Immigrants are holding fast to their belief that America remains the land of opportunity, according to a new Public Agenda study. Majorities of immigrants report they become comfortable in the United States quickly, even as ties to their birth country have become stronger since we last surveyed immigrants in 2002.
Research Studies: Foreign Policy
A Place to Call Home: What Immigrants Say Now About Life in America
The Energy Learning Curve: Coming from different starting points, the public sees similar solutions
The first Energy Learning Curve ™ report, released in association with Planet Forward, finds the American people reaching common ground on at least 10 major energy proposals, particularly on alternative energy. But the public may not yet be prepared for the tradeoffs and challenges needed to make these proposals a reality.
Public Agenda Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index, Spring 2008: Energy, Economy New Focal Points for Anxiety Over U.S. Foreign Policy
The Spring 2008 edition of the Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index shows rising fears about the health of the U.S. economy are spilling over into the public’s thinking about foreign policy issues, and their concerns about the nation's dependence on others to satisfy its energy needs are particularly pronounced.
COMMENTS:
I have no confidence in U.S. (by Anonymous, on August 29, 2008)
I have no confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy. I view our activities in Iraq as simple American imperialism. I believe we started the war to position ourselves to control as much of the oil commerce in this area as possible. I also think the presumption of military intervention as a way to prevent war is absurd. I also believe we are arrogant to assume that others in this world want the American way of life for themselves and that it is our mission to convert them . As an American I now realize that there are limits to our power. I think we are a country that believes we should have whatever we want whenever we want it. I believe the last 8 years has demonstrated our limits, our arrogance and our failure as a contructive world power. The defense department is the first place I would look to reduce government spending and to redirect its role in foreign policy.
I have no confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy. I view our activities in Iraq as simple American imperialism. I believe we started the war to position ourselves to control as much of the oil commerce in this area as possible. I also think the presumption of military intervention as a way to prevent war is absurd. I also believe we are arrogant to assume that others in this world want the American way of life for themselves and that it is our mission to convert them . As an American I now realize that there are limits to our power. I think we are a country that believes we should have whatever we want whenever we want it. I believe the last 8 years has demonstrated our limits, our arrogance and our failure as a contructive world power. The defense department is the first place I would look to reduce government spending and to redirect its role in foreign policy.
Was trying to post a (by Anonymous, on August 26, 2008)
Was trying to post a comment about the Iraq occupation. I don't think war is a very accurate term right now. I think if the Iraqi government wants us to go and is reasonably confident that they can maintain stability, we should pack up and leave. Unless of course the agenda is to maintain a permanent base there as in Germany or S. Korea. However in terms of our responsibility to the Iraqis, I think we have probably killed enough of them to have effectively discharged our moral obligations.
Was trying to post a comment about the Iraq occupation. I don't think war is a very accurate term right now. I think if the Iraqi government wants us to go and is reasonably confident that they can maintain stability, we should pack up and leave. Unless of course the agenda is to maintain a permanent base there as in Germany or S. Korea. However in terms of our responsibility to the Iraqis, I think we have probably killed enough of them to have effectively discharged our moral obligations.
Public Agenda Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index, Fall 2007: Loss of Faith: Public's Belief in Effective Solutions Eroding
This edition of the index, examining two years of data, finds the public doubts U.S. foreign policy is working and is increasingly skeptical about whether anything can turn the situation around. The public shows a growing loss of confidence in many foreign policy strategies, including options that the public has always considered among the most promising, such as controlling immigration and improved intelligence gathering.
The Rules of Public Engagement:
This report, written in cooperation with the American Assembly, explores the formidable challenge of engaging the public in debate about U.S. foreign policy in the post-Cold War era. 1993.
Id do a bit of everything (never happen in DC though unfortunately). Drill on the coasts and in Alaska (a stopgap at best but realistically it would be temporary and eventually the land would return to normal after the oil is harvested), Mine Uranium and Coal (stopgap as well), use natural gas from us (another stopgap), build wind power / solar (Id make it all tax deductable big time), and build nuclear power plants (a stopgap as well but longer term than oil since Canada US and Australia have most of the uranium), and look into oil shale (us has huge reserve) as a last ditch item. Id make Nuclear Power tax free as well (or subsidized by government). Anything to improve overall balance of trade and keep our cashflow here in the U.S. I would Invest in electric cars (like the Tesla company) but Id lean towards make buying them tax free with a hefty tax credit to boot. I feel the answer with alternative is tax credits and tax freedom/incentives, not government splurging and taxing. If you go with the method i propose the market will decide which alternative energy company succeeds. I feel cap and trade is just a way for the congress to find another source of revenue without calling it a tax. A more pie in the sky approach would be to continue to Fund fusion research (National Ignition facility etc and the European one). The problem there is materials science to find materials that can contain the heat of the fusion reaction in the reaction chamber. Id work on that first before building the fusion reactor. On the crazy side, Id move toward for zero population growth (yeah that will be popular LOL) since fundamentally people are the environmental problem when you get down to it. If you really buy into global warming thats the ultimate solution. Nobody will touch that with a 10 foot pole though as it would be political suicide. But I feel methods like cap and trade are just smoke and mirrors for the true environmental issue - we have too many people on the earth.