We need to keep an eye on this.
Jun 132012
Reticulator
Jun 102012
Are you now or have you ever been a conservative?
Jun 102012
Notable & Quotable – WSJ.com Economist Robert Higgs on the mistaken Keynesian focus on ‘aggregate,’ economy-wide measurements.
If you want to manipulate the economy, it helps to oversimplify how the economy works.
Farm Bill ‘Reform’ Stuffed With Pork – Debra J. Saunders – Townhall Conservative Columnists – Page 1
Jun 102012
Farm Bill ‘Reform’ Stuffed With Pork – Debra J. Saunders – Townhall Conservative Columnists – Page 1.
How to save $180 billion? Spend $969 billion.
Jun 012012
City Begins Enforcement Of Ban On Outdoor Feeding Programs
The government doesn’t like people caring for people, or people feeding people. It’s unwanted competition.
Jun 012012
Research Backs Up Bloomberg’s Soda Ban: Smaller Portion Sizes Decrease How Much People Eat
- This is another example of how you can’t have a welfare state without a police state.
- To say that “research backs up a ban” is to reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of what research is.
May 192012
The WSJ suggests that President Obama put in a word with the perps who are attempting to criminalize political opponents in Mongolia and Ukraine.
All this strongly suggests an effort by Mr. Elbegdorj to use raw government coercion to head off a legitimate political challenger—in other words, to criminalize democratic differences. A similar drama is also unfolding in the Ukraine, where former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been jailed on dubious corruption charges by the government of Viktor Yanukovych, who will also be showing up in Chicago this weekend.
(via Review & Outlook: Genghis Democracies – WSJ.com)
President Obama is an unlikely ambassador for a healthy two-party system with minority rights and a loyal opposition, though. His own use of power to bully political opponents has kept Kimberly Strassel busy writing about little else lately:
- Trolling for Dirt on the President’s List : First a Romney supporter was named on an Obama campaign website. That was followed by the slimy trolling into a citizen’s private life. (May 10)
- The ‘Crucify Them’ Presidency : Al Armendariz, the EPA official who resigned in disgrace this week, was no outlier among the Obama administration’s regulators (May 3)
- The President Has a List : Barack Obama attempts to intimidate contributors to Mitt Romney’s campaign. (April 26)
On the other hand, maybe President Obama would be just the person to explain things to Elbegdorj and Yanukovych, given that the three could easily see themselves as brothers engaged in a common struggle to consolidate power and oppress the people. Maybe Elbegdorj and Yaukovych would be more likely to listen to one of their own who hasn’t gone quite as far as they have, than to a person such as Václav Havel (if such a person could even be found anymore).
May 192012
Why Science Needs Wonder (Philip Ball, New Statesman, 2 May 2012)
This is a good article that covers a lot of ground. Science is motivated by wonder, by also destroys wonder and can’t get along without it. Science is not a standalone activity.
May 192012
I hadn’t realized there have been allegations that the government likes to raid Gibson Guitars because it has given aid and comfort to Republicans, and is leaving Martin guitars alone because its Democrat contributions are in good order. The Wikipedia explanation of the controversy that is quoted in a Treehugger.com article ( “Gibson Guitar Corp. Investigated Again On Legality Of Rainforest Wood Imports“) is no longer on Wikipedia. On the principle that the government is guilty until proven innocent, this is not a topic on which we should withhold judgment.
Mar 182012
Four numbers: 10, 20, 30, and 20.
Me: The average (arithmetic mean) is 20.
WSJ: The reality may be a bit more complicated. Some of the numbers are not 20. The numbers include some that are larger and/or smaller than 20.
Me: [Facepalm]
Sigh. The above is not really from the WSJ, but page A5 of the print edition of the weekend WSJ has an item that’s even more ridiculous than the above. It’s by a Dante Chinni and is titled, The Gingrich Effect: What if it went away?
Following a tough Tuesday night, calls have grown for Newt Gingrich to abandon his presidential run, even as he vows to battle on. Some assume his departure would shake up the race, and supporters of Rick Santorum figure their man would benefit because more of Mr. Gingrich’s supporters would line up behind him than behind Mitt Romney. The reality may be a bit more complicated. Patchwork Nation’s demographic/geographic breakdown of counties suggests support for Mr. Gingrich varies greatly by community type, and from state to state. In some states, such as Illinois, the impact of the Gingrich vote looks relatively small–Mr. Gingrich hasn’t won many votes in the type of places that make up most of Illinois’s population. In others, such as Louisiana, it could be substantial. [Emphases are mine.]
The main problem is the statement, “The reality may be a bit more complicated.”
No, the reality is NOT more complicated than that. The situation may be more complicated than the simple summary, but that doesn’t mean the summary is wrong or any less real. The summary may be wrong, but if is wrong it’s wrong because it’s wrong, not because it’s not complicated enough. An accurate summary is reality, and a detailed breakdown is reality. One is not more real than another just because it’s more or less detailed.
There are three questions:
- Is there a Gingrich effect?
- If yes, who would benefit?
- If yes, would it shake up the race?
The data that are presented on a chart show that the “Gingrich effect” is big in some places and small in others. That’s interesting to know, but it doesn’t help us understand who would benefit or whether it could “shake up” the race. The answer to the latter question would of course depend on more than just the numbers. It’s hard to predict what the psychological effect of a vote shift would be, for example.
The numbers that are presented are interesting, but they don’t support the silly statement that, “The reality may be a bit more complicated.” The reality may be different than what Santorum thinks. If Newt drops out, Santorum may not benefit enough to make a difference. But that’s not because the reality is more “complicated”.