What we don't know about the polls

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Saturday October 25, 2008 · 11:16 AM PDT

2008/10/25 · 11:16

Let me preface this diary, by saying that I am a statistician by day (and political obsessive by night). I love fivethirtyeight and Nate because that’s the language I speak on a daily basis. My days are filled with looking at data, inventing ways of testing data, and figuring out what statistics means. I deal with lots of data, millions and millions of datapoints, on a regular basis. And so, I have this warning: WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW! Follow me below the fold for an examination of error and bias and why we need to redouble our efforts.

ukben

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Thursday December 21, 2006 · 2:00 PM PST

2006/12/21 · 14:00

I've been cut off from the internet for about a week, now. Skiing in Switzerland isn't conducive to connectivity (though the skiing has been pretty good). After checking my work email, which was extensive, the first thing I did was log onto Dkos. To be honest, I felt lost. I can't remember the last time I went this long without logging on. I had forgotten how quickly this place moves. The last thing I remember is Sen. Johnson's stroke. On the site, that seems like an age ago.

ukben

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Friday November 24, 2006 · 5:51 AM PST

2006/11/24 · 05:51

At the end of the midterm election cycle a number of blogs were regularly organizing calls to action and neighborhood parties, and covering local races in a very in-depth way. These blogs played a role in winning the election, and so I think we should organize a 50 state blog strategy. As an initial step, I intend to setup a webpage listing the main state-level blogs for more local coverage.

This idea is in very early stages, and the scope and form haven’t been worked out. Blogs take on many forms, as I am sure you all know, and calls to action are as important as the local coverage of the politicians and in a little over a year, races.

So, part of the goal of this diary is to solicit blogs for inclusion, what blogs should be included, and how to organize the relevant information. Ideally, we’d like you guys to let us know what blogs you follow locally and write a little blog blurb.

Follow me below the fold:

ukben

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Friday October 06, 2006 · 10:51 AM PDT

2006/10/06 · 10:51

I waited to post this until the end of the week, but have been toying with it since I began rescuing. It's been a hard week for me, with work going a bit nuts, preparing for a conference in Brussels, and my first full week as an election diary rescuer. Little did I know that signing up to be an election diary rescuer would have a massive effect on me. Follow me below the fold for some navel gazing, stories about what goes on in the meta-Dkos world, and examples of the generosity and dedication of Kossacks that in my opinion just do not get enough attention... Read More

I'm a geneticist

ukben

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Monday January 23, 2006 · 6:28 AM PST

2006/01/23 · 06:28

Well I've floated about on the site for a while, and written the odd little diary. Nothing hugely interesting, but I thought it might be time for an exposition of genetics. You see I am a psychiatric geneticist, a double taboo of sorts. When I tell people I mainly get three responses:

Oh! That's interesting...what does that mean?
[Glazed over eyes and blank stare] What?
You nazi. You are trying to take over the world with breeding programs etc.

Adding psychiatry into that blend only makes people more uncomfortable.

I have faith in what I do. Or at least the method, and the current climate is not one for research and science. Let me tell you a bit about what we study and try to cure. More below the fold... Read More

Patience with the media has finally cracked; comparative study of coverage on the Cheney offensive

ukben

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Thursday November 17, 2005 · 11:08 AM PST

2005/11/17 · 11:08

As all of you Kossacks are aware, the White House and Dick Cheney have 'gone on the offensive' about the intelligence leading up to the war. Obviously, the only option they have at this point is to try and defend this position (untenable as it may be--I kind of think of this as the Hail Mary play of the administration). Mad as I am with the lies that Cheney et al. are spouting to the media, I sort of expect that. This doesn't mean that I am happy with Bush and Cheney lying, but thanks to Nixon politicians don't always have to tell the truth. However, I would like to see some sort of competent defense against these attacks from Dems and analyze how the MSM are dealing with the story. I'll take a look at how the same story plays on CNN, MSNBC, FOX, ABC, and for the foreign perspective BBC. Each links to the story. All of these are based heavily on the AP report. There's more below the fold. Read More

Now's the time for public transportation with poll

ukben

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Thursday September 29, 2005 · 6:31 AM PDT

2005/09/29 · 06:31

This is my inagural diary, so fair warning to you all. I've been following DKos for a year-year and a half, now, and have been on of that silent horde, who read, and seldom comment.

A bit about me, first, to give context: I was born in London, moved to Virginia when I was 4, and fled back to London 2 years ago, after 17 years of living in the south.

One of the things I have grown to love the most here is the public transportation system. We all complain about it, but the memory of what it is like in Richmond Virginia gives me pause. I think now is the time to start to push for more public transportation efforts in the US for some key reasons. More and poll on the flip Read More

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What we don't know about the polls

Perhaps, I'm an addict

50-State Blog Strategy

On becoming an election diary rescue ranger or my navel looks interesting!

I'm a geneticist

Patience with the media has finally cracked; comparative study of coverage on the Cheney offensive

Now's the time for public transportation with poll