http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con tent/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301776. html

I don't often write diaries here, preferring the excellent analysis that the rest of you provide (thanks).  However, this column caught my eye.  Among the statistics quoted in the article (by Richard Morin) are some sobering facts about modern elections.

In the Republican party, 25% of white crossover and vote for a white Democrat if their candidate is Black.  Same for independents/Libertarians.

So is it better for us, the "enlightened"?  No.  White Democrats are 38% less likely to vote for their candidate if s/he is Black.  I'm not so young as to think that Civil Rights is ancient history, but this is incredible, if true.

Okay, been a while since the election.  I gave for the first time in my life this cycle.  Ran into a volunteer at a rally in DC and she convinced me to donate, so I did.  This money went directly to the DNC.

Not that I'm greedy, but I didn't receive a letter, email, sticker, phone call...nothin' but a used pin.  Granted, I live in MD, but I got a pin for free from Dean way back in January.

After reading some of the responses to Jerome's story on the front page about the bloggers troubles in Orlando, I, too wonder - where did all of the money raised in Blue States go?  

I came across a piece by Professor John Paulos of the Math department at Temple.  In the article, he takes some statistics widely reported in the news and breaks them down.  This isn't a factual analysis; rather, the author simply puts the numbers into a context that is easier for the layperson (such as myself!).

At any rate, his first subject is Social Security.  As Paulos states:

"During and since the election campaign, I've read many news stories and watched many TV snippets dealing with President Bush's proposal to partially privatize Social Security. Usually in print and almost always on television, the proposal is said to call for 2 percent of Social Security taxes to be diverted into private accounts. Usually, few other details are provided and the reader/listener, whatever his attitude on the issue, probably comes away with the impression that even if passed, this change would be a tentative, very slow transition that shouldn't cause too much of a problem.

Looking a little further, however, one can find a few stories noting that the 6.2 percent of the average American's taxable income that goes to Social Security taxes will be cut to 4.2 percent. That's a 2 percentage point cut -- not a 2 percent cut, but a 32 percent cut! This will leave a huge hole in Social Security revenues for present retirees."

Now - I've heard this 2 percent figure repeated many times, and I have to say, I was highly skeptical, as I wondered how benefits would be hampered by such a small cut.  BUT that 32% figure clears it up for me.

Check out the story, as Paulos goes on to discuss immigration and the 100,000 dead figure for Iraqi citizens.