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Phone-Records Surveillance Is Broadly Acceptable to Public (ABC Poll)
ABC News ^ | 5/12/06 | Mikey_1962

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 ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: 1984; actions; analysing; att; bigbrother; data; databases; datadredging; dataisyourfriend; datamining; detection; fourthamendment; government; icu; idonthinkso; information; justification; lawenforcement; massurveillance; monitored; nsa; objectionable; orwell; phonerecords; privacy; private; relativeinformation; restriction; ruleoflaw; scrutiny; secrecy; security; spying; stasi; surveillance; telecommunications
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Common Sense of the American People...
1 posted on 05/12/2006 5:57:27 AM PDT by Mikey_1962
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To: Mikey_1962

bttt


2 posted on 05/12/2006 5:59:01 AM PDT by Matchett-PI ( "History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid." -- Dwight Eisenhower)
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To: Mikey_1962

Patrick Leahy is deeply saddened.


3 posted on 05/12/2006 6:00:09 AM PDT by denydenydeny ("Osama... made the mistake of confusing media conventional wisdom with reality" (Mark Steyn))
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To: Mikey_1962
Common Sense of the American People...

VS the Nonsense of the shrill Democrat party.

Democrats lose again.

4 posted on 05/12/2006 6:00:22 AM PDT by A message
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To: Mikey_1962

Those who oppose this sort of surveillance should be more closely watched.


5 posted on 05/12/2006 6:00:25 AM PDT by muawiyah (-)
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To: Mikey_1962

But all the MSM keep telling me I should be upset.


6 posted on 05/12/2006 6:00:37 AM PDT by HoosierHawk
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To: Mikey_1962
In general .. people like to live and want to stop the terrorists from killing them

Which is why majority trust republicans with national security and don't trust the democrats
7 posted on 05/12/2006 6:01:35 AM PDT by Mo1 (DEMOCRATS: A CULTURE OF TREASON)
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To: Mikey_1962
Well MSM, back to the drawing board. You'll have to find a more misleading way to word the poll to get the results you want.
8 posted on 05/12/2006 6:02:05 AM PDT by BallyBill (Serial Hit-N-Run poster)
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To: Mikey_1962
I guess it's safe to assume that the MSM has no common sense. :)

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.........

9 posted on 05/12/2006 6:04:22 AM PDT by alice_in_bubbaland
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To: Mikey_1962
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. Glad to see they are in the minority...
10 posted on 05/12/2006 6:05:08 AM PDT by LRS
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To: Mikey_1962

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?


11 posted on 05/12/2006 6:05:16 AM PDT by oblomov (Join the FR Folding@Home Team (#36120) keyword: folding@home)
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To: Mikey_1962

But Chrissey Matthews said I should be upset.


12 posted on 05/12/2006 6:06:33 AM PDT by neodad (USS Vincennes (CG-49) Freedom's Fortress)
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To: Mikey_1962
RATS on suicide watch.

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!

13 posted on 05/12/2006 6:07:03 AM PDT by Redleg Duke (¡Salga de los Estados Unidos de América, invasor!)
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To: A message

Democrats hitch their wagon to another turd


14 posted on 05/12/2006 6:08:07 AM PDT by traderrob6
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To: denydenydeny

Maybe Specter is afraid that the cat is out of the bag on his bazillion speed dial calls to leaky leahy.


15 posted on 05/12/2006 6:08:07 AM PDT by OldFriend (I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag.....and My Heart to the Soldier Who Protects It.)
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To: Mikey_1962

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.


16 posted on 05/12/2006 6:08:25 AM PDT by Woodstock
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To: Mikey_1962

What this means is that more articles and investigative pieces need to be done until the sheep are scared into the other direction.


17 posted on 05/12/2006 6:09:34 AM PDT by AD from SpringBay (We have the government we allow and deserve.)
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To: LRS

"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.


18 posted on 05/12/2006 6:12:01 AM PDT by EEDUDE (A penny saved is......a penny Congress overlooked.)
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To: muawiyah

"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.


19 posted on 05/12/2006 6:12:09 AM PDT by Matchett-PI ( "History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid." -- Dwight Eisenhower)
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To: OldFriend

Or his S&M dominatrix.


20 posted on 05/12/2006 6:13:33 AM PDT by EEDUDE (A penny saved is......a penny Congress overlooked.)
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