The Outstater
Politics Corrupts Crime Data MOST EVERYONE CAN AGREE that protecting citizens and property is the justification for any legitimate government. So how is ours doing? Well, you don’t know, and you can’t find out. The FBI says crime is falling. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) sponsored by the Census Bureau says it isn’t. Your local police chief, with Read the full article…
McGowan: Hate Crimes — What’s Changed
by Richard McGowan, Ph.D. The media in 2024, including newspapers, were quieter than in previous years regarding the horrible events of Sept. 11, 2001. Prior to this year, the media had consistently presented newscasts and provided articles on the fraught nature of Muslim existence in America. The typical article had pictures of Muslim families followed by a sympathetic Read the full article…
The Outstater
Bad Statistics, Worse Policies “There are lies, damned lies and statistics,” — Mark Twain WE TOUCHED ON THIS the other day, correlation but not causation, the inability to legitimately deduce a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables solely on the basis of an observed association. What if the number of Indiana hate crime complaints was not the same Read the full article…
Franke: Abe and Defending the Constitution
9by MARK FRANKE Poor Abraham Lincoln. When I was in school during the dark ages of our republic, Lincoln was known as the Great Emancipator and the man who saved the Union. His birthday was observed but not as an “everybody gets a free day off work” holiday. Still, it was an important day remembering Read the full article…
The Outstater
Knocking Down KKK Straw Men IT IS THE MOST DISAPPOINTING piece of journalism you should ever hope to read — the Indianapolis Star’s “investigation” Wednesday of the “right wing” in Indiana. Please excuse the use of scare quotes here but the lack of definition in the article and its spurious intent require them. Here is the headline: “Same Goals, New Tactics: How Extremist Groups Read the full article…
The Outstater
The Diversity Horizon CAN WE SEPARATE DIVERSITY from identity long enough to understand that when it is arbitrarily applied it weakens any effort? Probably not, but here is an attempt. If you are putting together a team and decide to ensure that one-third of them are from Kansas then you have denied yourself the untold talent/ability/energy of Read the full article…
