September 2008

The real differences between liberals and conservatives

Here’s a very illuminating talk by Jonathan Haidt about the moral mind. Watch it then scroll down for my take. The graphs he shows are incredible, simply for the discrepancies between the two sides of the moral spectrum. I think he tries too hard to wrap his interpretation of openness around the findings, though. Ultimately the talk fails because – as he himself states – the principles of open discussion… Read More »The real differences between liberals and conservatives

Plan for Change

A new 2 minute-long ad from Obama spells out what he wants to do once in office. Personally I love it: it’s substantive, logical, and it highlights the effects to the working class. But I’m not sure if your average low-information voter is going to sit through 2 minutes of, well, just talking. Maybe I’m underestimating the average American, but there’s a reason why most political ads are 30 second… Read More »Plan for Change

John McCain Vs Spain

So last night, McCain gave a strange interview in which he refused to say whether – once elected – he’d meet with Spanish president Zapatero or not. Not only that, but he changed the subject to Latin America several times, despite the reporter clarifying that she was asking his prospective administration’s relationship with Spain. This comes at a time when people are starting to whisper about McCain’s mental acuity. Today… Read More »John McCain Vs Spain

More slogan theft

Since once wasn’t enough, the McCain campaign has now decided to coopt Obama’s message a second time. Mere days after the Obama campaign rolled out their new slogan “Change We Need” – a subtle change to their previous “Change We Can Believe In” – we see this post banking crisis ad. But wait, what message does the ad end on? John McCain: Changing my message to whatever you think you… Read More »More slogan theft

More of the same

No, I’m not referring to McCain. In a world drowning in vacuous interpretation and the empty drone of millions of people laboriously poring over every word uttered during the presidential campaign; in a blogosphere where everyone and their cat is an expert, one man throws his hat into the ring… And with that LaFontaine-esque introduction, my blog begins. Stay tuned for some actual opinions sometime soon!