Public Good vs Splintered Society (pt 2)

This is a continuation of my thoughts from my previous post. I won’t summarize my thoughts from that post. So you probably should read it first to understand the context of what I’m writing about below.  - – -  I wanted to be clear that I wasn’t directly speaking of racism. There is something more [...]

Public Good vs Splintered Society

I was talking to a conservative about local politics and economics. This helped me to clarify my own liberal views about this liberal community. I’ve lived in this relatively small city (Iowa City, IA) for most of my life and I’ve worked in many jobs here, including the last 10 years spent working for the [...]

Backfire Effect, Oppressed Minority, & Political Divide

Here are just a few thoughts, but I won’t offer any complex analysis. This is just some info I’ve come across recently: (1) the backfire effect demographics, (2) the most oppressed minority, and (3) the main US political divide. (1) The backfire effect is very interesting. It’s the cognitive behavior of someone’s beliefs becoming stronger [...]

Unrepresentative ‘Democracy’

“It should be in miniature an exact portrait of the people at large. It should think, feel, reason and act like them.” ~ John Adams, in reference to a representative assembly (from Taking Back Our Republic) Infographic: What Congress Would Look Like If It Really Represented America America is getting more and more diverse—for instance, our [...]

America’s North/South Divide (& other regional data)

I’ve observed in the US certain regional patterns of culture and demographics, the North/South divide being the focus of my present analysis. The basic pattern of a North/South divide originated with the first colonies and was emblazoned upon the national psyche through the trauma of the Civil War. And, despite the change that has happened [...]

O’Reilly & Polls: Old vs Young

I love polling data, but I only fully trust data when multiple sources agree. I dislike both people who dismiss data because it disagrees with their views and people who rely on only data that agrees with them. Here is an example of someone doing both. Bill O’Reilly cites research unquestioningly when it makes him [...]

Public Opinion On Government & Tea Party

I’m endlessly confused (and curious) about trying to understand public opinion and where it’s heading (see some of the posts on my US Data page), but it usually seems clear to me that Americans are becoming more liberal on at least social issues. Issues of the government and economy are a bit more complex. When I [...]

Libertarians: Rich White Males of the Republican Party

“You have the courage to tell the masses what no politician told them: you are inferior and all the improvements in your conditions which you simply take for granted you owe to the effort of men who are better than you.” ~ Ludwig von Mises writing to Ayn Rand In the above videos (I think [...]

Old, Male, White, Religious, Rich Republicans Are Happy! Surprise, Surprise!

It’s interesting which demographics state being the happiest in the US: old, male, white, religious, rich, Republican. It makes sense. In the US, the people who fit this description have had the most privilege, power, and wealth. Consider the comparison between Republicans and Democrats. Why would Republicans be happier? I’m sure it partly relates to Republicans [...]

Liberals are the New Fiscal Conservatives

In a recent post (Cenk Uygur on Tax Cuts for the Rich), I asked the following question: What is the motivation for Republicans being for and Democrats being against tax cuts for the rich? Many like to argue that both parties are in the pocket of the wealthy elite. But if that were the case, Democrat politicians should [...]