Aug 22, 2016

MMA*MM #549--- Polling. The Real Thing & The Entertainment Fakes.

A pet peeve of mine in reporting is Internet "polls". 

Should Alabama have a state lottery?
Vote

     AL.COM to the rescue this afternoon with a poll and instant results to let you know where the public stands. Or not.

Should Alabama have a state lottery?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Total Votes: 4,383
Where the REAL voting happens.
     This website is what became of the Pulitzer Prize Winning Birmingham News and the other largest daily newspapers in Alabama. Instead of doing a legitimate (i.e. expensive) poll, they conduct an unscientific (i.e. cheap) meaningless poll and don't even bother to disclaim it. 
Asking people to post their opinion is one thing, asking them to "vote" is another. And the News folks know that.
Here's a helpful polling guide put together by the NPR show "On The Media" and the legitimate polling firm FiveThirtyEight.

     Visit the FiveThirtyEight Presidential Poll page for the latest. It shows Hillary Clinton with a 1.5% chance of winning. Alabama.
And an 84.1% chance of being elected president. But the two candidates are moving closer to each other. 

[The MM(A*)MM is  a longstanding regular feature of www.timlennox.com]
*Sometimes, like today, in the afternoon.

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