Category Archives: culture

Re: Attitudes Toward Immigration

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Bradlaugh

Mr. Hume:  Excellent post there.  With such a universal desire for less immigration, one has to wonder why the borders are still wide open, visa over-stayers are not tracked, and illegals, far from being deported, are fawned over as a … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics | 10 Comments

Sometimes heterodoxy is good

Posted on October 18, 2009 by David Hume

I know David Frum comes in for a lot of criticism from the conservatives. Sometimes I think this is justified, as I have found some of his methods objectionable. That being said, I am struck by the fact that Frum … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics | Tagged | 5 Comments

Paying for healthcare

Posted on October 17, 2009 by David Hume

Tim Harford has an excellent article, A brilliant (and doomed) template for healthcare reform: Yet in one vital way, the systems are exactly the same: at no point during my interactions with either system did I ever have to wonder … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics | Tagged | 11 Comments

UNICEF, boo!

Posted on October 15, 2009 by David Hume

What’s different about Kiva: Contrast Kiva with, for example, UNICEF. Kiva makes it possible to trace the path of your donation, to the extent that such tracing is realistic (and it largely turns out to be more along the lines … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Notes

Posted on October 13, 2009 by David Hume

The post on Creationism & potential Republican candidates is getting a lot of linkage. A quick note, the title was a bit hyperbolic. I am simply suggesting that from where we stand today the power of the Christian Right has … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Dead political religions

Posted on October 11, 2009 by David Hume

I recently read The Rise and Fall of Communism by Archie Brown. This is a general survey which runs roughly from the late 19th century down to the present day. Though there was a focus on the Soviet Union (for … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, history | Tagged | 9 Comments

Political spectrum

Posted on October 9, 2009 by David Hume

Arkady of Right Condition has a new “political spectrum” up: This strikes me as a libertarian-centric spectrum. That’s fine as it goes, all “spectrums” or “typologies” are selective in what parameters they use to generate categories. The main issue with … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | Tagged , | 31 Comments

Creationism litmus test?

Posted on October 8, 2009 by David Hume

Tim Pawlenty says: GOV. PAWLENTY: We’ve said in Minnesota, in my view, this is a local decision. Intelligent design is something that, in my view, is plausible and credible and something that I personally believe in but, more importantly, from … Continue reading →

Posted in culture | Tagged | 59 Comments

It’s better in Europe (again)

Posted on October 7, 2009 by David Hume

Hendrik Hertzberg in The New Yorker, A SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC SIGH: Furthermore, it’s not as if German conservatives are a bunch of crazy far-right nihilists. This is not the Republicans we’re talking about. Both the CDU and the FDP recognize the … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, law, politics | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Teen birthrates, the relation to religion is real

Posted on October 2, 2009 by David Hume

A few weeks ago I reported on data which showed a close relationship between conservative religious views and high teen birthrates on the state level. I asked about controlling for race, since blacks have high teen birthrates, and are very … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, data | Tagged , | 8 Comments