I had a small disagreement with a hotel yesterday. I had booked for three nights, but a change of plans required me to cut the trip short and come home a day early. As the clerk was processing the change, she said that she’d be refunding the third night, minus a “15% administrative fee.” Now, […]
Tag Archives: policy
If a news story claims knowlege of public opinion, test the claim
When a news story claims certainty in expressing public opinion — or uses sources that claim such — readers should be wary. Such is the case with a Friday NPR story that commingled analysis, reporting, and commentary (without a commentary label) about the impact of “tough economic news” on President Obama’s re-election prospects. Some phrasing […]
An open letter to President Barack Obama: congratulations – now, how will you spend your political capital?
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The painted kipper (pt. 5): an end note
Part 5 in a series. In a piece about the American cult writer David Foster Wallace, who committed suicide on September 12, 2008, James Ryerson writes:
What would a progressive society look like? The Tricentennial Manifesto
One of my lists is currently engaged in a fairly dynamic discussion about “what is a progressive?” In thinking about the issue, I realized that it might help to ask the question a slightly different way: what would a progressive society look like? Maybe I can better understand what it means to be progressive in […]
Keep the Voodoo and the economics separate, please
From the Scholars & Rogues White House Desk “The solution of the Palestine problem is key to many problems between the West and the Muslim world. Our hope as Muslims to Obama and the U.S. is not unreasonable: If the Palestine problem could be resolved, it would be more than enough.” – Masdar Mas’udi, deputy […]
Peering into the Housing Abyss
The New York Times had an interesting article yesterday about the unpleasant prospect facing the Obama administration on housing. The specific problem is that the administration is pretty much out of policy options on housing, which continues to drag. Well, “drag” is perhaps an understatement—July new home sales were 26% below those of July 2009, […]
Bring Back the Draft–the All-Volunteer Military Should be Retired
The United States gave up universal conscription in 1973. The Draft, as we all knew it, had been in effect since 1948, when President Truman and Congress re-introduced it. It was the main source of troops during the Vietnam conflict, which also ended up killing it. But I’ve always believed the main problem with the […]
SB 1070 Implementation Day: a view from the front lines in Arizona
by Pollyanna Sunshine In her Tuesday column in the Arizona Republic website, columnist Laurie Roberts noted that We are now less than 48 hours until Senate Bill 1070 becomes the law of the state – unless, of course, Judge Susan Bolton nixes the whole thing. . . Already, the barricades are up at the Sandra […]
WordsDay: Merchants of Doubt
What do the following things all have in common: tobacco safety and the dangers of secondhand smoke, the Strategic Defense Initiative, acid rain, the ozone hole, global warming, and the recent attacks on Rachel Carson (author of Silent Spring)? According to the new book by science historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway, Merchants of […]
So how’s that coalition thingamajig workin’ out for ya, Britain?
Well, we’ve had, let’s see, a month of the now-old-hat Conservative/Lib Dem coalition, and the sky hasn’t fallen yet. I guess it still might, but then again, it might snow in London today too. The odds are probably similar. To date, I would have to say it’s been a bit smoother than most prognosticators thought […]
Louisiana's Vitter again screwing around with hypocrisy
Y’all remember my good friend Sen. David Vitter, he of the errant penis. You remember the Louisiana senator who described himself as “a conservative who opposes radically redefining marriage, the most important social institution in human history.” And you’ll remember that “his phone number was among those on a list of client numbers kept by […]
Another nail in the coffin of the Chicago School; an unsolicited review of Barry Lynn's Cornered
Way back in 2002, we were visiting the US for Thanksgiving, and it was an extraordinarily depressing time. We couldn’t turn on the television, because all you got there was the non-stop and relentless drumbeat of COUNTDOWN TO IRAQ or some such, and it was really bumming me out. I distinctly remember thinking, “I want […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- “Where Girls Grow Strong” – and Boy Scouts follow
- Atheists in heaven? Vatican spin machine leaps into action
- I-5 bridge collapse: reflecting on our crumbling infrastructure
- UPDATED: Pope Francis says atheists can go to heaven: Sweet Jesus! The College of Cardinals done elected a hippie
- Magic Hat vs. West Sixth brewhaha: will MH win the battle that costs them the war?
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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Henry Earl: Incorrect, West Sixth has offered to make changes …
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dmitry solovyev: I am russian and about because of two cruel war be…
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Lex: That's what i say when people quote the Bible, sin…
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geral sosbee (@gsosbee): Thanks for the report; pls see a few of mine which…
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S&R makes major change to commenting policy
by Samuel Smith on January 28, 2013 in Internet, Telecom & Social Media, Scholars & Rogues
Once upon a time I could be counted on to say something like “the comment thread is often the most important part of a blog post.” When you have an intelligent community of good-faith readers and commenters, the initial post need not be fully baked and comprehensive – it can instead be treated as a […]