Bad Statistic or Stupid Americans?

[THT]

Saw this on Hardball last night. Do these people know something that I don't?

<a href="http://www.pollingreport.com/iraq.htm" target="_blank">Iraq Polling Report</a>

Two questions from the Knight-Ridder polling:

[code]
"Please try to answer my next questions about Iraq
to the best of your knowledge. But if you're not
sure of an answer, that's okay -- just tell me and
I'll go to the next question. Do you think Iraq
and Al Queda -- Osama bin Laden's organization --
are allied and working together to plan new acts
of terrorism, or not?"

%
Are allied 65
Are not 16
Don't know 19

"As far as you know, how many of the September
11th terrorist hijackers were Iraqi citizens: most
of them, some of them, just one, or none?"

%
Most of them 21
Some of them 23
Just one 6
None 17
Don't know 33
</pre><hr></blockquote>

Frell, 50% of Americans in this poll believe at least one of the 19 September 11 hijackers was an Iraqi national. Does this mean that even though Americans watch 20 hours of TV a week, and is at least exposed to some sort of other media (print, radio, Internet, friends), they are not understanding what they hearing? Is the GWB administration propaganda so good that this myth can arise? Or maybe their reading comprehension is not any better than a 6-year-old's? This statistic is like what you see in Jay Leno's Jay-walking bit...

Really just too flabbergasted to say anything about it or to understand how it could be.

[edit: "code" doesn't word wrap! I didn't know that...]

[ 01-15-2003: Message edited by: THT ]</p>

[BRussell]

They're all A-rabs. What's the difference? Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the Axis of Evil, it all gets jumbled in my little brain. All I know is they're all bad.

[Outsider]

THT, 95% of people just don't care about being (correctly) informed. They care about partying, sex, sitcoms, sex, porn, sex, playstation, sex, MTV and sex. I'm embarrased for those people they do street interviews with. How can you NOT know there are 52 states in the US?

[ericj551]

Outsider: you forgot to mention movies, and sex.

[Scott]

You know I think a lot of people freeze up when you ask them a question and end up just guessing.

You know like, "Who's buried in Grant's tomb?"

"Uhhhh ... Washington?"

[Ringo]

[quote]Originally posted by Scott:
<strong>You know like, "Who's buried in Grant's tomb?"</strong><hr></blockquote>

Actually...

Nobody is buried there at all. Ulysses S. Grant and his wife are entombed there, but no dirt is involved.

[Artman @_@]

Golly! Here cum them middle earth Iraqeez! Hide up here in the tree!

[ColanderOfDeath]

[quote]Does this mean that even though Americans watch 20 hours of TV a week, and is at least exposed to some sort of other media (print, radio, Internet, friends), they are not understanding what they hearing?<hr></blockquote>

I think they understand what they are hearing. Except that what they are hearing isn't about Iraq. It's about Friends returning for anther season, it's about Joe Millionaire porking some golddigger, it's about the Raiders' short passing game, it's about Ozzy ****ing Osbourne, it's about Ben Affleck caressing the rotund expanses of JLo's booty etc. That's not to say that there are not millions of Americans looking for thoughtful discussion on the topic or to say that some of these other forms of entertainment are not also enjoyed by others who will give the Iraq issue some more serious consideration. But those people are certainly outnumbered by many others who dont want to be bothered by such details.

[ijerry]

[quote]Originally posted by Outsider:
<strong>How can you NOT know there are 52 states in the US? </strong><hr></blockquote>
I thought there were only 50?? Am I missing two somewhere? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

[ColanderOfDeath]

52 includes Hawaii and Alaska. The contiguous United States has 50 states though so it is usually referred to as the 50 states. Although really there are 48 besides Hawaii and Alaska but we have to pretend that there are 50 since the goddamned Texans think that they are such hot shit that Texas deserves to be counted three times.

[ijerry]

[quote]Originally posted by ColanderOfDeath:
<strong>52 includes Hawaii and Alaska. The contiguous United States has 50 states though so it is usually referred to as the 50 states. Although really there are 48 besides Hawaii and Alaska but we have to pretend that there are 50 since the goddamned Texans think that they are such hot shit that Texas deserves to be counted three times.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I guess that explanation will have to do, but I know that Hawaii is the 50th state,(i.e. the last to join). So I was curious. Count Texas 3 times huh, I will have to remember that.

[murbot]

Just ask a Canadian how many provinces and territories we have.

heh heh

Or even funnier, ask someone from the US.



[ 01-15-2003: Message edited by: murbot ]</p>

[ijerry]

[quote]Originally posted by murbot:
<strong>Just ask a Canadian how many provinces and territories we have.

heh heh

Or even funnier, ask someone from the US.



[ 01-15-2003: Message edited by: murbot ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Aren't there 13?? At least thats what I remember, and I am American, do I make you laugh??

[Fran441]

This is almost as bad as the 11% of people who voted for Bush that thought they were voting for Bush, Sr. and not his son.

[Outsider]

ijerry. 50 states. 50. I just find it funny the most popular wrong answer for "how many states does the US have" is 52 <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

We americans have it too easy here. Before 9/11 all we worried about is who won $1million last night on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, who in Hollywood is banging who, and what Monica Lewinski was doing with a cigar. All of a sudden the world has to get political and stuff and next thing we know 3000 people get thrashed and we are scrambling to understand why. Suddenly we watch more CNN and Foxnews than MTV or Spice and all these words wizz by our ears, Iraq+Arab+Muslims+airplanes=BAD MOJO. The details get fuzzy, made up, conclusions are jumped, etc, etc. We end up being interviewed on the street by some jackoff with a mic and then even the goddamned French are making fun of us across the ocean because we end up looking like uncooth simpletons!

