-- Reihan Salam on the changing structure of families.
-- James Fallows following up on the departure of General McChrystal.
-- Big spender Sarah Palin versus deficit haw Tom Coburn.
-- James Joyner offers sensible objections to a recent ranking of American presidents.
-- Baseball's most dominant closer.
Conor Friedersdorf is a California-based staff writer at The Atlantic, where he focuses on politics and national affairs, and the author of the Up for Debate newsletter. He is the founding editor of The Best of Journalism, a newsletter devoted to exceptional nonfiction.