Posted on 05/12/2006 5:57:25 AM PDT by Mikey_1962
May 12, 2006 — Americans by nearly a 2-1 ratio call the surveillance of telephone records an acceptable way for the federal government to investigate possible terrorist threats, expressing broad unconcern even if their own calling patterns are scrutinized.
Lending support to the administration's defense of its anti-terrorism intelligence efforts, 63 percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say the secret program, disclosed Thursday by USA Today, is justified, while far fewer, 35 percent, call it unjustified.
Indeed, 51 percent approve of the way President Bush is handling the protection of privacy rights, while 47 percent disapprove — hardly a robust rating, but one that's far better than his overall job approval, in the low 30s in recent polls.
This doesn't mean privacy intrusions aren't a concern. Nearly half the public, 45 percent, say the government is not doing enough to protect Americans' rights as it investigates terrorism. This concern is far higher than it was in 2002 and 2003, closer to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — but slightly down in this poll from its level two months ago.
Despite such concerns, however, the public continues to place a higher priority on terrorism investigations than on privacy intrusions. Sixty-five percent say it's more important for the government to investigate possible threats, even if that intrudes on personal privacy, than for it to avoid privacy intrusions if that limits its investigative ability. It was the same in January, although higher still in 2002 and 2003 polls.
The phone-records program, moreover, is not broadly seen as intrusive. Two-thirds of Americans say it wouldn't bother them if the National Security Agency had a record of phone numbers that they had called. A third would be bothered; fewer, about a quarter, say it would bother them a lot.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
bttt
Patrick Leahy is deeply saddened.
VS the Nonsense of the shrill Democrat party.
Democrats lose again.
Those who oppose this sort of surveillance should be more closely watched.
But all the MSM keep telling me I should be upset.
They have been blasting the airwaves with this story for the past 36 hours and the sheeple are not alarmed.....only ones who are alarmed are the Dim Congresscritters and the Media. Hmmmm.........
When the MSM does polls, isn't that a form of monitoring? What right does the MSM have to know my opinion? Why are they trying to engage in surveillance of the people?
But Chrissey Matthews said I should be upset.
This is why the RATS believe that the voter should not be allowed to make any decision on their own.
Vote DemocRAT...It beats having to think for yourself!
Democrats hitch their wagon to another turd
Maybe Specter is afraid that the cat is out of the bag on his bazillion speed dial calls to leaky leahy.
Listening to local radio talk this morning, I must admit I was surprised at how many people really don’t care or think it’s a good thing. I’m usually surprised at the how sheeple blindly go along with everything, but this one got me.
What this means is that more articles and investigative pieces need to be done until the sheep are scared into the other direction.
"I've just been laughing myself silly at the false indignation from the folks who are all in favor of the loss of privacy when it comes to furthering the cause of social engineering."
Yep. Like I said on another thread, try not paying your child support or taxes. They will burn the woods and sift the ashes (electronically speaking) and they WILL find you.
"Those who oppose this sort of surveillance should be more closely watched." ~ muawiyah
So should the rest of our enemies within who take their money to make sure the walls between law enforcement and defense agencies stay up.
Democrats Join Suit to Ban Terrorist Surveillance
NewsMax ^ | 5/12/06
Posted on 05/12/2006 8:54:13 AM EDT by areafiftyone
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1631023/posts
Until now, Democrats had insisted that they didn't want to end President Bush's terrorist surveillance program, saying instead that the law merely needed to be changed to make terrorist surveillance inside the U.S. illegal.
On Wednesday, however - even before USA Today's bogus report about the NSA's phone number data collection program - 71 House Democrats signed up to sponsor a move that would make it illegal for the NSA to continue to monitor terrorist phone calls.
The liberal web site Raw Story reported Thursday:
"The 71 Democrats and one independent filed an amicus brief in two federal courts reviewing challenges to the warrantless wiretapping program in Detroit and New York, joining the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights."
"Both suits demand the program be stopped."
Predictably, Michigan Democrat John Conyers led the charge: "As our brief makes clear, this Congress dealt with this issue authoritatively almost 30 years ago - warrantless spying on American soil is flatly prohibited," he railed.
Or his S&M dominatrix.
Note to the Drive-by Media: Nice try.
Really? I oppose this kind of government survellience completely. I guess the lessons learned from WW2 and all the countries that had massive genocides have just been forgotten in the interest of a false sense of security.
