http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200112\NAT20011213a.html Most Americans Support Government Surveillance, Poll Says By John Rossomando CNSNews.com Staff Writer December 13, 2001 (CNSNews.com) - Efforts by the ACLU and other civil liberties groups to turn public opinion against the president's anti-terrorism initiatives are falling on deaf ears, according to a poll conducted by Zogby International. "Despite the best efforts by the ACLU and other rights groups... the various anti-terrorist efforts by the president and the attorney general have strong public support," said pollster John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International. The Zogby poll indicates that 54 percent of Americans favor allowing telephone conversations to be monitored; 80 percent favor allowing video surveillance of public places such as street corners; 67 percent favor roadblock searches of vehicles, and 67 percent favor having their mail monitored. John Zogby says he finds it "shocking" that Americans are willing to allow the government to have greater access to their personal lives in exchange for security. "We are in a moment where fear trumps other considerations," Zogby said. "Frankly, I guess I never thought [that] I would live to see the day when Americans would want their cars stopped and checked, or their mail monitored, but we certainly had that day." [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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