Little Rants

GBN1 seriously checking out a ladybug on her hand. Notice the Kool-ade smile.

Gee, one little typo, one little mistake, and the people pounce. Actually, there was probably more than one little mistake in yesterday's post, but who is counting (obviously The Piper). I guess if you goof, you must pay The Piper. For those of you who don’t know, The Piper, who has been commenting lately on my blog, is a good friend who has a wicked sense of humor which is welcome around me anytime. Bring it on!

Buck mentioned the troubles in the FBI and the possible creation of yet another agency to deal with terror here in the US. He has some good links. It all reminded me of the creation of the Department of Education back in 1980. Yep, 1980! Before that we had the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, but Carter changed the departments around. He separated education to make the DE and the old agency became Dept. of Health and Human Services. When I went to check up on my knowledge (because I have slept since then and now I am 49 with blonde hair), I found the revamping of Cabinets very interesting. Read about it here. You can probably guess how I feel about the Dept. of Education – more money being poured into a system that is failing, because the programs that if offers are unproven and unworkable and only create more paper work and bureaucracy. And the “educators” flock to it (bow down) in order get the money only to be bent to its bloodsucking will. Here is where my friend, Dick, would say, “Lou, get off the fence and decide how you really feel.”

Here is an interesting little news item found in “World Magazine” which I am not sure I can link to, but will try. The article was called, “Survey Says…” Here is an excerpt:
What do U.S. voters think of the situation in Iraq? Turns out, that's a loaded question, one with myriad angles and subtleties often overlooked by major polling agencies. A WORLD analysis of five recent national scientific surveys reveals that perceived public opinion can depend as much on the questions asked as the answers given.
In an Associated Press poll of 1,002 adults last month, 56 percent of respondents said they believe the war in Iraq is "a hopeless cause." Compare that to last month's survey of 800 adults from Public Opinion Strategies (POS), in which 57 percent of respondents "support finishing the job in Iraq, that is, keeping the troops there until the Iraqi government can maintain control and provide security for its people."

How can that be - 56 % say “hopeless cause” while 57 % support finishing the job in Iraq? It turns out that wording of polls and the different options within the questions plays a big part of the outcome of the poll. Duh! Here is a little more from the same article:
Other questions within the AP poll that addressed matters of ethics and pragmatics individually generated sharp distinctions. While 61% of respondents called the Iraq War a mistake, 60% opposed a congressional measure to cut off funding for President George Bush’s troop surge – numbers much more closely aligned with the POS results.

Personally, I think that lots more people support the war efforts than the mass media wants us to think. Once again, I say that Americans want to win – not cut and run. That may mean that changes need to occur, and hopefully we can do that successfully. But the Dems need to read their constituents carefully before they go hacking funding for the war. I think they could irritate the wrong folks or in this case the right folks.