African-American Lynch Mob Essay Example for Free

African-American Lynch Mob Essay Author David Horowitz has written an article called African-American Lynch Mob. In the article Mr. Horowitz is expressing his frustration with the way African –American civil rights leaders, namely Reverend Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are inciting a lynch mob mentality in regards to the death of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin, who was a 17 year old African-American male, was shot to death by George Zimmerman who happens to be Hispanic. Mr. Horowitz believes that the lynch mob racist, Reverend Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are leading the way for the African-American community to insinuate that George Zimmerman is a racist without any facts. First I take issue with Mr. Horowitz fallacy calling Reverend Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton racist. Is it racist for an individual or group to stand up and fight against inequality and injustices? For many decades Reverend Jackson and Reverend Sharpton have helped those African-Americans who could not help themselves when the odds were stacked against them; providing a strong voice for the law and lawmakers to listen to, when the voices of the African-American citizens were not heard. Doing this does not make one a racist. As mentioned previously, Mr. Horowitz states that Mr. Zimmerman is being labeled a racist without any facts; this is a fallacy and not exactly true. Recently audio has been discovered that has Mr. Zimmerman’s making racial slurs, along with eyewitnesses stating that they personally heard him making racial slurs. The impending investigation will prove whether Mr. Zimmerman is a racist or not; however even in this early stage, investigator will have enough reasons to not rule out the cause of death by race crime. Mr. Horowitz belief that the evidence is irrelevant to the so call lynch mob is unfounded. The African-American protesters are only protesting because they believe there is enough evidence to warrant an arrest of Mr. Zimmerman. However, instead of being arrest Mr. Zimmerman is walking free. Mr. Horowitz calls the display of racial outrage over this case a national disgrace, and I disagree with that statement. The display of racial outrage over this case is not a national disgrace; the fact that African-Americans still have to protest because of injustice is a national disgrace. As I concluded the article it was pretty evident that Mr. Horowitz view point was a bit slighted. It seems to me that the views he has taken are based on his dislike for Reverend Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, and their way of obtaining justice for those who they lead and represent. Mr. Horowitz dislike for both of the reverends probably goes a long way back, and because of this, any point that he makes in regards to these two reverends should be taken with a grain of salt.