[Scott]

[quote]Originally posted by ijerry:
<strong>
I thought there were only 50?? Am I missing two somewhere? :confused: </strong><hr></blockquote>

Israel and soon to be Iraq.

[G4Dude]

Guam and Puerto Rico. 52, beeotches!!!! :cool:

[BuonRotto]

John le Carré also throws around some outrageous stats about Americans thinking Saddam was behind 9/11, etc. <a href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_16-1-2003_pg4_7" target="_blank">linky</a>. I actually read this in a British paper, but this is all Google spit out. I can't tell you what's behind those numbers, but I can tell you that I find them surprising, even hard to believe. On the other hand, people always accused Ronald Reagan of abusing stats to skew his arguments, so I think we have to treat these with the same amount of salt that we treated Ronny's.

I think Osama bin Laden = AL Qaeda, so I might be inclined by association to say that Saddam and Osama had some sort of association under terrorism. Can't tell you about the second though. Most of those killers were Saudi, Yemeni or Egyptian. God, I hate mock "democracies."

[PS - don't forget the US Virgin Islands!]

[ 01-15-2003: Message edited by: BuonRotto ]</p>

[Eugene]

Robots. Lots of them. With laser beams.

[thuh Freak]

americans are réally, reálly, réally stupid. especially those who get stat'd. 17% of people know that. i'm just glad that i'm not "candian"; it's what gets me thru the nite. elton john told me it was alright, alright?

[stunned]

[quote]Originally posted by Fran441:
<strong>This is almost as bad as the 11% of people who voted for Bush that thought they were voting for Bush, Sr. and not his son.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Really!!! <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

[quote]Originally posted by Fran441:
<strong>This is almost as bad as the 11% of people who voted for Bush that thought they were voting for Bush, Sr. and not his son.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Thats not THAT bad. I worry more about the 89% that KNEW who they were voting for...

[THT]

I don't know. I presumed the survey was done correctly. About 1000 randomly chosen people were called, and the questions were asked.

I got the impression that there was a gestalt of information, that it was widely known through continuous coverage and repetition, that 15 of the hijackers were Suadi, (1 Egyption (Atta), 1 Lebanese, and the rest Yemeni). It was hard not to be exposed to that. This bit of info has probably been forgotten in most people's mind now since all the news coverage is about Iraq, which probably demonstrates that 9/11 wasn't as drastic an event in American's minds than appears.

It almost seems like a consequence of the survey. The survey is entirely about Iraq, how bad Iraq is. Since people either just forgot, didn't know, or had doubt about 9/11, those who didn't know but refused to answer honestly decided to answer the question multiple choice style. They guessed. The "just one" answer is the most specific, so perhaps in was the least best answer to them, while the others were better because it demonstrated how bad Iraq is.

[thuh Freak]

[quote]Originally posted by THT:
<strong>I got the impression that there was a gestalt of information, that it was widely known through continuous coverage and repetition, that 15 of the hijackers were Suadi, (1 Egyption (Atta), 1 Lebanese, and the rest Yemeni). It was hard not to be exposed to that.</strong><hr></blockquote>

well, i aint too keen on legitimate news sources. i get my news from crack and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I was completely unaware of the nationality of the hijackers.

[Artman @_@]

thuh freak...nuts man, nuts... <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

BUT a good barometer of how stupid we have become can be evident from warning labels on product and shit...one has to think that the reason they put these on them is because people have actually tried to do these things...or the person who wrote them are idiots...

•A warning on an electric router made for carpenters cautions, "This product not intended for use as a dental drill."

•A warning label found on a baby stroller cautions the user: "Remove child before folding."

•A bottle of prescription sleeping pills says, "Warning: May cause drowsiness."

•A sticker on a toilet at a public facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan actually warns: "Recycled flush water unsafe for drinking."

•A CD player carries this unusual warning: "Do not use the Ultradisc2000 as a projectile in a catapult."

•An "Aim-n-Flame" fireplace lighter cautions, "Do not use near fire, flame, or sparks."

•A label on a hand-held massager advises consumers not to use "while sleeping or unconscious."

•A container of underarm deodorant says, "Caution: Do not spray in eyes."

•A cartridge for a laser printer warns, "Do not eat toner."

•A household iron warns users: "Never iron clothes while they are being worn."

•A label with a hair dryer reads, "Never use hair dryer while sleeping."

•A 13-inch wheel on a wheelbarrow warns: "Not intended for highway use."

•A cardboard car sunshield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns, "Do not drive with sunshield in place."

•A bathroom heater says: "This product is not to be used in bathrooms."

•A can of self-defense pepper spray warns users: "May irritate eyes."

•A warning on a pair of shin guards manufactured for bicyclists says: "Shin pads cannot protect any part of the body they do not cover."

•A popular manufactured fireplace log warns: "Caution: Risk of Fire."

•A box of birthday cake candles says: "DO NOT use soft wax as ear plugs or for any other function that involves insertion into a body cavity."

:eek: