Unemployment Office

091228_ed

Diciembre 31, 2009 · Filed Under GENERAL

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From Guantanamo to Illinois

stateville_illinois_prisonFifty-one percent (51%) of Illinois voters oppose relocating some suspected terrorists from the Guantanamo prison camp in Cuba to a prison in their state.

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that 39% of voters in the state favor housing the prisoners at the Thomson Correctional Center, a near-empty maximum security facility 150 miles west of Chicago. Ten percent (10%) are not sure.

In August, there were similar findings in Michigan. Half of that state’s voters (50%) were opposed to a proposal to house inmates from Guantanamo at a soon-to-be-closed state prison 145 miles north of Detroit. Thirty-nine percent (39%) favored the plan.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of voters nationally opposed housing Guantanamo prisoners in Michigan. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, a Democrat, supports selling the prison to the federal government for use as part of the president’s plan to close the prison camp for terrorists in Cuba. A joint state legislative committee is holding a public hearing on the proposal on Dec. 22, and Quinn said this week he expects a decision “very soon.”

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of female voters think housing Guantanamo prisoners at the Thomson facility is a bad idea, but a plurality (49%) of men disagrees.

Seventy percent (70%) of Republicans and 57% of voters not affiliated with either major party are against moving the prisoners to their state. Forty-nine percent (49%) of Democrats support the proposal, while 37% are against it.

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Diciembre 30, 2009 · Filed Under GENERAL

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Urgent Action Against Global Warning… or No?

greenhouse_effectAmericans remain evenly divided over how urgent it is to deal with global warming.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 43% say we must take immediate action to stop it. But another 43% say we should wait a few years to see if global warming is real before making major changes. Fourteen percent (14%) aren’t sure which course to follow.

These findings are virtually unchanged from late January despite calls from President Obama, the secretary general of the United Nations and other world leaders for immediate action. Many of those leaders are now meeting in Copenhagen at a UN summit with the intention of concluding an international treaty aimed at limiting the human activity they blame for causing global warming.

Just 30% of adults say the world is headed toward an irreversible catastrophe if the members of the United Nations fail to deal with global warming. Nearly half (48%) of Americans don’t believe the fate of the world hangs on UN action. Twenty-two percent (22%) are undecided.

Over the course of this year, belief among voters that human activity is the primary cause of global warming has declined significantly. Thirty-seven percent (37%) now blame human activity for global warming, while 47% say it’s due to long-term planetary trends. But 50% think the president believes human activity is the culprit.

A plurality (48%) of women see a need for immediate action to stop global warming, while 51% of men think we should wait a few years to see if the threat is real. Investors are more inclined to wait than non-investors.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of Democrats and a plurality (45%) of adults not affiliated with either major party think anti-global warming action is needed now. Seventy percent (70%) of Republicans disagree and favor waiting to see how real the problem is.

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Diciembre 29, 2009 · Filed Under INTERNATIONAL

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Situation in Afghanistan… to Get Better?

taliban20fightersThe latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 34% of likely voters believe the situation in Afghanistan will get better in the next six months, representing a 21-point jump from late October. The latest result is also up five points from the year’s previous high of 29% in July.

Still, slightly more voters (39%) expect the situation to get worse in the near future, but that’s down from 57% in October and ties the previous low, also measured in July.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) say the president is doing a good or an excellent job on Afghanistan, while 36% give him poor marks. Those figures reflect a slight improvement from before the speech.

A Rasmussen video report shows that 51% now see a U.S. victory in Afghanistan as possible, although voters give mixed reviews to the president’s overall plan. Americans are evenly divided as to whether it’s more important to win the war or end it as soon as possible. Most believe the president places a higher priority on ending it.

Voter confidence in America’s conduct in the War on Terror overall also has improved. After reaching its lowest level in nearly three years last month, the percentage of voters who say the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror rose eight points to 42%. While that result is similar to findings in August and September, it is down 13 points from the week Obama took office in January.

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Diciembre 28, 2009 · Filed Under INTERNATIONAL

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On Holydays and US Crisis

091218_ed

Diciembre 24, 2009 · Filed Under INTERNATIONAL

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