Three-quarters of voters in the United States say democracy is under threat, though their perception of the forces imperiling it varies widely based on partisan leanings. And a majority of voters believe that the country is plagued by corruption, with 62 percent saying that the government is mostly working to benefit itself and elites rather than the common good.
Archiv: the American people
Report: Netanyahu Says 9/11 Terror Attacks Good for Israel
(April 16, 2008)
„We are benefiting from one thing, and that is the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the American struggle in Iraq,“ Ma‘ariv quoted the former prime minister as saying. He reportedly added that these events „swung American public opinion in our favor.“
Netanyahu reportedly made the comments during a conference at Bar-Ilan University on the division of Jerusalem as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians.
A DAY OF TERROR: THE ISRAELIS; Spilled Blood Is Seen as Bond That Draws 2 Nations Closer
(12. September 2001)
Asked tonight what the attack meant for relations between the United States and Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister, replied, “It‘s very good.“ Then he edited himself: “Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy.“ He predicted that the attack would “strengthen the bond between our two peoples, because we‘ve experienced terror over so many decades, but the United States has now experienced a massive hemorrhaging of terror.“
We’re Beginning to Learn How the War on Terror Shaped a Generation
(Devember 21, 2023)
That might have been why, when President Biden and Israeli officials said that Oct. 7 was Israel’s Sept. 11, intending the comparison as a rallying cry for self-defense, their words seemed to many instead a cruel provocation of trauma. Were they kidding? The response to Sept. 11 was catastrophic for the Arab and Muslim world and, eventually, terrible for the United States. A similar response to Oct. 7 would be terrible for the Israeli people, and a total reinvention of hell for the Palestinians. We know this because we are Americans. In the Israelis, we saw our own leaders: shocked victims for a day, destroyers of worlds every day thereafter.
How Americans felt about campus protests against the Vietnam War
There is no guarantee that history will eventually vindicate the positions of protesters. But it does seem safe to assume that the positions, not the protests, are what will be remembered.
Senate passes surveillance bill despite contentious debate over privacy concerns
Congress had been up against a Friday deadline after authority for Section 702 was extended through that date as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
Senate passes reauthorization of key US surveillance program after midnight deadline
After its midnight deadline, the Senate voted early Saturday to reauthorize a key U.S. surveillance law after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans’ data nearly forced the statute to lapse.
The legislation approved 60-34 with bipartisan support would extend for two years the program known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Trump tells Israel to ‚finish up‘ Gaza offensive because nation is ‚losing a lot of support‘
(26.03.2024)
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president in 2024, sat down for an interview with Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom about the ongoing military invasion — and warned that the world was growing tired of the conflict.
„You have to finish up your war. You have to finish it up. You’ve got to get it done,“ he told the newspaper.
He continued, „We’ve got to get to peace. You can’t have this going on, and I will say Israel has to be very careful because you are losing a lot of the world. You are losing a lot of support.“
Majority in U.S. Now Disapprove of Israeli Action in Gaza
(27.03.2024)
Although Americans rate Biden‘s handling of the conflict poorly, his overall job approval rating is no lower now than before the conflict began. The issue does not register highly when Americans are asked to name the most important problem facing the U.S. Nor does it rank highly when Americans rate each of several international issues as critical threats to U.S. vital interests.
From February 22 to 26, 2024, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,232 U.S. likely voters nationally using web panel respondents.
1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president?
Strongly approve 18
Somewhat approve 21
Somewhat disapprove 16
Strongly disapprove 43
2. Some members of Congress recently proposed the Stop Politicians Profiting from War Act. This bill would ban members of Congress, their spouses, and dependents from trading stocks or having any financial interests in companies that have contracts with the Department of Defense.
Do you support or oppose this proposal?
Strongly support 61
Somewhat support 21
Somewhat oppose 7
Strongly oppose 3
Don‘t know 8
(…)
5. Do you support or oppose the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza?
Strongly support 37
Somewhat support 30
Somewhat oppose 12
Strongly oppose 10
Don‘t know 11
Voters Support the U.S. Calling for Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza and Conditioning Military Aid to Israel
(27.02.2024)
A new survey from Data for Progress asked likely U.S. voters about various foreign policy issues, particularly related to the ongoing war in Gaza.
