Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for June 29, 2012

In the off-years he’s an “industry analyst”.

I knew it! He’s at the corner of Love Me and Love Me Not, when he should be at the corner of Live and Learn…

Absolutely spot on….

Orion

The origin of the “man on the street” poll

This is how the Rasmussen polls got started.

He must work for either Faux Noise or CNN – or maybe MSNBC ( in the interest of political parity ).

Try ANY pollster. They’re all pretty much frauds. Try to get your head out of your liberal echo chamber for a while, eh?

Orion

I used to work at one of the Big Polls — except for the few months before an election, most of the people who were willing to answer a survey were doing it because they were angry about something.So I wan’t surprised by the recent polls claiming “68% opposed” health care reform. (Probably more like 34% in reality.)

The question is ( Please answer either Yes or No ) : Have you stopped beating your wife ?

I have quit answering pollsters because too many have questions designed to make their cause, candidate, etc the “winner”.

I hate polls or questionaires that ask the same question twice, in two different ways so you end up giving two different answers.

I wish there was a DO NOT CALL list for polls/surveys and political calls. I don’t even trust calls for charities because too many are scams.

And if you believe him…

@masterskrain.Love it! Who knew the wisdom behind the production editors of MAD magazine?The guy portrayed by Wiley this morning shall become the icon of American entrepreneurs.Will support any position (FOR CASH).It’s the American way. EEOC approved.Texas residents were taken aback by reflection on that article and have built a formidable war chest to defend against any possible future claims by Rhode Island .Spin doctors? What, me worry?

Sad thing is that a fair number of people are actually swayed by those polls. Tell a lie often enough and it becomes the truth. I wonder what elections would look like if candidates had to sign off on every message for their campaign and were fined every time something bogus or a half-truth was published about their rivals? They might have to actually talk in detail about their own policies for a change . . .

@pelican47Beat ‘em at their own game. Have an answering machine on my phone. A dandy protection against unsolicited calls. Unless callers identify themselves, said call does not elicit a response.My phone has served me well over the years,but am afraid that many phones these days don’t offer this consumer protection.Am prepared. Got another one just like it unopened in the closet in case my present phone’s life expectancy has been exceeded.

@BluePumpkinAbout the repetition of lies thing.Believe this was first advanced by a real master in the field in Mein Kampf.American politicians have taken note of the success of this notion and have put it into practice.We, the American public, are the recipients of this practice applied.

@Linguist(first post)Mention MSNBC in the same sentence as Faux Noise and CNN again and you will be banned from any further input to any GoComics comment strips.MSNBC hosts have real integrity.(second post)Yes. She wised up and left 22 years ago..

@Linguist(first post)Parity be damned.

Polls are for mass consumption. Think tanks are created by experts to convince themselves they are right.

@dtroutma@dkendrafA true entrepreneurial soul striving for job security. It’s the American way. Please stop picking on the guy.

@elbeckYou’ve been doing too much thinking on the subject.

@cdwardNo. Hence the wisdom of the job security strategy.

Since everybody but normal, currently-schooled Americans know that how you shape your language shapes the answer you get…easier to shear that way…why wouldn’t a pollster want to get paid as much as an advertiser or copy-writer…or trained rightwing lickspit?

But I want the position in the middle of those two stacks of paper…can your questions support that?

@Vonne Anton.No-you’d take the fun out of it with your position. Next question.

Diatribe ensues (look away or skip over this): I don’t like “Obamacare” because it is not health care. It is mandated health INSURANCE; not the same as health care. Should call it ObamaInsurance. Anyway, the insurance claim not to like this as if the limitations will hurt them, but think: now each individual will be required to buy insurance. Employers will likely stop offering health insurance; why should they…it is a massive expense and each employee is now responsible for their own. A group policy with 100 employees is negotiated cheaper than 100 individual policies, translating into more money for Insurance. It has not escaped notice that insurance companies are one of the richest lobbying groups in Washington. Secretly, they are leaping for joy over this, as they are the ones who will reap the piles of money to follow.

It’s called “Affordable Health Care Act”. Will it be affordable? I’ve not heard specific figures on this.

