More Cherry Picking polls

I was out of town for Christmas break. Yesterday, I returned and caught up on some of the editorials. Once again, I found Michael Ryan cherry picking polls--this time to the point of absurdity.

He was trying to establish how unpopular the new health care plan is. So he mentioned the Rasmussen poll which shows President Obama with a negative approval rating.

But what he doesn't mention is that the Rasmussen poll is the only one that gives President Obama a negative approval rating--44%-56%. All 7 of the other major polls give President Obama a positive approval rating including CNN (54%-44%), Fox (50%-44%), AP (56%-42%), and Pew (49%-40%). CNN's approval rating jumped 6 points just after the Senate resolution passed. Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

Polls showing the public's disapproval of the the health care plan don't break down the opposition. Much of it is from progressives upset that it doesn't include a public option. In any case, it's never a good idea to administer a government based on polls. Mr. Ryan's point in this editorial was simply irrelevant. He's still unaware of who won the 2008 election.

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Re: "Unleash power of the people," from the December 23rd edition of the Augusta Chronicle editorial page.

I did agree with one point made in this editorial. I think a crash Manhattan style program to establish green energy is a good idea.

However, this editorial contained some twisted hyperbole that was particularly outrageous.

Here is the offending quote: "Scientists promoting the man-made theory are now being investigated for massive fraud and junk science."

There are so many things wrong with this statement it's difficult to know where to begin. First, he's referring to the anthropogenic influence on greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Sheesh! He can't even write it correctly, demonstrating that he just doesn't know what he's talking about. Second, there are only a few scientists being investigated--out of the thousands of climate scientists worldwide who are convinced man's activities are influencing the climate. Third, these scientists are not being investigated for massive fraud and junk science. They're being investigated to see if they did anything academically unsavory. According to www.factcheck.org , it doesn't look like they did. Fourth, scientists are not promoting this theory. Using the word, promote, makes it sound like they're making money from it. They are no more promoting this theory than a mathmatician promotes the fact that 2 + 2 = 4.

Further on in the editorial, Mr. Ryan advocates nuclear energy writing, "...It releases none of the greenhouse gases the left-wing alarmists are worried about."

True. Instead it releases radiation that can poison the environment for tens of thousands of years.

What an idiot shmuck, Mr. Ryan is.


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I wish the Augusta Chronicle would run Paul Krugman's column. I read the Chattanooga paper while I was out of town and they print it. Paul Krugman is an intelligent progressive, like Eugene Robinson. The Chronicle prints Mr. Robinson, why not Krugman.