The Polls About Torture Are Dishonest

[HomerRamone]

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/27600-focus-top-10-torturer-list-actually-includes-hundreds-or-more

According to recent polling, something like half of all Americans who were asked questions weighted to support torture answered that the torture was “justified.” The good news here is that something like half of all Americans, responding to push-poll type questions, still aren’t willing to say the government is justified in torturing in their name.

The more serious question is why “respected” polling organizations use biased questions and why “respected” news organizations report the results uncritically. ABC News/Washington Post asks about “treatment of suspected terrorists” (no hint that innocents were tortured). Pew frames the question with “the September 11th terrorist attacks” (no hint the torture went on for years after). CBS News uses a false choice, “sometimes justified” versus “never justified,” as well as calling the victims “suspected terrorists.” HuffPost also uses “suspected terrorists” and adds “details about future terrorist attacks” to load the question further (no hint that no such person with such details has yet been identified).

In other words, we have dishonest polling organizations asking dishonest questions that dishonest media report as if they were not dishonest. And still something like half of the manipulated poll-takers are unwilling to endorse torture. That is a source of hope. Especially if some pollster would ask people if they think torture is legal anywhere?...

The Obama administration has a moral and legal duty to bring American war criminals of three administrations to justice. Not to do so is to continue to use American exceptionalism as a justification for the worst crimes against humanity. The national precedent is to honor those most responsible for government crimes, but what honor is there in that?

[JEB]

1. Prosecute now! nt

[99Forever]

2. Propaganda is always used authoritarian types.

Police states require that they hide the truth from us.

Were the people given the real whole story, we'd be building guillotines and putting them to good use.

[Faryn Balyncd]

3. The so-called media is PATHETIC

[woo me with science]

4. K&R We live in a propaganda state now,

down to discussion boards on the internet.

Excellent OP.

[jtuck004]

5. "The more serious question is" why people respect the pollsters slanted and biased effort. n/t

[bbgrunt]

6. so called opinion polls are just another form of torture....used

to obtain a preplanned objective.

[PumpkinAle]

7. Unfortunately, Hollywood has shown torture works

and as we know most people have no idea about what is happening in the real world.

It was heartening to read that there are so many still against torture.

A kind word, a gentle hand does so much more to convince an enemy that you want the best outcome for all.

[elleng]

8. Of course they are,

and as long as repug propaganda keeps the large stage it has, we the people, and the U.S., will be ruined.