And after a move to Pennsylvania, hello again!
Now to get down to business. The dance of politics involves several parties: representatives, constituents, courts, and, now-a-days more than ever, media. In a world of myriad complex issues with sometimes complicated subject matter, the general public has little ability (without great effort) to discern for themselves what is fact, what is fiction, and what to vote for.
So obviously, in this climate, integrity in reporting is important.
Furthermore, because of modern advertising know-how, politicians understand that band-wagon support is as vital as vast sums of money when it comes to gathering political capital. Whether or not one lies on the "right" side of an issue is largely tracked by the "public"'s majority acceptance of a particular position.
So how do you lie and tilt things in your favor at the same time? By featuring a biased statistics firm of course!
John B dropped me this link with a brief Daily Kos discussion of just such a house. A group called Rasmussen features statistics that consistently lay in the Republican favor. In such a sensitive time, where public opinion can so easily sway the midterms at a crucial period in the Obama administration's legislative agenda, lying about statistics of all things becomes one of the most egregious acts of dishonesty possible.
Quite an audit on the state of things in this country when you need to ask where the numbers are coming from.
How do you fight something like this and what can we do to help?