Opinion
Abusing Reconciliation?
Datagraphics can be used to inject civility into public debates. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (and others) has been quoted as saying that reconciliation has never been used to pass something like health care before. And people who are pre-disposed to believe what the right says believe him without checking further. And people pre-disposed... »
Reviewing an NYTimes Infographic
Recently the New York Times ran an infographic on the proposed 2011 Federal Budget. It’s a nearly perfect use of the treemap capability in data visualization where the size of the boxes is proportional to the amount of spending. If you click on a region it zooms in revealing a bit more information than... »
Not All Spending Is Stimulus
President Obama announced a 3 year freeze on the discretionary part of the federal budget. Many liberal economists (including Paul Krugman) decried this as a wrong step. In an economic downturn the government should be spending and not cutting back. I agree in theory, but the question is does the theory apply in this... »
An Allegorical Tale
Imagine for a moment that the following story is true: Someone very close to me has been experiencing an incredible run of bad luck. Every day for the past few years my friend (let’s call him Paul) gets mugged. The robbers punch him then take his money but they leave his wallet. He’s not hurt... »
Krugman’s Popsicle Stick Economy
It is very difficult to talk about the economy and the steps the government is taking to fix the economy without at least a rudimentary understanding of how the economy works. One of the best explanations I’ve seen was an article written more than 10 years ago by Noble Prize winner Paul Krugman. One... »
Three Wishes for the New Year
I believe there’s an emerging space in the news industry for data visualization. Not as a supplement to the written word but as the primary source of information. Data visualization techniques, if done right, can go a long way toward addressing the bias and oversimplification that is or appears to be in many written-word... »
Rush Limbaugh’s RAW NERVE
Several sites have been airing a snippet of William Shatner’s new TV show “Raw Nerve“ where he interviews Rush Limbaugh. The part making the rounds is where Shatner asks Limbaugh about health care. It starts like this: Shatner - “Here’s my premise and you agree with it or not: If you have money, you are... »
Nobel Economics Prize 2009
On Monday October 12 Elinor Ostrom was one of 2 winners of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics. The Wall Street Journal ran a brief article on both winners and cited her work as: Ms. Ostrom’s work challenged the view that when people share a finite resource, they will end up destroying it — what... »
“You Lie” – Now What?
On Wednesday, September 9, 2009 while President Obama was addressing a joint session of Congress he was heckled by congressman Joe Wilson from South Carolina. At one point during the President’s speech Representative Wilson disagreed with what the President was saying and blurted out “You Lie”. The policy item under discussion was whether the proposed... »
Other Similar Sites
It’s encouraging to see other sites out there focused on the same or similar work as this one. Starting today I’ve added a permanent page to this blog that will “warehouse” and showcase these sites as I find them. Feel free to contact me by comment or email if you find others worthy of... »
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