TWAIN, STALIN AND COVID

By David Perlstein | October 15, 2021

Surprise! The field of statistics links Mark Twain with Josef Stalin—and the two of them with the COVID-19 pandemic. “There are three kinds of lies…” Twain wrote, “…lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Stalin supposedly said, “One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic.” Both statements apply to some Americans’ response to COVID-19’s impact…

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IL DUCE LIVES

By David Perlstein | February 9, 2018

In 1900, Theodore Roosevelt, then governor of New York, wrote in a letter what became his presidential philosophy: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” If only Donald Trump had the judgment to heed TR. Trump wants to hold a grand military parade in Washington. The U.S. last held one in 1991 after a U.S.-led…

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