Current Affairs

Redistricting and Representation 101

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The 2010 decennial census is nearly complete and within the next couple of months US states will once again be redefining congressional district lines. For practical reasons, redistricting is a necessary process in the US political system. US House of Representative districts must be relatively equal in population size and from time to time district … Read more

Wikileaks’ Latest and Greatest

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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.

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Losses Less than Expected?

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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 less than expected. A new study by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press suggests that polls that do not call cell phones may be misrepresenting how well Republicans will do in this year's upcoming election. While most national polls do call cell phones, the state and local polls generally do not. Given the study's results, predictions that use state and local polls in predicting this year's election results may be overestimating how well the Republicans will do.

More after the jump…

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A Couple of Things…

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Just a quick post on a couple of things:

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Keeping up with the Jones(es)

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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…

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No Fee, No Service

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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 … Read more

Senators’ Digital IQ Ranking

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A recently released study by L2ThinkTank.com suggests that Senate Republicans have a higher Digital IQ than Senate Democrats. However, after taking a closer look at the data, it appears that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to using the Internet to reach voters. Breaking down the index… does it truly … Read more

The Imperative Of Military Spending — OR — Fun With Defense Numbers

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A lot of debate has been stirred up recently regarding the levels of military spending in the US.  Two wars running for the better part of a decade have dramatically inflated our defense expenditures, and the recent global recession has forced many to consider where costs can be cut.  This recent article by Foreign Policy’s … Read more

How Things That Don’t Make Sense Can Make Sense

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Tom Ricks at Foreign Policy has a brief article discussing questions posed to General Petraeus by Republican senators recently.  Just a few thoughts on this issue…

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The Symbol or the Substance?

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The UN Security Council was set to vote this morning on new sanctions/strengthening existing sanctions targeting Iran.  The US administration seems to be keen on building up just how tough these new sanctions are.   I have to wonder how much of this is simply rhetorical and how much reflects an actual belief in the efficacy of sanctions within the Obama administration. 

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