Density and Salinity of Seawater †Comparison of Methods

Density and Salinity of Seawater – Comparison of Methods Sergian Murtanu, Lab partner: Sammy Chaaban Abstract: The goal of this experiment was to compare the salinity of seawater from different methods. The average salinity in seawater is around 35 parts per thousand. 3 The BOD bottles were used to find the density of seawater, the equation to state was then applied, using density to determine the salinity. The salinity of seawater from the BOD method was 33.37 ppt  ± 0.08737 with a relative standard deviation of 0.2618 percent. Using the same equation of state, the salinity was determined from the readings recorded by the density meter. The density meter produced salinity values of 34.75 ppt  ± 1.403, with an RSD% of 4.038. The conductivity probe measured the ability of the solution to pass current. The Unesco equation is used to convert the measured conductivity of seawater to salinity, which was calculated to be 42.71 ppt  ± 0.04359 with a RSD% of 0.1021. The refractometer measured the extent of which is bent, giving the refractive index. The average salinity through refra ctive index was 36.14 ppm  ± 2.56, with an RSD% of 0.1884. Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to determine the salinity of seawater through two different methods: BOD bottles (volume) and density meter. Salinity, temperature, and density are related to each other through the equation of state. Physical properties of seawater are related through ‘state functions’. Salinity is defined as a measure of the total dissolved salts in a solution. As density increases, the amount of salt in seawater is expected to increase as well. Thus, density and salinity have a positive relationship with each other. As temperature increases, the area between each water molecule increases, which lowers the density.5 Density has an inverse relationship with temperature. An increase in the salts dissolved in seawater also causes the physical properties of: refractive index, electrical conductivity, transmission of sound, and surface tension to increase. On the contrary, increased salinity in seawater will cause the physical property of: freezing point, compressibility, solubility, and specific heat to decrease instead. Using the methods of electrical conductivity, BOD bottles, density meter, and refractometer, the salinity of seawater will be calculated and compared for the most accurate results. 3 Experimental: Apparatus: BOD Bottles Conductivity probe Density meter Refractometer Analytical balances Procedure: The density of seawater through the BOD method was discovered by finding the volume of both DI water and seawater. The BOD bottle is weighed dry, and filled with DI water. The temperature of each BOD bottle with DI is taken, and gives a corresponding density value through a chart. Using the equation: Volume=Mass/Density, the volume of DI water can be calculated. This process is repeated with seawater, with density of seawater being the weight of seawater divided by the mean volume of DI water. The density meter method uses a magnet to measure the period oscillation within the U-shaped tube. Seawater is put in the U-shaped tube. This gives the period of oscillation, T, which is then used in the equation: Ï =AT2 + B , to give the density of seawater(A, B are calibration coefficients). The equation of state given in the spreadsheet, Millero Density Spreadsheet is then used to calculate the salinity at the given density and temperature. 4 The conductivity probe is used to compare the trend between salinity and density. A conductivity probe is first calibrated, then put in a beaker of DI water, standard solution, and seawater. The reading is measured, with the probe cleaned between every new trial. Conductivity is the ability for a solution to pass current, so it is expected that salinity and density have a positive relationship. Using the formula given in the Unesco Equation Spreadsheet, the conductivity ratio is used to calculate the salinity. 1 The refractometer is a tool that measures the extent in which light is bent. Drop a sample of seawater to the measuring prism and use the hand wheel to adjust the sight. The illuminating prism should be put at the halfway point of the sample, this then gives the refractive index. Using given slope and intercept â€Å"Salinity vs. Refractive Index and Salinity vs. Specific Gravity Curves, the salinity and specific gravity is then calculated. 2 Results: Table 1 – Seawater salinity in BOD Bottle Trial Temperature (C) Salinity 1 21.5 33.35 2 21.6 33.47 3 21.7 33.30 Mean Salinity 33.37 Standard Deviation 0.08737 Relative Standard Deviation % 0.2618 Table 2 – Salinity of seawater by density meter Data obtained by Jessica Oregon Trial Temperature (C) Salinity 1 20 33.53 2 20 35.95 3 20 33.53 4 20 35.97 Mean Salinity 34.75 Standard Deviation 1.403 Relative Standard Deviation % 4.038 Table 3 – Salinity of seawater by refractive index Trial Seawater Salinity 1 1.3400 38.37 2 1.3391 33.34 3 1.3397 36.69 Mean Salinity 36.14 Standard Deviation 2.560 Relative Standard Deviation % 7.083 Table 4 – Salinity of seawater by conductivity probe (22.6 C) Trial Seawater (mS/cm) Standard (mS/cm) Salinity 1 49.6 49.4 42.76 2 49.6 49.5 42.68 3 49.7 49.6 42.68 4 49.6 49.4 42.76 5 49.7 49.6 42.68 Mean 49.6 49.5 42.71 Standard Deviation 0.0548 0.100 0.0436 Relative Standard Deviation % 0.110 0.202 0.102 Discussion: The results seem to imply that the salinity in seawater varies depending on the method, as some methods have a lesser chance of error than others. Using the average seawater salinity of 35 ppt as a comparison, most of the results seem to fall between the ranges of 33 to 37. However, the most notable difference is the salinity of seawater by conductivity probe. The conductivity probe method produced a mean salinity of 42.71 ppt  ± 0.0436, with a relative standard deviation of 0.102 percent. The results for the conductivity probe were quite far in comparison to the other method. However, the conductivity method had an RSD% of 0.1021. This indicated that the results while somewhat inaccurate, were very precise. This inaccuracy may have been caused due to systematic errors in our instrument. The conductivity probe might have been calibrated incorrectly, or in the wrong solution. If the calibration was just slightly off, it is possible that this difference might have contributed to the inaccurate salinity results. The solutions measured on the probe might have gotten contaminated without prior knowledge, or it might have simply been a human error in calculations. The result with the highest relative standard deviation was the salinity of seawater by refractive index with 7.083 %. This indicates that there was a lot of variation in salinity for each trial. The salinity ranges from 33.34 to 38.37 ppt. The mean salinity of seawater by refractive index was 36.14 ppt  ± 2.560, which is close to the average seawater salinity of 35. These slightly imprecise results may be due to random and systematic errors. The use of the eyepiece when trying to go to the halfway point might change due to different perception between people. Likewise, reading the refractometer varies between each individual and might change with angle due to parallax. This can really change the data measured and can result in imprecise data. There can also be human errors done during the conversion between refractive index and salinity. The BOD bottle method has a salinity of 33.37 ppt  ± 0.08737 with an RSD% of 0.2618. The very low relative standard deviation indicates that there isn’t much spread within the data. When compared to the average seawater salinity of 35 ppt, it falls a little bit short. This was because there are a lot of possible errors for this method due to the long process of balancing and rebalancing. Possible systematic errors might have occurred on the analytical balances, such as calibration. Random errors, such as the fluctuation of weight in our seawater sample might also have impacted the accuracy. This method was also very time consuming, so it was not the most efficient way of determining the salinity. But, based on the results, it was the most dependable with good accuracy and great precision. The most accurate method when compared to the average value of seawater salinity is the density meter. The density meter has a salinity of 34.75  ± 1.403, with an RSD% of 4.038. The RSD% of 4.038 indicated that there was some variation in the data. However, when compared to the average seawater salinity, this was the closest by far. This method was the most efficient overall because it allowed the opportunity to obtain the density, and salinity value the quickest. However, it’s not perfect because the instrument can calibrated or used incorrectly. While the most precise method goes to the BOD method, the most accurate would go to the density meter. The density meter is also quick and efficient, which make it an excellent tool to calculate the value for salinity. In comparison, the BOD method took far too long and was not nearly as efficient as the density meter method. If there was one thing that should be changed in a repeat of this experiment, it would be giving an extended time for the density meter method. There was not enough time in the assigned lab period, so data from a peer was borrowed and used. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Sam and George for helping us with calculations. I would also like to thank fellow peer, Jessica Oregon for the data set on seawater density by meter. References: Anderson, George, and Michael Tauber.Unesco Density Spreadsheet. University of California, San Diego: Ted.ucsd.edu, n.d. Xlsx. Tauber, Michael, and George Anderson.Salinity vs Refractive Index and Salinity vs Specific Gravity Curves. University of California, San Diego: Ted.ucsd.edu, n.d. Xlsx. Tauber, Michael, and Robert Pomeroy. 3.5 Density and Salinity lecture.Ted.ucsd.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015. Tauber, Michael, and Robert Pomeroy.Milero Density Spreadsheet. University of California, San Diego: Ted.ucsd.edu, n.d. Xlsx. The Ocean and Temperature.The Ocean and Temperature. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

