Today I was selected ordered to participate in the American Community Survey (ACS). Never heard of it? Neither did I, until the edict arrived in the mail from the Community Organizer in Chief, via one of his many bootlicking lackeys, Robert M. Groves, director of the United States Department of Commerce.
I'll receive the survey in a few days, the edict tells me. The 28-page questoinaire [download a pdf here] is separate from the Census. My response to both (emphasis theirs) documents is “required by U.S. Law.”
That's an interesting statement, considering that I have been on this earth for nearly 43 years and this is the first time I've ever been selected ordered to complete even the Census.
The survey goes far beyond the 10 basic (but unnerving) questions the Census will posit, which will inquire about such information as who lives under my roof, their names, dates of birth, and race, questions I would be uncomfortable answering for a marketing company let alone our leviathan federal government -- the nation's top employer and most oppressive engine.
No, the getting to know you phase of the questionnaire, the edict tells me, that will “show not only the number of people who live here [in America], but how (again, emphasis theirs) we live as a Nation” goes much, much deeper. Some of the ice-breaker questions, lifted for convenience from Big Government's Bob Hamer, include everything from the intrusive to the downright inane (any emphasis from here on out is mine):
- What is your name, address, and date of birth?
- What is your race?
- Are you Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
- Where were you born?
- What is your ancestry or ethnic origin?
- How many cars do you have at your house?
- Do you have a flush toilet?
- Do you have a sink with a faucet?
- How much is your rent/mortgage?
- Do you have a second mortgage? How much is it?
- Are you covered by a health insurance plan? Which type?
- Do you have serious difficulty hearing? Seeing? Concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?
- Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing?
- How many times have you been married?
- When did you last get married?
- Where did you work last? What’s the address?
- What time do you leave home to go to work?
- What is your income?
- What is your retirement/pension?
- Do you have a VA disability rating?
- What’s the most important thing you do at work?
I'd like to know what the federal government intends to do with such information. You can imagine my skepticism about giving up such private information, when a clearly defeated pResident still plans to use his Congresscriminal henchweasels to shove health care deform down our throats through reconciliation, presumably, because “he hasn't explained it well enough” to us woeful simpletons.
You can also imagine that I'd want to know why the government needs to ask me how much money I make … when I'll already be answering that question for the IRS come April 15. They certainly don't need to know my flushing habits, unless it's their edicts that I'm flushing. They don't really need to know “the most important thing I do at work.” After all, I don't work for the federal government. That's information to be kept between my employer and I … because I don't even work for any of the industries the pResident has nationalized.
I think I'll pass on this order, thank you very much.
Naturally, that decision will not sit well with the federal government:
The American Community Survey is conducted under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193, and response is mandatory. According to Section 221, persons who do not respond shall be fined not more than $100. Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000.I don't care.
First I'll be sending the notification letter back marked, as you saw in the image above, “Return to Community Organizer in Chief.” Next, I'll send the ACS back, and finally the Census, marked the same way. I want to see just how far the federal government is willing to go with this mandate.
Before I'm fined, apparently I'll receive visitation from Census Bureau employees: The ghost of ACORN past, the ghost of ACORN present, and the ghost of ACORN future. (I'm still not convinced the Census Bureau has cut ties with ACORN, and they certainly haven't cut ties with SEIU).
I'm their huckleberry -- although I don't think they'll appreciate climbing my front steps to find me sitting on a bench, holding a loaded AK-47 across my knees, and my subsequent demand that they leave my proprety by their own means ... or mine.
I'm pushing back not because I'm not willing to follow the Framers intent for the Census -- I'm not looking to deliberately scuttle the attempt to apportion the number of seats in the House of Representatives. I'm standing up because this survey is a direct intrusion into my private life, and it's none of the federal government's goddamned business how long my drive is to work or whether I have working plumbing or whether or not I can dress myself.
You should follow the same path. Don't be intimidated by their false threats, by their corny marketing language about wanting to know “how we live as a nation.” It's all bullshit; they want to know who is a productive member of their socialist utopia … and who they can leave behind to rot as useless detritus, unworthy for inclusion in the People's Worker Collective.
Send a message: This pResident needs to learn that he works for you, not the other way around. Tell him he can keep his asinine “community” survey.
Oh, and one more thing: Tell him he can kiss your radical rightwing teabagging mobster racist evil-monger flyover country ass.
Posts
33 comments:
Gosh Mr. President that is a tall order. Tell you what....We have devised our own form, somewhat similar to yours and we'd like you to complete it in its entirity and send a copy to every voter in our great country. We will then consider looking at your form and deciding if it is what we want to do. You sir have been asked for an entire year and a half to give us this same information and you ignored it. Were you sort of telling us that is what we should do.
We are a grand nation of fine people and as Americans we like to comply with the laws especially when the laws are just. By the way - the way we learn is: "...BY EXAMPLE..."!
