Polls no longer reliable, Dick Morris

Two reasons:

In 28 states, the state legislatures have passed laws giving telephone users the right to opt out of receiving telemarketing phone calls, including public opinion surveys. More and more voters are availing themselves of this right and the pickings for telephone polling firms are getting more and more scarce.

Even beyond the formal opt-out which makes it illegal to call certain voters when taking public opinion polls, the “hang up” factor is looming larger and larger in telephone polling.

Indeed, I have friends who NEVER answer their home phone, letting the machine take the call instead.  Others simply aren’t home much during the 6-9 PM calling time of most polls, or their primary phone is their cell, not their landline.  And I’ve never gotten a poll or telemarketer on my cell phone, have you?

So, phone polling would appear to be taken on those who 1) are home and answer their landline phone, 2) don’t immediately hang up.  This is already a considerable smaller universe than a truly random sample would allow.

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Here’s a shocker

Hamas vows to pursue suicide attacks

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Russia lukewarm on support for Iraq attack

Russia today appeared unconvinced of the necessity for an attack on Iraq, after being presented with a copy of the (UK) prime minister’s dossier of evidence on the threat posed by the country.

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Democrats (finally) getting some spine?

Daschle demands apology for Bush comments

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle on Wednesday demanded an apology from President Bush for comments the South Dakota Democrat said were politicizing a possible U.S. attack against Iraq.

His voice thick with emotion, Daschle said Bush had insulted Democrats, many of them veterans of war, in saying the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate was “not interested in the security of the American people.”

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Terror Alert downgraded from Orange to Yellow

Americans breathed a sigh of relief as the dreaded Terror Alert was lowered to Yellow from Orange.  Texas rancher Billy Bob Morris said “That Orange alert had me more nervous than a whore in church, but now we have a Yellow alert, I’m heading to the mall to spend money so the terrorists don’t win.”

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Trilingual

At the health club yesterday I was chatting with two guys.  One was from Armenia, the other from Mexico.  Both spoke Spanish, Farsi, and English.  I opined it was time for this Anglo to learn another language, and I’ve chosen Spanish.

What’s the best way to learn conversational California Spanish. Ideas?

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Why the Germans voted to wave goodbye to America

By returning Mr Schröder’s SDP and his Green coalition allies to power, the Germans have issued a kind of declaration of independence. They have said they will not act as American vassals, and have given expression to a deep vein of anti-Americanism

The post-war Germans were encouraged to believe that America was an ideal society, founded on a new and democratic continent, freed from the corruptions of Europe. This idealised picture suffered terrible damage during Vietnam, a conflict that had a formative influence on the rebellious generation of 1968, who went on to found the Green party.

Joschka Fischer, the German foreign minister, became the greatest parliamentarian of that generation and now leads the party, and it was thanks to the surprisingly strong showing of the Greens on Sunday that Mr Schröder is now in a position to form a government, albeit one with a tiny majority, in which the Greens will be stronger than before.

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Why aren’t we bombing Israel?

Israel violates UN resolution

Just wondering…

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US generals warn: don’t attack Iraq without UN backing

Three retired four-star American generals have said that attacking Iraq without a United Nations resolution supporting military action could limit aid from allies, encourage recruiting for al Qaeda and undermine the United States’ long-term diplomatic and economic interests.

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Teens set shorts onfire,  get burned

Two teenage boys smeared their shorts with gasoline around 10 p.m. Saturday and took turns lighting each other.  Then they would drop down to the ground, roll and attempt to extinguish themselves, Elgin police said.

“They continued to do this for three rounds,” said Elgin officer Mike Sullivan. “The shorts were drenched in so much gasoline that they were unable to extinguish it anymore. To the best of our understanding, it was some kind of a challenge.”

“Each one of them participated by their own free will,” Sullivan said. “Being totally stupid is not a crime.”

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