When asked if they approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling the Israel-Palestine conflict, voters disapprove by a -21-point margin, with 57% disapproving and 36% approving. This margin has increased since Data for Progress started polling this question in early November, with approval highest in late November after the last temporary ceasefire began.
I tell @DrMercola that when I‘m President, I will get the Federal Reserve under control and make sure we restore sovereignty in the American people over our money supply. #Kennedy24
(03.02.2024)
BREAKING: Months of organizing result in a victorious vote for a ceasefire in Chicago! Chicago is the largest U.S. city to vote in favor of a ceasefire resolution
Like his father and Martin Luther King Jr., RFK Jr. believes that violence abroad is linked to violence on our streets and in our schools. Only when America ceases its endless wars will we restore peace at home.
Let’s be clear. In a democracy, intelligence agencies are not supposed to interfere or “be active” in elections. They are supposed to be the servants of the people. They are not in charge. The people are in charge, and whoever they elect is the boss. #Kennedy24
CAIR Says President Biden Is ‘Ignoring the American People and Enabling Genocide’ After Bypassing Congress to Arm Israel Again
(31.12.2023)
President Joe Biden once again bypassed Congress to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel, despite growing domestic and international outrage over Israel’s mass killing of more than 21,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and including hundreds of UN workers, journalists and medical personnel.
[NOTE: Yesterday, CAIR welcomed the launch of a case by South Africa in the United Nations’ top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.]
It‘s Becoming Clear. Israel Could Cost Joe Biden Re-Election
Now, a new poll by the New York Times/ Siena College has found that nearly 75 percent of a sample of young voters aged between 18 and 29 disapprove of how the Democrat is handling the conflict. The same proportion believe Israel isn‘t doing enough to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza and 44 percent said Israel should end its military campaign even if Hamas is not defeated, to 39 percent who said it should continue.
It also found that 27 percent of young people sympathize with Israel while 47 percent sympathize with Palestinians.
Support for Israel declining among American public – poll
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday indicates that two months after Hamas‘s October 7 attack on Israel, American voters are divided on whether the United States should send more military aid to Israel, with 45 percent of respondents saying yes compared to 46 percent who are opposed.
Donald Trump Gets Some of the Best News of His Year
Young voters who have shifted away from Biden are not necessarily voting for Trump, who is also staunchly pro-Israel and opposes student loan relief. A November New York Times/Siena College poll found that 34 percent of young voters plan to back Robert F. Kennedy Jr, an independent. That poll surveyed 3,662 registered voters across six battleground states from October 22 to November 3.
How Much Is Biden’s Support of Israel Hurting Him With Young Voters?
As recently as this summer, a poll with Donald J. Trump leading among young voters would have been eye-popping.
Now, it’s increasingly familiar — and our new New York Times/Siena College national survey released Tuesday morning is no exception.
For the first time, Mr. Trump leads President Biden among young voters in a Times/Siena national survey, 49 percent to 43 percent. It’s enough to give him a narrow 46-44 lead among registered voters overall.
UN Security Council vote on Gaza resolution delayed; most US voters disapprove of Biden‘s handling of war: Updates
The survey showed 44% of all those surveyed said Israel should stop its military campaign to protect against civilian casualties, while 39% said Israel should continue to fight despite the rising death toll of Palestinian civilians. But 48% of all voters surveyed said they believed Israel was not taking enough precautions to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.
Voters Want the U.S. to Call for a Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza and to Prioritize Diplomacy
(December 5, 2023)
Sixty-one percent of likely voters, including a majority of Democrats (76%) and Independents (57%) and a plurality of Republicans (49%), support the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza.
After voters are presented with arguments for and against a permanent ceasefire, a majority of them still support the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire by an +18-point margin.
Replying to @POTUS Today’s US veto against the UN’s resolution for an immediate cease fire in Gaza, made crystal clear your direct culpability in this genocide. And as such, I will for the first time as life long Democrat do everything in my power to ensure you will not be re-elected.
