Grand Rapids Pundit

You raise a very legitimate point; I was recently made aware of abuses of Census data that occurred just in the last few years as part of the CAPPS II program (which is alarming given how many people have wrongly ended up on the terrorist watch list):

http://www.pcworld.com/article/110614/feds_defend_datamining_plans.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-23-Watchlist_N.htm

The worst part is that the Census went around to social service agencies to get them to beat the bushes to turn out people to be counted – and they assured them specifically that the data wouldn’t be used by anyone other than the Census because that was one of their concerns (and then they turned around and handed it over to the intelligence agencies).

HA! I bet you were for the Patriot Act. It’s okay for the government to listen in on your phone calls and read your e-mail. Just don’t fill out that Census! Wouldn’t want them to know that your house was built in 1989 or whatever!

Do you have any idea what you are talking about? No, as a matter of fact, I do not support the “PATRIOT” Act. I’m for small government across the board. The Census is an unnecessary intrusion and it has been abused in the past. I’ll use your same uninformed methodology to insist that you support concentration camps for Japanese Americans.

I understand your point. census information is very public. So why couldn’t other parts of the government access it. I am sure as long as you have the common sense to lie on questions like “do you know how to make a bomb” or “Have you ever committed a federal crime” you won’t have any visits by anyone besides a census worker. like they would even ask those questions. If they are covering up for some underground super secret government plan by saying “this is to figure out how much money we get.” Wouldn’t they have questions about income and your car and stuff? I understand they would ask how much money you make and spend and how much stuff you have, you know, just to expose any fraud, stealing, or anything. It’s not a big deal. Just scribble normal answers that won’t get you in trouble and send it back. This is assuming you did something wrong. COnsidering you guys are worrying about it, i assume you might have. This is kindergarden stuff guys. Come on.

Legal Authority to Ask Intrusive Questions Not Present

This Constitution and the Laws made in Pursuance thereof… shall be the
supreme Law of the Land…all Judges shall be bound thereby…any Thing…to
the Contrary notwithstanding.
Article VI, Clause 2, of the Constitution of the United States of America
(1789).

The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, though having the form
and name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void. Unconstitutional
law bears no power to enforce, it purports to settle as if it never existed,
for unconstitutionality dates from the enactment of such a law and not such
time as branded in an open court of law. It confers no rights; it imposes no
duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal
contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed. No courts
are bound to uphold it and no persons are bound to obey it.
16 Am Jur 256.

The Fourth and Fifth Amendments were described in Boyd v. United States, 116
U.S. 616, 630, as protection against all governmental invasions ….of the
sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life.” We recently referred
[381 U.S. 479, 485] in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 656, to the Fourth
Amendment as creating a ….right to privacy, no less important than any
other right carefully and particularly reserved to the people.”
GRISWOLD v. CONNECTICUT, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)
Declaration To Make To Census Takers

“I hereby affirm that the provisions of Title 13 ….requiring” me to
disclose my race, personal financial data, birthdate, or any other personal,
private information to the Bureau of the Census, an agency of the United
States government; constitutes an unreasonable, unwarranted search of my
person, house, papers, and/or effects; and a governmental invasion of the
sanctity of my home and the privacies of life. As such, these provisions
violate the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, and are thus wholly
void and I am not bound to obey them.

I have completed the only those sections of the Census form pertaining to
the Constitutionally-mandated actual enumeration, as follows:

1. The actual number of people living at the address printed on the form,
excluding untaxed Native Americans;
2. Age of each person in accordance with US Const. Amendment XIV, Section 2.
3. Sex of each person, in accordance with US Const. Amendment XIV, Section 2

I have thus fulfilled my obligation to the attainment of the actual
enumeration of the populace of the United States.

Any fine or other sanction that is levied by any office or organization
stemming from the unconstitutional provisions of Title 13 in connection with
my response to this or any other Census-related questioning will be
challenged in a court of law.”

Print out a few of these and have them ready when the “goons” arrive.

http://billstclair.com/blog/images/public-servant-questionnaire.pdf

If the census asked the right questions like – Do you speak english , and are you in this country legally? Maybe I could take them a little more seriously. But they are more interested in asking how much I make a year ,or do I have any firearms.( next they will be asking how many times a week I have sex) None of anyone’s business.We are not on trial here!!!!!!!. However people living on my dime illegally , another story.

Census results are used to help fund each state appropriately, if you aren’t being counted how will your state receive the money it needs to support you and your family? Also how will anyone know how many people live in your city or state? The 10 questions are very basic, and do not get very personal. We are all sworn to very strict confidentiality clauses we can be fined up to $250,000 and up to 5 years in prison if we give out any information. Census Workers only come around to verify that your house is where previous workers have said they are, to hand out census forms, to verify that previous workers have done the job they have claimed to do and eventually to help fill out the forms if there is some question to it. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with anyone, including the IRS, FBI, CIA or any other government agency. If it happened in the past then whoever gave out the information should have been prosecuted in accordance to the law. The Census Bureau never:
Asks for your full social security number
Asks for money or a donation
Sends requests on behalf of a political party
Requests PIN codes, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts. For more information see the sites below.
http://www.census.gov/survey_participants/household_surveys/am_i_required_to_participate_in_this_household_survey.html
http://2010.census.gov

Thank you, dear Census worker, for regurgitating the same Census talking points that we’ve all heard 1000 times.

I simply ask the readers: do you trust the government?