Category Archives: Journalism

HOW THE MEDIA PLAYED THE FOIL TO TRUMP’S “HEEL” CHARACTER.

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Philip

HOW THE MEDIA PLAYED THE FOIL TO TRUMP’S “HEEL” CHARACTER. This article by Elspeth Reeve on the New Republic site in August, 2015 (after the first Republican Presidential debate) shows how the media—and I— misunderstood what role Trump was playing. … Continue reading →

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WHAT IS IMPORTANT IF CAMPAIGNS ARE NOT?

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Philip

WHAT IS IMPORTANT IF CAMPAIGNS ARE NOT? The theory that the importance of campaigns is overrated has always had a great deal of appeal for me. I have not yet encountered a gaffe or a one liner that I thought … Continue reading →

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DO POLITICAL CONSULTANTS MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?—A CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT.

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Philip

DO POLITICAL CONSULTANTS MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE?—A CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT. With all the uncertainty about measuring the effectiveness of political political campaigns, I was surprised to see that there has been a randomized controlled experiment. Molly Ball reports that: “In 2006, Rick … Continue reading →

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EVIDENCE THAT AMERICANS NEVER DID TALK POLITICS WITH PEOPLE THEY DISAGREED WITH.

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Philip

EVIDENCE THAT AMERICANS NEVER DID TALK POLITICS WITH PEOPLE THEY DISAGREED WITH. Jill Lepore writes that: “Political argument has been having a terrible century.” She cites polls which show that: “One in three Americans declines to discuss politics except in … Continue reading →

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SHOULD IT BE A DEBATE OR A PRESS CONFERENCE?

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Philip

SHOULD IT BE A DEBATE OR A PRESS CONFERENCE? In May, 2007, I made my view known here that the Ideal Debate would have no moderator at all and that time allocations for the candidates would be controlled by a … Continue reading →

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MY ANNUAL RANTS ABOUT OUR PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION PROCEDURES (COMMENT).

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Philip

MY ANNUAL RANTS ABOUT OUR PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION PROCEDURES (COMMENT). Henry Nejako commented here on my post on advertising and The Music Man that: “Donald Trump using free advertising resulting from his outrageous comments succeeded in making his followers feel that … Continue reading →

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“I SOLD MY FARM TO BUY MY CROWN.”

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Philip

“I SOLD MY FARM TO BUY MY CROWN.” Swamy Subramanian’s twitter post reminds me of another answer by an economist that shows that “an abstruse answer turneth away wrath.” When I was in college, Professor Meyer Burstein got into a … Continue reading →

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“THE WORLD IS IN GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM….”

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Philip

“THE WORLD IS IN GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM….” I had the pleasure of knowing Subramanian Swamy some 50 years ago when I was a graduate student. He was a brilliant and witty economist. So I was delighted to see this article in … Continue reading →

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CIPRO—MILLIONS OF PRESCRIPTIONS, SPARSE DATA.

Posted on June 22, 2016 by Philip

CIPRO—MILLIONS OF PRESCRIPTIONS, SPARSE DATA. Cipro has been widely used for a long time. One would think that there would be a lot of data about what happens after a patient takes Cipro. The numbers are missing because the data … Continue reading →

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DRUG WARNINGS SHOULD INCLUDE NUMBERS IN ADDITION TO VAGUE WORDS—CIPRO.

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Philip

DRUG WARNINGS SHOULD INCLUDE NUMBERS IN ADDITION TO VAGUE WORDS—CIPRO. I have posted a number of times about how probabilities expressed in numbers should be preferred to vague words in weather forecasts (here), in rating of bonds by rating agencies … Continue reading →

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