Other Than That, the Story Was Accurate

Daily Best of the Web   —   Posted on January 13, 2015

The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.

U.S. President George W. Bush with his brother Governor of Florida Jeb Bush

George Bush and brother Jeb

Other Than That, the Story Was Accurate
“An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to Jeb Bush’s relationship with George W. Bush. It is fraternal, of course, not filial.”—New York Times, Jan. 3

What Would We Do Without Experts?
“New Year Resolutions Must Be Realistic, Say Experts”—headline, UncoverCalifornia.com, Jan. 3

Make That 19

  • “18 Things No One Tells You About Leaving University”—headline, Metro.co.uk, Jan. 5, 2015
  • “A Shocking Number of College Students Don’t Even Realize They Have Loan Debt”—headline, BusinessInsider.com, Dec. 12, 2014

Crazy Like a Vox
Almost a month after consumers of any other news source knew it, Vox.com’s Dylan Matthews brings us the news that the Republicans will hold a 54-46 majority in the Senate when the new Congress is sworn in Tuesday. He then proceeds to reveal “a crazy fact: those 46 Democrats got more votes than the 54 Republicans across the 2010, 2012, and 2014 elections.”

Given that Democrats tend to do better in more populous states—including the most populous, California—that’s hardly surprising. What’s so “crazy” about it? Matthews’s answer:

This doesn’t mean that the Republican majority is illegitimate or anything like that. Indeed, after 2008 and 2012, the tables were turned: Democrats got more Senate seats than their vote share suggested they should. The problem isn’t that the deck is stacked in favor of Republicans. The problem is that the deck is stacked in favor of small states, which receive equal representation in the Senate despite dramatic variance in population.

So he states the obvious, then begs the question (assuming he means more or less the same thing by “crazy” and “problem”). Then he concludes: “The Senate is a profoundly anti-democratic body and should be abolished.”

Good luck with that. Meanwhile, does anyone have a link to the Vox piece urging abolition of the U.N.?

(NOTE: The excerpts above are from the Jan. 5 BOTW Archives.) For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”