New Poll: Americans Reject Warrantless Surveillanc

[Moses]

Monday, February 27, 2006
 

New Poll Shows Americans Reject NSA Warrantless Surveillance Program
Posted Saturday, February 25, 2006 :: infoZine Staff

Majority Recognize Importance of Checks and Balances Against Abuses of Power

Washington, D.C. - infoZine - A new poll commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union and released publicly today shows that a majority of American voters oppose the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance of Americans by the National Security Agency. The poll also shows a strong belief in the need for the executive branch to be subject to the checks and balances of the courts and Congress.

"Despite the rhetoric from the White House, these new data show that American voters recognize the need for a strong system of checks and balances," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "The secret eavesdropping is clearly illegal, and Congress must do its duty and demand the president stop breaking the law." It is unfortunate that the president continues to present Americans with a false choice: that we must choose between our constitutional rights and our security. This poll is the latest evidence that Americans believe the president does not need to subvert the Constitution to keep us safe."

The poll, conducted by the Washington-based firm Belden, Russonello & Stewart, measured voters' attitudes toward the warrantless surveillance of Americans by the NSA. The findings were reached through a national telephone survey of 1,012 registered voters conducted between February 8 and February12, 2006. The margin of sampling error for the entire survey is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent level of tolerance.

The survey reveals key findings about voters' attitudes toward the government's warrantless domestic spying program. Specifically, the poll found that:

The ACLU noted that the results of the poll should be taken into consideration as Congress continues to deal with the illegal program. On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold its second hearing on the warrantless eavesdropping. The ACLU, legal scholars, members of Congress, and the non-partisan Congressional Research Service have all raised questions about the legality of the program. The ACLU has also filed a legal challenge to the unconstitutional program.

The poll also found that American voters have serious concerns about the Patriot Act. The Senate is expected to vote on Tuesday on the reauthorization of that bill, and the ACLU has urged Congress to adopt several amendments that would better protect the civil liberties of ordinary Americans. Specifically, the poll found that:

"When presented with an honest representation, the American voter has serious concerns about the government's actions," said Lisa Graves, ACLU Senior Counsel for Legislative Strategy. "Congress must listen and take steps to protect our Constitutional freedoms. The American people recognize that the rule of law must be followed by all - especially the president."

The ACLU is a non-partisan organization that does not support or oppose candidates for public office.


To read an HTML or ( PDF ) summary of the poll.


Article link: www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/13260/

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[hyperopic]

I listen to the "Washington Journal" on C-SPAN every morning, time permitting, and the nuts always say "Hey, you can listen to my phone calls anytime." And "If you don't have anything to hide, what are you afraid of?"

I don't really have an answer for this right now, but I guess Its O.K. to be f**king my wife outside in Times Square, since I shouldn't have "anything to hide". No privacy is needed if you aren't hiding something. What are you hiding?

I guess nothing should be personal anymore

[hyperopic]

Hey- why are you wearing clothes?

You must have something to hide.

You are a security risk to this country.

You could be hiding a WMD in your Bejunk

Why do you hate America?

[Moses]

People who don't object to surveillance are fascists.

[karpomrx]

Moses reminded us that privacy is a mark of civilization in a post last month. This lack of sensitivity cultivated by the drooling knuckle draggers is another symptom of an ever narrowing tolerance for any sort of behavior that is not "normal". It's like the school ground has been surrendered to the bullies, I'm not quite sure how well I can continue to turn the other cheek, as I am not ready to be cannonised yet.

[hyperopic]

karpomrx, I will vote for your canonization, (if thats a word, my heart's in the right place).

Maybe I made the stretch too far by saying that phone calls should be compared to public nudity.

Still, I remember the footage of the naked, starved detainees of the concentration camps of Germany and can't help to wonder if it was for torture, or for worrying that they were a real security threat hiding weapons in their, you know, bejunk.

Maybe that footage was propaganda, as is coming out these days with the Holocaust Deniers getting a lot of publicity.

I don't really know.

All I know is that we need to have a really sensitive Bullnuts Detector.

History becomes very interesting when you investigate if its coming from the victors or the vanquished.

[Moses]

This lack of sensitivity cultivated by the drooling knuckle draggers is another symptom of an ever narrowing tolerance for any sort of behavior that is not "normal". It's like the school ground has been surrendered to the bullies, I'm not quite sure how well I can continue to turn the other cheek, as I am not ready to be cannonised yet.

I completely agree, and I hadn't really realized this, consciously. I have found disturbing -- profoundly disturbing, conversations I have heard among the youth both HS and college -- they dismiss anything that doesn't conform to some sort of accepted but undelineated norm-- a norm that seems to be established on establishing ignorance and a pre-fabricated mind set as the central tenet of society. IT is quite foreign and disturbing. I hadn't put it together with the fascism of those who accept and even promote surveillance with the smug belief that the "others" will be those surveilled. I would wish for a leader that would turn the tables and surveill anyone who promoted or accepted surveillance as a dangerous 5th column: fascists.