduct at News Corp. has long been hiding in plain sight. How the company has gotten away with such behavior is, in fact, a subtext of the investigations that are now unfolding. Partly, the company has escaped legal scrutiny because this is a boys-will-be-boys sort of story. News Corp.’s by-any-means aggressiveness has become so much a part of its identity that it seemed almost redundant to find fault with it. Everybody knew but nobody—for both reasons of fear and profit—did anything about it; hence its behavior has become, however unpleasant, accepted."

I don't know why I like this series so much, but I do...

MY DRUNK KITCHEN: I don't know why I like this series so much, but I do.

Bachmann's views on homosexuality continue to prompt questions of suitability

BACHMANN AND HOMOSEXUALITY: Her stance on gay rights isn't looking too flash. And this isn't helping.

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann yesterday attended a church here in Iowa, where the pastor called homosexuality "immoral" and "unnatural," and later showed a testimonial video from a man who claimed to have been gay before having a conversation with God. Before the sermon at Point of Grace Church -- a non-denominational congregation near Des Moines -- Bachmann stood with her husband, Marcus Bachmann, before a crowd of about 100 people, clutching her personal copy of the Bible.

Pastor Jeff Mullen, standing next to Bachmann, took her Bible his hand. “There are some candidates who start running, and have this come-to-Jesus moment,” he said. "What I love about this Bible,” he said, “is how well it's used.” [...] When Bachmann and her husband returned to their seats, Mullen began a half-hour presentation on his church's beliefs. Reading verses from the Bible to support his case, Mullen said, "We inherently know that homosexual behavior is immoral and unnatural." Mullen’s sermon concluded with video testimonial from a man named Adam Hood, who claims to have been gay before experiencing a conversation with God. "I am so happy God has given me natural affection for a woman," Hood said in the video, adding that his wife is nine months pregnant. "We need to have compassion for people that are bound by that sin," Hood added. "And it is a sin. Call a spade a spade."

It would be difficult for me to say with the slightest modicum of honesty that I could ever truly consider this woman a viable candidate for the presidency. In an age where it seems we've made such great strides in the cause for gay rights: to have a woman who seems unabashedly determined to destroy the progress we've made, it's laughable that she should be taken seriously. And the connection with faith does little to mitigate the harm caused to her viability. If you have views, that's acceptable, but it's a matter of repugnance should you attempt to spread those views to the detriment of those around you. Jefferson said, with regard to religion, "But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." I think sexuality is the same, in many ways.

CUOMO, THE HERO: New York governor Andrew Cuomo talks about the state’s recent marriage equality win, the personal reasons behind his leadership, and his commitment to keeping the momentum going. "Cuomo, who was secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton and subsequently New York State’s attorney general, was elected governor by a landslide on a reform platform last year. He embodies politics as the art of the possible. Faced with a Republican-controlled Senate, he completed the most successful legislative session in recent history, including a rare on-time budget marked by fiscal conservatism. Then he turned to his campaign promise to legalize same-sex marriage." He deserves all of the admiration he has thus far received.

What is truth?

DEFINING THE TRUTH: We agree truth's important; so what is it? Dave Maier begins: "In the wake of the 9/11 attacks we heard a great deal about the end of moral relativism, the point being that from now on we would all agree that some things are Just Wrong (and since to say so is Just True to boot, this means the end of irony, skepticism, and so forth as well). At the time conservatives were the ones to expound this point most enthusiastically, claiming that the events themselves refuted trendy liberal doctrines of multiculturalism and pluralistic tolerance of difference. Instead, they said, we must simply acknowledge what we all know to be true, such as [… well, actually, for some reason it remains unclear what should go in here, and this is our subject today]." Read the rest.