Explorations of Empirical and Formal Research in Political Science
Yesterday, Wikileaks released a bunch of new information on the war in Iraq. While I haven't had a chance to dig through much of it yet, I'm curious to see which narrative is going to win out in the short term. Rather, of the several dimensions of the war effort that these reports cover, which one will the press focus on? Which one will come to be most closely associated with this leak in 20 years? More speculation after the jump.
As the 2010 election draws near, many political pundits have predicted that the Democrats will face significant losses in House elections (for a nice summary of election forecasts see here and here). Some have even suggested that the losses will be enough for Democrats to lose majority control over the House. Commentators on CNN have even began discussing how Republicans and Democrats will share power in Washington after the election. Although it seems highly likely that Democrats will face losses in both chambers in the midterm election (as this is usually the case in midterm elections for members of the President's party), the extent of the losses may be slightly Continue reading Losses Less than Expected?
Just a quick post on a couple of things:
So, Jim Jones is leaving as National Security Advisor–apparently to be replaced by his Deputy Tom Donilon. I'm mostly interested in what the extended effects of this transition will be. It sounds like Donilon is significantly more engaged in day-to-day affairs than Jones is/was. What caught me eye in particular is the notion that Donilon has been pushing for wrapping up affairs in Iraq in favor of emphasizing other objectives. More after the jump…
This story is a good example of why certain goods should be public goods and not private goods. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39516346/ns/us_news-life/ The rural residents of Obion County, Tennessee do not have a public firefighting service. They do have access to South Fulton's service (a city in the county), but they have to pay a $75 fee to be able to use it. And, as Gene Cranick, a rural resident, learned last week, if you do not pay the fee, the fire department will not help you. They will stand and watch your home burn down. And they will not let you pay the fee on the spot either, Continue reading No Fee, No Service