October 11, 2016

By The Morning News — 11 Oct 2016

“A prominent political website calculated how many votes were lost in each departamento, or state, either because of the torrential rains brought by Hurricane Matthew, or by the lack of mermelada that is ordinarily distributed to local politicians at election time. The marmalade, or under-the-table money, is used to buy baseball caps or construction materials for voters—and to hire the buses needed to transport rural voters to the booths. The difference between the votes cast…and the usual number of votes produced by Santos’s Liberal Party operators in any major coastal city would have produced a victory for Yes.” Mechanics of how the peace referendum lost in Colombia. / The New York Review of Books

“Can I feel your ass, Donald?” Howard Stern played Donald Trump for a fool every time he had him on his show. / Politico Magazine

Did you watch the debate with a friend? Study shows that political speeches are more persuasive when you watch with others. / The Boston Globe

Undecided voters were the centerpiece of Sunday’s town hall debate, which neatly fetishized the subject of political persuasion as manifest in Ken Bone, a Midwestern, nonpartisan, sweater-wearing, honest American immediately loved on social media. / The Atlantic

“The campaign against Trump seems to have deepened a trait of Clinton’s: a pessimism about the possibility of political persuasion. James Carville, speaking on the Showtime campaign documentary ‘The Circus,’ said that Bill Clinton always believed that he ‘could talk a dog out of a pork chop’—that, given enough time, he could change anyone’s mind. Hillary, Carville said, is ‘more realistic’ about people.” A couple months ago we thought this was the election when populism would come back. What is it without persuasion? / The New Yorker

“Democratic endorsements from conservative papers seemed to have more influence than a Republican endorsement from that paper would, and the same concept applied to left-leaning papers endorsing conservative candidates.” Endorsements from newspapers only change minds when they buck their own trends. / NPR

“A brief conversation about marriage equality with a canvasser who revealed that he or she was gay had a big, lasting effect on the voters’ views.” Confirmation bias is a double-edged sword: Postmortem on the infamous retracted study that went viral for its claim that gay canvassers could persuade skeptical voters to support gay marriage. / New York Magazine

After this weekend’s debate, it’s understandable if some people want to give up on the format entirely. Do debates matter? They would appear to this year: Trump’s fall in the polls began with his disastrous first debate performance, and after Sunday night some undecided voters shared how the televised encounter helped them make up their minds. / Mic, quora.com

The New York Times suggested as far back as the Bush years—2005—that political persuasion was dead. / The New York Times

Responding to Trump bragging about getting away with sexual assault, author Kelly Oxford asked women on Twitter to tell her about their first assaults. As of yesterday afternoon, “nearly 27 million people had responded or visited Ms. Oxford’s Twitter page.” / The New York Times

“In the part of my brain where I file alternative Jane Austen novels, I have devised a nasty fate for Mr Knightley, in order to liberate Emma into widowhood.” Twenty questions with Hilary Mantel. / The Times Literary Supplement

Colson Whitehead explains why he made the trains real in his Underground Railroad. / Salon

“Do not attempt to make small talk with the teen-agers about, for instance, the size of their Slurpees or the music they’re blasting from sweet external speakers. Even if you think you recognize the music or want to know where someone might get nifty speakers like that, do not try to talk to them. You are not even on their level.” How to walk past a group of teenagers without attracting attention. / The New Yorker

The Supreme Court takes up a design patent case for the first time in a century in today’s Apple-Samsung hearing. / Recode

If Americans simply followed European levels of working hours, for example, they would see an estimated 20% reduction in energy use. New tactic to fight climate change that we heartily endorse: Institute a four-day workweek. / Quartz

“The point is that we distrust the ambition of those who would take away the right [to free speech] more than we distrust the character of those who write or speak recklessly.” Terrific (long) essay for your lunchtime reading by David Bromwich on free speech, the Satanic Verses v. Charlie Hebdo, silencers on American college campuses, and what can be said today or not. / The London Review of Books

“Watching some of the greatest pinball players on the planet is like watching any competition between the world’s best of any activity.” Actually, we bet that’s completely false, but this glimpse into Portland’s competitive pinball scene isn’t all bad. / Vice