Monday, May 29, 2006

Random Polling Alert

I read that a new survey finds that two-thirds of Americans would support a law banning the use of cell phones while driving. This is at a time when auto makers are installing GPS map systems with full color displays and scrolling and zoom features. Satellite radio is standard in many cars; tuning is accomplished through a scrolling menu system. Pop down DVD players are optional for many SUV's.

But cell phones might be too big of a distraction for us. And haven't many states already dealt with this supposed problem by requiring hands free devices?

And what about other distractions? Hot coffee and soft drinks. Big Macs and fries. Paper maps. Women applying make-up. Wives, children and pets. Mothers-in-law. Newspapers. Business reports and briefcases. Head banger music and talk radio. A dire need to pee. Are we going to ban all of these? Don't I have a First Amendment right to pee on my Mother-in-law?

What I want to know is why people are compelled to meddle in and spoil things for everyone else? If they don't want to use cell phone while they are driving then don't use one and leave me alone. The food Nazis took movie popcorn cooked in coconut oil away from us based upon a report that said if we ate 300 servings a day for 30 years it could contribute to obesity. That's ridiculous. Nobody can watch more than twelve movies a day, tops.

I also don't understand how you can survey less than 900 people and, based upon their response, claim that two-thirds of 280,000,000 Americans share their opinions. All these damn polls tell us is that two-thirds of the people actually questioned hold that opinion. But if the pollsters ever got off their tofu asses and quit using land line phones long enough to conduct a real survey I'm sure the issue would be obsolete by the time the results were tabulated. Again, problem solved.

But getting back to reality, apparently, this survey was a poll of 849 adults and 69% of them were tight asses. I think we ought to conduct a poll that proves that polls conducted by universities are self-serving exercises that promote elitist agendas. This is actually true. Perdue University (the chicken place - not the other one) asked 23 people if pollsters were full of shit and the results showed that 74% of all Americans said, "As far as you know."

By the way, did you know that 84% of all statistics are made up on the spot?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cellphone + Driver = Menace.

Perhaps you don't realize it, but as you yack away on your phone driving along at 55 Mph, you're wandering all over the road. Either that or braking at non-existant obstacles.

I see it every day, driving along, paying attention, some NUT up ahead is weaving and braking for no reason. I pass by and have a look, yup yakking away oblivious to the world.

That's not saying all those other distractions aren't bad, it's just cellphones are particularly bad as they involve a little device that people have a hard time working when they're focusing on it.

If you can't stop to use the phone, wait until you can.

John Bonus said...

JJ, Thank God your opinion is more valid than mine. You'll be able to make the world safer one freedom at a time.