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Via LGM, The Editors, so far as I’m concerned, get the redistricting scheme right: I agree that this is a great proposition, and I urge the voters of Texas to pass it. Oh, wait. The problem with this proposition, and the reason it was proposed by Republicans and opposed by Democrats, is that it asks […]

Kate has a terrific post up summarizing some research done into Canadians crossing the border for care. Put shortly, it doesn’t happen: The authors used some nifty methodology, including surveying numerous US hospitals along the border, as well as institutions generally regarded as “America’s Best Hospitals”. On the Canadian side, they used the National Population […]

RonK at the Next Hurrah had a sit-down with Dick Gephardt in which Gephardt admitted to being wrong on Iraq. Good stuff, and well worth a read. I’d suggest that Gephardt’s sin wasn’t his support for the war but his rather craven, campaign-minded undercutting of Democratic opposition on the issue, and that’s the part, not […]

I can’t say I’ve read much by Harold Pinter, but then I never claimed to be anything but the uncultured boor that I am. Nevertheless, this whole hubbub over whether his views or prose won him the Nobel strikes me as a bit silly. Starting from the obviously true observation that the majority of eminent […]

This strikes me as very important: THEY’RE saying the President, spending inordinate time working on handling his multiple problems of Iraq, Supreme Court, Karl Rove, gas prices, sliding polls, economy, has begun rehearsing answers to questions that might come up at a press conference. More importantly, he’s even watching reruns of “West Wing.” If Bush […]

If you’re trying to figure out whether or not to oppose Schwarzenegger’s redistricting scheme, Brad Plumer and Matt Singer lay out the stakes. Put simply: the proposition is more partisan hackery. While the board that “redistricts” will indeed be nonpartisan, the methodology it uses is internally rigged against Democrats. It’s like having an independent typist […]

By Neil the Ethical Werewolf It looks like the Iraqi Constitution is going to barely meet the requirements for passage — majority support overall, and 1/3 support in at least 15 of the 18 provinces. I wish I could hope that this is a hopeful sign. The Sunnis came out fairly strongly against it, and […]

Posted by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math I promised everyone a rationale for my pollyannish but ill-received claim that Democrats will gain seats if a clear majority votes for a Democratic Congressman. So break out your quill pens, your carbon paper, and your abacus, and we’ll take a look at recent congressional results.