John Kerry is probably not a plagiarist but one of his (former?) staffers may be. The New York Sun is reporting that there are multiple plagiarized passages in John Kerry’s writings (tip Betsy’s Page). Most of what politicians write is ghost-written for them and sorting out authorship can be difficult–eg, claims that Ted Sorenson (who […]
Author Archive | Jim Lindgren
Anti-semitism in the 1930s.–
David Bernstein asks in passing about politics and anti-semitism in the US in the 1930s. I just analyzed some 1938 Gallup data that are among the more than 100 databases that I have on my laptop. A spring 1938 Gallup Poll asked: “Do you think the persecution of Jews in Europe has been their own […]
The Guardian’s Letters to Clark County, Ohio.–
When the Guardian Newspaper in the UK lamented that citizens around the world couldn’t vote in the US election, Oz blogger Tim Blair suggested that they write letters to voters in swing states. Without giving Tim Blair credit for the idea, the Guardian has been encouraging just such a letter-writing campaign, distributing the addresses of […]
Why do we have a vaccine shortage?–
Kevin Drum has a thoughtful post on the vaccine shortage, plausibly speculating that the restrictive FDA process is the likeliest culprit (tip Reynolds). Drum reviews seven possible explanations, noting: [W]ith two exceptions, all of these explanations apply to every country in the world — but the United States is the only one with a problem. […]
Who will win–Bush or Kerry? —
I have been surprised by the betting consensus at www.Tradesports.com (inconsistent link) and elsewhere that Bush is more likely to win the election. Kaus notes that this belief in a Bush victory, which shows up in opinion polls, might cause people to “go with the winner.” I don’t understand why both the bettors and the […]
John Fund’s sobering warning.–
John Fund has a sobering warning about election problems, particularly those related to provisional ballots: It’s a safe bet you will hear more about provisional ballots before Election Day–and a lot more if the election goes into overtime again. The provisional ballot could become this year’s equivalent of Florida’s infamous punch-card ballot, and it could […]
Sex, Voting, and John Kerry.–
I am old enough to remember being at demonstrations and at concerts where people were chanting “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll.” The odder thing (in retrospect) is that all three were not generally thought of as simply hedonism, but rather as routes to enlightenment! Apparently, any new chant would involve sex and voting. The […]
What Bills or Laws John Kerry got passed.–
FactCheck.org has an entry assessing John Kerry’s legislative record (tip LGF): At the final presidential debate, Bush said Kerry had passed only five bills during his career, and Kerry said he had passed 56. Actually, we found eleven measures authored by Kerry have been signed into law, including a save-the-dolphins law, a law naming a […]
Bush shows slight improvement in recent polls.–
There are hints of a very slight move toward Bush in recent polls. As usual, RealClearPolitics.com is a good place to follow trends. At the moment they show recent polls averaging 49.0% for Bush, 45.2% for Kerry among likely voters. This is influenced by the latest Gallup poll, showing 52% for Bush, 44% for Kerry. […]
Newspaper endorsements.–
This local TV News site reviews a few newspaper endorsements. Kerry gets the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Minneapolis “Strib”. Bush gets the Chicago Tribune, Omaha World Herald, and Rocky Mountain News. For me, the big surprise in this group is the Chicago Tribune (disclosure: the Tribune is a former client of mine). Although […]
Harsh Treatment at Guantanamo.–
The NY Times is revisiting Guantanamo Bay and finding harsher treatment of prisoners than the military was claiming: Many detainees at Guantanamo Bay were regularly subjected to harsh and coercive treatment, several people who worked in the prison said in recent interviews, despite longstanding assertions by military officials that such treatment had not occurred except […]
New York Times Endorses John Kerry for President.–
The New York Times has endorsed John Kerry for president. After some perfunctory praise of Kerry, the Times launches into a scathing attack on Bush: There is no denying that this race is mainly about Mr. Bush’s disastrous tenure. Nearly four years ago, after the Supreme Court awarded him the presidency, Mr. Bush came into […]
Mark Steyn on the canadian health care system.–
Mark Steyn has a column on the Canadian health care system (written for Canadians). He makes a point that I had never thought about before: When health care is the government’s responsibility, it becomes its principal responsibility. Imagine if we [in Canada] had as many high-profile conferences on national security as we do on health. […]
Post-Debate Polls Show Different Results.–
The New York Times is reporting that the ABC post-debate poll shows a near tie on who won the debate: Kerry 42% v. Bush 41%. The Gallup Poll shows a Kerry win: 52% to 39%. A CBS Poll also shows a Kerry win: 39% to 25%.
The 3d Debate Transcript.–
Here is the transcript of the 3d debate. Bob Schieffer comes off looking like he’s from the same shop that gave us the forged Killian memos and the email draft hoax–what a coincidence, he is. Given Teresa(“no blood for oil”) Heinz Kerry, the only hard question John Kerry got all night was “I’d like to […]