Category Archives: Politics

BASEBALL AND COMPROMISE.

BASEBALL AND COMPROMISE. Gerald Seib in the Wall Street Journal (July 17) quotes George Will: “I always thought baseball was the right sport for democracy because there is so much losing….Democracy is the system of the half loaf. Nobody gets … Continue reading

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“DUCK, DUCK, GRAY GOOSE” AND THE PERSISTENCE OF FOLKWAYS.

“DUCK, DUCK, GRAY GOOSE” AND THE PERSISTENCE OF FOLKWAYS. Another important book that is touched upon by “Duck, Duck, Gray Goose” is David Hackett Fischer’s ALBION’S SEED: FOUR BRITISH FOLKWAYS IN AMERICA, which is summarized in this wikipedia entry. ALBION’S … Continue reading

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ANOTHER MURDER WHICH WILL PROBABLY NOT BE A DIPLOMATIC INCIDENT.

ANOTHER MURDER WHICH WILL PROBABLY NOT BE A DIPLOMATIC INCIDENT. In the first week of this blog I posted here about a murder committed by the Russian government by means of plutonium poisoning. I quoted an article from the New … Continue reading

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“DUCK, DUCK, GRAY GOOSE” AND POLITICAL THEORY.

I was reminded by the thought of immigrants bringing their version of children’s games with them of THE FOUNDING OF NEW SOCIETIES by Lewis Hartz. I was persuaded by Hartz’s theory some fifty years ago and still subscribe to it. … Continue reading

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“HOW PUNDITS NEVER GET IT WRONG”—-THE 40% RULE.

“HOW PUNDITS NEVER GET IT WRONG”—THE 40% RULE. Rolfe Winkler and Justin Lahart had an article in the Wall Street Journal (February 27, 2018) about what they call the “40% rule” for predictions. They call the rule “a favorite forecasting … Continue reading

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TALEB VERSUS PINKER.

TALEB VERSUS PINKER. As is shown by the archive feature, two of the writers that have been the subjects of many of the posts on this blog are Steven Pinker and Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Wootton points out in his review … Continue reading

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ARE HISTORICAL BOOKS ABOUT PROGRESS “COMFORT HISTORY?”

ARE HISTORICAL BOOKS ABOUT PROGRESS “COMFORT HISTORY”? Pinker’s book is a sequel to his THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE, which was discussed in several posts on this blog some six years ago. You can find those posts by using … Continue reading

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THE REJECTION OF THE WHIG THEORY OF HISTORY.

THE REJECTION OF THE WHIG THEORY OF HISTORY. When I was a college student some fifty years ago, the Whig Theory of History seemed to be dominant. This wikipedia entry defines the theory as: “an approach to historiography that presents … Continue reading

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EURISH—A BUREAUCRAT’S LANGUAGE.

EURISH—A BUREAUCRAT’S LANGUAGE. A large number of the Europeans who speak Eurish interact with other Europeans at European Union functions. This article by Selina Sykes on the Express website quotes Emily O’Reilly, a European Union ombudsman, who disapproves of the … Continue reading

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EURISH.

EURISH. This article by Michael Skapinker in the Financial Times/ Straits Times (February 14, 2018) discusses the theory that “continental Europeans are developing their own variety of English, a process that will accelerate when the United Kingdom leaves the European … Continue reading

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