Don’t miss part one!

h/t: boingboing.net

There’s a reason most people would choose not to get stoned before meeting their girlfriend’s parents. Just like there’s a reason to change out of sweatpants before going on a date to a fancy restaurant. Making decisions based on principle rather than pragmatism is a prescription for failure.

via Public Apology: Dear Emily – The Awl.

First, Michael Hastings chatted with Rachel Maddow about the upcoming elections in Iraq. Check it out here.

Then Gina Welch stopped by ‘Morning Joe’ to chat about her new book, In the Land of Believers. Watch as she discusses what she learned from her time spent undercover, doing research on a Christian Evangelical community: video.

Most importantly — and very convenient for you — Amazon is selling copies of their books. BRILLIANT. Go buy them and stop reading the internet for a while. Buy Michael’s book here and Gina’s book here.

Please email: voices@trueslant.com if you’re interested.

Perhaps you have friends and coworkers with extremely objectionable personal lives! (I sure do.) Let’s try this this on for size.

Congrats, you’re the governor. And say one of your best buddies works for you. A woman is reporting an assault by him. You’ve met this woman three or four times. Do you… call her? And ask if there’s anything you can do for her? The day before her court date? With what motivation would you do that? I suppose I can see a way in which that was done out of common decency… but the timing, in particular, makes absolutely no sense.

via Why the David Paterson Story Actually Is a Big Deal | The Awl.

In essence, the market for acts of journalism has gone from a cartel-based system to something approximating free enterprise, where it’s the value of the goods themselves that matters, not the reputation of the vendor. That, in itself, is a great thing. But it has some unnerving implications.

via The New Journalism | The New York Observer.

I think the above piece by Jeff Bercovici is worth your time… complemented by this piece.