Americans use 16% of their income for health care. Canadians pay 9% health care tax for a national health care system. Some say it’s bad, but I notice a lot of Americans running north and south of the borders on both sides for cheaper medical care and prescriptions. Why not do this: Tax us all 12% for medical care. Then let us go to our doctors, get our tests or treatment, pick up scripts, etc…and send the bill to the government. Dissolve Medicare, just expand its infrastructure to accommodate all citizens. Any future legislation should only be to protect the government against fraud.

There…nice, neat, simple, done. Oh…but that might mean the end of health insurance companies. I weep for them. NOT!

@SharuniboyWow. Case closed.

My first thought was the quote about lies, damn lies and statistics.

@TheTrustedMechanicHope you’re available to work on the secretary’s car, knowing how the situation stands.

@Vonne AntonThanks for your great post.Suggest American politicians should be humble enough to learn from others (England, Canada, Europe,etc.)Of course, this would require them to shut up and listen to those who know first-hand how to run a system that truly provides for the greatest good of a country’s population.Could that possibly happen here?Probably too late to do any good for those of us posting here today

@Vonne AntonThink we’ll need to dress warmly for that cold day in hell. Just when hell was beginning to look good for it’s warm climate.

Statistical sampling done right can be fairly accurate. You do need a large random sample, which while difficult, can usually be done. The larger the sample, the less margin of error…Math teachers say 1200 is the minimum….and that’s just to get the Margin of error down to four…..

@TheTrustedMechanic to SharuniboyThanks for your great post. Good grief, guys who really CARE!Maybe there’s hope for us, after all.If we don’t last long enough to see real change happen, will reserve a spot for you down below.Need you on our side.

@Vonne AntonHope you’ll accompany us. Bring warm clothing.

back in the day we used to say“statistics don’t lie but liars use statistics”(i first heard this in a math class)

The funniest poll I was ever involved in was about toilet paper. A rep came to my home and gave me two packages of TP, one to use for one week and then change to the other. There was absolutely no difference in the paper, but one had a pretty design on it and the other plain. Bet they expected me to say the pretty one was softer and nicer. At the price of TP these days, I wish they would come around again.

vonne anton has of course hit on the solution New Zealand, Canada, and others have learned, variations on “single payer” are far cheaper, and better, than anything “for profit” insurance companies offer. Gee, maybe eliminating that “for profit” middleman, who does nothing but take your money, has something to do with it?

Also interesting, I got THREE “robocalls” in two days telling me how awful “Obamacare” was, and representing to be a poll of my views, just touch a number to support their position! I could touch one of THREE numbers- but each SUPPORTED their position!! NO key would support the Affordable Care Act! Interesting “poll” indeed!!

Wow, you cover everything (and accurately)!The only problem with polling is when a slanted question is slipped in among an otherwise fair questionaire, and I’ve seen that done dozens of times.Four years ago I had several fights to get questions clarified about former office holders.The way the question was written, it seemed that they still had the job, and if you weren’t living in the part of the US those candidates were from, you would be fooled into thinking they were still in office, and hadn’t been voted out.

In social science class back in the ’70’s we used to take the polls we were given to hand out and fill them out at parties or with our roomies. I doubt they were any more accurate than these.

But then “real” news reemains the same. from Dewey Beats truman to obamacare ir

It’s one thing to voice our political opinions here but how many of us will actually contact the Parties concerned and vent our spleens?

Just like in the UK, the US huddles together and complains and then does nothing about it. Yes – I’m just the same but maybe we shouldn’t be. Is it time for a change – all over the world?

Polls for market research on products? Sure those I can belive are unbiased. .Polls paid for by a canidate or some other adgenda group? Never.

Must come from the Huffington Post.

We all want to hear the news we like!

Called a “push” poll Justice22.

And a NO EFFING WAY!! from anyone opposed to Obamacare whether they favor health care reform or not.

The problem with polls is two fold, either the poll questions are skewed to generate an expected response, or when the results are given there isn’t enough information as to where the poll was taken. For instance, Do you approve of President Obama’s performance would receive a distinctly different answer if asked of people exiting my church than if you took the same poll at Cal State Berkley.