I have no doubt that their intentions are good but we all know what road is paved with good intentions. Unless there is an absolute guarantee that someone with less than the best intentions cannot use this data against the population, I must oppose this kind of privacy invasion.
Mike
I can't wait to see how Tony addresses this at his next briefing.
Then change the laws, but as it stands this is totally legal. Good luck.
Never trust what you hear on talk radio to be a representative sample of public opinion.
It may be legal but it is morally corrupt.
Mike
Everybody's forgotten Benjamin Franklin I guess. Don't forget, a large portion of those polled couldn't find Louisiana on a map either.
This is the U.S., not Iran.
The half-truths and lies being spewed by the leftist-press... is reminiscent of Pravda & Izvestia during the height of the Cold War.
Well, obviously the Democrats have been making asses of themselves on each INDIVIDUAL issue when it comes to national defense. But the constant drumbeat of "Republicans are evil" has been taking its toll on the public Zeitgeist.
...For now, anyway. In the long term, it's the liberal media who keep losing more market share ever day. And those viewers are gone for good.
This poll will get buried by the MSM.
I doubt the Germans had to go very far into telephone records to find Jews and kill them.
As far as the Gypsies go, they'd look for the wagons ~ no cellphones in those days, so folks who lived on the road didn't make phone calls.
The lesson we learned in WWII was that it was possible for foreign enemies (current or future) to actually infiltrate our most sensitive government agencies and do us harm.
The Japanese and the Russians had spies present in our atom bomb project. The State Department and elements of the US Army civilian command structure were subverted.
That's why we need improved surveillance methods, and the ability to cross-correlate phone calling data with known enemy agents should help us find infiltrators, including Saddam Hussein's paid lackeys, commies, and alqaida supporters.
- Benjamin Franklin
>>>Phone-Records Surveillance Is Broadly Acceptable to Public
I would wager that the American public would also find the tracking of prescription purchases by the DEA to be broadly acceptable.
I would wager that the American public would also find the tracking of gun sales and ownership by the BATFE to be broadly acceptable.
Wait a minute. You mean it turns out I've been mad as Hell about this and I didn't even KNOW it?????
Yet another VRWC coverup. Thank God somebody out there has the honesty to tell me how I'm supposed to feel about all this.
And, lo and behold, I'm not going to bother correcting it for you.
I really don't think the motivation of this media nonsense was to end the surveillance (although that would be a nice bonus for the libs). I think it's a blatant attempt to delay or defeat the nomination of Gen. Hayden for CIA Director.
Maybe more people should be. If for no other reason than the White House and Congress will not always be controlled by, ahem, trusted Republicans. Others will have access to this power.
Remember the furor over the Clintons and the 900 FBI files? Imagine that 900 multiplied by, say, 33,000.
You might repeat the mantra "well if you have nothing to hide..." but the day may come when even your political leanings or religious beliefs may be something you do not want the government snooping into.
In other words, things you think you don't need to hide could become things you need to hide.
The public didn't approve and tossed out the Democrats.
I think it is a correct thing to do to find and kill terrorists and their lackeys, supporters, friends and enablers.
>>>In fact, the Democratic party (the folks complaining about NSA tracking of terrorists) actually passed laws to have BATF track gun sales back when they were in power.
The public didn't approve and tossed out the Democrats.
Strange, I don't recall that as an issue in the Contract with America which gave the Republicans control of Congress in 1994.
>>>I think it is a correct thing to do to find and kill terrorists and their lackeys, supporters, friends and enablers.
Given that al Qaeda has been found to be funded in part through illegal drug sales, should CVS and Walgreens and other pharmacies turn over prescription records to catch al Qaeda's lackeys, supporters, friends and enablers?
Editor meetings being held this morning in Drive-By Media offices all over the country. Follow-up meetings to be held by WAPost, NYTimes and CNN.
Sorry, from all I've heard and read, this is settled law. And legal.
"I guess the lessons learned from WW2 and all the countries that had massive genocides have just been forgotten in the interest of a false sense of security. "
You mean the same WWII where the US government monitored telegrams, phone conversations, opened mail, and generally kept close tabs on all possible enemy activity within our borders? Your slippery slope argument is blown away by the fact that we are just as free today, if not moreso, than we were after WWII.
It must be great to belong to the treason party as the MSM gives you cover no matter which side of an issue you take even if it is both sides.
That drum has been pounded the entire 44 years of my life.
We'll see come November.
Strong and Together!
PS A sincere welcome to FR.
The pharmacy business is highly regulated ~ what has that got to do with illegal sales of unlawful narcotics?
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