Americans have been consistently opposed to warrantless surveillance of phone calls and emails of American citizens for monitoring threats against the United States, but opposition to such surveillance outside of the country has increased over the past 10 years. Twenty years after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, less […] Read more »
No vaccination? Americans back tough rules and mask mandates to protect the common good
As a fourth wave of the coronavirus surges, Americans by a wide margin say protecting the common good is more important than ensuring personal liberty when considering whether to require people to get a COVID-19 vaccination or wear a protective mask. An overwhelming 72%-28% of those surveyed by USA TODAY […] Read more »
Your rights and my nose
My father, of blessed memory, a stalwart civil libertarian who cut his teeth as a lawyer defending people accused of being communists by McCarthyite goons, used to say, “Your rights end where my nose begins.” The aphorism seems particularly apt at a time when one of the greatest collective threats […] Read more »
What the Public Thinks About Major Supreme Court Cases This Term
The arrival this term of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald J. Trump’s third appointee, has transformed a Supreme Court with a slight conservative majority into one that tilted right by a 6-to-3 margin. Justice Barrett has also left Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. with a sharply diminished ability […] Read more »
Most Americans Agree on Four Foundations of Democracy, but Execution of Those Ideals Receives Failing Grades
While Americans have high ideals for what makes up our democracy, a new Grinnell College National Poll shows our country gets failing grades when it comes to executing those ideals in real life. The poll, a partnership between Grinnell College and J. Ann Selzer of Selzer & Company, was released […] Read more »
Views split on whether athletes should take a stand on political, social issues
A slim majority of Americans feel it is appropriate for athletes (professional, college, and Olympic) to speak out on political or social issues, according to a new Axios/Ipsos “Hard Truths” poll. Though most acknowledge that athletes can have a positive impact when speaking out on issues around racial inequality, there […] Read more »