Compassionate (Sentimental) Liberals, Loyal (Authoritarian) Conservatives, and Intelligent (Cold-Hearted) Libertarians

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and the Cato Institute’s Emily Ekins have an incredible article on the moral psychology of different candidate supporters. The two begin with the 6 major moral foundations: Care/harm: We feel compassion for those who are vulnerable or suffering. Fairness/cheating: We constantly monitor whether people are getting what they deserve, whether things … Read more

Salon: Glenn Beck vs. Donald Trump

Note: the initial headline misattributed the story to Slate instead of Salon. My mistake. Salon has an interesting article: Glenn Beck vs. Donald Trump: Why the wing-nut icon’s new war on the billionaire really matters.  It’s always a little hard to read analysis that is so overtly partisan, and the schadenfreude is dense in this … Read more

I Can’t Give Up Hope for Romney 2016

New York Magazine says Romney Is Horrified by Trump — and That’s Restarting ‘Mitt 2016’ Talk, and the story is getting echoed at places like Breitbart. CNN is in on the rumors as well: But while Mitt Romney doesn’t back the Trump agenda, Robert Costa of The Washington Post reports that his check-in with close Romney advisers produced … Read more

The Humanity of Markets

This is an older Wall Street Journal article (from October 2010), but it’s one of those great articles that is at once intrinsically interesting and also really offers a glimpse into how us anti-social free-marketeers see the world: Why Some Islanders Build Better Crab Traps. The research is pretty simple: scientists found a way to quantify … Read more

Scott Walker 2016?

I know it’s silly, but my favorite candidate for 2016 is still Mitt Romney. Third time’s the charm, eh? But, since that’s not likely, I’m kind of desperate to find anyone who isn’t either Cruz or McCain. I feel like they represent the polar disparities of the GOP. So the natural person to look to … Read more

The Tea Party Fights The Man

The Tea Party does not have a lot of friends in Washington. Conventional wisdom–the sort of thing you hear on NPR, for example–is that the GOP has redistricted itself to death. By creating solid red districts, they’ve turned over power to the loonies on the fringe. Complementary theories include the notion that the Tea Party … Read more

Dear Crazy Conservatives, Please Stop

So Vulture reports that Dinesh D’Souza is making a new movie. I really, really wish he wouldn’t. His last movie, in case you missed it, was 2016: Obama’s America and it is a perfect example of what happens when the American right decides that Michael Moore is a really awesome guy and theywant to be totally just … Read more

On Standing With Rand

I’ve had a lot of crazy things going on that have put a temporary squeeze on my blogging. Have no fear! I have some great pieces I’m working on. (He said with great humility.) But due to family and professional things and also the Snowquester, I am a little behind my own goal for posting. … Read more