Lott and the LAT

Washington Monthly blogger Kevin Drum calls on Michael Kinsley to stop publishing conservative pundit John Lott on the Times op-ed page.

The man is a fraud and the Times demeans itself by allowing him space on their pages.

This has nothing to do with complicated arguments over statistical models that require an advanced degree to understand. It's also not about the fact that he appears to have lied about conducting a survey that he doesn't seem to have actually conducted. Neither is it about his infamous career as "Mary Rosh" defending his own work under a pseudonym on the internet.

It's about the fact that he has posted, retracted, and then reposted fraudulent data and then covered it up. Details are here, and no mathematical background is needed to understand it.

Drum's post is replete with links. It has kicked off a lively discussion among the blog's commenters that focuses in part on the LAT op-ed page.