TresSugar

Uncompelling Data Makes Me Hungry

GiggleSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:02:00 -0700

Pay this no attention.
(Everyone knows that bacon makes people happy and happy people live longer.)

Source

The Graph Don't Lie

GiggleSugar — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:00:00 -0800

This isn't far from the truth. What's up with that, anyway?

Source

Recovery.Gov Takes a Shot at Transparency

LibertySugar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:01:00 -0800

Bringing the pledge of transparency to Internet life, the White House has officially launched Recovery.gov - a website that lets you track the stimulus money.

The President says, "instead of politicians doling out money behind closed doors, the important decisions about where taxpayer dollars are invested will be yours to scrutinize." To help you scrutinize, the site has features like an interactive map showing you how many jobs will be created in each state, graphs breaking down stimulus funds, a timeline for crucial upcoming milestones, and a place for you to share what's working, and not working for you.

Who doesn't like graphs and maps, not to mention a little accountability?

To see the President explain the site on video, read more.

Your Money at Work from White House on Vimeo

Down in the Dow: Does the Stock Market Hate Obama?

LibertySugar — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:30:30 -0800

The Dow Jones dropped below 7,000 yesterday, raising the how-low-can-it-go question once again. But the stock market over the last six weeks poses another question: What does the market think of President Obama?

Not much, apparently. The Dow Jones dropped Feb. 10, the day after Obama's bailout plan was announced, and again on Feb. 17, the day it was signed. Then last Wednesday, after his hopeful address to Congress, it tumbled yet again.

But it's too easy point fingers with the axis of a graph. The Daily Beast counters the theory with three solid points.

The recession is over a year old and gained momentum with the fall of Lehman Brothers.
Whenever the government intervenes, stocks drop; they did the same under former Treasury Secretary Paulson.
Stocks are known to "rise on the rumor, and fall on the news." Other than that day-to-day fluctuations are random.

So what do you think now?

How to Pick Which Election Coverage to Tune Into on Tuesday

CitizenSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:00:49 -0700

With less than a week left until election night it's time to start making plans - not what election parties or events you're attending, this is a much, much more important decision- who you're spending the evening with, teevees-wise. The media has been as important this campaign as the candidates - and since McCain is saying they've all been fooled as to the real state of the race, I can't wait to see the results. I know who I'm watching, I've been so CNN-loyal the whole campaign, the thought of abandoning my Wolf wouldn't happen by a hair of his chinny-chin-chin. I might peek to see what the other kids have going on though, so luckily there's a whole passel of lists to help us decide who to watch.

To see them, read more.

Men's Vogue has ranked the news teams broken down into crucial details like what their set looks like, their biggest scoop during the campaign, and who their MVP talking head is. They said my poor Wolf's set is "Monitor-cluttered set design ripped off from Shatner-era Star Trek Enterprise." But John King's map! Rules!

New York Magazine has rounded up the Top Ten Cable News Election Coverage Gimmicks, including yes, CNN's "Perception Analyzer" that line graph thing they used during the debates - but a few I even missed. Fox had a text-in flash poll? The sample and results didn't turn out as randomly as some would hope. If you're into gizmos this list can help.

Finally, my list of Top Ten Newscasters That Push My (Remote) Buttons. While there are quite a few CNN-ers on the list, my precious Wolf is nowhere to be found.

Who are you tuning into for your election night coverage?

Source

Debate Rebate: Our Reactions to the First Presidential Debate

CitizenSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:54:16 -0700

Did you watch? Were you with us all commenting? If not, don't worry, here's the whole transcript of every word of the first presidential debate. Want to know what Liberty and I thought of the whole event? You're in luck!

Citizen:
First of all, Jim Lehrer did an excellent job. His ruthlessness and tenacity to get the straight, specific answer he was looking for, especially in regard to the economy, made his presence incredibly valuable. McCain stayed very consistently on message, railing against wasteful spending and solidifying his position against it. In terms of conflicts abroad, McCain's personal experience inside of Iraq gave him practical credence during the the segment on the wars, though Obama was very well prepared for it academically. I loved that McCain acknowledged history in terms of Afghanistan and the trouble caused by leaving the region before the job was finished early on, and he was clearly well focused on what needs to happen militarily in a global sense.

To see the rest of my thoughts, and what Liberty had to say, read more.

McCain hammered home naivete over his institutional memory and experience and it stood up against Obama's admittedly impeccable preparation. The direct head-to-head did get tense at times, but they managed to keep it in a constructive arena. With moderator Lehrer springing a no-holds-barred, "are we facing another 9/11?" question toward the end, I think of all the elections, Lehrer may have just won "Supreme Moderator for All Time." McCain wrapped it up cosmically saying, "I know how to heal the wounds of war... I know how to treat our adversaries." As for a winner? Both candidates stumbled at times, did their jobs at others and both brought a serious A-game.

