A brand now blog is born. Cold Beverage has a post called If Iraqis could vote on Tuesday
Well, it's official. If those newly liberated citizens FIGHTING FOR THEIR FREEDOM in Iraq were allowed to vote in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday, Kerry would win Sadr City!
Horserace is an interesting blog with insight into polls and campaigns
In general, what I would like all my readers to do is to begin thinking like social scientists, not like journalists. Journalists look at a result and just report it. They do not take the time to consider how the result was produced. They are generally unskeptical. If you get a source with "credibility" who says X, Y and Z -- well that is good enough for the journalist. Social scientists do not do that (at least, the good ones do not). They are skeptical of every result until the method of that result has been understood and evaluated. Journalists on Fox will yim-yammer all day about this poll, about how the "race is getting (GASP!) even (GASP! GASP! GASP!) closer" without even looking at the method. The Fox journalist figures, "Opinion Dynamics knows what it is doing. Let's run with this!" But, if you are interested in reporting the truth, this is exceedingly unwise. St. Paul in 1 Thessalonians exhorts us to "test everything. Hold on to the good." Now, he was speaking of more weighty matters than sampling Republicans, Independents and men over the weekend, but the logic applies here as well!
And finally, the new blog, Far From Home, written from the front lines in Iraq is described by it's author as
a place for Deployed Soldiers and their Family and Friends...and of course anyone interested. There are forums, an adopt a soldier list and a place to add more to the list. There is a public image album anyone can upload to, and also private albums.
Check them out.
