Random charts - The vote

 

Election night marks the end of one phase of campaign 2020 – and the start of another

Random charts - Kashmir

August 5th blog entry 'Kashmir... again'

 

Source: Kashmir: Background, Recent Developments, and U.S. Policy (15-pg CRS PDF)

Random pictures - radical posters

 

Source: The Revolution Has Been Digitized: Explore the Oldest Archive of Radical Posters

Random charts - doc politics

 

Source: Your Surgeon Is Probably a Republican, Your Psychiatrist Probably a Democrat

"... New data show that, in certain medical fields, large majorities of physicians tend to share the political leanings of their colleagues, and a study suggests ideology could affect some treatment recommendations. In surgery, anesthesiology and urology, for example, around two-thirds of doctors who have registered a political affiliation are Republicans. In infectious disease medicine, psychiatry and pediatrics, more than two-thirds are Democrats..."

Random chart - liberal academe

Source: Evidence of 'Liberal Academe'

"The study, published online by Econ Journal Watch, considered voter registration data for faculty members at 40 leading U.S. institutions in economics, history, communications, law and psychology. Of 7,243 professors total, about half are registered. Some 3,623 are Democrats while just 314 are Republicans.

Economists are the most mixed group, with a ratio of 4.5 Democrats for every Republican. Historians as a group are the most lopsided, at 33.5 to one; the paper attributes this to the rise of specializations such as gender, culture, race and the environment. (Some classify history as one of the humanities disciplines.) Lawyers are 8.6 to one and psychologists are 17.4 to one, while communications scholars, including journalism professors, are 20 to one..."

Random charts - politics & media

 

Source: Political Polarization & Media Habits

"When it comes to getting news about politics and government, liberals and conservatives inhabit different worlds. There is little overlap in the news sources they turn to and trust. And whether discussing politics online or with friends, they are more likely than others to interact with like-minded individuals, according to a new Pew Research Center study.

 

Overall, the study finds that consistent conservatives:

• Are tightly clustered around a single news source, far more than any other group in the survey, with 47% citing Fox News as their main source for news about government and politics.
• Express greater distrust than trust of 24 of the 36 news sources measured in the survey. At the same time, fully 88% of consistent conservatives trust Fox News.
• Are, when on Facebook, more likely than those in other ideological groups to hear political opinions that are in line with their own views.
• Are more likely to have friends who share their own political views. Two-thirds (66%) say most of their close friends share their views on government and politics.

By contrast, those with consistently liberal views:

• Are less unified in their media loyalty; they rely on a greater range of news outlets, including some – like NPR and the New York Times– that others use far less.
• Express more trust than distrust of 28 of the 36 news outlets in the survey. NPR, PBS and the BBC are the most trusted news sources for consistent liberals.
• Are more likely than those in other ideological groups to block or “defriend” someone on a social network – as well as to end a personal friendship – because of politics.
• Are more likely to follow issue-based groups, rather than political parties or candidates, in their Facebook feeds..."

Random charts - Insecurity

 

 

Source: The Politics of Financial Insecurity: A Democratic Tilt, Undercut by Low Participation 

"When it comes to choosing a party’s candidate in the voting booth, one pattern in modern American politics is so familiar it has become a truism: the rich vote Republican, the poor vote Democratic. And while the reality of the situation is much more nuanced, in broad strokes it has been the case that Republicans have consistently garnered disproportionate levels of support from the financially well-off, while the least financially secure Americans have been significantly more likely to back Democrats. Least Financial Secure Less Likely to Vote or to Otherwise Engage With Politics

But a new analysis of Pew Research Center survey data collected in the fall lead-up to the 2014 midterm elections finds that at least as striking is the degree to which those who are financially insecure opt out of the political system altogether, and how that opting out disproportionately affects Democratic support. 

Financial security is strongly correlated with nearly every measure of political engagement..."

Random charts - women in Congress

 

Source: Women in the United States Congress: Historical Overview, Tables, and Discussion (25-page CRS PDF)

Click to enlarge

Source: Women in national parliaments

Eh?

One press conference, two takes...

Great quotes - geography II

“It’s unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. And …Syria is their key ally. It’s their only ally in the Arab world. It is also their route to the sea. Syria provides a -- a shadow over Lebanon. Syria is providing the armament of Hezbollah in Lebanon that, of course, threatens Israel, our friend and ally.”

