AT PRESS TIME, more than fourscore intelligent readers have taken Dr. Boli’s short poll. The results are clear and conclusive. No answer had an absolute majority, and no two answers taken together had an absolute majority. This shows—clearly and conclusively—that the readers of this celebrated Magazine are men and women who prize independent thought.
There were, however, two answers that consistently earned more votes than any of the others, and the two have been nearly equal in votes throughout the course of the poll. The question, you will recall, was “On-line polls: Are they useful?” To that question 20.7% of respondents answered, “Yes, because they fool people into thinking their opinions matter,” and 23.2% of respondents answered, “No, because they are always rigged by the Trilateral Commission.”
From these data we can paint an accurate portrait of Dr. Boli’s readership. It is patently obvious that all the votes for “No, because they are always rigged by the Trilateral Commission,” were cast by incorrigible cynics and conspiracy theorists. It is equally obvious that all the votes for “Yes, because they fool people into thinking their opinions matter,” were cast by the Trilateral Commission.