Majority Of Americans Support NSA Surveillance Programs: Poll

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin

Maybe they need it because their definition of "terrorist" may become more flexible in the foreseeable future?

reply to post by jjkenobi


There are plenty of paranoid "get off my lawn!" types out there who would totally support the spying and all the police state has to offer.

This sort of nonsense isnt an ageist issue.

If there ever was an issue that could bring people together young and old, rich and poor, democrat and republican, black and white, it's fearing every shadow and keeping eye on all of us because we just cant be trusted to do anything with anything ever.

Fear sells. Perhaps better than sex.

Just look how there's basically no shame whatsoever in all these anti-spying Bush-era Dems who are fully supporting Obama-era spying. Unabashed insanity at the cost of all our liberties.

reply to post by dreamingawake

What do you say ATS!?

I say that whoever made up these poll results needs to look down and make sure that his pants aren't on fire.

I love my country, but I don't see this getting better no matter how many people are for or against it. We will keep going down the rabbit hole until we reach 1984.

Operation Exit Strategy is in full effect.

MOTF!

reply to post by dreamingawake


So they ask 1,004 people for their opinion,
and they become the majority????

Imo, that poll is nothing more than 'damage-control' propaganda! As stated elsewhere within this thread, ANY poll can be skewed to get the results desired. Here's a recent poll that states the opposite:

59% Oppose Government’s Secret Collecting of Phone Records
26% approve
15% undecided
www.rasmussenreports.com...

reply to post by dreamingawake


Oh my, this is almost identical the poll touted around by yougov in the UK yesterday, and I'm not joking, the similarities are pretty astounding!

I don't to suggest that Americans and Brits think the same way, I mean the questions are similar, the results are similar, even the graphic representation of the data is almost the same!

I'm gonna call this propaganda, and complete BS. Looking at public sentiment on the forums, blogs, news sites, twitter and facebook, the VAST MAJORITY of people are utterly against what they have discovered.

There is no way that public opinion is nearly 50/50, no way in hell.

Originally posted by KyrieEleison
reply to post by RedShirt73

 

Yeah, they are conflating "fighting terrorism" with some highly unethical and unconstitutional practices.

It reminds me of a book about Matt Groening that I read some time ago, where (if I recall correctly) while in school he was running a party platform dubbed "The Morality Party" with the slogan, "If you're not for morality, what are you for?"

In this case, if you aren't against "terrorism", what are you against?

Try to be the reasoned person in the crowd to offer up an argument and see how quickly the piranha turn on you.

Agreed.

I don't know which is more idiotic:

1) War on a concept (ie. terrorism)
or
2) When Bush said they hate us because of our freedoms

Originally posted by rangersdad
reply to post by dreamingawake

 

So they ask 1,004 people for their opinion,
and they become the majority????

It's called random sampling. Mathematically, there is a number at which you can be assured to sum an opinion for a population of a large size with a certain amount of confidence. For instance, 95% confidence would mean that the poll results are likely to be correct with a 95% assurance and a 5% chance for error. 99% would be the highest tier of confidence for a poll but it's rarely used. The sample size is basically a combination of how confident in the results you want to be, an acceptable margin of error, and population size. However, like I said, over a certain size, the results don't change much if your sample size is 1100 or 11,000...they will still be nearly the same results in a proper random sample. It's a a bit of math weirdness that actually has been proven. The problem with this specific sample size is that it is only 1004. It should be slightly higher and that little bit of difference actually increases the margin of error and lowers the confidence in the results.

The other is that it's a think tank located in Washington DC. My grandfather always told me to never trust think tanks and forbade me from ever ending up in one.

Originally posted by RedShirt73
2) When Bush said they hate us because of our freedoms

I especially love this.
They hate us because of our freedoms, so lets destroy our freedoms ourselves and become a totalitarian police state, so that we're no longer a target!

Ha! Take that you terrorist scum, now who's "free" and "democratic"!

I want to know who are these people that are always surveyed? I never get asked to be part of one and I don't support the NSA.

Americans have been taking poles for so long they no longer even feel it.
Oh, you mean polls.
From the MSM?
it's just gotsta be true!
"There's a weapon of mass destruction around here somewhere"

reply to post by Rocker2013

Definition of Ultimate Irony:
Al Qaeda actually votes on who will be their leaders.

reply to post by dreamingawake



I find it beleivable that a majority of americans are OK with this. Its just a repeat of the past when they fooled people into backing

1 Vietnam War (excpet for the hippies who made to look evil)
2. Korea War
3. All middle east war (until last few years when people woke up)

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I believe there is an important thing to look at and consider here.

Look at the dates. He came out with his name and stood up to be a man about what he'd done on the 9th. This poll almost exclusively covers the period before we knew who and what he was, let alone the context of the leaks. Given that? I'm not positive how I might have answered every question on it. I have NO doubt today.

I'd love to see this run again, now.

* Not a knock to your thread. It's very important to see this as a baseline to what feelings were in the period when this FIRST broke. It may be interesting to see in the weeks and months to come, as well.

Apart from the dates, the first question is loaded anyway, it doesn't say everyone, just millions...

Of course you could argue that a majority agrees, because the majority of working Americans are in the NSA

Well when you have a couple decades of social engineering and brainwashing, is it any surprise?

America is SCREWED.

Originally posted by Raxoxane
reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin

 

Maybe they need it because their definition of "terrorist" may become more flexible in the foreseeable future?

a very good point, i would say that is possible although i personally don't think that is going to happen however i cannot rule it out as i dont know what the future holds

I always wonder about these polls if they are for real or not, how many of you have ever taken a poll that is about current events, minus elections.......No one ever calls me asking me what I think.....where do they take these polls outside for example the NSA talking to employees, As I was always told about numbers they can reflect what ever you want if you do it right.

I don't believe polls because they are not speaking for the majority.

reply to post by dreamingawake

These public polls are sponsored by some of the same interests who are benefiting from the police state.

This clip exposes statistical fallacies as such:
Statistical follies & epidemiology
www.youtube.com...

Originally posted by keeb333
This seems appropriate here: