Tag Archives: CNN

How To Mislead With Statistics

Posted on by

There was a book out many years ago called “How To Lie With Statistics” written by Darrell Huff and Irving Geis. That book seems to have found its way into the speeches at the Democratic convention.

CNN reports that speakers have repeatedly stated that President Obama has added 4.5 million jobs to the economy during his time in office. That fact is true, but when you look at the entire picture, the importance of the number changes.

CNN reports:

While that is indeed a gain of 4.5 million, it’s only a net gain of 300,000 over the course of the Obama administration to date. The private jobs figure stood at 111 million in January 2009, the month Obama took office.

And total nonfarm payrolls, including government workers, are down from 133.6 million workers at the beginning of 2009 to 133.2 million in July 2012. There’s been a net loss of nearly 1 million public-sector jobs since Obama took office, despite a surge in temporary hiring for the 2010 census.

Meanwhile, the jobs that have come back aren’t the same ones that were lost.

According to a study released last week by the liberal-leaning National Employment Law Project, low-wage fields such as retail sales and food service are adding jobs nearly three times as fast as higher-paid occupations.

The bottom line is simple–we are not better off today than we were four years ago–our personal wealth has declined and our status as a nation has declined. It is time for a course correction.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Sorting Out The Numbers In The Contraception Battle

Posted on by

CNS News posted an article today which showed that some of the numbers on contraception use being cited by President Obama and HHS Kathleen Secretary Sebelius are simply not true.

The article lists the statements made on various media outlets:

“Nearly 99 percent of all women have relied on contraception at some point in their lives–99 percent,” Obama claimed in explaining why he was moving forward with a regulation that requires all health-care plans in the United States to cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives free of charge to all women who, in the terms of the regulation, have “reproductive capacity.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius twice made the same claim—without refutation–on national television programs. So, too, did Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter.

On Feb. 10, the same day Obama made the claim at the White House, Sebelius said on PBS’s “Newshour” that contraception was “a benefit used by 99 percent of women across this country at some point in their lives.”

Also on Feb. 10, Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Cutter, made the claim in two separate appearances that bracketed the day on CNN.

In the 8:00 a.m. hour, appearing with Soledad O’Brien, Cutter said: “This is birth control. This is the pill which women have been taking for generations. It is not controversial, 99 percent of all women have taken it, 98 percent of Catholic women have taken it. The debate on this is over.”

In the 9:00 p.m. hour, appearing with Piers Morgan, Cutter said: “This … is birth control, something that women have been taking, you know, for decades, and something that is accepted in this country–99 percent of the women take birth control. It’s a little unbelievable that we are debating it.”

On March 1, HHS Secretary Sebelius appeared on John King’s CNN program and once again claimed that “99 percent of women take contraception at some point during their health lives.”

Despite the constant repetition, the numbers are simply wrong.

These are the real numbers:

According to this National Center for Health Statistics, it turns out that 19.2 percent of American women age 15-44 are not using contraception and either have never had sexual intercourse are have not in the last 3 months. This included 60 percent of the women 15-19 years old, 20.4 percent of the women 20-24 years old, 10.6 percent of the women 25-29 year old, 8.7 percent of the women 30-34 years old, 7.4 percent of the women 35-39 years old, and 8.0 percent of the women 40-44 years old.

It’s time for all of us who vote to put on our critical thinking ears whenever we listen to claims of this administration about Obamacare and any of its related issues.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch

Posted on by

At the risk of tooting my own horn, I started this website to report on some of the things that seem to be overlooked in the mainstream media. Well, sometimes it seems as if I am reporting things that seem to be purposefully overlooked by the Obama Administration. Sometimes when I read reports of the actions of this administration and compare them with obvious facts, I wonder if I have entered an alternate universe. This article represents one of those times.

In March 2001, I posted an article about voter fraud in Texas (rightwinggranny.com). The article reported that out of 25,000 voters registered by a group called Houston Votes, only 1,793 of those voters were actually people who existed and were eligible to vote. Texas is now in the process of putting a voter ID law in place that will prevent that sort of thing in the future.