Standardized Testing Essay -- Standardized Testing Essays

Standardized Testing President Bush is promoting annual standardized testing for all students in grades three through eight in order to assess their academic achievements. This bill is currently being considered in Congress, and has garnered much support from individuals in the community. As of right now, fifteen states test students in those grades, and more than twenty have high school exit exams. Exit exams look only at the test score of a student, not at his or her academic achievements throughout High School, and in many cases, people are either over- or underrepresented by their test scores. This occurs partly because America does not currently have the capabilities of fairly scoring the increasing number of tests, even though the companies creating and scoring the tests enjoy a large profit. The number of companies creating these tests is pitifully small. Adding to the lack of validity of the scores of these tests is the fact that many students today are not native English speakers, and their capabilities could be grossly underestimated by these types of exams, and there is a strong racial bias involved in most major tests. But, the biggest and most troubling problem with standardized testing is how it affects the learning that takes place in the classroom. This leads to the question of just how standardized we want our schools to be. Standardized tests are nothing but hurtful, and America should make a move away from them, especially since they are expensive and ineffective. We cannot expect to solve the problems in our educational system this way. We want our children to leave school with knowledge and understanding that will allow them to be successful. That is not currently the case. ... ...l only be a loose assessment of the criteria and not of the school, students or teachers, it would not be a major crisis if the tests were not representative of the students’ knowledge. That is a far more acceptable option than one of watching capable students being denied diplomas or college educations due to exams that they did poorly on. It is not in America’s best interest to pass the proposal to require standardized testing at elementary school levels, or to force students to pass exit exams to earn their diplomas. If we wish for our children to be informed, educated, and ready to survive on their own in the real world, we need to give them the tools that will get them there. These tests are not accurate, and they are detrimental to the education of children. There should be no debate over how our representatives in Congress should vote on this bill.

