Lessons not learned in the health care debate

One of the meme’s going around is that if Obama didn’t waste time on health care reform and instead spent that time doing something else, that seat in Massachusetts wouldn’t have been lost. Absent from this theory is any list of things that Obama might have worked on that the GOP wouldn’t have tried to… Continue reading Lessons not learned in the health care debate

No evidence of illegal actions by ACORN

After media outlets and figures have repeatedly claimed that videos released by conservative activists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles revealed a pattern of ACORN aiding efforts to evade taxes on a fictitious child-prostitution ring, an investigation by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger (D) found that “there is no evidence that action, illegal or otherwise,… Continue reading No evidence of illegal actions by ACORN

The limits of good vs. evil thinking

Take Climategate.  One response is: 1. “These people behaved dishonorably.  I will lower my trust in their opinions.” Another response, not entirely out of the ballpark, is: 2. “These people behaved dishonorably.  They must have thought this issue was really important, worth risking their scientific reputations for.  I will revise upward my estimate of the… Continue reading The limits of good vs. evil thinking

The Nation of Futurity

The Chinese now have lavish faith in their scientific and technological potential. Newsweek and Intel just reported the results of their Global Innovation Survey. Only 22 percent of the Chinese believe their country is an innovation leader now, but 63 percent are confident that their country will be the global technology leader within 30 years.… Continue reading The Nation of Futurity

Treasury Invites Bloggers to Round Table

Mr. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, was among the senior officials who talked with bloggers at an outreach session on Nov. 2. The two-hour round table was held on background, meaning that the bloggers could describe the sessions, but not attribute quotes to specific officials. Lengthy posts about financial system reforms — and the bloggers’ disagreements… Continue reading Treasury Invites Bloggers to Round Table