Snark! This frakkin' survey made my AYFKM? Award list back in May, 2009 for 'biggest invasion of privacy, evah!!!' I have been awaiting mine patiently and thinking about what I wanted to write on mine - thanks - I can stop thinking about this piece of shit now. THANK YOU!!!
Also, how do you think that reconciliation is gonna be working out for them soon? =-O ;)
Great post!!
Snarky,
This is intrusion to the enth degree. What a bunch of freaking control freaks. These commie bastards need to shove this survey up their asses. You, go! Send the damn thing back! Let them know who pays their salaries (via taxes). They answer to us, and not the other way around. Maybe, they can flush the survey down the crapper right after they flush the piece of crap health care bill down the toilet?
I'm on board with this. Hopefully tons of others feel the same way and they won't have the resources to do much about it.
Snarky, I'm 70 years old and have never been counted so I can only suppose I don't count! I will continue to not count and find one excuse after another to turn the census man away from my door this time around.
Art. I, Sec. 2., clause 3. How many reside in your house? That is all they have a right to know! This Census this year is not about counting or redistricting, it is about figuring out how much in entitlemants the Government needs to have ready!
And if you’re worried that you might be targeted to pay that $5,000 fine, consider that by the time the red tape gets unsnarled, you’ll probably be dead.
At least according to FamilySecurityMatters.org.
This is the most intrusive POS I've ever read. This bastard has alot of nerve, asking us all those questions, when he has had his ENTIRE life sealed up the day after he took office!
I'm not answering any of it either, only how many live here.
Wow, It would be cool if we all sent the envelope back like you did SB!
You are an inspiration - I thought I was brave dealing w/ the evil kabal!
Snarky, I have a suggestion. Answer yes to the "do you have problems with your memory?" question, and then to all the invasive questions answer "I can't remember". What are they going to do... you are answering the questionaire to the best of your ability!!!!
That suggestion is from me... duh. I FORGOT to fill in the Login name blank!!!! LOL!!!!!
I wonder if they would arrest me if I used the answer "None of your damn business"??? I would be answering the question!!!!
Rock on, man! Just claim you only speak some obscure language and answer the questions only in that language (just make shit up, you're dealing with government bureaucrats after all...)
Oh my. This survey is bad. Really bad. Sounds like something that evil rulers would want to know to categorize their subjects.
I see. The headcount demanded by the Constitution has grown quite a bit, hasn't it?
Ha ha, great post. Loved what you wrote on the envelope.
TESTIFY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Damn, that's a bit worrying Snarky, what intrusive questions. They really should just fuck off, what business is it of anyone to know whether one has a flushing toilet.
Are you covered by a health insurance plan???? WTF?
Wow, Snarky. Good for you.
I'm actually kind of hoping I get one of these little surveys, because I intend to do the same thing.
Clearly, this survey is Big Brother spying on citizens.
If everyone who receives this survey were to send it back, the government would be powerless to enforce the mandate of compelling citizens to fill it out.
Because of my husband's situation, I'm particularly concerned about this part:
Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing?
I see the survey as a foot in the door to force this:
<span>At both the rehab hospital and the nursing home, both of which were in-network facilities of Mr. AOW's health-insurance plan, I was repeatedly advised to obtain Medicare and Medicaid. This mandate, in spite of the fact that Mr. AOW was not eligible for Medicare at the age of fifty-nine and has always had health insurance for, lo, three decades!
When I pointed out to the hospital and the nursing home that Mr. AOW and I had too many assets to qualify for either Medicare or Medicaid, I was advised to liquidate all those assets that Mr. AOW and I had spent a lifetime accumulating, go bankrupt once those assets were consumed by medical care, and become beneficiaries of the Nanny State.</span>
[...]
<span>Once we established that Medicaid was not an option and that I was indeed determined to bring Mr. AOW home, I was threatened: "We'll have to report you to adult protective services."
So, how did I bring Mr. AOW home without getting arrested? I had in place the necessary paperwork: complete power of attorney and the advanced medical directive, both of which documents gave me conseiderable legal power. I also had on my side our family physician, who was willing to sign the release orders. This last is very important! Had I not placed Mr. AOW under the care of the family physician, the nursing-home physician could have refused to release Mr. AOW, thus forcing us into bankruptcy.
Also of help was a bit of name dropping, specifically, the name of my husband's personal attorney, famous as "the attorney of attorneys." Were he called in, he would own the nursing home by the time he was finished! At that point, the nursing home, recognizing the kind of legal proceedings they could be up against, agreed to starting the necessary paperwork for Mr. AOW's release from the nursing home. </span>
The above anecdote contains no exaggeration, I assure you.
Clearly, this survey is Big Brother spying on citizens.
If everyone who receives this survey were to send it back, the government would be powerless to enforce the mandate of compelling citizens to fill it out.
Because of my husband's situation, I'm particularly concerned about this part:
Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing?
