the Evil Line

Evidence. I'm about to roll two completely separate blog posts into one, because in both cases I want to say something about evidence, about supporting an argument.

This interesting article about hiring and unemployment does it right. You start with an anecdote to give a face and some emotion to your argument:

"This is as bad now as at the height of business back in the 1990s," says Dan Cunningham, chief executive of the Long-Stanton Manufacturing Co., a maker of stamped-metal parts in West Chester, Ohio, that has been struggling to hire a few toolmakers. "It's bizarre. We are just not getting applicants."

But maybe his experience isn't representative. So later on, you back it up:

Since the economy bottomed out in mid-2009, the number of job openings has risen more than twice as fast as actual hires, a gap that didn't appear until much later in the last recovery. The disparity is most notable in manufacturing, which has had among the biggest increases in openings.

And there's more. The whole article is worth reading, and points to some problems with our economy and our social safety net.

That's what would be the first post. The second was going to be a long unhinged rant, but I've decided to make you do the work instead. Here's how.

Take out a blank sheet of paper. Draw a vertical line down the middle. Above the left half, write "Assertions about 'evangelical Christians'". Above the right side, write "Evidence (of any kind) for assertions". Then read this, filling in the chart.

That's all.