Robert often wonders why there has been no mainstream media story about Teddy Kennedy being the "first" Harvey Weinstein. After all, the Chappaquiddick story about Teddy and Mary Jo has all the ingredients of the powerful man-vulnerable intern scenario that any journalist might want to explore. Do you have any guesses about why you have not seen such a story?
Update 3/22/18: I just learned tonight (8:57 pm) that we will be seeing a TV movie about Teddy and Chappaquiddick. Maybe someone read our earlier Blogger message?
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Poll Data--Again
We have warned our readers in past blogs (Poll Data) to be wary of figures reported to be the results of a public poll until you know how the questions were asked. In USA Today the paper reports the results of a recent poll with the following "table."
"Who wins? What group of Americans will get the most benefits from the tax-cut bill, if one is signed into law?
The poor: 6%
The Middle Class: 17%
The Wealthy: 64% "
It would be helpful to know what dollar value was used (or if any was used) to define the meaning of "the poor" or the other two categories. The paper also reports three "volunteered" categories of Everybody, Nobody, and Undecided/Refused, but do not tell readers how the "volunteered" responses were obtained (were they responses from those who did not answer in terms of the three established categories, or were they in addition to established category responses). This kind of table and this kind of "data" reporting would never make it through an introductory research methods course in sociology, but USA Today thinks it is fine for their readers.
"Who wins? What group of Americans will get the most benefits from the tax-cut bill, if one is signed into law?
The poor: 6%
The Middle Class: 17%
The Wealthy: 64% "
It would be helpful to know what dollar value was used (or if any was used) to define the meaning of "the poor" or the other two categories. The paper also reports three "volunteered" categories of Everybody, Nobody, and Undecided/Refused, but do not tell readers how the "volunteered" responses were obtained (were they responses from those who did not answer in terms of the three established categories, or were they in addition to established category responses). This kind of table and this kind of "data" reporting would never make it through an introductory research methods course in sociology, but USA Today thinks it is fine for their readers.
Swamp Rats
Robert noticed in todays newspaper of calls for continued investigations of Trump and associates by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. The Senator is a frequent guest on evening and Sunday news shows. What is never mentioned by the media is the fact that in the recent past Senator Blumenthal has lied about his service in Vietnam, and his achievements while he was there. As best I could determine, the Senator never was in Vietnam in any capacity. His main achievement during the Vietnam War was to obtain five deferments from his draft board. Apparently this never bothered the voters in Connecticut who elected him to be their Senator.
I think that the people of Connecticut should get together with the people of Alabama and have a discussion about who is in their swamps.
Update, 12/13/17: The citizens of Alabama have started to drain their swamp. Will the citizens of Connecticut do the same?
Update, 1/29/18: On NPR this morning Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut was calling for the impeachment of Trump, which he has every right to do. But why does the media not give him credit for being a draft evader and for lying about his military service. We need to know who is speaking, whether they had KKK backgrounds or were draft evaders and liars.
I think that the people of Connecticut should get together with the people of Alabama and have a discussion about who is in their swamps.
Update, 12/13/17: The citizens of Alabama have started to drain their swamp. Will the citizens of Connecticut do the same?
Update, 1/29/18: On NPR this morning Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut was calling for the impeachment of Trump, which he has every right to do. But why does the media not give him credit for being a draft evader and for lying about his military service. We need to know who is speaking, whether they had KKK backgrounds or were draft evaders and liars.
Sunday, December 3, 2017
Perps' Profile:Early Warnings or Apple Pie
We have identified thirty-six men who have been accused of some form of sexual harassment. In order to get ahead of the rush to judgement we have decided to take a look at their personal and professional lives to see if there are any strong similarities that could serve as "warning signs" of what would come. Working from available public profiles, we looked at their early years as boys and young men, looking for evidence of early troubles at home or at school. We turned next to their post-college years in order to examine their career paths, searching for evidence of ordinary professional lives, or early indications of "young stars" on the move. In short, we looked at the normal profiles of events that occur over the life course and that have been a part of all of their lives.
Concerning age, the Perps are neither randy Millenials nor over-active Octagenarians. They are mostly middle-age men with ages between the upper 40s and mid-60s. This age category is probably closely correlated with their careers and the opportunities they have to oversee those who work with them and for them.
In their early lives, they were mostly raised in conventional middle-class families, often with parents who were both employed in stable careers. We found only one case of what could be called a dysfunctional family. As young adults, only about 30 percent entered into conventional marriages, and as a result there are not many children of these Perp parents.
There is no evidence of extensive early socialization with religion. Only one-third provide any evidence of religious up-bringing, and in these cases 10 Perps report being Jewish and 3 Christian. The absence of information about religious preference in the biographical material suggests that most had little or no religious preference.
There is an indication of involvement in selective early education, usually in so-called Academies aimed at being college-prep schools. Beyond the high school prep years, well over one-half of the Perps (25) obtained a college degree, with less than one-half (11) having graduated from an elite college or university.
The careers of the Perps are primarily in journalism, TV production, and animation. Contrary to expectations, there is no evidence of their having received a "leg up" in their careers or having done anything other than high quality professional work. There is evidence of their professional achievements in the form of having shows nominated for professional awards. In short, their professional careers reflect continuous efforts to produce high quality journalism, films, or TV shows.
If the Perps are high achievers, they probably enjoyed the high regard of their professional colleagues. Why, then, would they believe that is was acceptable to use their positions to intimidate women working with or for them to act in ways that resulted in sexual harassment? The answer to this question would require an examination of the culture of these workplaces in the entertainment and television industries.
Concerning age, the Perps are neither randy Millenials nor over-active Octagenarians. They are mostly middle-age men with ages between the upper 40s and mid-60s. This age category is probably closely correlated with their careers and the opportunities they have to oversee those who work with them and for them.
In their early lives, they were mostly raised in conventional middle-class families, often with parents who were both employed in stable careers. We found only one case of what could be called a dysfunctional family. As young adults, only about 30 percent entered into conventional marriages, and as a result there are not many children of these Perp parents.
There is no evidence of extensive early socialization with religion. Only one-third provide any evidence of religious up-bringing, and in these cases 10 Perps report being Jewish and 3 Christian. The absence of information about religious preference in the biographical material suggests that most had little or no religious preference.
There is an indication of involvement in selective early education, usually in so-called Academies aimed at being college-prep schools. Beyond the high school prep years, well over one-half of the Perps (25) obtained a college degree, with less than one-half (11) having graduated from an elite college or university.
The careers of the Perps are primarily in journalism, TV production, and animation. Contrary to expectations, there is no evidence of their having received a "leg up" in their careers or having done anything other than high quality professional work. There is evidence of their professional achievements in the form of having shows nominated for professional awards. In short, their professional careers reflect continuous efforts to produce high quality journalism, films, or TV shows.
If the Perps are high achievers, they probably enjoyed the high regard of their professional colleagues. Why, then, would they believe that is was acceptable to use their positions to intimidate women working with or for them to act in ways that resulted in sexual harassment? The answer to this question would require an examination of the culture of these workplaces in the entertainment and television industries.
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