David Frum says true things. Pundits bash him. (2012/11/09)
It says something when David Frum is described as not really a conservative, or as someone unimportant and uninformed. The man has credentials. I don’t like everything he says or does, but I have read his writing and found it persuasive more than once. Not always, but more than once. And a speechwriter for George (H. W.) Bush is almost certainly not reasonably considered some kind of leftist.
[read more...]Minnesotans for Marriage: Thank you. (2012/11/07)
Thank you. I think it would have been entirely possible for the recent attempt at an anti-gay constitutional amendment to succeed. Minnesotans are, by and large, a little inclined to tradition, to a sort of comfortably midwestern view of family, to be cautious about change.
[read more...]Not a real fan of the options this year, but... (2012/11/05)
Okay, here’s the thing. In general, my intuition is that Republican candidates tend to advocate economic policies which are more likely to work decently than Democractic candidates. And for a long time, that was enough for me to vote for them even when I had to hold my nose on social issues.
[read more...]Gricean Maxims, and why I have trouble with them... (2012/10/16)
A while back, I commented on Romney’s “Keep America American”. At least one person told me that I had given the impression that I thought that the people who liked this slogan were racists; this confused the heck out of me, because I thought what I said was that racists liked the slogan, and that I believe it was constructed the way it was in order to appeal to them.
[read more...]I guess you're in big trouble, then. (2012/10/16)
Skin in the game (2012/09/29)
The phrase “skin in the game” comes in and out of fashion. I always rather liked it; it’s evocative.
[read more...]Romney's 47%: The distinction between factual and truthful (2012/09/23)
You’ve probably seen it by now:
[read more...]Partisan language has gotten silly. (2012/09/12)
I’ve noticed a thing, which is that angry internet commenters who use “libs” are using it as some kind of code word. It doesn’t mean liberals. It means bogeymen. “Libs” are a large, well-organized, utterly monolithic, group of people who are at all times completely dishonest, completely irrational, totally stupid, totally uninformed, and persisting in being this way out of malice.
[read more...]Reporting the wrong story (2012/09/01)
EDIT: See updates below. The actual thing Romney said was probably slightly different, and it is not clear that it ought to be considered a “slogan” really.
[read more...]Well, at least Akin isn't gonna be lonely. (2012/08/27)
“Apparently, it’s not just Akin.“http://www.politicspa.com/updated-smith-makes-abortion-gaffe-with-audio/40404/ (Or try this link if that one’s busted.)
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