Contraceptives and the Population Problem :: Environment Environmental Pollution Preservation

Contraceptives and the Population Problem The question of overpopulation's impact on the environment is multi-dimensional and far beyond the scope of a single essay. The issue has to do with considering the environment a normal good while at the same time understanding the impact of industrialization on increased pollution levels. Relationships between industrialization, overpopulation, global pollution, regional pollution, resource depletion, and numerous other environmental and social concerns form a multi-dimensional series of feedback loops, all of which feed back on the original system. Computer models developed by economic research institutions to predict environmental and developmental impacts of population growth (ex. The World Bank, The Economic Research Service) are n-dimensional, only to be accurately evaluated using advanced statistical regressions and matrix analysis. As such, this paper will assume that there is a direct correlation between population and natural resource depletion (environmental degradation by way of pollutants is an entirely different, and more complicated issue), and the most cost-effective way of amelioration would be to restrain population growth. Given that, what is the correct means for policy to approach the population problem? The options include contraceptive distribution, family planning, general economic development, and gender equality among others. Essentially, policy has to address whether population can be restrained with a "tech fix" such as contraceptives or only after a broad socioeconomic shift. In 1992, Professor Jay Forrester and his team at MIT developed a computer model designed to simulate likely future patterns of the global economy based on a technique known as system dynamics. The system dynamic technique relies on feedback loops to explain human behavior, and this particular model predicted an overshoot and collapse of the natural resource economic base. This Malthusian prediction reinforced Paul Ehrlich's contention articulated in The Population Bomb (1968) that unbridled population growth is the foremost factor in environmental degradation and natural resource depletion. However, these pessimistic models failed to take account of the substitutive and absorptive capacities of humanity and the environment. In fact, these key economic principals temper the adverse effects of overpopulation and may increase general human welfare as a result. But the fact (or widely acknowledged as such) still remains that population growth, particularly in undeveloped nations puts an increased strain on the environment and the population supported by the local ecosystem. The 2003 World Development Report which is published by The World Bank Group indicates that farmers in third world countries are being forced to farm on marginal lands due to the growing scarcity of arable lands.

Current Status Of Malaria Vaccinology Essay -- essays research papers

Current Status of Malaria Vaccinology In order to assess the current status of malaria vaccinology one must first take an overview of the whole of the whole disease. One must understand the disease and its enormity on a global basis. Malaria is a protozoan disease of which over 150 million cases are reported per annum. In tropical Africa alone more than 1 million children under the age of fourteen die each year from Malaria. From these figures it is easy to see that eradication of this disease is of the utmost importance. The disease is caused by one of four species of Plasmodium These four are P. falciparium, P .malariae, P .vivax and P .ovale. Malaria does not only effect humans, but can also infect a variety of hosts ranging from reptiles to monkeys. It is therefore necessary to look at all the aspects in order to assess the possibility of a vaccine. The disease has a long and complex life cycle which creates problems for immunologists. The vector for Malaria is the Anophels Mosquito in which the life cycle of Malaria both begins and ends. The parasitic protozoan enters the bloodstream via the bite of an infected female mosquito. During her feeding she transmits a small amount of anticoagulant and haploid sporozoites along with saliva. The sporozoites head directly for the hepatic cells of the liver where they multiply by asexual fission to produce merozoites. These merozoites can now travel one of two paths. They can go to infect more hepatic liver cells or they can attach to and penetrate erytherocytes. When inside the erythrocytes the plasmodium enlarges into uninucleated cells called trophozites The nucleus of this newly formed cell then divides asexually to produce a schizont, which has 6-24 nuclei. Now the multinucleated schizont then divides to produce mononucleated merozoites . Eventually the erythrocytes reaches lysis and as result the merozoites enter the bloodstream and infect more erythrocytes. This cycle repeats itself every 48-72 hours (depending on the species of plasmodium involved in the original infection) The sudden release of merozoites toxins and erythrocytes debris is what causes the fever and chills associated with Malaria. Of course the disease must be able to transmit itself for survival. This is done at the erythrocytic stage of the life cycle. Occasionally merozoites differentiate into macrogametocytes and microgametocyt... ...ereas the prevailing wisdom required T cells as well in order to achieve protective immunity. Sceptics also pounced on the elaborate and painstaking process of elimination Patarroyo used to find the right peptides. He took 22 "immunologically interesting" proteins from the malaria parrasite, which he identified using antibodies from people immune to malaria, and injected these antigens into monkeys and eventually found four that provided some immunity to malaria. He then sequenced these four antigens and reconstructed dozens of short fragments of them. Again using monkeys (more than a thousand) he tested these peptides individually and in combination until he hit on what he considered to be the jackpot vaccine. But the WHO a 31% rate to be in the grey area and so there is still no decision on its use. In conclusion it is obvious that malaria is proving a difficult disease to establish an effective and cheap vaccine for in that some tests and inconclusive and others while they seem to work do not reach a high enough standard. But having said that I hope that a viable vaccine will present itself in the near future (with a little help from the scientific world of course).

