Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

Benjamin Disraeli and Mark Twain were right
By Will Collette

Charlestown: not the sharpest pencil in the pencil box. According to a new report ranking the intelligence and educational attainment in American cities and towns, Rhode Island doesn't do so well. Among cities with 100,000 or more people, Providence ranks #155 out of 269 cities. In the ranking of 10,450 small towns, we had several Rhode Island small towns who made the rankings. Our best was Kingstown ranked at #375. Wakefield/Peacedale came in at #704, Melville at #1,216; Greenville at #1,254; Hope Valley at #1,873; Cumberland Hill at #2,135; Ashaway at #2,967; Harrisville at #3,406; and Tiverton at #3,955. Charlestown did not make the list. Harrisville?

Cardinal Torquemada

Rhode Island is NOT the worst state for business. According to Forbes Magazine, Rhode Island is ranked #48 on its list of states based on their friendliness to business. Maine and Hawaii are worse than Rhode Island in the Forbes ranking. So there. Rhode Island would have ranked higher, except Charlestown was part of the calculations. Any new business in Charlestown must undergo not just the usual regulatory process but also the Spanish Inquisition, leg by Cardinal Tom "Torquemada" Gentz and Sister Superior Ruth Platner. 


Rhode Island scored #17 for "growth prospects" and #18 for "quality of life." Massachusetts scored #1 for quality of life.

Poll shows Robitaille beating Chafee and Raimondo. A new poll conducted by NEARI shows that if the election for Governor were held today, Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2010 John Robitaille would beat Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) and DINO Gina Raimondo who has assumed the mantle of Frank Caprio. The poll shows Robitaille at 30% versus Chafee at 28% and Raimondo trailing at 22%. 

Hendrix #1. Rolling Stone magazine released its list of the greatest guitarists of all time, listing Jimi Hendrix as #1 (!!!!) and Eric Clapton as #2, then Jimmy Page, Keith Richards and Jeff Beck. The next five are B. B. King, Chuck Berry, Eddie Van Halen, Duane Allman and Pete Townshend. Check out their list of 100 - lots of room for argument once you get past the Top Five. 

Staring at naked women makes you smarter. No, I did not make this up, but I think Rupert Murdoch may have. According to Murdoch's flagship newspaper in Britain, the Sun, staring at topless women in the Sun's daily Page Three pin-up section makes you smarter. This goes along with the next item....

Fox News & stupidity. Linda Felaco already grabbed one of my favorite statistics of the week - a new study showing that Fox News viewers are stupid - by honest-to-God objective measurement.

Sandusky's mug shot

And in a related study. A French laboratory studied eye movement in men and women shown the same photographs and made the truly remarkable discovery that men spend more time than women looking at a woman's breasts, while women spent more time than men checking out the woman's wedding ring. 

Finally, can someone explain this? Public Policy Polling released new numbers today showing that alleged child rapist and former Joe Paterno colleague Jerry Sandusky achieved the lowest approval rating of any person they've ever measured - an 88% negative rating. That I understand. But 3% said they approved of Sandusky. I want their names. Are any of them among our anonymous commenters? And presumably 9% of the poll respondents feel neither positive nor negative toward Sandusky. Why?