Understanding Polls and Probabilities
Jonathan Last defends Nate Silver, but it’s really just explaining what “probability” means. HT: Dispatches.
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Bipartisan Dialog is Messy
ByhenryAs readers of this blog already know I have mixed feelings about the current stimulus bill, but I think most of the discussion on the progress of the bill is measured against a wrong standard. Despite complaints to the contrary, President Obama has taken a bipartisan approach to formulating this bill. There are Republican ideas…
Stump Speeches and Empty Rhetoric
ByhenryI’ve watched with some interest the debates over Barack Obama’s rhetoric. He has been charged with using empty rhetoric instead of presenting actual solutions. I have a bit of a problem with this. Stump speeches generally are mostly fluff. They’re designed to encourage and excite the faithful. They’re supposed to be emotional. I haven’t seen…
Disaster Relief, Rich and Poor
ByhenryA couple days ago I was getting my hair cut and the TV was showing scenes from the [tag]California fires[/tag]. People were commenting on the apparently high value of the houses they were seeing. One man was noting that he hadn’t seen any houses worth less than a million dollars. (We should nominate him for…
PNJ Picks 2 for Governor
ByhenryOur local excuse for the press, the Pensacola News Journal, is in endorsements season, and like many papers, they pick one in each of the primaries. Thus they have endorsed one Republican and one Democrat for governor. I should note first that I have a problem with newspapers or media organizations endorsing politicians. I don’t…
Robert Reich on Gladiator Politics
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What Happens in the End
ByhenryI think Fareed Zakaria is right on point with his Newsweek commentary We Might ‘Win’ But Still Lose. He notes: If the 20,000 additional American troops being sent to the Iraqi capital focus primarily on Sunni insurgents, there’s a chance the Shiite militias might get bolder. Colonel Duke puts it bluntly: “[The Mahdi Army] is…