Did Trump Fill the Oil Reserve?
Contrary to his claim, the level of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell during Donald J. Trump's term. (more…)
04
Dec
15
Jul
22
Jan
Visualization: Kansas 2020 presidential election
An interactive visualization of the 2020 general election for president in Kansas, at the precinct level. (more…)
17
Jan
Trump-supporting QAnon seen as public security threat
QAnon, a conspiracy theory group mentioned favorably by President Donald J. Trump and embraced by other Republican leaders, represents a public security threat, according to the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Originally published August 23, 2020. In light of recent events, it seems the authors were prescient. (more…)
21
Nov
Proceed with the presidential transition
Further delay in starting the transition to the Biden administration harms Americans. Kansas Republican leaders, please get started. I sincerely hope that the Republican federal officeholders who represent me, or who will soon represent me and my state, recognize that the presidential election is over, that Joe Biden won, and they encourage and help with a peaceful and effective transition to the new presidential administration. While none of these leaders -- Senator Pat Roberts, Senator Jerry Moran, Representative Ron Estes, Representative Roger Marshall, Representative-elect Jake LaTurner, and Representative-elect Tracey Mann -- have the power to compel the transition to start,…
14
Oct
Trump and Russia sanctions
President Donald J. Trump presents himself as tough on Russia, but he opposed and complained about almost all sanctions. This year, John Bolton published The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir. It covers his time as National Security Advisor for the Trump Administration, which was from April 9, 2018 to September 10, 2019. When the book was published, the editors of the conservative National Review questioned the timing of the book, but wrote: "Bolton is a longtime friend of this publication and we take his honesty as a given. Any credibility contest between him and Donald Trump is…
12
Oct
Fake news: How it happened
When politicians condemn fake or phony news, it may be of their own making. A favorite topic of President Donald J. Trump is "fake news." In this passage by Jonathan Karl, who is ABC News Chief White House Correspondent, a Trump administration official briefed reporters on background, meaning the information may be used, but the official may not be named. A newspaper then reported what the official said, respecting the rules by not naming the source. Then, President Trump criticized the newspaper for using phony sources. Here's how it happened, as described by Karl: The next day, May 25, the…
28
Sep
During the Trump administration, the economy grew
The United States economy has grown since Donald J. Trump became president, until the pandemic. How does the growth compare with the previous administration? This chart holds plots of real gross domestic product (GDP) added over two periods of 12 quarters each. One line starts with the first quarter of 2017, which is the first quarter of the Trump administration. It ends with the fourth quarter of 2019, which is the last quarter that was not affected by the response to the pandemic. The other line starts with the first quarter of 2014 and covers the last 12 quarters of…
27
Sep
The Trump record on job creation
The United States economy has created many jobs since Donald J. Trump became president. How does the record compare with the previous administration and others? The nearby chart holds plots of cumulative nonfarm jobs created over two periods of 37 months each. One line starts with February 2017, the first full month of the Trump administration. It ends with February 2020, the last month not affected by the response to the pandemic. The other line starts with January 2014, which covers the last 37 months of the previous president's administration. Question: Which line belongs to each president? No matter which…
14
Sep
Partisan Conflict Index
Have you suspected that the country has become more partisan? An index supports that. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia produces a monthly index that measures one aspect of political partisanship. The authors explain: The Partisan Conflict Index tracks the degree of political disagreement among U.S. politicians at the federal level by measuring the frequency of newspaper articles reporting disagreement in a given month. Higher index values indicate greater conflict among political parties, Congress, and the President. The index is an outgrowth of recent Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia research that finds that the index tends to increase near elections…