A comparison of the party platforms. A rant against organic food. A quiz to tell you what kind of Pepperidge Farm cookie you are. A look at today's Nerf guns (this ain't the Super Soaker of your youth). And more. Enjoy!
Politics and World Affairs
How The Party Platforms Differ / Michael Cooper / The New York Times
The beliefs and policy proposals of each party, in their own words, side by side.
Are Entitlements Corrupting Us? Yes, American Character Is At Stake / Nicholas Eberstadt / The Wall Street Journal
"A half-century of unfettered expansion of entitlement outlays has completely inverted the priorities, structure and functions of federal administration as these were understood by all previous administrations." (via Maurice)
Are Entitlements Corrupting Us? No, Entitlements Are Part Of The Civic Compact / William Galston / The Wall Street Journal
"Since the Ford administration, both political parties have usually agreed on the proposition that people who work full-time, year-round, should not live in poverty, and neither should their families." (via Maurice)
Why I Had No Choice But To Spurn Tony Blair / Desmond Tutu / The Guardian
The Archbishop pens a letter. Scheduled to sit on a panel about leadership with Blair, he withdraws because of Blair's conduct on Iraq, writing, "leadership and morality are indivisible."
If You Think Obama's First Term Was Bad, Imagine A Second / Ramesh Ponnuru / Bloomberg
Argues that, contrary to President Obama's stated belief, Republican obstruction will be even greater and lead to even more gridlock should he win another term.
Arts and Culture
The Serious Eats Guide To Sandwiches / Jed Portman / Serious Eats
An amazing glossary of sandwiches. From the U.S.: the Dagwood, the Elvis, the Mother-in-Law. Abroad: the Arepa, the Banh Mi, the Chip Butty. Yum.
I Ate Every Variety Of Pepperidge Farms Cookie / Leon Neyfakh / Slate
A very fun read. Includes a witty slideshow, and even a quiz to determine what kind of cookie you are...which correctly determined that I was a Chessmen kind of guy.
The Organic Fable / Roger Cohen / The New York Times
"Organic has long since become ... the romantic back-to-nature obsession of an upper middle class able to afford it and oblivious, in their affluent narcissism... to the challenge of feeding a planet whose population will surge to 9 billion before the middle of the century."
Beyond The Matrix / Aleksandar Hemon / The New Yorker
The team behind "The Matrix" takes on "Cloud Atlas," one of my favorite novels, and one that seems unfilmable. The author's pleased, though, and so are the directors. Fingers crossed.
Business and Economics
How Nerf Became The World's Best Purveyor Of Big Guns For Kids / Jason Fagone / Wired
Forget the Super Soaker of your youth. Today's Nerf "blasters" (the company's term for guns) come with fully automatic firing, ammo drums, and more. Fascinating read.
Facebook Handled Their IPO Exactly Right / Mark Cuban / Blog Maverick
Cuban at his best, bluntly destroying the commentators who have criticized Facebook's CFO for botching its initial public offering.
The Economics Of Magazines And Diversity / Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic
Excellent context on why so few minorities make it onto the mastheads of major American publications.
The US Economy May Surprise Us All / Roger Altman / Financial Times
Five glimmers of hope — housing, energy, banking, competitiveness, and politics — that could bode well for our struggling economy.
Science and Technology
How Google Builds Its Maps — And What It Means For The Future Of Everything / Alexis Madrigal / The Atlantic
Great post: "The secret to this success isn't, as you might expect, Google's facility with data, but rather its willingness to commit humans to recombining and cleaning data about the physical world."
My Way / Christoph Niemann / The New York Times
Speaking of maps, these cartoons using maps to deliver jokes are witty and worth a quick scroll.
Lunch With The FT: Tim Berners-Lee / Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson / Financial Times
The low-key inventor of the World Wide Web takes the author to a food truck at MIT, then discusses why he kept the Web open, and why he won't say what he was typing during the Olympics opening ceremony.
How Children Succeed / Paul Tough / Slate
What several studies tell us about the relative importance of intelligence versus motivation in success. (via Bo)
Exactly How Screwed Is Paypal? (Hint: Very) / Sarah Lacy / PandoDaily
Its customer service is terrible, its main source of strength—its partnership with eBay—is becoming less relevant, and its founders are investing in new competitors.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sign up to receive the Best of the Web in your inbox each week.
