Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : The Enron Scandal - Unmoderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (1280)	2/5/2002 3:40:20 AM
From: DOUG H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3602

Nothing will get me on your side quicker than trashing the likes of Robertson/Falwell/ or in the case of So. Cal., we have Schueller, famous for the Glass House of "How to Be Greedy and still Feel Good". However I must disagree with the mathmatics of conservative=corrupt. I say corrupt=corrupt. I do not espouse the theory that liberal=corrupt either, that's why you'll not find me on the aforementioned thread. But hey, I find a lot of folks who seem to have missed the point of Martin Luther King's admonishment to judge people by their character not the color of skin or in this case, political persuasion. I felt like the author of the piece that started this discussion tried to pass along this faulty math and I believe the fact that he is one of the pigs at the trough himself, his views are tainted by self-interest. Our mutual friend, that Walkingshadow dude, is what I would call liberal and while we disagree often about how to approach a problem, neither of us doubt each others character or compassion for our fellow man. But hey, I'm guilty of broadbrushing too so this will serve as an admonishion for both of us. Best to ya Raymond. DH

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (1280)	2/5/2002 1:34:25 PM
From: Zoltan!	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3602

Of course Libs are the locus of corruption - Clinton and regime were/are Corruption Inc. Remember, Clinton delivered, Bush refused. How many times did Lay sleep over at the Clinton WH - 11 or 12 times? How many $hundreds of millions$ did Clinton give Enron to build that plant in India in return for the prompt delivery of $100,000? And wasn't the horrible Kyoto treaty #1 of Enron's wish list? Crunch Times An essay by Frank Newport of the Gallup Organization debunks the New York Times poll (which we noted last week) that purported to find Republicans had been "tainted" by the Enron scandal. gallup.com (Gallup does polling for CNN and USA Today.) Newport notes that the Times poll included only one question on Enron that compared the political parties: "From what you know so far, do you think executives of the Enron Corporation had closer ties to members of the Republican Party or closer ties to members of the Democratic Party?" Results: 45% Republican, 10% Democrat, 10% both equally. Newport observes: Most survey researchers have learned over the years that one has to be very careful in extrapolating conclusions from individual survey questions. In particular, we have learned that respondents to phone surveys listen very carefully to the words and cues contained within questions and respond to what they perceive to be the intent of the question--and the analyst must be careful about assuming that the data suggest more than that. Along these lines, it is important to note that the New York Times/CBS News poll wording specifically uses the words "closer ties" in asking about Republican and Democratic Party relationships to Enron. The question has no direct negative implication--it does not use the words "tainted" or "entangled" or "hurt" or "negatively impacted." . . . But does the perception that the Republicans have closer ties than the Democrats to Enron lead directly to the conclusion that the Republicans, therefore, are more "tainted" or "entangled" by Enron than are the Democrats in the mind of the public? The New York Times headline writers and the authors of the article were willing to make this conceptual leap. They apparently assumed that Enron's obviously negative positioning implies that any association with Enron should be interpreted negatively. Newport goes on to enumerate the questions Gallup's poll asked about the Bush administration and Enron--the answers to which "challenge" the Times' conclusions. gallup.com opinionjournal.com