I commented on Monday that there was no possibility I’d be happy with the result after election day. (Considering my previous post on probability, perhaps I should have said <0.1%!) I can now tell you that I’m approximately as unhappy as I expected to be. My unhappiness will probably have dissipated to ordinary levels by…
I know headline writers need their splashy headlines, but as the media is filled with word of a stunning upset, we should remember the number of times that one candidate or the other was “destroyed” or “finished,” or the election was declared “over.” A poll takes a snapshot of part of the electorate which is…
It’s election day here in the United States, and though I will shortly head to my polling place and cast my vote, I’m not going to say who it is in any of the races. What I would like to call for is moderation, in the sense I define it when talking about religion. I…
Sometimes you need to go to comedy to get some clarity! I’m not sure the embed below will work (checking on it), but you can use the link.
When I first set out to join a United Methodist congregation, I asked the pastor for definitive information on United Methodist beliefs. With much trepidation, he provided me with a United Methodist Discipline. I read the first hundred or so pages, not being too interested in the details of the church’s committee structures, including the…
I’m not a fan of strategic voting. It seems to me that various arguments, such as voting in the other party’s primary, splitting one’s vote for president and for down-ballot candidates (an effort to guarantee divided government), or the ubiquitous “lesser of two evils” arguments generally amount to one thing: An attempt to persuade someone…
I’ve read recent stories that speculate that Donald Trump’s problems may depress Republican turnout and make a problem for down-ticket candidates. On the other hand, I’ve read that lack of enthusiasm for Clinton may depress Democratic turnout and be bad for the chances of down-tick Democrats. These things disturb me in a completely non-partisan way….
Here. Read this! Hard to choose a line to quote, but … Conformed people can achieve nothing. Transformed people can be the instruments of God and hence the instruments of change. Go read the rest. Unlike me, Jim is quite succinct.
I call this group of (people | entities | circumstances) the infernal “they” or “them.” They are the people who cause all the problems. They have no moral compass. They are disruptive. They lie. They are apostates, perverts, stupid, deplorable, weak, losers, socialists, libertines (sometimes intended to include libertarians!). Disgusting, all of them. They are…
Here’s your illustration. Liberals loved Nate Silver because he calculated that Barack Obama would win the presidency, among other things. Conservatives didn’t like him so much. Now conservatives are pointing to the poor odds, though 60-40 is a ratio many politicians would covet. I love Nate Silver not because of who he supports but because…