Michelle Bachmann Gets A Little Crazy Over Census
There are times to be concerned about the ultra-progressive agenda of Obama and the Donkeys, and times to take a chill pill. I do believe that, in this case, Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) has gone a bit overboard. Not quite in Dennis Kucinich’s league, and she certainly hasn’t compared our troops to Nazi’s, Pol Pot’s troops, or Saddam Hussein’s real torture squads, but, a bit wacky
Outspoken Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she’s so worried that information from next year’s national census will be abused that she will not fill out anything more than the number of people in her household.
In an interview Wednesday with The Washington Times’ “America’s Morning News,” the Minnesota Republican said the questions have become “very intricate, very personal” and that she feared ACORN, the community organizing group that came under fire for its voter registration efforts last year, would be part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s door-to-door information collection efforts.
“I know for my family the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home,” she said. “We won’t be answering any information beyond that, because the Constitution doesn’t require any information beyond that.”
Shelly Owe, a spokeswoman for the bureau, said Mrs. Bachmann is “misreading” the law.
She sent a portion of the U.S. legal code that says anyone older than 18 who refuses to answer “any of the questions” on the census can be fined up to $5,000.
It is well and good to worry about the influence and inclusion of ACORN in the census, but, the vast majority of the questions have been around long before Obama was even born. And the law does state that all questions must be answered, and answered truthfully. There is no provision in the Constitution to not fill it out. It’s all perfectly legal.
If anyone involved with the census violates a person’s privacy, fines can be levied up to $5,000 per occurrence, as well as jail time up to 5 years. One interesting aspect is that, if ACORN is involved with the census, then they will be considered government employees. Perhaps someone could file some FOIA requests to find out how ACORN operates.
As far as the questions go, there are a few new ones as of 2010. They include asking about health insurance, marital status, and VA service disability rating. These were all made part of the census prior to Obama becoming president.
Speaking of Obama being born, I wonder how he will answer the questions on place of birth and citizenship? OK, OK, let’s not go there, just a bit of silliness.
Anyhow, we need to take our own folks to task when they get a wee bit out of control.
Crossed at Pirate’s Cove
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Posted by William Teach on June 18, 2009 9:26 am
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACORN, Constitution, News, Republicans
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5 Responses to “Michelle Bachmann Gets A Little Crazy Over Census”
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Syndicate Me
She is not out of control and if you think the Census info is confidential then you’re crazy as hell.
We have a gangster government and we’re not supposed to be suspicious of it asking all sorts of illegitimate questions? The Census is to count how many people are where. that’s all.
She’s absolutely correct to refuse to answer anything else.
So you can tell the ACORN census taker all you want to, who is the crazy one?
Michelle Bachman is not wrong. The Constitution only require a count. Nowhere does it state we have to answer race questions, income, etc.
You cannot amend the Constitution for one cause,
then try to use it again to further another. JSG
The Census is taken every ten years for The U.S. Constitution mandated a census for the purpose of apportioning members to the House of Representatives. …
American citizens are required to give a head count of people in the home. The Constitition does not require anything beyond that. I will answer on the number of people over 18 and the rest with get an N/A after them. That way I have responded to each question. If they want more, they will have to stick needles in my eyes, and even then, I will not answer them. It is none of their business what I do in my home, what I drive, if my toilet flushes etc, etc. I called the Census people due to an issue that took place. They denied Acorn was involed but after a lenghty conversation, the man on the other end stated I gave him a lot to think about.
We have an out of control corrupt government. A usurper taking up space in the oval office -funny how they only count legal people .. the cenus man told me that they are NOT interested in the illegals at all.
Federal Law
Federal Law Protects Your Information
The Census Bureau is bound by Title 13 of the United States Code. These laws not only provide authority for the work we do, but also provide strong protection for the information we collect from individuals and businesses.
In addition, other federal laws, including the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act and the Privacy Act, reinforce these protections.
Title 13 Protections
Private Information is Never Published
It is against the law to disclose or publish any private information that identifies an individual or business:
No names
No addresses
No Social Security Numbers or Employer Identification Numbers
No telephone numbers
We Collect Information to Produce Statistics
We use your information to produce statistics. Your personal information cannot be used against you by any government agency or court.
Sworn for Life to Protect Your Confidentiality Every person with access to your information is sworn for life to protect your confidentiality.
Violating the Law is a Serious Crime
If anyone violates this law, it is a federal crime; they will face severe penalties, including a federal prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Sworn for Life to Protect Confidentiality
We take Title 13 protections seriously. People sworn to uphold Title 13 are legally required to maintain the confidentiality of your data. Every person with access to your data is sworn for life to protect your information and understands that the penalties for violating this law are applicable for a lifetime.
Our government has trampled virtually everything. I do not trust them or believe that. The information that they are seeking in my opinion is NOT CONFIDENTIAL!
If it smells funny, chances are it is a rotten batch of ACORNS!
If the information is used for no purpose then why are they trying to collect it? Just to make more work for somebody to have to enter it all into some database somewhere?
Do not forget, the US Government used census info to round up Japanese Americans during WW2.