What The Huck?
Today is Wednesday, 2 March 2011.
1.
Presumed Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee claims that Obama's "childhood in Kenya" is responsible for things such as his "liberalism" and attitude toward the British. A Huckabee spokesperson clarifies that he "misspoke".
However, in that case, What The Huck would have said that Obama's Indonesian childhood was responsible for his attitude toward the Dutch.
No matter that most of Obama's childhood was spent in the USA/USE.
2.
We all owe a humongous debt of gratitude to Congressional Republicans and Teabaggers: they won't shut down the Federal government until at least 18 March, since they get to cut a whopping $4 billion from the Federal budget.
These are the same folks who supported Reagan and the Bushes when they incurred 2/3 of the National Debt. Also the same folks who supported W. Bush's failed attempt to conquer Iraq, which will cost taxpayers at least $1 trillion, and very possibly as much as $3 trillion.
Can they say "Fiscal responsibility"? I knew they couldn't.
3.
When making financial comparisons across time, it's always essential to adjust for inflation.
For example, headlines are trumpeting the alleged skyrocketing price of airfares. In fact, adjusted for inflation, current average airfares on American airlines are roughly 20% lower than in 2000.
Similarly, hucksters pushing ownership of gold in TV ads claim that the precious metal is selling at all-time highs. In fact, adjusted for inflation, gold prices peaked in 1980.
If you've never read the slender classic, How to Lie With Statistics, by Darrell Huff (1954), now would be a good time.
1.
Presumed Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee claims that Obama's "childhood in Kenya" is responsible for things such as his "liberalism" and attitude toward the British. A Huckabee spokesperson clarifies that he "misspoke".
However, in that case, What The Huck would have said that Obama's Indonesian childhood was responsible for his attitude toward the Dutch.
No matter that most of Obama's childhood was spent in the USA/USE.
2.
We all owe a humongous debt of gratitude to Congressional Republicans and Teabaggers: they won't shut down the Federal government until at least 18 March, since they get to cut a whopping $4 billion from the Federal budget.
These are the same folks who supported Reagan and the Bushes when they incurred 2/3 of the National Debt. Also the same folks who supported W. Bush's failed attempt to conquer Iraq, which will cost taxpayers at least $1 trillion, and very possibly as much as $3 trillion.
Can they say "Fiscal responsibility"? I knew they couldn't.
3.
When making financial comparisons across time, it's always essential to adjust for inflation.
For example, headlines are trumpeting the alleged skyrocketing price of airfares. In fact, adjusted for inflation, current average airfares on American airlines are roughly 20% lower than in 2000.
Similarly, hucksters pushing ownership of gold in TV ads claim that the precious metal is selling at all-time highs. In fact, adjusted for inflation, gold prices peaked in 1980.
If you've never read the slender classic, How to Lie With Statistics, by Darrell Huff (1954), now would be a good time.
posted by HH at 1:03 PM
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