Liberty:
Tonight the candidates clarified, as well as muddled, their positions on many issues. On the introductory question about the $700 billion bailout plan, Barack Obama offered a numbered list of conditions he would require in an acceptable plan, while John McCain said "sure," he would approve the negotiated bailout. It seemed that after suspending his campaign, McCain would have clarified his position.

As for the designated topics - foreign policy and national security - McCain and Obama emphasized their respective strengths: the surge and tough talk on Russia and Iran for McCain and foresight on the folly of an Iraq war, and strong, but smart diplomacy for Obama.

Overall, McCain somewhat effectively painted Obama as naive, while Obama attempted to prevail as a cautious, informed leader. As for the punches, I think Obama's landed some hard ones; he called McCain out on discussing North Korea's extinction, and bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran. According to my super-scientific reading of the CNN audience reaction graph, Obama seemed to have higher marks with all groups while he spoke, but what do you think?!

The opinions expressed here are those of the authors, CitizenSugar and LibertySugar, and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Sugar Inc.

Source

Breaking Down the Real Tax Savings Promised by Candidates

CitizenSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:00:26 -0700

WIth the only things certain being death and the T-word - and Liberty's incredible breakdown of the candidate's tax plans as inspiration - I wanted to see exactly how the two candidates' tax-onomies translated, graph-style.

Three out of four voters now see taxes and the budget deficit as "extremely" or "very" important issues this campaign - right behind health care and the war in Iraq - and since both of those projects require big infusions of taxpayer dollars, knowing exactly how much you will or won't be paying says a lot about the tale of two wallets - yours, and the governments.

To see the real numbers in dollars saved, read more.

Here's the dollar amount saved (or increase) per income bracket, per candidate:

And the percent change of income:

With the raw numbers behind it, if that's more your style.

Which plan appeals to you?

Thanks to yesteryear for her data crunching prowess! And here's a closer look at the analysis behind the numbers.

Source

They Said What? Frequency of Words Used by the Parties

CitizenSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:00:24 -0700

Now that it's all done but sweeping up the balloons, the New York Times, ever the data-doyenne, has a different way of looking at who said what these conventions. Bubbles of varying sizes show the amount of times per 25,000 words uttered, that certain phrases were used.

Interestingly, the "opponent's name" count varies pretty wildly - the Democrats used McCain's name 78 times to the Republican's use of Obama a mere 25 times. Up there for both parties? "Change" and "God." While the Republicans were twice as godly, and the Democrats three times as change-y, it seems like both have see the benefit to grabbing both traditional and forward-thinking tropes.

The graph also let's you see who said what - Obama used McCain's name 3.5 times more, and McCain grabbed the "change" mantel from Obama just over half as often. Watching the two conventions, do any of the results surprise you? What do you make of the disparity between use of the opponent's name?

Source

Front Page: Pakistan Moves to Impeach, Jobless Claims Hit 6-Year High, Death Toll in Afghanistan Passes Milestone

CitizenSugar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:00:19 -0700

Pakistan Moves to Impeach:
The ruling coalition in Pakistan agreed today to begin impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf. It's a development expected to heighten political instability in the country. A senior official, and member of the party of the late Benazir Bhutto said, "yes, we have agreed in principle to impeach him," and that the parliament's lower house, is expected to be called next week to begin proceedings Musharraf.

Jobless Claims Hit 6-Year High:
The government has announced that the number of people signing up for unemployment benefits has reached its highest point in more than six years. The Labor Department reported that claims rose by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to nearly half a million. The government points to a program locating those eligible for benefits as the cause for the rise.

Death Toll in Afghanistan Passes Milestone:
The death toll for Operation Enduring Freedom centered in Afghanistan has surpassed 500. As troop levels reached their highest level of deployment in the last month and casualties exceeded those of Iraq, Afghanistan has been brought to the forefront. The New York Times has an interactive feature showing the pictures and names of those in the 500, a graph of the growing toll, as well as number of deaths by service.

Source

Top Search Words on Obama/McCain Sites, Used in Congress

CitizenSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:00:00 -0700

I can't decide which of these tote 'em ups is cooler. The New York Times has a graphic analysis of the top 200 search terms used on both of the candidates' websites - and with abortion topping Barack Obama's and health care heading McCain's it makes me think perhaps web-searchers are using the sites to get info on the opponent? The lists seem a weirdly counter to what one might expect from ardent supporters, but maybe I'm nuts?

Speaking of Congress (I kid, I kid) this is remarkably addictive and enlightening too - it's called CapitolWords, and it uses the Congressional record to figure out the most-used word on any given day. It's a little slice of the American consciousness that's eerie. From June 16 to June 20 it reads, "tax, health, oil, housing, oil." Well, it looks like they're talking about the right things at least? Try it out, but I'm warning you it's tough to stop.

To see the full New York Times graph of the percentage of search terms used on each of the candidate's sites read more.

Source