The War in Gaza Is Splintering the Democratic Party
(November 17, 2023)
Already, there are signs that the party is fracturing over Israel. According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, about three-quarters of Democrats want a cease-fire, but few in the Democratic establishment share their views. Last week, in a rare gesture of defiance, more than 100 congressional staffers walked out to demand that their bosses back a cease-fire. More than 500 alumni of Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign and Democratic Party staff members have signed a letter imploring Biden to call for a cease-fire, saying, “If you fail to act swiftly, your legacy will be complicity in the face of genocide.”
David Pratt: Joe Biden‘s foreign policy could cost him the election
(December 7, 2023)
In recent days, vice president Kamala Harris – remember her? – has declared that “Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians”, while defence secretary Lloyd Austin delivered the assessment that Israel risks “strategic defeat” unless it protects Palestinians in Gaza.
Talk about too little too late, or perhaps a more appropriate metaphor would be running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.
FBI chief makes fresh pitch for spy program renewal and says it’d be ‘devastating’ if it lapsed
Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said that during his 13 years on the committee, he’d pressed multiple FBI directors about civil liberties violations associated with the surveillance program and had repeatedly been given false reassurances about the reforms being put in place.
“Every darn one of them has told me the same thing: ‘Don’t worry about it, we’ve got this taken care of, we’ve got new procedures, it’s going to be different now,’” Lee said. “It’s never different. You haven’t changed.”
FBI director makes plea for 702 reauthorization without a warrant requirement
(05.12.2023)
FBI Director Christopher Wray at a Tuesday hearing gave an impassioned pitch for Congress to reauthorize warrantless surveillance powers for the intelligence community without the need to secure a court’s blessing to review information on Americans swept up in the process.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is set to expire at the end of the year unless it is reauthorized by Congress, threatening to topple a program that allows the U.S. government to monitor the communications of foreign nationals located abroad.
FBI director warns senators he sees ‘blinking lights everywhere’ on threats against the US
(December 6, 2023)
The FBI director is pushing senators on reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire at the end of this year. The law enables the US government to obtain intelligence by targeting non-Americans overseas who are using US-based communications services.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy 60 Years After the March on Washington
(August 10, 2023)
On Aug. 28, 1963, about 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech advocating for economic and civil rights for Black Americans.
Protect RFK Jr. – Protect Democracy: Urge President Biden to Provide RFK Jr. Secret Service
For democracy to function, the public must know that elections, and not violence, will decide who takes public office. That is why the United States has granted Secret Service protection to all major Presidential candidates.
Last Wednesday, for the second time this election season, an intruder entered Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s home in Los Angeles. He had written hundreds of emails to the campaign, which were included in its application for Secret Service protection, one of which made mention of a „bullet in [Mr. Kennedy‘s] brain.“ A month earlier, a man had showed up to one of Mr. Kennedy‘s campaign events carrying loaded weapons and posing as a U.S. Marshal.
In both cases, the individuals were apprehended by Mr. Kennedy‘s private security detail and turned over to the police. But the incidents demonstrate the necessity for Secret Service protection for Mr. Kennedy. Withholding protection puts him and members of the public who attend campaign events at risk. Furthermore, it would be incredibly destabilizing for our nation if another Kennedy came to harm in the course of Presidential politics.
You can‘t have a functioning democracy when candidates aren‘t safe. Whether or not you support my campaign, please sign this petition urging the White House to grant me Secret Service protection. #Kennedy24
SIGN HERE security.kennedy24.com
84% Of Voters Concerned The U.S. Will Be Drawn Into Military Conflict In The Middle East, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Concern About Prejudice Against Jewish People In U.S. Hits Record High
(November 02, 2023)
An overwhelming majority of voters (84 percent) are either very concerned (43 percent) or somewhat concerned (41 percent) that the United States will be drawn into a military conflict in the Middle East, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of registered voters released today. (…)
Half of voters (50 percent) approve of the way Israel is responding to the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack, while 35 percent disapprove, and 15 percent did not offer an opinion. (…)
A slight majority of voters (51 percent) support the United States sending more military aid to Israel for their efforts in the war with Hamas, while 41 percent oppose it. (…)
Three-quarters of voters (75 percent) think that prejudice against Jewish people in the United States today is either a very serious problem (38 percent) or a somewhat serious problem (37 percent), while 23 percent think it is either a not so serious problem (14 percent) or not a problem at all (9 percent). (…)
Sixty-eight percent of voters think prejudice against Muslim people in the United States today is either a very serious problem (30 percent) or a somewhat serious problem (38 percent), while 28 percent think it is either a not so serious problem (18 percent) or not a problem at all (10 percent).
