Lancelot Links

Saturday July 28, 2012

Lancelot Links

Andrew Sullivan on Bayard Rustin, American hero: “Rustin's shoulders are higher and broader. You can see the future from them.”
The plotlines that were apparently cut at the 11th hour from the movie “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Nice companion piece to my review.�
Tyler Kepner welcomes Ichiro to New York and tells us, among other things, that the M's icon has visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown four times. �Ever since I�ve been here, which is 18 years, that�s more than any other current player,� said Jeff Idelson, the president of the Hall of Fame.
The New Yorker's Jill Lepore, post-Aurora, on when Batman used a gun, when he stopped, and when the NRA supported federal gun-control legislation. �'No guns,' Batman says to Catwoman, in 'The Dark Knight Rises,'“ Lepore writes, adding, ”That�s more than will likely be said on the floor of Congress.“
And if you haven't read Ms. Lepore's great piece from earlier this year on the history of the NRA and the Second Amendment, ”Battleground America: One nation, under the gun,“ what the hell's keeping you?
My friend Tim's Cloud Five comic strip on Aurora, Col.
David Remnick's glorious profile: ”We Are Alive: Bruce Springsteen at Sixty-Two.“
I love this New York Times Correction: ”An earlier version of this article misstated the surname of the Seattle pitcher who hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch. He is Felix Hernandez, not Rodriguez.“ I'm not sure if that's a greater insult to Latinos, whose surnames are apparently interchangeable, or King Felix, Cy Young Award winner, but who, you know, plays for one of those teams out there.�
Alex Pareene on the latest conservative lie�the private sector invented the Internet�and why it won't go away.�
From Bloomberg News: More than 4 out of 5 economists surveyed recommend Democratic policies for their patients who give a shit about the future of their country. Money-where-your-mouth-is quote: ”How about the oft-cited Republican claim that tax cuts will boost the economy so much that they will pay for themselves? It�s an idea born as a sketch on a restaurant napkin by conservative economist Art Laffer. Perhaps when the top tax rate was 91 percent, the idea was plausible. Today, it�s a fantasy. The Booth poll couldn�t find a single economist who believed that cutting taxes today will lead to higher government revenue — even if we lower only the top tax rate.“
Finally, here's nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis on Mitt Romney's charmless offensive in the UK. Romney, who wanted to prove his diplomatic credentials to the U.S. voting public, went to London a few days ago and: 1) forgot the name of the opposition party leader, calling him ”Mr. Leader"; 2) referenced meeting with the head of MI6, which is something you never do; and 3) dissed London's readiness for the Olympic games. For this last, Lewis went 4x4 relay on his ass: �Every Olympics is ready. I don�t care whatever [Mitt Romney] said. I swear, sometimes I think some Americans shouldn�t leave the country. Are you kidding me? Stay home if you don�t know what to say.� That Anglo-Saxon enough for you?