One word seems to define the American public’s mood more than 13 months until Election Day 2016 – anger. According to the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 62 percent of respondents believe the country is headed in the wrong direction – the 59th-straight NBC/WSJ poll over the past six […] Read more »
Guess who used to be okay with the death penalty
A major impediment to political understanding is the attitude that whatever is happening now has always been so. One of our most important tasks as political scientists is not just to describe the world as it is, but to identify and understand change. CONT. Andrew Gelman (Columbia), The Monkey Cage Read more »
Sexting and Internet safety climb top 10 list of health concerns for children across the U.S.
With more kids online and using cell phones at increasingly younger ages, two issues have quickly climbed higher on the public’s list of major health concerns for children across the U.S: sexting and Internet safety. Compared with 2014, Internet safety rose from the eighth to the fourth biggest problem, ahead […] Read more »
More Than Four in 10 Americans Say They Have Tried Marijuana
As Oregon becomes the fourth state to make recreational marijuana use legal, 44% of Americans say they have tried marijuana. This is the highest percentage Gallup has found since it began asking the question in 1969. Back then, a mere 4% admitted to having tried it. CONT. Justin McCarthy, Gallup Read more »
Criminal Justice Reform: The Sleeper Issue of 2016?
As the 2016 campaign begins to take shape, prisons and criminal justice reform are emerging as a surprise issue. Last week President Barack Obama visited a federal prison in Oklahoma to discuss reform and Republican presidential hopefuls Rand Paul and Chris Christie have been touting the need for change. How […] Read more »
47% Say Legal Marijuana Will Make Roads Less Safe
As some U.S. states have legalized marijuana for recreational and medicinal use, 30% of Americans say legalization will make driving in those states a lot less safe. Another 17% expect it to make driving a little less safe. Half of Americans, however, say it will not make much of a […] Read more »