Category Archives: Politics

The Presidential Character: Predicting Performance In The White House By James David Barber

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Luke Ford

From the 2017 edition, Introduction: * Activity is the level of energy that a president devotes to the job, and affect is the level of satisfaction the president obtains from it. He divides each dimension into two categories (active-inactive and … Continue reading →

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Pundits V Professors

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Luke Ford

A friend says: Political pundits are selected for on their ability to get and keep attention. Many though academia’s problems are, the selection process is not as pathological. And the same applies to business/finance analysts — and, to be honest, … Continue reading →

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Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Luke Ford

Here are some highlights from this 2020 book: * A once-​enthusiastic participant in the online culture wars recently reflected on his history of grandstanding: “Every time I would call someone racist or sexist, I would get a rush. That rush … Continue reading →

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Bite the Hand That Feeds You: Essays and Provocations by Henry Fairlie

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Luke Ford

Here are some highlights from the late essayist at The New Republic: * Parliament still unites freedom and order in a way which is the envy of the world, and probably its hope. [LF: Does parliament unite freedom and order … Continue reading →

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Most News Is Unimportant

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Luke Ford

On a scale of 1-10, with 1 representing reality TV and 10 representing nuclear cataclysm, I think of Covid-19 as a 7 (I think before it is done it will likely take away millions of years of quality of life … Continue reading →

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