I tried to find a link to Friedman’s post in the NYT from several years ago in response to Matt’s question. I found this snippet from his book instead: President Kennedy understood that the competition with the Soviet Union was … Continue reading →

Much to my dismay, he keeps writing good articles. That’s how I learned a new language here: “Climate-Speak.” It’s easy to learn. There are only three phrases. The first is: “Just a few years ago …” Just a few years … Continue reading →

Because she is totally hot. See Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad and more funny videos on FunnyOrDie.com See more funny videos at Funny or Die

The Washington Post says Federal agents may take a traveler’s laptop computer or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of … Continue reading →

Sidezoomers versus Lineuppers I supposed there were not all that many drivers gritting their teeth behind their steering wheels, practicing what Jerry Seinfeld once called the stare-ahead, while declining to let the sidezoomers in and musing at the same time … Continue reading →

Finished. What a delight! This one is a lot less prescriptive than The Visual Display of Quantitative Information and what one learns, one learns by osmosis. The book skips around a lot of different ideas and it reaches deep into … Continue reading →

Some free airtime for McCain: “We are proud of that commercial.” — John McCain Is this what he is trying to say? Some of the comments are interesting at the site where that came from.

There’s a nice guide to flip-flopping in the New Republic. Do you remember when conservatives used to speak warmly, and sometimes rapturously, about Barack Obama? That was back when they were certain that the Clinton voodoo magic would make Hillary … Continue reading →

Whimsley explores the poles of political thinking on economic issues. Imagine a society where everyone gets the same income. Then the income of one quarter of the population suddenly increases by a factor of five while the income of the … Continue reading →

The Ranger makes a point that I have made a thousand times, comparing american nature documentaries to British ones: To The Ranger’s British eyes, this American clip seems almost patronising and childish in its presentation. And yet the content is … Continue reading →