Ho Hum, Another Poll
As the man says on the "Whaddaya Know" quiz (which, by the way, I miss from WQUB on Saturday mornings, although "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" is funnier -- just want to have my cake and eat it too, I guess):
"Ambiguous, poorly worded, or misleading questions are par for the course. Listeners who are sticklers for the truth should get their own shows."
Bad questions = useless results.
"Ambiguous, poorly worded, or misleading questions are par for the course. Listeners who are sticklers for the truth should get their own shows."
Bad questions = useless results.
posted by Allthenewsthatfits at 8:33 AM
12 Comments:
What poll are we talking about?
What are your thoughts on Hydro , say close to two hours drive away from Quincy ?
Sadly incoherent, alas. Like most people, I have my doubts about the workability of these low-drop turbines, and I can't see what business the city of Quincy has in messing with the locks & dams at Winfield, Saverton, Canton, etc....if the folks in those areas want to give it a try, they should have priority.
On the other hand, it's impossible to predict what technologies will or won't work twenty or fifty years from now, and the feds are about to throw hundreds of billions of economy-stimulus dollars into infrastructure projects with a particular emphasis on energy independence, so I feel like what the heck, throw some over here.
Kind of the Herald-Whig editorial page philosophy....gosh we hate big government, but as long as you're serving pork, put some on our plate while you're at it.
Are you kidding me?
The Herald-Whig loves big government.
Oh, I don't think so. I think the H-W's editorializers are a lot like me. We profess one thing in the abstract but change our tune in the specific. It's the paradox of politics. Somebody else's highway is pork, but my slab of concrete is a vital economic development tool.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
When you nearly quote the estimable OW, credit him. This is a guy with the stones to tell the President of the United States (While a lowly Captain in the Union Army) "You damn fool, Get your head down!"
Continued Success
Thanks for the comment. Let me refer everyone to "The Common Law" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, not in print I believe, but available on Project Gutenberg. I wasn't thinking of him when I wrote that, but that's what I assume you're talking about.
And for those who might have missed the other quote, read Emerson's "Self-Reliance."
Mr. Bent ... Thank God you aren't so blind not to see what appears to be a "push poll" if there ever was one. The Republicans can pay whoever they want to make their survey ask whatever question they want to ask, and the bloggers who want to bash Mayor Spring like Tookie and the Quincy Pundit can cheer for the results if they wish. But what's sad is that someone like Bob Gough at QNO who tries to pass himself off as a legitimate news source can't (or maybe he refuses to) see that poll for what it is.
To steal from Pollster.com, "the important thing to remember is that a 'push poll' is not a poll at all. It's a fraud, an attempt to disseminate information under the guise of a legitimate survey. The proof is in the intent of the person doing it."
I do question whether money is being wisely spent on hydroelectric power, but that question is designed to guide people to say they want to spend money on the city's "deteriorating infrastructure." And the reference to Blagojevich in the political contribution question? Geez, there's nothing leading in that question, is there?
I loved this line — "We don't do push polls," Durham said.
Of COURSE you don't, Mr. Durham. And Blagojevich says he's not guilty, either.
Hey, Bob, if you're a legitimate news source, why don't you ask someone who might be a little bit more of an expert on the subject of push polling instead of interviewing the push poller himself?
(Let's give QNO this much credit - at least it has posted the story so I can come to my own determination of its legitimacy. Where is the QHW or WGEM or any other media outlet? Did they not get the press release? Do they even look at QNO?)
Keep up the good work, Mr. Bent.
Maybe it is because the Whig and WGEM don't dare do anything to offend the Democrats, who hold the keys to all of the highway money Tom Oakley wants.
And it appears QNO doesn't do anything to offend Republicans.
Isn't this the way it was in the old days when newspapers had their own political bent?
And please cite an example where the Whig doesn't like big government.
Oh QNO pissed off the R's with that story on Bockhold
No matter the view ( I see the questions as a "lead" not a "push" ) the out come was unreal . So no matter your bent on Clinton /Chuck "kill the messenger" , the message rings real clear.
7:22 PM
Leave out the word "deteriorating" and I'd bet the results wouldn't be much different. People can look out their window and determine the condition of their infrastructure. I'd bet the response to that particular question depends on which ward one lives in.
QNO put the poll questions out for all to see and judge for themselves. How does that make QNO illegitimate?
Bob does a good job pissing everyone off. Good job Bob. And screw you.
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