Author Archives: bill_mcgonigle
Data Visualization of Racist Content in Ron Paul Newsletters
Everybody knows that there were Ron Paul newsletters published with racist articles in them. Everybody who knows Ron Paul (even his political enemies) are sure he didn’t write them; he says as much, has taken moral responsibility for his lack of oversight, and regrets the content. A fair question to ask, though, is how much … Continue reading
Chocolate Chip Covered Oreo Cookies
These are the most decadent cookies I’ve made yet. Method: First, make a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough. Use your favorite. Here’s the one I used (oz are by weight): Cream in mixer for two minutes: 2 sticks butter, softened 8 oz brown sugar 2 oz white sugar Add: 2 eggs 1½ teaspoon vanilla … Continue reading
NH 2012 GOP Primary Polling Chart
Here’s a chart showing the polling results over time of the NH 2012 Republican primary candidates. Automatic data smoothing is turned on to make the trends visible. Observations: Romney’s support has been very consistent over time, in the 35-40% band Romney, Gingrich, and Paul appear to be the long-haul competitors Ron Paul … Continue reading
“Right to Work” Bill is Anti-Liberty
The way the 2011 proposed NH right-to-work legislation is written, its effect is to remove from a private employer the right to exclusively contract with a union to provide employees. The employer would hereafter be forced to hire non-union workers alongside union workers, even if that’s not the employer’s decided strategy. I think to support … Continue reading
Burying Utilities in New Hampshire
We had some friends who had an exchange student from Germany. One day the power went out and he went around the house flipping the light switches, tickled that nothing happened when he did so. He had never experienced a power outage before – in Germany they bury their utility lines. The Union Leader reports … Continue reading
The $999,999,999,999 Plan
I left this comment for the Union Leader’s editorial on Ron Paul’s Plan to Restore America: Ron Paul’s plan is the only one that actually keeps Social Security afloat without borrowing more (unpayable debt) money from China – surely that has merit? It’s the only one economists will actually score as being workable. Others … Continue reading
My Current Understanding of the Global Warming Arguments
The offered set point for when anthropogenic global warming (AGW) kicked in is when the climate started to warm. The actual data from the seabeds is that the CO2 emissions from human fossil fuel use started to be measurable in the 1830′s. Why didn’t AGW start in the 1830′s? Because there wasn’t enough CO2 to … Continue reading
Organic and Industrial Economics
As much as I enjoy a good rap throw-down between the ghosts of long-dead economic theoreticians, and admire all who seek to bring economic education to wider audiences, I’ve been experimenting with a simpler approach lately – using alternate terminology. Especially when speaking with “liberals” (hereafter written without the quotes), I’ve found using the terms … Continue reading
Pardon Our Dust
I have the blog moved over to the new WordPress infrastructure but haven’t had a chance to build proper re-direct maps yet. Please use the search in the meantime.