Pointless polls

We have such a reputation for destroying polls that this survey may not survive contact with us, but give it a shot anyway. It's asking what people know about other people's religious beliefs. 1) Which of the following best classifies your beliefs? Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hundu, Jainist, Buddhist, Scientologist, Polytheist, Deist, Atheist, Other 2) How many atheists do you know? None, 1-5, 6-10, 11-20, More than 20 3) Please indicate which of the following concepts you think atheists believe: Choices for each are: Believe, Don't believe, Irrelevant, I don't know - God - Demons -…
You know that whole "climategate" nonsense was settled, right? It was a ginned-up controversy with no merit, and the evidence still supports the conclusion of anthropogenic global warming. Unfortunately, that message hasn't gotten to the public yet. It just goes to show how easy it is to persuade people with fabricated conspiracy theories. Are you satisfied with the British panel's conclusion that while 'Climategate' scientists were not always forthcoming, their science was sound? 33.6% Yes, the panel was fair in reproaching their behavior while upholding key data. 66.4% No, I still believe…
This poll seems a little too understated: Do you miss George W Bush? It's complicated. I'm overjoyed that he's out of office, and disappointed that he's not in a cold dank cell for the rest of his life. All you get to do on this poll, though, is say yes, you miss him (258 votes) or no, you don't (174 votes).
You knew it was too good to be true. Julia Gillard has just announced that she is against gay marriage. The honeymoon is over, no more plaudits. At least we still have Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir to admire. And because it's Gillard, there's a poll. Are Australians always this internet-poll crazy? Do you agree with the PM? Yes 28% No 72%
The godless Australian PM, Julia Gillard, has sure riled up the pollsters. Here's three polls at once to slam. Start clicking! Do you care at all about Julia Gillard's lack of religious faith? * Yes 33.71% * No 66.29% Hey, what's the difference between "No" and "Don't care" in this poll? And what does it mean that it will affect their vote? This is a remarkably meaningless and uninterpretable poll. Will your vote be swayed by Julia Gillard's stance on religion? * Yes, it will affect my vote 29.35% * No, I'll still vote the same 45.21% * Don't care 25.45% This one is the…
Julia Gillard, the new Prime Minister of Australia, is unmarried…but she has a boyfriend, a partner, a…a…paramour, which brings up the horrific possibility of a leader of the country living in sin in official accommodations. Oh, lord, I'm getting the vapors just thinking about it. And now the Sydney Morning Herald is getting all fluttery over it, too. Why, what kind of role model can she be if she refuses to obey the strictures of Church and Convention? You can vote, as well, although the Australians are already looking pretty pragmatic about the whole silly commotion. Do you agree that Julia…
A few people have written me saying I should go easy on those Christian praying for the Gulf — it's harmless, they say, it's just building social bonds, etc., etc., etc. Well, la-de-dah — they're delusional. I don't just mean the people praying, but also those making excuses for them. Somehow, it's OK to pretend that the Baptist getting down on his knees begging God to stop the oil isn't really asking God to stop the oil…he's just engaging in a social ritual to soothe his psyche, and we shouldn't disturb his emotional equilibrium. Bunk. Believers believe. Quit pretending that they're all…
Easy. We all know the answer to this one. Should 'Under God' Be Removed From Pledge Of Allegiance? Yes. 45.3% No. 52.4% I don't have an opinion either way. 2.2%
You're all good, upstanding, moral atheists who like children (and not just on the barbecue!), so you'd all be happy to donate to Barnardo's, a children's charity even without any incentive. Incentives are nice, though, so we're going to give you one: it's a competition. You see, Big Dave (bearded) and Simon (hideously naked-faced) are asking people to donate to Barnardo's, and for a £2 minimum donation, you also get to weigh in on the Great Beard Question: do they suck, or are they a majestic addition to manly beauty? They are collecting the beard/no beard votes, and on 5 July they'll be…
OK, what is this thing? I've been nominated for Best Blog About Stuff, which is OK, but then…Best Celebrity Blogger? Somebody has a very slack definition of "celebrity". Then there's Best Religion Blogger — this is an atheist blog, sometimes, only vote for that to annoy the faithheads. But, really, this one is freakish: Hottest Daddy Blogger? What does that mean? At least I wasn't nominated for Freakiest Blogger, Most Obnoxious Blogger, or Worst Blog of All Time.
