Harold Pollack

Senate Confirms Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for D.C.

Trapped in an over-written Philip Roth novel--Chapter 68: "Senate confirms Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for DC." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/03/u...

“ceteris paribus, the only constant is change”

Indeed

Tough, but fair.....

i don't know what any of that means but someone asked me my favorite pop-tart and i said brown sugar cinnamon.

I'm an economist teaching ectrics so I start with: let's assume we have no counterfactuals

And then introduce notation to reinvent them?

Someone asked me my favorite econometric concept. Hands-down, I would say the Wald estimator for the effect of treatment on the treated group. It's intuitive to anyone. It's readily estimated with bootstrapped standard errors. Freaking. Awesome.

The first sentence in my new econometrics lecture: "Imagine a world without counterfactuals...."

Great issue!

Essential listening. Israel's clear violations of international law+war crimes that are causing thousands of deaths--command an effective and concerted response. This has nothing to do w/denying Hamas's 10/7 criminality, or rejecting the concept of Israel as a place of refuge for the Jewish people.

Went birding and managed to pocket-dialed an exposure setting on my camera. Fortunately Lightroom allowed me to save some shots. Ugh. Unforced errors.

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show Sarah McBride on Why the Left Lost on Trans Rights | The Ezra Klein Show

Sarah McBride says much that must be said about how absolutist progressive advocacy lost its way, and undermines practical efforts to enact progressive policies and legislation through coalition politics. youtu.be/KlbNFsAGFRc?...

YouTube video by RWJF Medicaid at 60: Examining the Program's Past, Present, and Future

A video of my recent @rwjf.bsky.social panel with @povertyscholar.bsky.social, Andrea Campbell and David Adler on Medicaid's past, present and future prospects. @jhppl.bsky.social @haroldpollack.bsky.social @russellsagefdn.bsky.social @thewatsonschool.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG2c...

I just found out that Brad Pitt is starring in an F1 movie. What an awesome predictive-analytics-follow-on to Moneyball. I do hope the movie critiques F1's fundamentally dicey decision to equally value precision and recall.

Got two journal acceptances within a day, on work led by my more-junior colleagues Nate Glasser and Nicole Gastala. I am so blessed with excellent reverse-mentors.

Early School Medicaid Expansions and Health Services for Children With Parental Opioid Use Disorder This cohort study estimates the early effects of state school Medicaid expansions on the receipt of Medicaid-funded school-based health services among children who have experienced parental opioid use...

Important new @jamahealthforum.bsky.social study by @angelicameinhofer.bsky.social Bullinger, @carolinehkelly.bsky.social, and Fitzpatrick --- Early School Medicaid Expansions and Health Services for Children With Parental Opioid Use Disorder jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Opinion | This Israeli Government Is a Danger to Jews Everywhere (Gift Article) The price will be high if people don’t resist Netanyahu’s ugly, nihilistic Gaza policy.

Thomas Friedman, saying what must be said. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/o...

I bring cookies to my econ lectures. At today's hooding ceremony, my student Kendall Straughter handed me cookies onstage when his name was called. A nice surprise. We didn't have a picture onstage, but at least captured a shot w/the cookies at the reception. I'll take the fifth on how many are left

LOL

Would you settle for honorable menschen?

When I grow up, I want to be a mensch like my UChicago colleague and friend Elbert Huang. Will be quite the climb.

Vitreous detachment and retinal tear.

25yrs ago, I was talking w/Dr. Alex Kemper. I said: "My eye has weird floaters." "Go to Kellogg eye center." I was rushed to surgery. Pediatrics invited @veppol.bsky.social +I to discuss how clinicians interact w/ patents of kids w/disabilities. Ed: Alex Kemper.
publications.aap.org/pediatrics/a...

.@mjschlanger.bsky.social on diability equity behind bars is an essential read. scholars.law.unlv.edu/nlj/vol25/is... We so easily overlook a myriad of mundane, readily-addressed barriers that burden prisoners who have hearing or mobility challenges, and much else.

After work bird walk, Washington Park

Some weekend bird pics

Today would be my dad's 96'th birthday. Born three weeks before Anne Frank, he had the chance to live the long, full life that she deserved, that everyone deserves. He passed in October, 2021. Miss you, Dad.

Here at Midway Airport on Memorial Day, these pictures remind us of debts owed. These pictures also remind us of the monstrous evil of racial segregation of our armed forces—a crime perpetuated within living memory of my parents’ generation, and supported by George Marshall+other heroes of that war.

thx much