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09 May 2011 22:26

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World: World population is growing really, really fast

  • 12% of everyone who’s ever lived is alive today source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 22:08

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Politics: Is Jon Huntsman unfit to run for President in 2012?

  • When the President of the United States sends you off to be Ambassador to our greatest strategic adversary in the world, you don’t sit around contemplating running against the very same President you serve. It begs the question of did you fully carry out your duties as Ambassador, or [did you] let a few things slip along the way hoping to damage the President?
  • RedState’s Erick Erickson • On the prospect of a Jon Huntsman presidential bid. While we’ve taken issue with RedState in the past, this analysis feels quite powerful. Of course, Erickson’s suspicions may well be unfounded, but the potential conflict of interest does, at least, warrant consideration. Keep in mind that President Obama appointed Huntsman as Ambassador to China in part so Huntsman wouldn’t run against him in 2012. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2011 01:29

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U.S.: Stay in school and you’re much, much more likely to get a job

  • This is why they tell you to stay in school, kids. Seriously, look at that discrepancy! Of course, the usual causation-correlation disclaimer is in effect here; maybe the kids who graduated college were the ones naturally more predisposed to keeping a job anyway? Nevertheless, this should give pause to any high schoolers considering dropping out. (source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2011 01:15

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Politics: Mitch Daniels mum on the death of bin Laden

  • NO Mitch Daniels has no comment on bin Laden’s death source
  • » Dodging a softball: Indiana governor and possible presidential candidate Mitch Daniels has made a strange choice in steadfastly refusing to release any statement on the death of Osama bin Laden. When Jennifer Rubin at The Washington Post e-mailed him to ask if he had any response to the news, his staff answered in one word: “No.” This is odd, as the death of the world’s most-wanted man is a) certainly newsworthy enough for a presidential candidate to bother responding to, and b) probably the easiest news for any politician to formulate a response to. You really can’t screw this one up; it’s a slam-dunk! Just say, “I’m glad bin Laden’s dead,” and call it a night. Rubin takes Daniels’ silence as a sign that he’s not serious about running for president, and we think she’s onto something.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2011 22:32

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Politics: I know nothing of which I speak, yet I speak nonetheless

  • Pro-tip: Don’t preface your argument by proclaiming that you don’t know what you’re talking about. The premise in this RedState piece is that we can “common sense” our way out of any political impasse that comes our way, complexity be damned. This is a dangerous way to go about public policy. “Without a strong position among those on my side of the aisle, and with my limited economic understanding that I mentioned earlier, I must revert to what rarely fails me: My gut.” If you lack enough information to form an opinion, either educate yourself more or recuse yourself from the debate. Comprehending the ramifications of raising the debt ceiling require a basic, if not advanced, level of economic knowledge, and to advocate for a one view or another without this knowledge is both intellectually and journalistically disgraceful. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2011 20:46

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U.S.: Barack Obama vs. Unwavering Irrationality

  • President Obama’s decision to release his long-form birth certificate is a reminder of the handicaps under which rational people labor when confronting the irrational.
  • Wendy Kaminer at The Atlantic • Giving us some perspective on this birth certificate madness. Obama has both reason and empirical evidence on his side, but those are useless against an opponent who rejects reason and empiricism. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 23:19

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U.S.: CIA: We only burn and shred documents because it’s the green thing to do

  • The Central Intelligence Agency’s practice of shredding and burning classified papers—often referred to in movies and books as “burn after reading”—is one of several ways the CIA conserves energy, reduces its impact on the environment, and lowers costs through its sustainability efforts.
  • The CIA • In an Earth Day posting to their website. The fact that the CIA actually said this is much funnier than any joke we could hope to make, so we’ll just let it stand. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

25 Apr 2011 22:56

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U.S.: Republicans in Mississippi ambivalent about outcome of Civil War

  • 38% of Mississippi GOPers wish the South had won source
  • » There’s more: If you include the 41% that’s undecided, you get a whopping 79% of Mississippi Republicans who aren’t quite ready to throw their support behind Abraham Lincoln circa 1861. Also, 9% of African Americans in the state aren’t sure whether they like the NAACP more than the KKK; surely, this is the result of a typo, or some sort of methodological error, or perhaps a psychoactive pollutant in the drinking water. Oh well; at least 54% of the state agrees that interracial marriage shouldn’t be illegal. That’s right, a whole 54%!
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 22:28

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Politics: Feingold would have a shot at toppling Walker, new poll says

  • Heads up, Scott: A new poll shows progressive hero Russ Feingold neck-and-neck with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in a hypothetical recall election. This is less than a year after Feingold lost re-election to the Senate by five points to a political novice. Yeah, yeah, we know: this doesn’t mean much, as Feingold hasn’t expressed any interest in running and Walker is nine months away from even being eligible for a recall. But we can dream, right? source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 21:55

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Politics: Ron Paul to run for President again

  • one Establishment favorite and GOP company man Haley Barbour surprised everyone today by announcing that he won’t be running for president in 2012 (probably a good idea, given his poll numbers).
  • two Hours later, Dave Weigel at Slate confirmed that everyone’s favorite scrappy libertarian, Ron Paul, will announce tomorrow an exploratory committee to run for president. Let the ReLOVEution begin again — for the first time. source
  • » What this means: One thing to keep in mind about presidential primaries is that every time a potential candidate announces their intent to run (or that they won’t be running), the calculus for every undecided candidate changes. For example, Haley Barbour is good friends with Mitch Daniels, who is half-heartedly considering a run of his own. With Barbour out, Mitch Daniels has one less excuse not to run. Meanwhile, Ron Paul’s entrance into the race effectively puts an end to his son’s quixotic flirtations with a bid, as Rand Paul already ruled out running against his father. Next question: Will the presence of another libertarian on the ballot put a dent in Paul’s loyal following?
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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