CNN reported on March 12 of this year:

A controversial new Texas law requiring voters to present personal identification before going to the polls has been blocked by the Obama administration.

In a letter Monday to state officials, the Justice Department said the legislation could have a discriminatory effect on Hispanics and other minorities.

…The department concluded there is little evidence of voter fraud in Texas warranting the legislative changes.

Meanwhile, James O’Keefe is at it again in Vermont. Big Government posted a video yesterday showing evidence of voter fraud in Vermont. As he did in New Hampshire, James went into the polls and attempted to vote using the names of various dead people. As in New Hampshire, he was successful.

Why is the Obama Administration unwilling to protect the integrity of the ballot box?

Enhanced by Zemanta

Some Further Information To Add To The Pile

Posted on by
November 8: Republicans gain control of Congre...

Image via Wikipedia

As I have stated, I am not supporting any particular Republican candidate right now. I am, however, concerned about the circular firing squad the Republican candidates seem to be forming. The debates seem to be saving the Democrats a lot of time and effort when it comes to future opposition research.

On February 9, 1999, Brent Bozell posted a column at Creators Syndicate about the charges against Newt Gingrich.

The column states:

The judgment is in. After three and a half years of investigation, the IRS has cleared Newt Gingrich and his allied nonprofit groups of any violation of the tax laws in the controversy over his television history course “Renewing American Civilization.”

So after having run countless news reports highlighting the accusations that ultimately forced Gingrich to pay a $300,000 fine, did the media correct the record with a decent airing of the decision? Are you ready? ABC, CBS, and NBC devoted exactly zero seconds to Newt Gingrich’s vindication. Only CNN’s Brooks Jackson filed a decent TV report, on the early-evening show “Inside Politics.”

No wonder no one knows that he was cleared of the charges. It seems to me that if the truth ever comes out, those who are still claiming that Newt is guilty of something will look worse than Newt!

The column goes on to detail some of the press coverage of the events and contrasts them with other situations involving Democrats. The bias is obvious. We need to understand that the press is no longer maintaining any semblance of impartial reporting. When the facts get in the way, they simply fail to report them.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

The Three Ring Circus Called The Republican Primary Debate

Posted on by

My source for this article is the CNN story posted about the debate. I do, however, have a few of my own comments.

I understand the need to reach a wide audience, but why are the Republicans debating on CNN when Fox gets higher ratings? Why are the Republicans putting up with stupid questions instead of discussing serious issues?

The question right out of the box tonight was to Newt Gingrich about an interview done with his ex-wife. First of all, what do you expect to hear from someone’s ex-wife? Second of all, where was the media investigation of John Edwards before the National Enquirer forced his mistress into the open? Would we have ever heard about Monica Lewinski without Matt Drudge and his knowledge of the blue dress? The double standard is going to be an obstacle to having a fair campaign.

I guess the debates are giving the Republican candidates television time so that the American people can see them and draw conclusions, but I wish there were some substance in the discussions. This isn’t ‘Dancing with the Stars;’ this is a campaign for President of the United States.

Enhanced by Zemanta

I Realize That I Am Probably In The Minority Here, But…

Posted on by

CNN reported today that University of California officials said Tuesday they will pay the medical expenses of students who were pepper sprayed during an Occupy Davis protest last week. Accuracy In Media posted a story on Monday about the media distortion of the event. I tend to fall more on the side of Accuracy in Media than CNN.

There is an extended video of the pepper spraying incident which shows the police asking the seated protesters numerous times to move. The protesters ignored the police. At that point, the protesters were breaking the law. As someone who has been at the scene of right-to-life protests, I can tell you that the police were very patient with the University protesters. Protest is a right under our constitution; blocking a road or pathway is not.

If the police have no way of moving protesters, where is the enforcement of law? The police are asked to keep order in our communities, do we really want to take the ability to do that away from them?

I am sorry that the students were pepper sprayed, but had they moved as they were asked to do when they were asked, they would not have been. Was this entire incident a set-up to try to gain support for the Occupiers? Are we being manipulated by the press? Those are the questions we need to ask.

Enhanced by Zemanta