Daily Blague

If there are more charts where the three that the Times published yesterday came from, I want to see them. Take "Recreational Activities." These run the gamut from volunteering and gardening to the full range of leisure sports. Democrats are less likely to engage in all of them than the average television viewer, while Republicans are for the most part even more more likely to pursue them. The only exceptional figure, weirdly enough, is the one for dancing. Democrats are about 36% more likely dance than the average television viewer; Republicans are somewhat less less likely to cut a rug. How do Democrats pass the time, one wonders, when they're not dancing? I see that "reading" is not an option. Nor is "engaging in political discussion." The graph's Mr & Mrs Sprat effect is quite stark. But who is 'the average television viewer, and why is this person a benchmark? Because the enquiry was conducted by media researchers, of course; but is the information of interest to anybody but advertisers?

Because I don't watch television, I didn't see a single political ad during the entire campaign. When I think of all the money that was spent on the dumb things ($1.6 billion), I'm shattered. What a complete waste of money! Experience in the former Yugoslavia ought to have taught us to ban political advertising from television and radio altogether.