I think Barack Obama has done a good job of keeping his campaign from being about race. I’m certain this hasn’t been easy. In reading this article from MSNBC.com I was struck that apparently the commentators are holding his campaign to a standard of perfection. In my view, whether he wins in the end or…
The Washington Post is reporting that Mitt Romney will suspend his campaign, and announce it this afternoon in his speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee. I do love the detail of these “leaks.” According to the story, Romney will say: “This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family,…
When I was near the end of my first four year enlistment in the United States Air Force, I had already made a firm decision to separate at four years, which I proclaimed quite vigorously. But during the last few weeks I read some things about decision making–I can’t recall where–and I decided to rationally…
This is way out of my field, but I want to link to it because it illustrates the way in which numbers can be used deceptively. I still heartily recommend the book How to Lie with Statistics from which the title is derived. I’m no economist, but I remember a fine discussion in a class…
He’s a Christian and has been for 20 years. This quote struck me: I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly,…
I’ve always regarded myself as substantially pro-Israel, and often resolutions by the United Methodist Church on this issue trouble me a bit. (For those who don’t know, I am a member of a United Methodist congregation–quite a fine congregation too!) But apparently some people are troubled a great deal more than “a bit,” and can…
Liberation theology gets improperly defined and beaten up on a regular basis. Some complain that it ignores the spiritual element, ignores Jesus as savior, and tries to ignore sin. It’s fairly easy to make this case out of the Bible. There is, after all, Romans 13, in which Paul tells Christians to submit to the…
Wayward Fundamentalist Christian has a post about a movement by some states to bypass the Electoral College. This would be accomplished by a simple expedient that I had never thought of–state laws awarding their electoral college delegates to the winner of the national popular vote. (Here’s a NYT reference for those who may prefer that…
I think the Nevada Supreme Court got this one right. Freedom of the press must include full freedom to invite or not to invite. I often support candidates with very low ratings at the polls, but there is no legal basis to force their inclusion in any televised debate.
Politicians want to reach independents? OK: This and this are a waste of time. You won’t attract my vote with image ads or arguing about inadvertent statements. This is a bit better. Puncture the image. It also led me to factcheck.org, which I will be visiting frequently. Analyzing policy statements and proposals would be better….