Brothels and Convents in Renaissance and Measure for Measure Essay

In this investigation I will focus mostly on the regulation of both convents and brothels in the time period of Shakespeare and the early Renaissance. Ruth Mazo Karras’ â€Å"The Regulation of Brothels in Later Medieval England,† focuses exactly on this topic throughout England and other European countries during the Renaissance. In regards to the convents I will be looking closely at an article entitled â€Å"Subjects on the World’s Stage: Essays on British Literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,† written by David G. Allen and Robert A. White. The regulations of brothels in the Renaissance were regarded heavily. Karras says that women within these brothels were basically regarded as evil and as sinners yet they remained occupying the position of prostitution solely because of the sexual appetite of men; these brothels were considered â€Å"†¦a necessary evil† (Karras). The first parallel between women of convents and stews I came to find was that of the aspect of being forbidden from society in a sense. Women of convents were completely shut off from the public, no insiders could leave and no outsiders could come in (Allen). The only difference in the secrecy of these two places was the fact that the brothels were attended by men. Karras also states that the women of brothels were not given any rights that regular women had, â€Å"In some places, she was not allowed to reject any customer, indeed could not be raped because she was considered to belong to all men and thus had no right to withhold consent† (Karras). These two aspects of women’s lives in this time period play a major part in the drama Measure for Measure, and especially set up the scene in the opening act of the play. When Claudio sends for his sister, Isabel, to help him get out of jail, in which he was sentenced to death for having premarital (by the eyes of the church) sex with Juliet, Isabel leaves the convent in which she was about to take her vows in order to save her brother. Thus, we have an almost-nun and sinful intercourse immediately in Act 1, both directly related to the idea of convents and brothels and the women within these places. In this case, however, Juliet is not a prostitute but in the eyes of Angelo and the law is regarded as one because of her and Claudio’s unofficial and insufficient marriage.

