Ryan Cooper

Despite my ragging on political coverage earlier today, there is a genuinely gripping recall election going down tonight in Wisconsin, against Tea Party favorite Scott Walker. As usual, TPM has the goods. Check out their piece on what looks like massive turnout, and check out TPM Livewire for updates. Finally, see here for all the […]

That’s it for me today, folks, hopefully Ed will be back tomorrow with usual Monthly stuff. Here are some evening reads: 1. Apparently in Norwegian prison the government hires friends for you. 2. Sullivan has some dedicated readers. 3. Cap-and-trade isn’t dead outside the United States. 4. Donald Trump, noted birther fruitcake, is offended by […]

Indulge me in a bit of a hobbyhorse, if you will. This is responding to Andrew Sullivan, who says it is and quotes a graf from this Wired piece: And it’s that elegant arrangement that turns nicotine into such an effective poison, moving through the bloodstream with exceptional speed. When inhaled, nicotine travels from lung […]

I hope readers aren’t annoyed by my relative lack of blogging on the ups-and-downs of the campaign. Ever since 2008 I have found it increasingly hard to pay close attention to the political minutiae of gaffes, attacks, counterattacks, and polls, partly because I think it’s dramatically over-covered, partly just general preference, and partly because a […]

Something you might not know about the Washington Monthly is how many people got their start working for us. Here’s a partial list, in no particular order: Taylor Branch, journalist and author of America in the King Years Kate Boo, journalist and author of Behind the Beautiful Forevers Steve Benen, blogger and producer for the […]

Speaking of young people, Kevin Drum has a question: Over the years, most of us have retained roughly the same view of whether the government is wasteful and inefficient. The postwar (“Silent”) and Boomer generations hover around 65% and Gen X hovers around 55% — with very little change as members of those generations get […]

Schoolchildren everywhere know about the Hubble Space Telescope and its amazing pictures of the universe, and also how it’s slowly decaying and will probably be abandoned someday soon. But fear not, space enthusiasts, don’t be sad, Time has some good news for you: The National Science Foundation has just revealed the existence of not one […]

Jonah Goldberg got a lot of attention recently for his tirade against the young in a Daily Caller interview, where he (among other things) suggested that that people aged 18-21 should have their right to vote revoked. As a young person (though not young enough to be subject to Goldberg’s disenfranchisement) it’s obviously irritating to […]

I agree mostly with Matt Yglesias’ diagnosis of the scariness of American political institutions, and the even greater uneasiness that European institutions inspire. I want to quibble with this graf however: Think seriously about it and you’ll see that it just can’t be that everyone in Frankfurt and Brussels and Berlin and Madrid and Athens […]

Hello again folks, Ryan here. Ed is still dealing with a family issue, so I’ll be filling in a bit again today. Send your prayers, thoughts, and karmic vibrations Ed’s way. Until I get underway, here are some things from around the web. 1. BP demands scientist emails over a Gulf spill lawsuit. I’m sure […]