- Candidate Mitt Romney, during the third "Foreign policy" debate....

Eh?

Headline from earlier this week (see above) - 'Santorum Sweeps Alabama and Miss.' with the subheading 'Gingrich takes 2nd; Romney limps in 3rd.'

Hmm, so apparently Romney took a shellacking! Well, perhaps not - in Mississippi Santorum took 32.8% of the vote, Gingrich 31.2%, while Romney "limped in" with 30.6%, while in Alabama Santorum took 34.5%, Gingrich 29.3%, with Romney at 29%.

Wow, that's quite a some "sweep" and quite some "limping." In fact, in Mississippi, Romney actually won more delegates than Santorum (even though this was not the case in Alabama).

Once upon a time (perhaps) one could read the news and get factual reporting....

Note: At the same time both Hawaii and American Samoa held their caucuses, and in both of these Romney extended his delegate lead...

Random chart - Congressional wealth

Source: Financial wealth distribution as a percentage of Congress and Senate

Random chart

Source: Congress’ approval problem in one chart Hugo Chavez??

Random charts

Source: Americans Give GOP Edge in Handling Nation's Problems

Great quotes

"Let's say that she's 90 percent [recovered]... Well, we've had congressmen in Arizona who didn't even have a brain. So, it's not like you have to be as talented as she is to be good at it."

- Mike McNulty, Gabrielle Giffords' last campaign chairman, speculating on a Giffords run for Arizona's Senate seat.

"Not just political sense, but decency, dictates that if Gabby enters the Senate race, any Democrat should exit"

- Democrat Rodney Glassman, who is considering running for the seat "... as a placeholder for Giffords, vowing to turn over his contribution list and infrastructure to her the moment she entered the race..."

Presumably one can wish her the very best and hope for an eventual full recovery, while still being appalled by this: "... Although she was completely unaware of it, the wounded Gabby Giffords had become the most potent political force in the state..." Apparently many, from her staff to some of the state's Democratic political establishment, see this as a good opportunity to "leverage" the populace's good will and to use her as their "ticket" to the Senate seat... "Decency" indeed...

Of bulls-eyes and cross-hairs

Sarah Palin targets Giffords (amongst others):

DailyKos put a bulls-eye on Gifford (on a "target list", amongst others):

A DailyKos diarist labels Gifford "dead to me now":

The DLC put a bulls-eye on a number of states/districts (Not including Arizona/Giffords):

Gary Hart gets it right (if one sided): "... Gradually, over time, political rhetoric used by politicians and the media has become more inflammatory. The degree to which violent words and phrases are considered commonplace is striking. Candidates are "targeted". An opponent is "in the cross-hairs". Liberals have to be
"eliminated". Opponents are "enemies". This kind of language emanates largely from those who claim to defend American democracy against those who would destroy it, who are evil, and who want to "take away our freedoms..."

If you agree that the way issues are framed, the language and rhetoric used by the various parties, and that the tone and framework of the national discourse all contribute to what happens, this blogger believes its not a big stretch to believe that the oft touted "we're at war" mindset and and the wont of some to militarize issues is equally to blame (and that this is something most politicians of both parties, Republicans and Democrats, are guilty of).

Note 1: Grammar corrections made to hart quote from HuffPo, viz. "inflamatory" corrected to "inflammatory", "eminates" corrected to "emanates"

Note 2: some of these web sites have now been "scrubbed."

Random chart

Source: Breaking the filibuster in one graph

Random charts...

Source: Who owns Congress? Mother Jones thought experiment: "... What if members of Congress were seated not by party but according to the industries which gave them the most money over their entire careers?"

And you wonder why...

Hmm, comments on VisibleVote concerning Senator George Voinoivich, made by user "Ohio" worried about his/her bennefits... (sic)

E/J-GTRRA votes

The "Bush tax cuts"... surely no right-thinking Democrat would ever have voted 'yea'....

Senate roll-call votes on the 1) Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA; P.L. 107-16), and the 2) Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA; P.L. 108-27), collectively known as the Bush tax cuts...

The Bush Tax Cuts and the Economy