Tag: politics

  • The Conservative Party of America

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    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    We enter our second week of the government shutdown. Of course, blame for the shutdown falls largely upon a small number of conservative Republican members of the House, bolstered by Senator Cruz (R-TX) and his allies in the Senate. But we already know that there are a number of moderate Republicans who want to pass…

  • Paying Federal Employees

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    Brendan Barry
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    The Washington Post put together this infographic looking at paydays for federal employees who will still be working during the shutdown, e.g. military service personnel. Of course, if the shutdown drags on, the paychecks for those still working would be delayed. Credit for the piece goes to Lisa Rein and Todd Lindeman.

  • The US Government Shuts Down

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    So the House Republicans’ Tea Party wing added several different non-budget riders centred around the Affordable Care Act (which they have labelled Obamacare) to the budget. And then the whole House Republican caucus passed it despite threats of immediate vetoes from both the Democratic Senate and the White House. The House Republicans have shut down…

  • Protests Around the World

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    Brendan Barry
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    Today’s post features an animated map by a doctoral candidate at Penn State. It plots out month-by-month protests across the world. It moves a bit fast and could perhaps make use out of some guided navigation, e.g. focusing the user’s attention on specific areas at specific times, but is still an interesting view of the…

  • Paying a Bribe

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Some say bribes grease the wheels of business. But if that is the case, where are the greasiest wheels? This interactive piece from the BBC showcases an interesting story. It maps who has paid bribes and the value thereof. Then it looks at corruption in the different sectors of the country and which is perceived…

  • Hunger Strikes

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    Guantanamo Bay and the US military prison there almost always spark a debate. For some months now, prisoners have been staging a hunger strike. Increasingly, however, the strike is garnering attention not for itself, but for the US military’s treatment of the prisoners in force feeding them. The National Post looked at just how this…

  • Covering the New York Mayoral Primaries

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    Brendan Barry
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    Tuesday was election day in New York (among other places) where voters went to the polls for the mayoral primary (among other positions). For those living underneath what I can only presume was a very comfortable rock, this is the whole Anthony Weiner comeback election. Anyway, a bunch of different websites, most tied to the…

  • But Can You Do the Gerrymander?

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    It’s Friday. And that means you will likely be contorting on the dance floor this weekend. But if you tried to bend to conform to any of these congressional districts, you would likely break your back. Gerrymandering is an old practice that basically allows state governments to decide what area (and therefore populations) belong to…

  • Women Bankers

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    …and not just any bankers but central bankers (the ones who establish policies at a national level), are rather under represented as this graphic from the Economist details. It is a nice use of small multiples with bar charts over time. Each bar is a 0–50% of the total membership of a central bank board…

  • Riding the Rails

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    Brendan Barry
    in

    A little while ago the Washington Post published this graphic on Metro ridership. But not just anybody’s ridership, that of the individuals who sit on the DC transit agency’s board. After all, should not those overseeing Washington’s transit agency be intimately familiar with the conditions faced by DC commuters? The graphic is a really nice…