Pointless polls
pharyngula | May 14, 2010Last year, I mocked this extraordinarily stupid joke and the radio host who told it. I guess the radio personality was still feeling the sting — either that, or he wanted the traffic — since he brought it up again today, and also complained about the way I ridiculed the Maine Republican party platform (Remember that one? No gay marriage, global warming is a myth, Austrian economics, immediate arrest of all illegal aliens, etc.?)
So now he wants to know what you think of that teabaggin' Republican platform. He thinks it is just ducky. Most of his listeners agree. I think he's about to discover…
pharyngula | May 5, 2010This is a poll from the mind of Wayne Laugesen, crazy fundie editor from Colorado Springs. As usual, he's complaining about those damned atheists on his lawn.
Is it OK for government leaders and legislative bodies to proclaim a National Day of Prayer?
Yes, this is perfectly appropriate and legal
50%
No, this is inappropriate and quite possibly illegal
46%
I don't know
0%
I don't care
4%
I think we should go give him something more to complain about.
If only Obama would declare a National Day of No Prayer to be fair…then watch Wayne squall and screech.
pharyngula | May 5, 2010Catherine Deveny seems to have hit a nerve. She made a remark about a child star over twitter — "I do so hope Bindi Irwin gets laid" — which triggered the "Think of the children!" reflex and got her fired from her job writing for the Melbourne Age newspaper.
This subject might be a bit contentious, since people are already wrangling over it in the endless thread. I'm going to have to side with the people who say it was out of line, it was incredibly rude, and…it's exactly what a comedian should be doing, pushing the boundaries and making people uncomfortable. I felt a bit torn when I read it…
pharyngula | May 1, 2010
That's the official state seal of Virginia. A few people don't like it, for the expected prudish reasons, including the Attorney General for the state of Virginia.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli apparently isn't fond of wardrobe malfunctions, even when Virginia's state seal is involved.
The seal depicts the Roman goddess Virtus, or virtue, wearing a blue tunic draped over one shoulder, her left breast exposed. But on the new lapel pins Cuccinelli recently handed out to his staff, Virtus' bosom is covered by an armored breastplate.
When the new design came up at a staff meeting, workers…
pharyngula | April 28, 2010I don't think the current results are quite right, and they need a little godless input. It's cunningly designed to split our votes, alas…but do what you can.
What Do You Think About the Tea Party?
Believe they are white racists
2%
Believe they are ignorant-uneducated people
1%
Believe they are true American patriots
45%
Frustrated with government-just as they are
41%
Considering joining the Tea Party
11%
Note also that they have a cute little American map that breaks down the results by state. I wonder how they'll deal with a sudden flood of furriners?
pharyngula | April 28, 2010Hey, I'm going to be at the Orange County Freethought Alliance conference on 8 May; how convenient that the OC Register is running a silly little poll already.
Does religion make us better people?
Opinion 1: Religion makes people behave better. 32 %
Opinion 2: Being religious has no effect on your behavior. 25 %
Opinon 3: Religion makes us behave worse. 43 %
It's actually a fairly even-handed article by a rabbi starting a new weekly religion column. He even gives reasons for each of the three possibilities. For #1, he cites Rick Warren and Tom Coburn. For #3, he cites Gregory Paul, a…
pharyngula | April 27, 2010Yesterday, I linked to an offensive poll by Minnesota Republicans in district 42 (that's one of the Minneapolis suburbs, by the way). My readers marched in, voted against their support for Arizona's racial-profiling, anti-immigrant law, and completely skewed the results to be against the desired Republican outcome.
This happens often enough; the point is that these kinds of internet polls do not reliably produce accurate results, and it's easy to twist a poll in a contrary way. Most often these polls are put up as a kind of exercise in self-affirmation, because, for instance, very few non-…
pharyngula | April 26, 2010You may have heard that Arizona has a draconian new immigration law that essentially legalizes racial profiling, and requires immigrants to carry their registration documents at all times…and by default, then, you better not be caught brown in Arizona without proof of citizenship, no matter what your legal status.
One of our local Republican districts has a poll on this issue. You will not believe the wording on it.
President Obama called the new Arizona bill banning illegal immigration "misguided". Do you agree?
Sí, señor!
22%
No Way, José!
77%
They really need to add a cute…
pharyngula | April 25, 2010This is odd. In Australia, school kids can opt-in to take scripture classes, and the kids who opt out get to sit in the school during those hours doing nothing, which seems a bit of a waste. So the schools have a new plan: while the religious kids are off memorizing bible verses, the secular kids will get classes in ethics which will "cover topics including respect, bullying, animal rights and questions about life and death."
That sounds reasonable to me, and a good use of time. Guess who doesn't like the idea, though? Church leaders! There is actually a rule that prohibits secular students…
pharyngula | April 22, 2010It's a trivial little contest from JetBlue — it does require that you give them your contact information, which may be more than you want to surrender…but you can win fabulous prizes! Look at what you can get:
A vacation in the Dominican Republic!
A vacation in Costa Rica!
A vacation in the Sonoran Desert!
