The Poll Star

I woke up this morning just in time to hear the TV proclaim, “Sixty-five percent of Americans support wiretapping phones to prevent terrorism.” No kidding. To say otherwise would be to appear unpatriotic, especially to those on the Republican side of the room. That poll is misleading, and has Carl Rove’s fingerprints all over it.

What would your answer be? “Do you believe the U.S. government should use electronic surveillance to track Al-Queda activities?”

How about this? “Do you believe the U.S. government should be able to place wiretaps on American citizens’ phones?”

Or this? “Do you believe the U.S. government should be able to illegally eavesdrop on your conversations with neither search warrant nor reason?”

Personally, my answer to the first question is yes. To the second question, I’d answer an unequivocal “Um, I dunno.” To the third, I’d answer “No, and any government that would try should be removed – it smacks of Nazi Germany or the cold-war-era Soviet Union. We don’t do that here.” (Unfortunately, though, we do do that here. Now what are we going to do about it?)

My point here is that it is my contention that out government is twisting public opinion through vaguely-worded polls. They’re doing this to bolster U.S. President George Walker Bush’s image in defense of his policy of spying on American citizens. They’re doing it to get Judge Sam Alito nominated to the Supreme Court. They’re doing it a lot. Unfortunately, the other side does it too. When you see one of those “quick polls” flash up on the TV screen, please don’t believe it until you analyze what the results really mean.

Do I support anti-terrorism? You betcha! Do I support a sneaky government putting bugs on my phone? Heck no. Please, ask me that question in a meaningful manner and make me think.

The Best Ex

I saw former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on TV this morning as I was slurping my daily cuppa coffee (Cub Food generic instant – try it, it’s really good). Mr. Carter has always impressed me, but, as has been pointed out myriad times before, he may be a better ex-president than he was a president. Since leaving office, he’s done a LOT for charitable causes, has written numerous books, and has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work overseas. Clearly a man who thinks.

Mr. Carter disagrees with Mr. Bush’s policies.

Cleaning Day

Today is cleaning day at our house. Dagmar’s been busily dusting, straightening, folding, washing, moving, and cleaning for the past three hours or so. I’ve been busy working on a project on the computer. So, no more time to blog right now… With luck I’ll be able to write more in a few hours. I have things what need sayin’ – some important, others not so important.