How the Supreme Court Might rule on Prop 8
If you’re confused about what is going on at the Supreme Court this week regarding California’s Prop 8, see this great infographic courtesy the New York Times.
Compare usage of ‘Obamacare’ vs ‘Affordable Care Act’ in the congressional record.
Fighting to Control the Meaning of ‘Obamacare’
On Monday, the Supreme Court will begin three days of arguments over the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. The act is often called “Obamacare,” primarily by Republicans, as a term of disdain. Democrats have tried to limit the term’s use to reshape perceptions, but that has been a tough sell. Grant Barrett, a vice president for the American Dialect Society, says it is almost impossible to persuade people to discontinue the use of a political word. “It’s an invitation to have your heart broken. You forbid it, and they start writing it on the bathroom stalls.” Now Democrats seem to be embracing the term, launching a Twitter campaign that seeks to build positive associations for it.
Matt Stiles // The Daily Viz: NY Times Examines Injuries To Jockeys, Horses At Race Tracks
The New York Times has posted a sad and troubling story about the horse racing industry:
[A]n investigation by The New York Times has found that industry practices continue to put animal and rider at risk. A computer analysis of data from more than 150,000 races, along with injury reports,…
New Orleans’ population has declined 30% since hurricane Katrina. Homes left abandoned are being ‘taken back’ by nature. Snakes and pests are moving in closer to the city, too.
More at the NYTimes
NGA Providing Imagery for Tracking Japan Tsunami Debris Hitting U.S. Shores
One year after the devastating tsunami in Japan sent a wall of water that overtook much of eastern Japan, it seems that debris from that tragedy is making its way to the shores of California. It is estimated that 20 million tons of debris was swept out at sea, and many experts predicted that it would end up in the “great Pacific garbage patch,” which is the swirling area in the Pacific that has become a holding ground for plastic and other floating debris. According to a recent New York Times article, a month after the tsunami the debris was no longer visible in NOAA’s satellite images. And, to assist in the search, officials have requested higher-resolution satellite images from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
An Illustrated Future of the New York Times
ImageThink put together this very nice illustration for a talk given by the New York Times’ Jill Abramson at SXSW about the newspaper’s future.
Select to embiggen.
Who Voted for Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney
Based on exit polls conducted by Edison Research with voters in 11 states.
Delegate totals are from The Associated Press, and include the preferences of superdelegates, Republican party leaders who are free to support any candidate.
The Magic Mirror, developed by The New York Times Research & Development Lab (with Alexis Lloyd, among others) has just been selected as one of Time’s “50 Best Inventions” of 2011. It is probably the best gadget to fullfill those urgent craves from the data addicted, during those few moments they cannot reach their smart phones.
The 2012 Money Race: Compare the Presidential Candidates
The candidates have raised more than $80 million for their campaigns to date, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Mitt Romney easily raised the most among the Republicans, bringing in $18 million. But that falls far short of the $46 million that President Obama raised.
Time-lapsing the New York Times Home Page
Phillip Mendonça-Vieira ran an errant cron job that ended up taking two screenshots of the New York Times home page every hour from September 2010 to July 2011. The fortunate result of the mistake: 12,000 screenshots of what the Times felt important for its home page.
Phillip writes that most publications don’t save their frontpage layout data and if the printed newspaper ceases to exist, society will lose key historical snapshots of the every day.
Rise and fall of housing prices
Kevin Quealy and Jeremy White report for The New York Times on the rise and fall of housing prices with an interactive time series chart:
The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for 20 major metropolitan areas is one of the most closely watched gauges of the housing market. The figures for March, released May 31, showed prices at their lowest point since the downturn began.
The New York Times has created a chart that illustrates changing meat eating habits among Americans over the past century. Chicken, as you can see, is steadily on the rise, whereas lamb (black) eating has dropped to almost nothing. I’ve clipped it from 1955 to the present, so click on the link if you’d like to see the whole thing.
