[governance] Majority Of Americans Don't Mind Being Spied Upon, Pew Study Finds

Tue Jun 11 13:40:10 EDT 2013

Hi Riaz,

Long time list lurker.  I wanted to let you onto my very strong suspicion
that this article is a spoof.

First reason: The author name is a famous fiction character from "Fight
Club"

Second reason: A google search to confirm Tyler Durden's affiliation with
Pew comes up with no relevant results.

"This is water." - David Foster Wallace

http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/david-foster-wallace-in-his-own-words

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Riaz K Tayob <riaz.tayob at gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 5:48 AM
Subject: [governance] Majority Of Americans Don't Mind Being Spied Upon,
Pew Study Finds
To: "governance at lists.igcaucus.org" <governance at lists.igcaucus.org>

 Majority Of Americans Don't Mind Being Spied Upon, Pew Study Finds
[image: Tyler Durden's picture]<http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden>
Submitted by Tyler Durden <http://www.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden> on
06/10/2013 17:48 -0400

 In what is likely the most disappointing, if not unexpected, news of the
day, we find that according to a just released Pew Research
study<http://www.people-press.org/2013/06/10/majority-views-nsa-phone-tracking-as-acceptable-anti-terror-tactic/>,
a *substantial majority, or 56% of Americans*, "*say the National Security
Agency’s (NSA) program tracking the telephone records of millions of
Americans is an acceptable way for the government to investigate terrorism*."
*Only 41% object to having every phone conversation intercepted,
investigated, analyzed, and recorded for posterity*. Sorry Edward Snowden*: you
just threw your life away for nothing**. *The sheep have been properly and
thoroughly conditioned and brainwashed, which is why they continue to get
precisely the government they so rightfully deserve.

<http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2013/06/6-10-13-1.png>

More from Pew:

  The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center and The Washington
Post, conducted June 6-9 among 1,004 adults,* finds no indications that
last week’s revelations of the government’s collection of phone records and
internet data have altered fundamental public views about the tradeoff
between investigating possible terrorism and protecting personal privacy.*

It just gets better:

  <http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2013/06/6-10-13-3.png>
*Currently 62% say it is more important for the federal government to
investigate possible terrorist threats, even if that intrudes on personal
privacy. Just 34% say it is more important for the government not to
intrude on personal privacy, even if that limits its ability to investigate
possible terrorist threats.*

These opinions have changed little since an ABC News/Washington Post survey
in January
<http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2013/06/6-10-13-2.png>2006.
Currently, there are only modest partisan differences in these opinions:
69% of Democrats say it is more important for the government to investigate
terrorist threats, even at the expense of personal privacy, as do 62% of
Republicans and 59% of independents.

However, while six-in-ten or more in older age groups say it is more
important to investigate terrorism even if it intrudes on privacy, young
people are divided: 51% say investigating terrorism is more important while
45% say it is more important for the government not to intrude on personal
privacy, even if that limits its ability to investigate possible threats.

The survey finds that while there are apparent differences between the NSA
surveillance programs under the Bush and Obama administrations, overall
public reactions to both incidents are similar. *Currently, 56% say it is
acceptable that the NSA “has been getting secret court orders to track
telephone calls of millions of Americans in an effort to investigate
terrorism.”*

In January 2006, a few weeks after initial new reports of the Bush
administration’s surveillance program, 51% said it was acceptable for the
NSA to investigate “people suspected of involvement with terrorism by
secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails between some
people in the United States and other countries, without first getting
court approval to do so.”

Perhaps least surprising is that once the most vocal objector to "Dubya"
pervasive surveillance, the Democrats, are now its most ardent defenders.
And so once again, political party line stupidity trumps common sense.

  Republicans and Democrats have had very different views of the two
operations. Today, only about half of Republicans (52%) say it is
acceptable for the NSA to obtain court orders to track phone call records
of millions of Americans to investigate terrorism. In January 2006, fully
75% of Republicans said it was acceptable for the NSA to investigate
suspected terrorists by listing in on phone calls and reading emails
without court approval.

<http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/2013/06/6-10-13-4.png>

*Democrats now view the NSA’s phone surveillance as acceptable by 64% to
34%. In January 2006, by a similar margin (61% to 36%), Democrats said it
was unacceptable for the NSA to scrutinize phone calls and emails of
suspected terrorists.*

Of course, if the president was Romney, his head would already be on a
stick. Metaphorically speaking of course.

Finally, the biggest danger to America it appears is not a *turnkey
totalitarian tyrant*, but broad apathy as it turns out only one in four
follow NSA News "very closely." The other 3 in 4 are far more concerned
with who gets to fake-wed the fake-bachelorette this season, or who is the
victor of Dancing with the Stars.

  *Roughly a quarter (27%) of Americans say they are following news about
the government collecting Verizon phone records very closely. This is a
relatively modest level of public interest.  Only another 21% say they are
following this fairly closely, while about half say they are following not
too (17%) or not at all (35%) closely.*

Interest in reports about the government tracking of e-mail and online
activities is almost identical: 26% say they are following this story very
closely, 33% not closely at all.

Attention to these stories is higher among Republicans and
Republican-leaning independents: 32% are following reports about the
government tracking phone records very closely, compared with 24% of
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. The partisan gap in interest
is almost identical when it comes to reports about government collecting
email and other online information: 30% of Republicans and
Republican-leaners are following very closely compared with 20% of
Democrats and Democratic-leaners.

Overall, those who disagree with the government’s data monitoring are
following the reports somewhat more closely than those who support them.
Among those who find the government’s tracking of phone records to be
unacceptable, 31% are following the story very closely, compared with 21%
among those who say it is acceptable. Similarly with respect to reports
about government monitoring of email and online activities, 28% of those
who say this should not be done are following the news very closely,
compared with 23% of those who approve of the practice.

Those who wish to be even more depressed can read on
here<http://www.people-press.org/2013/06/10/majority-views-nsa-phone-tracking-as-acceptable-anti-terror-tactic/>.

As for Edward Snowden, hopefully this will teach you to throw away your
life to liberate a bloated and apathetic society that couldn't care less if
the slaughter-gate was slammed shut behind it, and just wants to have its
rose-colored blinders on in perpetuity.
 Average:
4.52
   Your rating: None Average: 4.5 (25 votes)

____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20130611/7b2925ce/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
To be removed from the list, visit:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing

For all other list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
     http://www.igcaucus.org/

Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t