Bill Jouris

by wj Warning: a big part of this post is going to be about sex. So if you don’t want to even think about that, skip the post and just go with the Open Thread part. One of this week’s big stories, apparently, revolved around Caitlyn Jenner. But a lot of the reason for its … Read more

by wj “There is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these [factual] questions than those who don’t watch any news at all.” [emphasis added] If you’re thinking that was written by stalwart Democratic partisan, you can be forgiven; but you are flat wrong. Bruce Bartlett is a veteran of … Read more

by wj Synergy can be defined as the interaction of two inputs to produce a greater impact than either alone. Or, to put it another way, as two phenomena which reinforce each other. Earlier this week, there was a Conversation on Poverty panel discussion at Georgetown University. It included religious leaders, who seem to be … Read more

by wj Obviously past time for a new one of these again.

by wj The “broken windows” theory of policing was made widely known by the policies implemented in the 1990s by William Bratton in New York City. Basically, it suggests that small crimes (e.g. vandalism, public drinking and toll-jumping) going without response leads to major crimes. And that dealing visibly with small crimes helps to create … Read more

by wj One of the on-going problems for numerous governments, from Chicago to Greece, is that they have made big pension commitments without setting aside sufficient funds to meet them. (As distinct from those, like Social Security, which were basically designed to pay-as-you-go.) Pensions are funded based two parameters: demographic data on how long people … Read more

by wj A couple of years ago, California modified it’s primary election process — via an initiative, necessarily. Josh Richman has a column in the local paper today on the impact of that new system. Money quote: California’s top-two primary system and independently drawn legislative districts took effect in 2012. The new primary pits candidates … Read more

by wj In today’s news, the talks with Iran have reached an agreement. Here is the State Department statement on the agreement. At a quick glance, it appears that Iran has basically given the other side pretty much everything that they were asking. And sanctions are being lifted only after Iran has met its committments … Read more

by wj Writing about the current mess in Yemen, Fareed Zakaria says, in part: This is the pattern that has produced terrorism in the Arab world. Repressive, secular regimes — backed by the West — become illegitimate. Over time they become more repressive to survive and the opposition becomes more extreme and violent. The space … Read more

by wj You just can’t make upstuff like this. At least, my imagination can’t manage it. The Des Moines Register reports today that Senator Cruz will be signing up for Obamacare. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/24/ted-cruz-health-insurance-obamacare/70384334/ It seems that his wife is taking leave from Goldman Sachs to support his campaign. So he can no longer be on her … Read more

by wj In today’s Washington Post: War With Iran Is Probably Our Best Option. The author, Joshua Muravchik, might be the poster child for the movement from the far left to the far right. Going from National Chairman of the Young People’s Socialist League in the late 1960s and early 1970s to a board member … Read more

by wj I think it more likely than not that Hilary Clinton’s candidacy will survive this latest contremps over her using a private e-mail account during her tenure as Secretary of State. (Unless evidence turns up of a significant security breach. At that point, all bets are off.) There’s just too much history of the … Read more

by wj I don’t know when the talks with Iran over nuclear weapons will conclude. Maybe they finish by the latest deadline. Maybe they go thru some more extensions. But eventually they will end. And there are only a few ways that they can end. In rough order of probability (as I see it): They … Read more

guest post by wj Note: this is not to say that they cannot win a tactical victory, and take over the Senate next week. Apparently they are odds on favorites to do just that. But let’s look at the possible outcomes of next week’s election: 1)Democrats somehow hold on to their majority, however tenuously. 2)The … Read more

by regular commenter wj A recent blog post at the Economist looks at a comparison of the financial impact of obesity. And compares it to the impact of a college education. (The Swedish study that they look at finds them to be of the same magnitude. (And even being just overweight apparently has negatives, just … Read more