Tag Archives: polls surveys

Reminder: Ron Paul and Polls

The aggregated NH polls at Pollster.com predicted the finishing order and vote percentages for the Republican primary, as I expected they would. Therefore, I’ll repeat my previous admonition here.

What these polls show us about Ron Paul’s popularity should motivate us to act, and we ignore them at our campaign’s peril. The good doctor’s campaign is in need of immediate attention and a major injection of funds. If you haven’t done so already, get involved with your local Ron Paul meetup. Tell your friends about Ron Paul. Given them informational slim jims and DVDs (my favorite is “A Man for All Seasons“). Lastly, it would be nice if money didn’t make the world go round, but it does, and the Paul campaign needs money to reach the millions of disenfranchised voters who’d flock to him if only they knew he is. Please, for liberty’s sake, consider making a donation. No amount is too small. If we each do our part to promote the causes of liberty and small government, and pay attention to how we affect state and national poll numbers, we might yet beat the system.

Addendum: I like Lew Rockwell and enjoy reading his blog, but I think James Ostrowski’s dead wrong when he says, “let’s all stop listening to the MSM and pollsters“. Granted, the polls got the Democratic NH primary wrong. However, they did well with both the Iowa and New Hampshire Republican primaries. If the polls look grim for Ron Paul, that shouldn’t mean we ignore them. Rather, they should light a fire under a movement that seems to have lost some oomph since the Tea Party money bomb.

Addendum: If you really want to stick it to the pollsters, get some disenfranchised Democrats to vote for Dr. Paul. 😉

Update 01/10/08: Dr. Paul is polling better than Fred Thompson in Michigan and catching up to him in South Carolina and Florida. 🙂

Ron Paul and Polls

As a Ron Paul supporter who’s watching net news with bated breath, I’ve noticed that the good doctor’s supporters seem to be rather distrusting of polls. The reasons range from criticisms of questionable statistical practices (e.g., land lines vs. mobile lines and so-called “likely voters”) to conspiracy theories. Having finally looked at some aggregated poll results, though, I think it’s time the Paulites start caring about polls.

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Chastity Lifestyle Education

Did you hear the new statistic about premarital sex? 90% of people surveyed have had premarital sex.

The results of the analysis indicate that premarital sex is highly normative behavior. Almost all individuals of both sexes have intercourse before marrying, and the proportion has been roughly similar for the past 40 years.

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Healing Prayers

"In churches, mosques, ashrams, ‘healing rooms,’ prayer groups and homes nationwide, millions of Americans offer prayers daily to heal themselves, family, friends, co-workers and even people found through the Internet. Fueled by the upsurge in religious expression in the United States, prayer is the most common complement to mainstream medicine, far outpacing acupuncture, herbs, vitamins and other alternative remedies."

"’Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism — every religion believes in prayer for healing,’ said Paul Parker, a professor of theology and religion at Elmhurst College outside Chicago. ‘Some call it prayer, some call it cleansing the mind. The words or posture may vary. But in times of illness, all religions look towards their source of authority.’"

"The outpouring of spiritual healing has inspired a small group of researchers to attempt to use the tools of modern science to test the power of prayer to cure others. The results have been mixed and highly controversial. Skeptics say the work is a deeply flawed and misguided waste of money that irresponsibly attempts to validate the supernatural with science. And some believers say it is pointless to try to divine the workings of God with experiments devised by mortals."

"Proponents, however, maintain the research is valuable, given the large numbers of people who believe in the power of prayer to influence health. Surveys have found that perhaps half of Americans regularly pray for their own health, and at least a quarter have others pray for them."

Click here to read the rest of the article.

"[The apostles] cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them." – Mark 6:13

"Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." – James 5:14-15

I’m curious. Have any of you every prayed for your own or someone else’s healing? Did it work? How did you know?

Investigating NFP: Sidebar on Definitions

In response to a debate in the comments to my first investigative post about NFP, I’ve decided to query my readers for their opinions.  Please consider answering these surveys. I’d like Catholics and non-Catholics alike to participate.

Survey link: Do you believe that "birth control" and "contraceptive" are synonymous?
Survey link: Do you believe that NFP/FAM is a method of contraception?