Saturday, October 19, 2013

GOVERNING BY THE POLLS?


(Thanks for giving me the day off to be miserable with a bad cold.  I'd rather be blogging.)

Given the advanced technology of the Internet, it is fairly easy to obtain results on a litany of polling questions these days as compared to twenty years ago.  It has become common practice for government leaders to ask for a quick poll on some subject before they vote, for example.  But the results of the poll are dependent upon the demographics of the audience surveyed and the manner in which the questions are asked.  In the past, government leaders have often said that they don’t govern by what the polls reflect, but by what is best for the country.  The latest trend is to govern by poll results. 

COMMENTS:
This has led to deliberate manipulation of polls.  Obama has perfected the art of suggesting that polls reflect whatever it is he is pushing.  The inference is that the majority of Americans, based upon a particular poll, favors a certain project or proposed law.  This is not necessarily true.  The same poll directed at a different audience or with questions worded differently can produce entirely different results.  To be fair, everybody is doing it, regardless of political affiliation.  Your job is to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

TODAY’S QUERIES & ANSWERS:
Q. As far as ObamaCare goes, it stinks.  It seems to me that our last best hope was to defund it.  What now?  (Marguerite ~ Daly City, CA)
A. The fact that the websites are basically inoperative is cosmetic.  What is going on behind the scenes is total pandemonium.  I tend to agree with those who say it will implode on its own.  The planning, the implementation and the final product are all faulty.  It needs to be redone from scratch, or scrapped altogether for something better planned and thought out. 

Q. I know you have said many times that our educational system is being used to indoctrinate our young people into socialism. I feel that schools should be 100% educational in the literal sense and leave the upbringing to the parents.  The government seems to feel otherwise.  What are your thoughts?  (Slick ~ Las Vegas, NV)
A. Not all parents are equipped to raise children.  Over the years, the educational system has assumed more and more of the parenting role.  To me, this is fundamentally wrong; we should be teaching those parents how to effectively raise children and providing them support networks to accomplish that task.  The government has no business in assuming that role. A Maryland school recently surveyed its sophomore class with some rather obnoxious questions, I think:  (1) What is your religion; (2) What is your sexual orientation; (3) What is your parent’s political affiliation; (4) How many siblings do you have; (5) What is your household income; (6) What is the highest level of education either of your parents have.  There were many other questions pertaining to matters the school has no business sticking its nose into.  What kind of intrusive behavior is your school exhibiting toward your children?     

Q. I heard there is no limit now on the debt ceiling?” (Brandon ~ Sioux City, SD)
A. SURPRISE: That is basically correct.  The bill passed by the Senate and the House provides that any bill now owing or incurred up until the middle of February will be honored, regardless of amount.  Does that bother you? 

TODAY’S QUOTE:
“When a poll is really, really out of whack with what I want to happen, I do have a tendency to disregard it.” ~ Rush Limbaugh 

TODAY’S VIDEO:

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