The 2010 Census, ACORN, and Your Constitutional Requirements

**AUTHORS NOTE** I had planned on writing this post in 2010, closer to the time of the actual census, but I feel there is a need to put this information out now. I will re-post this next year, so the information is fresh in everyone’s minds when you sit down to fill out your Big Brother Anti-Freedom and Invasion of Privacy Report. Please note that I am not a lawyer. This article is a matter of opinion and should be treated as such. You are personally responsible for your own actions. Consider yourself disclaimed!

“Then Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel." --1Chronicles 21:1, NIV

The Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) is in hot water again. I have posted about these thugs a couple times in the past. They have been accused of voter fraud, they have some big questions about how their finances are handled (possible embezzlement), and now the Obama administration is doing everything in its power to put them in bed with the US Census Bureau. If Big Government is Big Brother, ACORN is the little toady brother that acts as enforcer. Our recent pork-bucket stimulus bill even gave these Mafiosos over $4 billion to operate. What’s next, a new uniform for all ACORN employees that includes jackboots and Luger pistols? I don’t think we are too far from it. With them being given the power to collect census data, we are opening up a Pandora’s Box! That being said, let’s talk about the census.

Here is some information taken directly from the >US Census Bureau Home Page

What is the Census?

•The census is a count of everyone living in the United States every 10 years.
•The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution.
•The next census is in 2010.
•Your participation in the census is required by law.
•It takes less than 10 minutes to complete.
•Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census.
•Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and to distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year.

Let’s take a look at these points. The census does take place every 10 years, it is mandated by the Constitution, and your participation is required by law. Though it is true that it takes less than 10 minutes to complete, this statement is a bit misleading. A proper constitutionally directed census should take less than 10 seconds. More on this point later. It says that Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census, but who is it protecting your information from? We have heard numerous stories of government computers and flash drives being lost or stolen. Personal information is leaked all the time. But how can Federal law protect your information from a government who might use that information for its own selfish needs? It can’t! The census is used to rearrange congressional districts, and depending on who is in power at the time, this can have devastating consequences on the political landscape for the next ten years. I love how they throw in the $300 billion in pork earmarks, to make you somehow feel guilty about not cooperating.

Article I Section 2 of the US Constitution reads:
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. (This last sentence was obviously repealed by the 14th amendment.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.

The two key phrases here are 1: Enumeration and 2: in such a Manner as they shall by Law direct. Enumeration is the only thing mentioned here. The Constitution is mute on collecting data such as age, race, religion, marital status, sexual preference, household income, political preference, genealogy, fertility of women between the ages of 14 and 50 living in your home (I KID YOU NOT), number of toilets, televisions, and telephones in your home, etc. So, as per the Constitution directs, the only information you are required to give is the number of people living under your roof. That is it!

Someone long ago decided to take the second key phrase I mentioned and pervert it into an information gathering scheme. “In such a manner as they shall by law direct” only applies to how the count shall be taken. It does not mean that Congress can pass new laws on other information that can be gathered in a census.

The “controlling law” for the US Census is found in Title 13 of the US Code. The head count is the only part of the census that is called for by the Constitution. The code for the enumeration can be found in 13 USC 141. In this code, the census is directed to be taken in 1980 and every ten years thereafter, and that the count is to be taken on April 1. The returns must be completed within nine months for use in apportionment of representatives. The code also specifies a mid-decade census be taken in 1985 and every ten years thereafter. This count need not be a head count (sampling may be used) though the data cannot be used for apportionment. This last part, I view as completely unconstitutional!

There are fines for non-response and for false response as well, though the amount has risen from the 1790's $20. Today failure to respond can result in a $100 fine; providing false answers is a more severe offense, and carries a $500 fine. News reports from the 2000 census, however, indicate that punishment for failure to respond is not usually enforced. The controlling section of the Code is 13 USC 221.

So what does all this mean for you and me? It doesn’t matter if they send me the short form, the long form, or the new-fangled American Community Survey; the only answer I will fill out on the 2010 Census paperwork is the number of people in my household. I plan to take a red fat-head Sharpie marker and write in big uppercase letters the word, ONE! That’s it, that’s all; they won’t get anything more from me! I am pretty sure that this will be followed by the Census Bureau (ACORN) with a phone call or a visit in person to my home. I will gladly give the newly released ex-con ACORN worker a $100 Federal Reserve Note, take a receipt for the payment of that fine, and send them on their way.

Be sure to take extra care when dealing with these people. Don’t be surprised if they go to your neighbor’s homes and ask them questions about you. This is what they are getting paid to do. Collect information on you and your family. If they will stoop as low as registering Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse to vote, be assured that they will do anything and everything in their power to make a buck by collecting data on you.

The US Census Bureau already has a back-door program in place for those of us who will not comply. If they can’t get you, they will go after your kids. Now, I am sure that any freedom loving person who frequents my blog will probably not send their children to public schools, but if there are some of you out there, be sure to take a look at this. CENSUS IN SCHOOLS

In the end, if you refuse you will get letters in the mail threatening legal prosecution. You will get phone calls from the Census Bureau threatening prosecution. Get informed and know your rights. If you really feel threatened, contact a lawyer and let him deal with it. Call your Representatives and Senators and let them know how you feel. Read through Title 13 of the US Code. Write an editorial for your local newspaper. A simple web search will find thousands of blogs and message boards with people who have done this very thing. Educate yourself; stand up for your right to privacy, and DON’T BACK DOWN!

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Letter From House Republicans to Census Bureau Regarding ACORN

Glenn Beck Transcript on ACORN and the Census Bureau