A Vespa scooter (they're giving away 10 each week)!
The Grand Prize: A complete kitchen makeover with a set of appliances from Amana, and a $5000 gift card!
And that's not all! There's an ULTIMATE PRIZE. Looking at that list of pricey luxury items, you know this has got to be good…
pharyngula | April 19, 2010Nadia Bloom is a young girl who was lost in Florida, and was found by a fervent Christian who went off into the swamps babbling in tongues and praying to God to lead him to her. As you might guess, all the other rescue workers and volunteers are now forgotten, the prolonged search is unimportant, and all that matters is the one fellow fortunate enough to stumble into her was a Bible thumper. Isn't that sweet?
Now the newspaper is running a poll with a stupid question. Just look at the answer that is winning:
Members of Metro Church in Winter Springs, which Nadia Bloom used to attend, call her…
pharyngula | April 19, 2010Bleh. I hate this poll. I suspect any pharyngulation is going to be diluted because there isn't going to be much unanimity of response to it, either. And answers 1 & 3, and answers 2 & 4, are pretty much equivalent, so they're already splitting the votes no matter what your position.
Should President Obama choose a nominee who is Protestant to get religious diversity on the court?
Yes. Like it or not, this nation's history is bound to religion. Protestants should be represented on the court.
20% No. Justices are supposed to rule based on the law and the Constitution.…
pharyngula | April 15, 2010The Hobby Lobby craft store apparently flogs Christianity fairly heavily during the Easter season — not just because it's a crafty time of year, but because by their own admission, they are using the stores to proselytize. A customer named Sarah complained that it was "exclusive and insensitive". She got the run-around by some utterly oblivious service representative, who among many other things, said Since we know that Christ is the only way to heaven; it would truly be insensitive for us not to share Christ with the world.
Of course, they have the right to do that…just as godless consumers…
pharyngula | April 15, 2010Here's what we're used to: crazy poll choices that make the right answer obvious.
Do you support attempts by atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens to have Pope Benedict XVI arrested over his handling of child sex abuse claims?
Yes, what happened to these children is horrific and the Pope should be held accountable for his role in the cover-up.
71%
No, they are using the terrible tragedy of child sex abuse to pursue their vendetta against religion.
29%
Next, we'll have a poll about adult rape cases in which one question tries to distract everyone from the guilty by…
pharyngula | April 13, 2010The New Humanist has a poll that is being crashed by apologists for Catholicism…I think. The problem is that they've worded the alternatives so almost all of the choices (#3 clearly sucks) have some reasonable elements to them. Which means, as usual, you'll have to go over there and think about which little button you want to click on.
Do you think the Pope should face legal action over the Catholic child abuse cover-ups?
Yes. This cover-up appears to go to the very top and its perpetrators must face justice.
20%
Yes. While it's unlikely the Pope will end up in the dock, suggestion of a…
pharyngula | April 13, 2010It hardly seems sporting, it's already sailing off in the right direction. But anyway, have fun with it.
Should the Pope be charged with 'crimes against humanity', over the alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church?
Yes76.7%
No23.3%
My one reservation is all the focus on The Pope. Shouldn't we just declare the Vatican a rogue state, send in the Marines, and mop up the whole mess? Then we could pay for the whole operation with an art sale, just like we're paying for Iraq with all that oil.
pharyngula | April 10, 2010Stupid question, stupid comment, and insufficiently intelligent responses. Teach South Africa what it means to rouse the indignation of Pharyngula.
Do you believe in evolution?
The debate over the origin of mankind's existence has been raging for ages.
Yes 61%
No 39%
pharyngula | April 7, 2010On that crazy story about the Catholics suing Baltimore, I overlooked a poll. It needs fixin'.
Pregnancy counseling center lawsuit
Do you agree with the archdiocese that Baltimore's law requiring pregnancy centers to post signs stating that they do not provide abortions or birth control referrals is a violation of freedom of speech and religion?
Yes
54%
No
44%
Not sure
2%
Just to clarify the clumsily worded question, right now 54% of the respondents think the Catholic Church is being oppressed by being asked to be truthful about the services their…
pharyngula | April 5, 2010I fear I'm about to stomp a bit hard on another poll — this one has my name on it, and is for Minnesota Blogger of the Year. This is kind of a nice friendly poll, so I feel a bit bad about demolishing it, but I have to stand on principle. Crush it, gang, crush it bad.
It might be nice if you looked at the list of nominees, of course, and the fellow in the lead, Robert Erickson, was very amusing in his confrontation with teabaggers…but it's an online poll. I cannot resist. It must be pharyngulated.
pharyngula | March 28, 2010They run the country, they surround us, they get cranky if you even question their deity…but they're so darn persecuted.
Do you think persecution of Christians will come to America?
No, I don't believe it's an issue 5.76%
I don't know 3.84%
Yes, but in the future 13.06%
Yes, and soon 34.57%
It is already here 42.76%
Pitiful. Wah, wah, wah…make them cry some more, persecute them by going clicky-clicky on a little button on the internet.