Author Archives: mindless

As the primary season continues, I wanted to review two of my earlier posts: I opined that Romney would place only a “strong second” in Iowa despite his increased effort in the state, a prediction that just barely came to … Continue reading →

If you’re an Arlington Democrat, you can vote this evening in the special primary election for county board. Or, if Saturday is more convenient, voting will be open then as well. Exact info here. I think I’ll probably vote for … Continue reading →

Silver just posted an entry in support of the Romney campaign’s decision to compete in Iowa. I respectfully disagree. I recommend re-reading Silver’s excellent August piece on Iowa in which he examines the ideology of the Republican primary electorate in … Continue reading →

Nate Silver wrote a recent article explaining how it’s not “too late” for a fresh face to enter the Republican Presidential field. I completely agree with that conclusion but disagree on the timeline Silver proposes. Rather than enter the race … Continue reading →

Curious if Obama realizes he has/will use his leverage re: the Keystone Pipeline decision. Roll Call reports, unsurprisingly, that the President will approve the project — no doubt adding thousands of jobs (proponents say 20k, opponents 5k) in this economy … Continue reading →

Here’s a piece of redundant advice: don’t buy Bitcoins. I heard about them this morning on NPR in a fascinating story. My advice is redundant because at the end of the piece, NPR mentions that Bitcoin’s biggest bank was robbed, … Continue reading →

Krugman provides the context (use Google for free version) to Perry’s claim that “Over the last two years, 40 percent of the net new jobs created in the United States were created in Texas.” Wanting to research Krugman’s assertions further, … Continue reading →

Paul Krugman says “These spending cuts are going to worsen unemployment…There is no light at the end of this tunnel.” And he’s certainly right that the debt deal has no spending that will help the economy. (Interest rates are plenty … Continue reading →

A few recent trends–twitter, facebook, credit card coupons–and events–Wikileaks, the hacking of citi, and sony–have led me to wonder whether in 50 years there any secrets at all. Currently, several aspects of society are based on the concept of keeping … Continue reading →

Hat-tip to TSK for this amazing Harry Potter fanfic. Here’s a taste, selected for the pleasure of my computer science friends: And when Harry opened his eyes, he saw just what he’d been hoping to see, a folded piece of … Continue reading →