Squish Like Grape

The good news is the same as the bad news: This market looks just like 1998

"The Moderate Middle is a Myth" proclaims the headline at FiveThirtyEight. The analysis by Lee Drutman doesn't actually deny the existence of moderates. Rather, Drutman merely questions the notion expressed by several pundits that Democrats can win in 2020 by "moving to the center". Drutman's research indicates that the approximately 40% of voters who identify as moderate or independent are not a cohesive voting bloc, and no candidate can win them over by adopting a centrist policy position.

An unshackled Trump finally gets the presidency he always wanted

“It’s very easy, actually, to work with me. You know why it’s easy? Because I make all the decisions. They don’t have to work,” Trump told reporters last Friday as he explained why being his national security adviser, in his mind, is now a low-key post.

It's rare to see such transparent dishonesty as in this piece from E. Calvin Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. The Cornwall Alliance is, according to its website,

Study shows some political beliefs are just historical accidents

In two of the ten experimental worlds, people simply saw these statements and were asked, “As a [Democrat/Republican], do you agree or disagree with this statement?”

Beto O'Rourke made headlines in the latest Democratic debate. When asked, based on a previous statement he had made endorsing gun buybacks, whether he was actually proposing taking away citizens' guns, he answered:

Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.

Union chief says National Weather workers 'irate' after NOAA backs Trump's Alabama hurricane forecast

Dan Sobien, who heads the National Weather Service Employees Organization representing thousands of employees working under NOAA, told The Daily Beast in an interview on Friday that "never ever before has their management thrown them under the bus like this."

A retelling of a Comanche myth

One day Coyote was hungry, and was out looking for something to eat, when he met up with Skunk, who was also hungry. "I have an idea," said Coyote. "Will you help me trick some prairie dogs so we can eat them?"

This sounded good to Skunk, so he said, "What do you propose?"

Coyote explained, "The prairie dog village is just over the next hill. You go lie down and pretend to be dead, and I'll catch us some prairie dogs."

The refugees on my church’s cricket team

After summarizing the six problems and (very briefly) mentioning the ways scientists have met these challenges, Faulkner concludes,