Category Archives: politics

Sometimes heterodoxy is good

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

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

The Romney Paradox

The American Conservative’s Daniel Larison responds to my earlier post on the ‘Party of Huckabee’ here. As always with Larison, the whole thing is well worth a read, but even if I may not agree with everything he has to … Continue reading

Posted in politics, Uncategorized | Tagged | 3 Comments

It’s better in Europe (again)

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

Religious change in the parties

Comment below: As this shift occurred what happened with the proportion of white Catholics in the Democratic Party? Did it similarly fall, hold steady or rise? Is there a story there? Have you GSS blogged on the differences between Democratic … Continue reading

Posted in culture, politics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The rise of the Secular Left, II

Chris below has an excellent comment: Drawing the stacked-bars equally high when the total size of the groups they represent is substantially different creates a very misleading visual perception. I suggest redrawing with the y-axis “% of total population” – … Continue reading

Posted in data, politics | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Oh Well

He’s still around… Mike Huckabee cruised to an easy victory in a presidential straw poll taken among attendees at a social conservative conference, beating a group of four other Republican contenders by an over two-to-one margin.

Posted in politics | Tagged | 17 Comments

Choices in the non-best of all worlds

I was struck that Arnold Kling recently admitted: My preference would be market-oriented health reform and the creation of real health insurance, which is bought by individuals and covers only insurable events (unexpected high expenses). But if it comes down … Continue reading

Posted in politics | Tagged | 17 Comments

The Commanding Heights

U.S. Is Finding Its Role in Business Hard to Unwind: But one year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers set off a series of federal interventions, the government is the nation’s biggest lender, insurer, automaker and guarantor against risk for … Continue reading

Posted in culture, economics, history, politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Big Lie

Am I the only one whose cynicism about politicians and the American public has been exhausted by the extent of the popular delusions and knowing falsehoods which are emerging during the whole “healthcare debate”? It is interesting to listen to … Continue reading

Posted in culture, politics | Tagged | 18 Comments