Voters Agree the U.S. Should Call for a Ceasefire and De-Escalation of Violence in Gaza to Prevent Civilian Deaths
(October 20, 2023)
A new Data for Progress poll, fielded as part of our national omnibus survey from October 18 to 19, finds that 66% of voters “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” with the following statement:
The U.S. should call for a ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Gaza. The U.S. should leverage its close diplomatic relationship with Israel to prevent further violence and civilian deaths.
This includes 80% of Democrats, 57% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans.
NEW: Economist/YouGov polling on the 2024 election Do you want Joe Biden to run for president again in 2024? Yes: 25% No: 61% Do you want Donald Trump to run for president again in 2024? Yes: 31% No: 58%
Gaza’s Devastating Humanitarian Crisis Worsens. The US & Israel Revive War on Terror Framework: Dissenters Labeled “Pro-Hamas.” And Is the US Establishment pro-Israel or pro-Palestine?
Not everything the United States government did in the name of waging war on the terrorists or destroying the perpetrators of those attacks turned out to be wise, justified, or even moral. To the contrary: so many actions undertaken by the U.S. government in the months and years following the 9/11 attack were self-destructive and shameful. That is the reason that the neocons who dominated the Bush-Cheney administration and George Bush and Dick Cheney themselves ended up discredited and in disgrace, at least until they magically rehabilitated themselves by denouncing Donald Trump, which absolves all sins. But the reason they were discredited and in disgrace is not because people reconsidered whether the 9/11 attack was morally unjustified. Americans still overwhelmingly believe that it was. The shame and horror from that era are, instead, due to the fact that so much of what the US did in the name of „fighting terror“ had the opposite effect: either by inflaming it, turning the world against the U.S. and engaging in actions that destroyed the moral credibility of our government.
Polls Show Low Approval Ratings for Biden, and Trump Coasting in Primary
(Sept. 24, 2023)
Two polls of the 2024 presidential race released on Sunday showed former President Donald J. Trump cruising through the Republican primary — and a general election between two unpopular candidates if, as seems likely, the nominees are Mr. Trump and President Biden.
FBI‘s Next Generation Identification Biometrics Database
EFF has been closely following FBI‘s work to build out its Next Generation Identification (NGI) biometrics database. NGI expands the FBI’s IAFIS criminal and civil fingerprint database to include multimodal biometric identifiers such as iris scans, palm prints, face-recognition-ready photos, and voice data, and makes that data available to other agencies at the state and federal levels. As part of our focus on NGI, we‘ve sent out Freedom of Information Act and Public Records Act requests to the FBI and several state agencies for information on how NGI works and how the states share data with NGI. We‘ve also blogged and testified on facial recognition before the Senate Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. Those records, the testimony, and the blog posts are linked below. We‘ll report on and post new records here as we receive them.
FBI nimmt weltgrößte Biometrie-Datenbank stückweise in Betrieb
(24.03.2011)
Das FBI hat begonnen, ihre 2007 geplante neue Datenbank für biometrische Merkmale in Betrieb zu nehmen. Das „Next Generation Identification“-System habe die erste Phase der „operationalen Einsatzfähigkeit“ erreicht, heißt es in US-Medienberichten. Die Datenbank soll das Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) der US-Polizeibehörde ersetzen und wird daher zunächst mit Fingerabdrücken gefüttert. Später sollen auch Iris-Scans, Stimmproben, Abbildungen von Handabdrücken, Tätowierungen, Narben und Gesichtsformen erfasst werden.
To Foreign Policy Veteran, the Real Danger Is at Home
Mr. Haass recently published a book called “The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens,” outlining ways Americans can help heal their own society, like “Be Informed,” “Remain Civil,” “Put Country First” — all admittedly bromides and yet somehow often elusive these days. (…)
Putting his foreign policy hat aside for now, he said he wants to expand the message from his book and help refocus the country on the core values embodied in the Declaration of Independence as the 250th anniversary of the document approaches three years from now.