More Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

In answer to a question about a "litmus test" for judges, in Wednesday's debate, sKerry essentially answered "yes"—citing Roe v. Wade elliptically—then he went into some of his trademark weirdness (weirder than Bush bringing up the Dred Scott decision last Friday? yes.). Weird? How does his citation of a "50% unemployment rate for black men in NY" relate to a question about appointing judges? Oh. I see. He's asserting an unjust society, yada, yada, yada... But what about his "statistic"? According to an Amsterdam News article ("Part of the BlackPressUSA Network"), yes... and no. Statistic almost right, but very, very misleading. (As Mark Twain famously said, there are three kinds of lies, "Lies, damned lies and statistics.") sKerry's "50%" is an exaggeration, and he hides the fact that the actual statistic reflects a major decline in unemployment among black men in New York since Bush took office. "The unemployment rate for Black men in New York City has hit a new low. Nearly one-half of African American men living in the city are jobless, according to a new study released this week. [so far, sKerry's comment seems to check out, but wait, there's more!–D] In the report, “A Crisis in Black Male Employment: Unemployment and Joblessness in New York City, 2003,” the Community Service Society (CSS) of New York reveals that unemployment rose among Black men during the nation’s recent recession and that only 51.8 percent of Black men between the ages of 16 through 64 were employed. According to the nonprofit organization, this is a dramatic decline of 12.2 percentage points from 2000..." [emphases added] Hmmm... taking a page from the serpent in Eden: twist a truth to tell a lie. sKerry was attempting to use the stat as an indicator of an unjust society which he would address by appointing justices who would ameliorate such woes (although the connection was...weird, even for him, in his comments). "Oh. Dear. Woe am us that such evil should be perpetrated by the ChimpBush: unemployment among black men in New York has declined by 12.2 percent during ChimpBush's illegitimate reign. That's certainly something we Kedwards Kids will remedy in a heartbeat by appointing activist judges who will form an affirmative action employment line at the bench to reverse such trends... " Makes. No. Sense. But it's the sKerry position, all right. His doom and gloom and "Let's see every good thing as a bad thing and undo it" approach earns him the Grimma Wormtongue Lifetime Achievement Award for Lies, Damned Lies and Stab-tistics.