Canadians are curious about whether they ought to emulate the worst of American habits. You'd think they'd already know the answer to that. Would you watch a Fox News-like channel? Yes 67% No 33% We already have a Fox "news-like" channel down here, and I don't even watch that.
You may have noticed one thing about our so-called free society: there is one group of professional, well-educated, articulate people who have been de facto forbidden to speak aloud about their views. Those people are our teachers. In particular, if they dare to express liberal, socially conscious views in ways that risk a difference of opinion getting back to parents or, jebus forbid, donors and community activists, we all know what will happen: they will be fired. The teachers know this, too — almost all of them willingly self-muzzle, because it has been repeated over and over to them that…
The Tri-City Herald ran a photo showing a drag queen at an event, the Columbia Basin College's Queers & Allies drag show. Here it is, entirely safe for work and not at all risque. It prompted one reader to write in protest. Am I the only reader of this newspaper who would like to know what the Herald's news criteria was for publishing the four-column by seven-inch picture of a drag queen show on the front page May 26? Many would say the photo lacked good taste, but more importantly, failed by most journalistic standards to be "newsworthy" or "all the news which is fit to print." Does…
I was asked to help skew a 'reader's choice' award in Kentucky—you know, that state with a Creation "Museum"—and I'm always happy to help rub Kentucky's nose in its religiosity, and helping an atheist blog acquire some notoriety sounds like an excellent idea. All you have to do is go to this list of categories, scroll down about halfway, and where it says "local media personality (newspaper, TV, radio, blogger)", answer "Larry Wallberg". They'll be mystified. If you want to freak them out some more, scroll down near the bottom to "place of worship", and answer "none". Unfortunately, there's…
So, Greta Van Susteren, Fox News babbler, got some hate mail telling her how stupid she is. Instead of just chucking it in the trash, or simply making fun of it (the guy made a spelling error, of course), she had to go out of her way to demonstrate that maybe the fellow was right. How? She turned it into an online poll, asking who was dumber, Brian or Greta. The fact that she used a poll made the answer obvious. Who is dumber? Greta? 73% Brian for spending his time watching someone he thinks is dumb 27% You can see how it is going. Pile on if you want. I can't believe she did that. I know…
Nelson McCausland, Northern Ireland's blithering idiot in charge of culture, now gets his own poll. Should creationism be featured in museum exhibitions? Yes 46% No 54% Too bad they don't specify what kind of museum. A museum of psychopathology, perhaps, or a clown museum…I could say yes to that. But not an art or science or technology museum.
A parenting magazine is running a poll to determine how many bad parents are out there. It looks like there are a lot. Where do you stand on immunization? For (38%) Against (61%) Don't know what to think (1%) There are almost 8,000 votes there, so this will be a tough one. Start clicking. …unless you're one of those bad parents who likes leaving children vulnerable to disease.
This latest eruption of Wakefield's infamy has prompted a poll on vaccinations. The anti-vaxers have made a feeble effort, and Orac has already sent his minions, but I think we can push the evidence-based position even higher. You know what to do. Do you think vaccines are related to autism? Andrew Wakefield, who touched off an international controversy by claiming a possible link between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism, has lost his medical license, but says he will continue to fight to prove his case. Do you think vaccines are related to autism? 39.4% Yes. So many more…
The evil bastards have gone and done it. The right-wing dbags on the Texas board of education have approved their decrepit curriculum — you know, the one that has decided that Thomas Jefferson was persona non grata, while Joe McCarthy is a true American hero. It's a tragedy for the nation, because, as we always point out, Texas clout is going to warp schoolbooks all around the country, but the worst thing is that there are 5 million kids in Texas who are now going to get a substandard education. OK, an even more substandard education. There's not much we can do at this point, except keep up…
It's a poll about whether the Bible is an accurate historical document…and the people who think it is have a slight edge right now. Now, as I post this, that is. I have a suspicion that that will change very quickly. Genesis en Eksodus verteenwoordig volgens prof Willie Esterhuyse nie historiese geskiedenis nie maar is singewende mites. (Genesis and Exodus do not represent historical fact but are insightful myths according to prof Willie Esterhuyse.) Ek stem saam dat dit nie historiese verhale is nie (I agree that both aren't historical fact) 46% Ek beskou dit as historiese gebeure wat…