The antiwar fuddy-duddies on the Huffington Post should read this poll conducted by the Tarrance Group that “surprisingly found that a vast majority (74%) of Iranians feel America’s presence in the Middle East will increase the probability of democracy in their own country.” Of course, the Huff Post people will have their own way of spinning this, desperate as they are to cling to their old ideas. But it is, as Publius Pundit says, a “bombshell.”
PJ Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that PJ Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. Please note that comments are reviewed by the editorial staff and may not be posted immediately. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pjmedia.com.
ìbombshell scientific surveyî
It is sad that ìbombshellî accurately describes this polling data. The MSM and its allies have confused perhaps even a majority of Americans into believing that the liberation of Iraq is a waste of time. We are supposedly engaging in another Vietnam fiasco. I expect this study to be buried in the back pages of the Saturday editions.
Of course we all know the headline in the LA Times: “Many Iranians Disapprove US Mideat Policy”…
I wonder if that is how Sean Penn sees it in his man on the street reporting there in Tehran.
As for LA, all I can say is it is done now and what they think is not going to change that.
The liberation of Iraq is a major turning point point in world history. The Huffingbrain has a hard time with the concept of “world history.” It’s not that the Huffingbrain is bad, it’s just that it can’t tell time.
And that was my point point.
Well, I hardly find this news a “bombshell”, nor even particularly “surprising”. It’s right along the lines of what I expected once those dominos started toppling. Good for the Iranians. Good for us. Stay the course. (Poor Sean–he’ll be ever so disappointed when he hears this; he had his “Death to America” lede all set to go.)
Well, the point is your point was on point at this point in world history.
Statement issued by the Dept. of Redundancy Dept.
(joke stolen from James Taranto, who probably stole it elsewhere)
The Departments of Repetition, Redundancy and Iteration Departments are probably older than Taranto.
ha, right…probably goes back to DaDa’s generation (*groan*).
Kyda,
(Poor Sean–he’ll be ever so disappointed when he hears this; he had his “Death to America” lede all set to go.)
We can count, no we can wager and be sure of winning, that The Esteemed Mr. Penn will be greeted warmly by the Mad Mullahs and guided to find what he is looking for – the warmth and security and kite flying peaceful spiritual serenity that is Iran under the gentle shepherding of Caring Men of God.
The likes of Penn are unable to recognize when they are being idiots let alone when they are being used as useful idiots.
Roger, you might want to note that Huffington has completely lost it and allowed a notorious anti-semite Justin Raimondo (of antiwar.com ‘fame’) a place on her blog. IMO, there is no excuse for allowing this POS to spew his bile ANYWHERE, and in doing so, she has left herself open to all kinds of questions.
I read the Huffington Post. . . once.
Huffington’s Post, as well as the general Liberal sentiments they are fronting, will likely be troubled by this. They once knew, but have since forgotten, that democracy is something worth fighting for. They’ve lost this belief under a pile of posters from the “Resist Authority” and “Stick it to the Man” demonstrations. The irony is they’ve dropped this idea at the same time that the “other side” has picked it up. If only both sides could pull the rope at the same time, and in the same direction, we might really go somewhere. And bring the Iranians with us.
I hate polls like this. Even when I agree with the outcome. Because now a hundred other polls are going to be made, and by tweaking the words just a bit, render a hundred different outcomes. How many times have I heard the Japanese are this and that when over half a century of elections have proven quite the opposite.
In many ways polls are all the left has left. Ahhh, if everything were decided on the basis of exit polls and Lancet poll results, then the world would be right.
Of course, that is how the Iranians felt. That a poll should surprise is a shame. Pride, decency and common sense. A bit more confidence. Social science has not been a tool for liberty, but used, and used effectively, by those with different agendas.
Should those on the side of freedom play the social science game? Radically, I say no. Ridicule it, yes; play it, no. (I know, I know, unrealistic and unavoidable and a necessary evil. What was it that Whitman said about the bean-counting of the Universe? Something “geometers” was it not?)
“astronomer”
WHEN I heard the learnÔøΩd astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick; 5
Till rising and gliding out, I wanderÔøΩd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
LookÔøΩd up in perfect silence at the stars.
And how considerably social science pales in terms of banality when compared to the hard sciences.
(Amazing how much one’s memory improves with a computer sitting at your side.)
meaning= social science is hundreds of times more banal.
Pretty confusing sentence(s). Shouldn’t jump into Roger’s sight at five in the morning before having downed the obligatory two cups of coffee. Sorry about that Roger. Thoug a “dogpile” search, as recommended by Rick I think it was, did save the memory.
“Amazing how much one’s memory improves with a computer sitting at your side.”
I’ve noticed that. Here is another aide memoir for use when ones personal eidetic function is in for servicing.
