Is American exceptionalism over? Peter Beinart argues in the National Journal that it may be. But he says that the conservatives who blame Obama should look to themselves. He writes that “the very attributes conservatives say make America special — religiosity, patriotism, and mobility — are the ones they’ve inadvertently undermined.”
Exceptionalist values, Beinart says, are fast declining. Via National Journal.
The middle class is shrinking. Just ask the businesses that sell to them. Via the New York Times.
Gotta Have Gunz! On Friday, a Missouri Senate committee advanced a bill that would make it a crime for federal agents to enforce federal gun-control laws. As the AP explains, it is long established that states can’t nullify federal laws, but that won’t stop them from trying. “Supporters of the gun legislation pointed to the federal government’s decision not to challenge new laws in Colorado and Washington allowing recreational use of marijuana as precedent for states to oppose Washington” on the gun laws. It’s all Colorado’s fault.
Philip Seymour Hoffman and the horrible heroin deaths in the shadows. Via the Atlantic.
Eight questions about heroin you were afraid to ask. Via the Washington Post.
Don’t ask your doctor about Low T. Via the New York Times.
Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun makes the case that Manning should walk away while he can.
[ Image by Claire P ]
