A Moneyball analysis of Mitch McConnell’s Supreme Court defiance

A Moneyball analysis of Mitch McConnell’s Supreme Court defiance

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed not to consider any Supreme Court nominee that President Obama makes. My mathematical analysis shows why: by waiting, McConnell gets a 50% chance of a conservative court, and a 35% chance of an extremely conservative court, for many years to come. This decision is even more important than it…

The passive-aggressive furor of Antonin Scalia
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The passive-aggressive furor of Antonin Scalia

Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court Justice who died Saturday, had a reputation as a fierce, incisive, and sarcastic defender of conservative values. Read his most famous opinions and arguments and you’ll find his rhetorical secret: passive voice statements that obscure the boogiemen he rails against. As my tribute to Justice Scalia, here are some quotes…

It’s set for election 2016: Clinton vs. Romney vs. Bloomberg
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It’s set for election 2016: Clinton vs. Romney vs. Bloomberg

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2016. As we wind down from the nominating conventions of both parties, America faces the most unusual election scenario in decades. Hillary Clinton, fresh from a bruising fight to win the Democratic nomination, faces Mitt Romney, chosen by the Republicans at a brokered convention, and independent Michael Bloomberg. And it all began on…

Iowa polls, “expectations” were a pale shadow of the truth
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Iowa polls, “expectations” were a pale shadow of the truth

For months, the political media have had nothing to talk about but polls and expectations. Yesterday reality crashed the party in Iowa, revealing the vacuity of the polls and the “expectations game.” Let’s examine how poll/expectations-based “analysis” differs from reality-based analysis. The polls were totally off Let’s compare two recent Iowa polls, the Quinnipiac poll done Sunday and…

Six short words explain why Donald Trump quit Fox News debate
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Six short words explain why Donald Trump quit Fox News debate

The Donald Trump campaign’s 271-word statement about skipping the next debate is short, clear, and free of jargon. But it could have been much shorter, only six words: “I am afraid of Megyn Kelly.” I believe his strategic calculation was that this debate would not help him — people already know who he is — but that tangling again…

Tweetable highlights of National Review’s Donald Trump Takedown
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Tweetable highlights of National Review’s Donald Trump Takedown

Conservative publication National Review invited prominent conservatives to explain why they’re against Donald Trump. I’ve never seen so many distinguished people so angry in such a florid and entertaining way. For wit to spread, it must be tweetable. So I made this little compilation for you. Have fun. General insults [tweetthis]We can talk about whether [Trump]…

Bomb Agrabah? Manipulative pollsters, not stupid people.
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Bomb Agrabah? Manipulative pollsters, not stupid people.

When you hear an outlandish poll result, you first thought may be, “Wow, people are stupid.” You’d be wrong. Blame the pollsters and the people who publicize their spurious results, not the supposed “voters” they contacted. In the last month, we’ve heard these unbelievable poll results: 30% of likely Republican voters think we should bomb Agrabah, the fictional…

Deathly euphemisms: “rest in peace” and “thoughts and prayers”
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Deathly euphemisms: “rest in peace” and “thoughts and prayers”

Death is a fact of life. Sayings like “rest in peace” and “our thoughts and prayers are with the victims” are euphemisms: they enable us to go on without thinking about death. Not thinking about death can help us cope, but let’s not imagine that we’re actually saying anything when we say these things. I’ve been thinking…