Discussion: Americans Can't Make Up Their Damn Minds About A Possible Military Takeover

system1 · May 12, 2015, 2:10pm

Discussion for article #236270

sniffit · May 12, 2015, 2:39pm

To have captured a 33% share of “liberals,” I have no doubt in my mind that the question was phrased in a way that deliberately downplayed what the people in TX are really saying and treated it as sort of “do you have a healthy skepticism of the gov’t or are you a total gullible moron willing to be walked all over?” You know, as opposed to “OMFG IT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING RIGHT NOW JUST LIKE I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WOULD!!!” Anyone have time to look it up?

“I tell you what it is. It’s your quote un-quote pollution control. I heard on talk radio you don’t even need 'em. It’s just the latest nazi government plot. Open your eyes, man, they’re trying to control Global Warming. Get it Global. That’s U.N. Commissars code for telling us what the temperature is gonna be in our outdoors. Let it warm up I say. See what Butchros Butchros Ghali Ghali thinks of that. We’ll grow oranges in Alaska.”
DALE GRIBBLE, King of the Hill

Yes, these fucking twats in TX are walking cartoon parodies of themselves.

meri · May 12, 2015, 2:40pm

Not the point. Not at all. All sorts of people believe really stupid bullshit.

The problem here is that the elected representatives (and those pandering for a run at President) are openly advocating the stupidest theories they can possibly dredge out of their asses.

And that’s a problem.

sonsofares · May 12, 2015, 2:45pm

This is all just a dream. This MUST be a dream…

ctvoter · May 12, 2015, 2:46pm

a poll released Tuesday found 65 percent of likely U.S. voters actually would like to have the military conduct such war games in their home state.
SHEEPLE.

whatithink · May 12, 2015, 2:46pm

Any state that would refuse letting the military train in their state is basically saying no to free money. Restaurants, bars, hotels…they would all make money from military training.

korvu · May 12, 2015, 2:46pm

or a remake of Sleeper.

meri · May 12, 2015, 2:52pm

They also are obviously too concerned about having military bases (full of guys and vehicles and guns) right there inside their state. Better remove them. Immediately.

Perhaps a “put up or shut the fuck up” bill?

dnl · May 12, 2015, 2:56pm

This is the desired results of the NeoCons’ efforts to dumb down Americans…

and elections can now be bought.

sniffit · May 12, 2015, 2:58pm

Sorry, but it very much is part of the the point. Rasmussen, in particular, has a very well=known bad habit of push polling and deliberately arranging their questionnaires to provide certain results that they can then represent as meaning something they don’t really quite mean if you look at what was actually asked.

Is another part of the point that elected representatives are reprehensibly failing to tell the whackjobs that they’re being whackjobs, or openly helping spread whackjobbery of their own? Yep. But things don’t only get to have one point or one aspect to their meaning.

chammy · May 12, 2015, 3:00pm

Rasmussen is all I needed to know to know the poll is probably 99% bullshit

boidster · May 12, 2015, 3:07pm

“The Rasmussen survey found that particular concern was partisan: 50 percent of conservatives believed military training exercises would lead to greater federal control of some states. By contrast, 67 percent of liberals and 58 percent of those who identified as moderates said they weren’t concerned, according to the survey.”

Statistics are difficult enough to follow in articles. Please don’t swap the “sign” of your statistics mid-paragraph, it’s very confusing! The “50 percent” and “67 percent…58 percent” numbers above are not directly comparable, relying on the reader to do math (and possibly incorrect? what about ‘undecideds’ on the liberal/moderate side?) to figure out the relative results.

“50 percent of conservatives [were concerned] … exercises would lead to greater federal control”

is not comparable to

“67 percent of liberals and 58 percent of … moderates said they weren’t concerned”

Better to say (assuming no ‘undecideds’ on the liberal/moderate side):

“The Rasmussen survey found that particular concern was partisan: 50 percent of conservatives believed military training exercises would lead to greater federal control of some states. By contrast, only 33 percent of liberals and 42 percent of those who identified as moderates said they were concerned, according to the survey.”

Apples to apples; makes it much easier for the reader.

sniffit · May 12, 2015, 3:08pm

I think it’s that MSM-itis kind of thing…they feel they have to report the bigger number cuz bigger is more sensational.

khaaannn · May 12, 2015, 3:38pm

It’s easy to confuse the majority when they don’t pay attention anyway.
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!!!
Why, don’t you know that Obama is----SQUIRREL!

bearsense · May 12, 2015, 3:49pm

Probably just time to pull all military facilities out of Texas, eh ??

pbj_diddy · May 12, 2015, 4:25pm

In other news: 56% of Americans are idiots, while another 23% are morons and 6% identify as both. The remainder are merely below average intelligence, like me after reading this article.

exspectator · May 12, 2015, 4:26pm

Yet 45 percent of likely voters also said that they’d be concerned the government would use military training exercises to exert greater control over some states, according to the survey.

To your point, using military training exercises to “exert greater control” includes a much broader range of actions than using military training exercises to come take your guns, impose martial law, and scheme with Wal-Mart for the building of secret underground take over tunnels, and all that other crazy Jade Helm nonsense.

fargo116 · May 12, 2015, 5:17pm

This is Rasmussen, the Far Junie’s favorite poll. I’d like to wait for a couple of others, please/