Voter

Voter ignorance and peculiar(a) interests oftentimes result to bad insurance-choices and nonsensical policy make processes. In a democracy, where plentys votes argon consequential, policy-choices ar largely affected by somewhat(prenominal) wrong or right information mickle whitethorn lay down as regards issues. Unfortunately, diagonales and misinformation atomic number 18 rampant among large number, especi every(prenominal) toldy among voters.The occupation is that, instead of correcting these biases, politicians tend to play them up to bring votes. Many of these biases come from the theme of sparingals, a field which is very important to voters because of its effect in the quality of peoples lives. Four of these biases are discussed by Bryan Caplan in his article, The Myth of the discerning Voter. They are the anti- merchandise bias, anti-foreign bias, make-work and the discouraged bias.The Anti-Market Bias may be characterized as a bias against capitalism and free- mart place itself, or at to the lowest degree most of their features. The explained cause of this bias is ordinarily the fact that actors in a free-market influence of economy are all profit-seekers. This attri hardlyion of self-interest throw aways birth to a prejudice that no socially-beneficial outcome may perchance result from a free market (See Caplan, 2007, p.7). The result is a tendency to devaluate the economic benefits of market mechanism (Caplan, 2007, p.7), such(prenominal)(prenominal) as the effect of competition in lowering prices, savings and maximization of re pedigrees or qualification.There are many variations of the anti-market bias. one of them is to equate market payments with transfers, while ignoring their incentive properties (Caplan, 2007, p.8). under this, a profit is seen to be get by the rich, at the expense of the poor, as if there is no exchange of none value that happened. It ignores the fact that profits are not acquired without doing something, and that an increase in profits is often a result of increasing efficiency in the use of resources. The second is the monopoly theories of price. at a lower place this variation, price is seen as a fly the coop of the decision, mood and agreement among CEOs and other corresponding persons, without giving ascribable regard to the interaction amid communicate and demand. (Caplan, 2007, p. 9)The Anti-Foreign Bias is an argument towards protectionism. chthonian this, foreigners are often seen as a source of economic downfall. Whatever the reason, foreigners vaticly fork up a special power to rap locals (Caplan, 2007, p. 11). They are often used as scapegoats for all economic bothers that may cost such as lack of jobs, highschool price of comfortablys and others. This bias may have brought about by a similar theory between a profit-seeker un divided up and a poor buyer from the level of view of the anti-market bias.A rich country, in the same manner as a rich man, is supposed to be a country abounding in property and to heap up gold and cash in any country is supposed to be the best way to enrich it (Caplan, 2007, p. 12). The assumption is that no country may be breach off without making another country little off. The problem with this belief is that it ignores the benefit of an open market from the point of view of comparative advantage. Under the theory comparative advantage, all countries impart be better off if they all specialize. Even a country that is less amentaceous compared to other countries in all products may benefit from specializing. It is more(prenominal) big-ticket(prenominal) to try producing all products for consumption kind of than in specializing in some and vocation for the others (Caplan, 2007, p. 11-12).The Make-Work Bias refers to the conflict between the businesses and economists desire to minimize waste of resources caused by paying for unneeded or ineffectual labor and the belief that, to ach ieve economic harvest-festival, people need to be employed. The normal tendency is to underestimate the benefits of conserving labor (Caplan, 2007, p. 13). Often, the estimate of unemployment is seen as an indicator of economic growth. The policy is often to give jobs to more people.This is condescension the fact that the same amount of jobs are required to be done. Employment is increase at the expense of efficiency (Caplan, 2007, p. 13). kind of of trying to increase employment by increasing the GNP through competent use of resources, the work of one is divided between two or leash people, making each of them less productive (Caplan, 2007, p. 13). The result is a prospect for winnerfulness for the individuals who are able to obtain the jobs and a decrease in efficiency and growth for the whole economy.Pessimistic Bias refers to the peoples negative, or even misanthropic beliefs, about economic look intos or growth. The popular rule, as observed by Caplan (2007), is that the unexclusive believes economic conditions are not as good as they really are (p. 16). There may be advances in the economy, but they are taken for give by people. In times of b erectline economic growth, the perception is not of growth, but of stagnation. The problem with this is that, in terms of over-all economic growth, progress is so gradual that a few pockets of decay hide it from the existence view (Caplan, 2007, p. 17).To measure whether an economy has rattling achieved growth, it is best to compare the present condition to that of a distant past (Caplan, 2007, p. 16). Moreover, over-all success is not often observable crossways the whole country. There are some areas where economic conditions may not be good. However, these isolated instances of economic regression give rise to a suspicion that the riches and industry of the whole are decaying (Caplan, 2007, p. 17), when the human race is that the country is experiencing economic growth as a whole. It is also com mon for the pessimistic rhetoric to idealize conditions in the more distant past in order to put recent conditions in a negative light (Caplan, 2007, p. 16).This is a good way to emphasize economic decline. This is a nostalgic way of viewing things wherein the bemoan is always that things are better in the past, prices are cheaper, living is simpler, but better and others. Increase in prices and living standards are emphasized, while the values exchanged for such increases are ignored such as improvements in goods and services (See Caplan, 2007, p. 17).As Caplan has state in this article, these biases show that people do not grasp the invisible hand of the market, with its ability to harmonize private greed and the public interest (See Caplan, 2007, p. 1). For the uninformed public, free market is the enemy. This belief translates into the policies that are adopted in a democracy. Since the power is now given over to the people, policy choices by candidates are gear towards pleas ing them. The best way to acquire votes is not to go against the wrong beliefs of people and to correct them, but to play up the same beliefs and use them to ones own advantage.ReferenceCaplan, Bryan. The Myth of the Rational Voter Why Democracies Choose good-for-naught Policies.