Wrt disdain for social science being useful for anything but the shallowest of analysis, I would concur. The Tarrance group provides excellent useful data for those smart enough to pay for it but this type of light push polling does nothing for their image. It smells far too much like a standard AP/WaPo/NYT commissioned propaganda piece.
The Iran Institute for Democracy might want to explain to those seeking freedom in Iran that blowing up a mullah every fortnight will get much better press play than hiring a polling company.
I really think the Bushies’ plan is to let the MSM sink itself–and they seem to be doing just that. This is just another nail in the coffin. Even liberals can see the sinking numbers of print, TV and cable. If you’re tired of Huffington and Sean Penn, read the Huffington Toast–hysterically funny.
It does seem like an unstoppable force, doesn’t it? Or am I dreaming? I can’t wait to ski in the mountains near Tehran, then drive down to Baghdad to visit all the antiquities.
Roger:
The result of the poll is good news and it may be accurrate. But I generally ignore them because the amount of time and money it takes to make a accurate poll is rarely done. Plus the questions are so easy to manipulate to get the answers that the pollster wants that I tend to be suspicious. If even 50% of the polling done during the last election was true then we have the most schizophrenic population in the world. I think it can be done but I have a feeling the number of times it is done properly, especially on political matters, is rare.
Kevin P,
That’s a good point, and one I’m actually following up on. It is true, and has been for years, that the Iranian people generally like America and hate their government. In that, the poll comes as no surprise, but liekwise with my “bombshell” remark, it would be to anyone who didn’t know that fact.
Now, to get to your point, I’m actually requesting the latest executive summary from the organization so that we can see all of the data in complete, and I also requested a list of the questions both in English and Farsi. It should be interesting to at least give it a good examining to make sure.
Has Dennis Prager been writing for Huffington? I can’t bring myself to check out her site after seeing her at the LA Times Book Festival. She was on the panel that Roger walked out on. I can’t say that I blame him.
It would be intuitive even if it hadn’t been reported (forgot where, but somewhere, I swear!), but a source of some small friction exists between pro-western Iranian liberals and the ‘no-nukes-for-Iran’ movement. IOW, even the good folks don’t know why they shouldn’t have The Bomb, too.
“the good folks don’t know why they shouldn’t have The Bomb, too.”
Those same good folks that spit on Jimmah when he forced the Shah out for them? And then took our embassy and the diplomats in an act of war which Jimmah couldn’t find the backbone to resist? And then spent a year in the streets by the hundreds of thousands screaming “Death to the Great Satan” while burning the US flag – those good folks?
I don’t see why they shouldn’t have several Bombs, in fact I believe that I’ve read of about 350 items on a target list that I would be greatly in favor of receiving as many Bombs as it took to remove them from the list. It’s OK with me if we start delivering the Bombs tomorrow, too.
The Iranians need to provide better blood proof of their desire for freedom – and hope that more Americans lose their memories.
Let’s not visit the sins of the 70′s on this generation of freedom agitators many of whom weren’t even born. However, even they see no reason why Iran shouldn’t have da bomb. And they have no interest whatsoever, in fact are adamantly opposed to being liberated by force. Can’t say I blame them, but it does illustrate that their zeal has its limits. I haven’t heard much in the way of “Give me liberty or give me death” coming out of Iran so far.
Is our experience unique in the history of the world?
Robert Mayer
I also requested a list of the questions both in English and Farsi. Excellent. That’s the crux isn’t it. Do you read Farsi?
OT–Have you ever seen anything fall apart as fast as the EU? After the chaos, an EU worth having?
Kyda Sylvester ó Archaeologists find Europe’s oldest civilization . In related news, Europe’s oldest civilization today voted to reject the EU constitution. “Me am primitive, not stupid,” said a cultural spokesgrunter.
Kyda ó Ya gotta love The Scotsman: “Staggeringly, Blair seems to have been telling the truth. “
The “Department of Redundancy Department” goes back at least to the Firesign Theatre. It was mentioned in either “Don’t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers!” (1970) or “How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All?” (1969).
Richard–You’re always good for a thinking man’s belly laugh. I do love The Scotsman, it’s so…Scottish.
Well, Knuck, if you’ve got to be an idiot, you might as well be useful.
Rick..just want to thank you for that Teoma link. I now have the Teoma Bar installed in IE.
I don’t even have the google thingy. (Though google is easy for me because I defined ‘g whatever’ in my address bar to mean ‘go to Google and put whatever in their search box and go fetch’. Don’t remember how I did that though.)
re the subject, I’m not surprised by the poll, but good grief when are the Iranian people going to reach their tipping point?
Syl, Rick, FoxNews just reported a series of bombs exploding in Iran–missed the gist, just caught the headline. Maybe more to come. It’s hell to be happy with urban terrorism, I can’t quite figure out why I’m happy with such news. I guess because travesties like the upcoming election can’t do else but breed anarchy.