too stupid to be fiction
-
And folks wonder what makes the Tea Partiers angry?
From today’s Wall Street Journal: Departing members of the House of Representatives awarded millions of dollars in extra pay to aides as they closed down their offices, according to lawmakers’ spending records. The 96 lawmakers paid their employees $6.7 million, or 31%, more in the fourth quarter of 2010 than they did, on average, in Read more
-
The case for campus concealed carry
There’s a whole lot of debate, handwringing, and gnashing of teeth over Jeff Wentworth’s proposed legislation that would permit the concealed carry of handguns on Texas college and university campuses. I just received this via email, which seems like a good argument in favor of CCC: Read more
-
Simpson’s Paradox bites Paul Krugman on the ass
Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman makes an undergrad mistake in educational statistics, and Iowahawk takes time out from redneck hotrodding to call him on it, with deadly effect. Best line ever in a statistics post: “Mr. Krugman (please note – I don’t call anyone “Doctor” unless they can write me a prescription for drugs) doesn’t Read more
-
Pay no attention to the man before the curtain
British Foreign Secretary William Hague takes the concept “if you can’t blind them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit” to a whole new level. Read more
-
-
-
Barack-0 must be their 1901st closest friend…
… because he didn’t make the cut. Swiped from Drudge. Read more
-
Here there be monsters
Nicholas Taleb (of The Black Swan fame) describes the Fourth Quadrant and the limits of statistics. I have nothing against economists: you should let them entertain each others with their theories and elegant mathematics, and help keep college students inside buildings. But beware: they can be plain wrong, yet frame things in a way to Read more
-
Vaguely speaking
Clark Whelton says “What Happens in Vagueness Stays in Vagueness.” Taylor Mali talked about this, but nobody listened. But what in the hell is QUACK-TALKING? Tip from NRO. Update (19 February). I’ve come up empty on “quack talking,” but I did find this interesting story about ducks and eagles along the way. I think I’ll Read more
-
Why Texans think Californians are stupid, #4
The City of San Jose has posted their salary data online. Standout entry: the retiring Police Chief at $534,576. Tip from Drudge. Read more
The Random Texan 