Going Poll Crazy

Staff / Truthdig Oct 23, 2008 Some polls show Barack Obama with a double-digit lead while others have John McCain even or ahead. Take Pennsylvania, where Obama and McCain are waging much tougher campaigns than one would expect in light of an 11-point average margin. That's because their internal polls show a much closer race. So how do you make sense of it all? The short answer is: You can't. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Land of the Not-So-Free

Staff / Truthdig Apr 24, 2008 The United States of America holds nearly one-quarter of the world's prisoners. That's because of an alarmingly high incarceration rate -- the highest by far in the world -- that strikes some as tough and others as simply barbaric. About one in every 100 adult Americans sits behind bars. Oh, and it's a racist system, to boot. Take that, China! Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.S. Life Expectancy Hits All-Time High

Staff / Truthdig Sep 13, 2007 Here's the good news: Significant drops in heart disease and strokes, two leading causes of death among Americans, have contributed to the highest life expectancy in the country's history, which rose to 77.9 years in the latest report released by the National Center for Health Statistics. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fixing the Numbers

Staff / Truthdig Sep 9, 2007 The Defense Intelligence Agency has prepared a briefing chart using data drawn from Gen. Petraeus' command that shows that violence in Iraq against security forces, including the U.S. military, has barely diminished. Petraeus, using the same information, is expected to argue that there has been a major drop in attacks. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fun With Numbers

Staff / Truthdig Mar 17, 2007 This far out from an election, pundits and statisticians frequently turn to national polls for something to talk about, but there's more fun to be had with polling than a hypothetical showdown between candidates who haven't even secured their party's nomination. For instance: according to Gallup, the percentage of people who object to staying on the 13th floor of a hotel is, oddly enough, 13. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Poll: Israel and Iran Have Mostly Negative Influence

Staff / Truthdig Mar 6, 2007 Most people believe Israel and Iran have a substantially negative impact on the world, according to a BBC poll of 28,000 people in 27 countries. Canada and Japan rated highest among nations that were seen to have a largely positive influence. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Married With Children in the Minority

Staff / Truthdig Mar 4, 2007 Fewer than a quarter of American households contain a married couple with children, down from half in 1960. While the numbers are lower across the board, the nuclear family appears to have become a luxury, with wealthier people far more likely to marry before having children. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bombs Are Mileposts on Road to Civil War

Staff / Truthdig Aug 17, 2006 More roadside bombs were planted in July than in any other month during the Iraq war, indicating a sharp rise in violence as the country moves toward all-out civil war. According to data obtained by The New York Times, 2,625 devices either exploded or were discovered in July, compared with 1,454 in January. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Statistics Show Dramatic Decrease in U.S. Rape Cases

Staff / Truthdig Jun 19, 2006 The number of rapes per capita has dropped by more that 85% since the 1970s, and reported rape decreased even with other violent crime on the rise, according to federal crime data. Some criminologists say these numbers might be a statistical mirage, but most are convinced that the numbers indicate a real decrease in sexual violence. Rape remains the most underreported of crimes. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Single 40-Year-Old Woman Has a Higher Chance Of…

Staff / Truthdig May 30, 2006 Twenty years ago this week Newsweek speculated that a "40-year-old single woman was 'more likely to be killed by a terrorist' than to ever marry." In this week's cover story, they retract the hackneyed thesis and reexamine the marriage statistics. (h/t: Broadsheet) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )