The polling industry faces a big test this election as we will see whether or not they are reliable in this age of cell-phones and the public’s growing unwillingness to answer their questions. From Robert J. Samuelson: Among pollsters, there’s fear that changing technology (mainly
The Supreme Court is considering a case that requires the wisdom of Solomon: Supap Kirtsaeng was studying in the United States when he struck a nerve in the publishing world by tapping into the market for cheaper college textbooks. Kirtsaeng re-sold copyrighted books that relatives
We’re battening down our hatches, getting ready for what they are calling “Frankenstorm,” a monster begotten by Hurricane Sandy becoming one flesh with a Northeaster. The brunt of the storm is supposed to hit us today and/or Tuesday. We’re in northern Virginia, not the coast,
Jacques Barzun died at age 104. A scholar of breath-taking range, Barzun, a French immigrant, was a cultural historian wrote about literature, history, music, philosophy, religion, education, how to write well, and baseball. (He is the source of the quotation, “Whoever wants to know the
Polls now show Mitt Romney leading the popular vote, but President Obama still has the advantage in the electoral college (see today’s post on that subject). Which raises the prospect of Romney winning the most votes, but Obama getting re-elected anyway by carrying states with
RCP Poll Average Electoral Votes States Obama Romney Obama Romney Colo. 47.8% 47.8% 0 9 Fla. 47.1% 48.9% 0 29 Iowa 49.0% 46.7% 6 0 Nev. 49.7% 47.2% 6 0 N.H. 48.3% 47.2% 4 0 N.C. 46.5% 50.3% 0 15 Ohio 48.0% 45.7%
Thanks to Aaron Lewis, who saw my praise for Hilary Mantel’s Booker-Prize-winning novels about Thomas Cromwell and sent me a link to a review of her Wolf Hall by the late Christopher Hitchens. He may have been an atheist, but he was an atheist who supported
The war in Iraq is pretty much over and the war in Afghanistan is winding down, bringing to an end our wars sparked by 9/11–right? Well, not exactly. It turns out the drone war may go on for at least another ten years. The Obama
Luther is not the only one that gets credited for quotable lines that he didn’t really say. (E.g., the principle of voting for “wise turks,” as we discussed.) St. Francis of Assissi gets the same treatment. Here a Franciscan priest, Father Pat McCloskey, responds to
The third-party candidates also had a debate. Here are highlights: Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party nominee, earned the loudest applause during the debate’s opening moments. He railed against the domestic and foreign policy proposals both major party candidates have put forth, and called for the
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