Question One:
Do you approve of the new Homeland Security Department,
signed into law by President Bush?
Background: On November 25th, 2002, President
Bush signed into law legislation that created a new
Homeland Security Department. Called for in the
aftermath of the September 11th attacks, this new
department will merge 22 different government
agencies and over 170,000 government employees
into one unit. The stated purpose of the new
Homeland Security Department is to defend America
against future terrorist attacks.
a) Yes, I approve
b) No, I do not approve
c) I am not sure
Question Two:
Do you approve of the creation of a 'Total Information
Awareness' database by the
Department of Defense that will track a wide
variety of data regarding every American citizen?
Background: The 'Total Information Awareness'
database is the brainchild of the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research
and development core of the Department of Defense.
The database will gather data regarding credit
card purchases, telephone calls made, websites visited,
academic grades received, surveys taken, sweepstakes
entered, property purchased, financial records,
magazine subscriptions, medical procedures and
so forth. The data will reveal not only shopping habits
but an overall picture of personal lifestyle,
including everything from pets owned to religious preferences.
Every American will be subject to its scrutiny.
It will be run by Admiral John Poindexter, who was
criminally convicted in 1990 for lying to Congress,
destroying official documents and obstruction of
justice in the Iran/Contra scandal. He was sentenced
to serve six months in prison, but his conviction
was overturned by the first President Bush.
a) Yes, I approve
b) No, I do not approve
c) I am not sure
Question Three: Do you believe that citizens
should be allowed to sue in civil court the Eli Lilly
Pharmaceutical Corporation for the production
of products which cause autism in children?
Background: For more than 40 years, the
Eli Lilly Corporation developed and sold a mercury-based
preservative used in many vaccines against childhood
diseases. The preservative, called thimerosal,
has been linked to the development of autism
in children exposed to it. 45 lawsuits have already been
filed by parents against Eli Lilly. These lawsuits
seek to establish Eli Lilly's liability regarding the
development of autism in these children.
a) Yes, these parents should be allowed to sue
Eli Lilly in civil court
b) No, these parents should not be allowed to
sue Eli Lilly in civil court
c) I am not sure
Question Four:
Do you approve of the Freedom of Information
Act?
Background: The Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) was passed in 1966 to allow public access
to records and documents created by federal agencies.
Since its passage, all fifty states have passed
their own versions of the FOIA. The Supreme Court,
in a case entitled NLRB v. Robbins Tire Co.
in 1978, spoke of the importance of the Act:
"The basic purpose of FOIA is to ensure an informed
citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic
society, needed to check against corruption and to
hold the governors accountable to the governed."
a) Yes, I approve
b) No, I do not approve
c) I am not sure
Question Five:
Do you approve of an investigation into the attacks
of September 11, 2001?
Background: On September 11th, 2001, four
commercial airliners were hijacked by terrorists.
Two were flown into the Twin Towers of the World
Trade Center in New York City, causing
the Towers to collapse. A third was piloted into
the Pentagon in Washington DC, and a fourth
crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Close to
3,000 people perished in these attacks. In the nearly
500 days since, little has come to light regarding
how American intelligence agencies failed to
perceive the threat. None of the perpetrators
who planned the attacks have been apprehended,
including the mastermind, Osama bin Laden. The
manner in which these terrorists were funded
has likewise gone unexplored, as have many other
pressing questions. A thorough investigation
will serve to reveal the information behind these
questions and take a large step towards ensuring
that such an attack can never happen again.
a) Yes, I approve of a 9/11 investigation
b) No, I do not approve of a 9/11 investigation
c) I am not sure
Question Six:
Did you know that the 'Total Information Awareness'
database, under the stewardship of Admiral
Poindexter and the Department of Defense, is
an integral part of the new Homeland Security legislation,
and will begin mining for data soon?
a) Yes, I knew that
b) No, I did not know that
Question Seven:
Did you know that the Eli Lilly Pharmaceutical
Corporation was granted immunity from lawsuit and
liability regarding the autism allegations in
the new Homeland Security legislation, because they are
under contract to produce bioweapons vaccines
for the federal government?
a) Yes, I knew that
b) No, I did not know that
Question Eight:
Did you know that the Freedom of Information
Act has been severely curtailed by the new
Homeland Security legislation, because public
data on the actions of federal agencies is now
considered a "potential security weakness?"
a) Yes, I knew that
b) No, I did not know that
Question Nine:
Did you know that, thanks to new restrictions
on the Freedom of Information Act which will be
decided upon on a case by case basis by the same
department that manages the Total Information
Awareness database, an effective investigation
into what happened on September 11th, 2001 is
now a practical impossibility?
a) Yes, I knew that
b) No, I did not know that
Question Ten:
Do you approve of the new Homeland Security Department,
created by legislation signed into
law by President Bush?
a) Yes, I approve
b) No, I do not approve
c) I am not sure