Military Times Damages Credibility by Promoting Unscientific "Survey"

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=7CFDF1AE1763E0AF58B32BF119C3133A?diaryId=2330

by: Brandon Friedman
Wed Dec 31, 2008 at 02:09:22 AM EST

Once again, the widely-read Military Times is deliberately attempting to accentuate the perceived rift between the military and the incoming Obama administration by promoting an amateurish, unscientific survey called the "2008 Military Times Poll." Here's the headline for the main article:

2008 Military Times poll: Wary about Obama

Troops cite inexperience, Iraq timetable

Using the same data, they also have an accompanying piece with a similarly divisive lead:

Troops oppose repeal of 'don't ask'

Of course, both articles are full of self-selected, academically useless responses from the Military Times' older, white, subscribing readership. The only question is whether they're doing this deliberately, or whether no one who works at the paper is actually educated enough to know how important the difference is between a scientific survey and a haphazardly conducted poll of subscribers who choose to participate.

Army Times is better but none of those lifer mags represent the true opinions of the troops with their dumbass subscriber polls.

All the military mags rely on advertising from profiteering industries, so they support republicans.

Republicans support profiteering, which kills our soldiers.

Air Force Times, Marine Corps Times?

The military is not a democracy, their opinions carry no weight at all when it comes to military policy.

Though some troops are not as militaristic as others, the brunt of the command staff's obvious bias in favor of anyone who is miltaristic is directed at the rank and file who make up the greatest body of the armed forces. There are some in our military who realize that they are subservient to the civilian government for a good reason, but the vast majority are indoctrinated to believe that military force and might are the keys to democracy. Otherwise, how would they maintain the patriotism that carries them into wars of choice where they are cannon fodder for our military-industrial-corporatist leaders?

quite a few simply realize that they made and oath and signed a contract and so do what they are told.

No one is indoctrinating them to believe "that military force and might are the keys to democracy" they are too busy trying to teach them the skills needed to keep them alive in the chaos of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Plenty of military folks voted for and sent in money to Obama, in fact more deployed military members did the latter for Obama than for McCain.

Stereotyping military members is no better than stereotyping anyone else, particularly when there are objective facts that don't support that stereotype.

duty or in the Guard/Reserve.

... even if it's not an objective. :shrug: "If the Army wanted you to have an opinion, soldier, they'd assign you one!" (Often said to me in 1968-69)

Which I gave rather freely anyway. As did most of the other guys who had to work for a living. As opposed to the officers.

"Eat the apple, and fuck the Corps."

But truth is, most of the "scientific" polls used by the media in this country are purely propaganda.

It's not a right wing echo.