Month: April 2015
Jeb Bush’s Campaign — All Money and No Endorsements
Money is unlikely to be Bush’s problem in this campaign, and cash may be a less valuable resource than another sort of currency in which he is lacking: the support of influential Republicans, like current senators and governors, especially those who publicly endorse a candidate. Historically, these endorsements have been the best proxy for support in the ‘invisible primary’ and a leading indicator for which candidates may emerge victorious through the rough-and-tumble nomination race. … So far, Bush has won very few endorsements. No current Republican senators or governors have endorsed him, and only five members of the House of Representatives have done so, all from his home state of Florida.
— FiveThirtyEight
Anti-Gay Gay Republican Outs Himself Via Grindr
That’s what gay guys do on gay sites, don’t they? That’s how things happen on Grindr. It’s a gay chat site. It’s not the first thing you do on that site. That’s what we do, exchange pics on the site.
— North Dakota State Rep. Randy Boehning (R), confirming he was “Top Man!” on Grindr and saying he doesn’t think sending a graphic photo of himself to a stranger is a lapse in judgment, as Grindr is an adult site where users often exchange such images, reported Mediaite. After Rep. Boehning voted against a bill that would have expanded anti-discrimination rights for LGBT citizens, the Fargo Forum published a front page featuring his photo and the photos of every representative who voted against the bill. Dustin Smith, a 21-year-old Bismarck resident, recognized Boehning as a Grindr user named “Top Man!” who’d been flirting with him for a year and sending him pictures, some with his face, and at least one dick pic.
Study: Google Searches for ‘N-Word’ Correlate to Black Mortality
In what can only be described as an act of exquisite irony, given the riots in Baltimore, the University of Maryland yesterday released a study that finds a correlation between the number of Google searches for the “N-word” and its variants, and the rate of mortality among African Americans in a given geographic area.
According to David Chae, author of the study and assistant professor of epidemiology at University of Maryland:
“Racial disparities in health and disease represent a significant public health concern. Research suggests that racism is a major culprit that contributes to the gap in mortality between Blacks and Whites,” said Chae. “Our study points to the utility of an Internet-search based measure to monitor racism at the area-level and assess its impact on mortality.”