I see the survey as a foot in the door to force this:
<span>At both the rehab hospital and the nursing home, both of which were in-network facilities of Mr. AOW's health-insurance plan, I was repeatedly advised to obtain Medicare and Medicaid. This mandate, in spite of the fact that Mr. AOW was not eligible for Medicare at the age of fifty-nine and has always had health insurance for, lo, three decades!
When I pointed out to the hospital and the nursing home that Mr. AOW and I had too many assets to qualify for either Medicare or Medicaid, I was advised to liquidate all those assets that Mr. AOW and I had spent a lifetime accumulating, go bankrupt once those assets were consumed by medical care, and become beneficiaries of the Nanny State.</span>
[...]
<span>Once we established that Medicaid was not an option and that I was indeed determined to bring Mr. AOW home, I was threatened: "We'll have to report you to adult protective services."
So, how did I bring Mr. AOW home without getting arrested? I had in place the necessary paperwork: complete power of attorney and the advanced medical directive, both of which documents gave me conseiderable legal power. I also had on my side our family physician, who was willing to sign the release orders. This last is very important! Had I not placed Mr. AOW under the care of the family physician, the nursing-home physician could have refused to release Mr. AOW, thus forcing us into bankruptcy.
Also of help was a bit of name dropping, specifically, the name of my husband's personal attorney, famous as "the attorney of attorneys." Were he called in, he would own the nursing home by the time he was finished! At that point, the nursing home, recognizing the kind of legal proceedings they could be up against, agreed to starting the necessary paperwork for Mr. AOW's release from the nursing home. </span>
The above anecdote contains no exaggeration, I assure you.
Clearly, this survey is Big Brother spying on citizens.
If everyone who receives this survey were to send it back, the government would be powerless to enforce the mandate of compelling citizens to fill it out.
Because of my husband's situation, I'm particularly concerned about this part:
Do you have difficulty dressing or bathing?
I see the survey as a foot in the door to force this:
<span>At both the rehab hospital and the nursing home, both of which were in-network facilities of Mr. AOW's health-insurance plan, I was repeatedly advised to obtain Medicare and Medicaid. This mandate, in spite of the fact that Mr. AOW was not eligible for Medicare at the age of fifty-nine and has always had health insurance for, lo, three decades!
When I pointed out to the hospital and the nursing home that Mr. AOW and I had too many assets to qualify for either Medicare or Medicaid, I was advised to liquidate all those assets that Mr. AOW and I had spent a lifetime accumulating, go bankrupt once those assets were consumed by medical care, and become beneficiaries of the Nanny State.</span>
[...]
<span>Once we established that Medicaid was not an option and that I was indeed determined to bring Mr. AOW home, I was threatened: "We'll have to report you to adult protective services."
So, how did I bring Mr. AOW home without getting arrested? I had in place the necessary paperwork: complete power of attorney and the advanced medical directive, both of which documents gave me conseiderable legal power. I also had on my side our family physician, who was willing to sign the release orders. This last is very important! Had I not placed Mr. AOW under the care of the family physician, the nursing-home physician could have refused to release Mr. AOW, thus forcing us into bankruptcy.
Also of help was a bit of name dropping, specifically, the name of my husband's personal attorney, famous as "the attorney of attorneys." Were he called in, he would own the nursing home by the time he was finished! At that point, the nursing home, recognizing the kind of legal proceedings they could be up against, agreed to starting the necessary paperwork for Mr. AOW's release from the nursing home. </span>
The above anecdote contains no exaggeration, I assure you.
It's 8:15am pst and I'm always in a stupor. Yah are plugged at the outhouse in an eccentic sorta way, but me is me, I bounce around prudy good.
Might check out my prior posts comments, tried to clarify a bit.
Just don't count me in with this censusless administration.
I hope everyone will return this form and simply refuse to answer it. As AOW, said if everyone does so, what can they do? Also loved silverfiddle's suggestion that we make stuff up and use an obscure language.
Thanks for the warning, for stepping out for all of us, and refusing to be a mind-numbed robot.
I am with ya' Snarky! Not sending it back, just placing it in the nearest rubbish receptical.
Kiss it right here Babas. :-P
The last time, I answered the basic questions---age, address, number of residents and maybe one or two others. I X-out the remaining questions, i.e, checked everything. For those that required an answer, I entered zeros (with the slash).
No one called or visited me. I'll do the same this time.
Yeah, fuck that very shit much. I'll not be participating in their statist jag-off session.
I was one of the lucky ones to be singled out by the Census Bureau in the past for continual monitoring. They pick a certain number of people that they follow for a year. They show up on your doorstep and, if you're not home, leave innumerable messages on your answering machine, wanting you to verify the information they already have on hand. They're like pit bulls when it comes to this stuff. Of course, the information they wanted wasn't as intrusive as what you've been mailed. The only information they're entitled to concerns the number of people living at a particular residence, end of story.
Taking a stand against personal invation of privacy by the government starts with stopping these idiotic questionaires.
<span>Holy Cow AOW. Good thing you and Mr. AOW are smart cookies with good professionals standing by you. What do people who aren't with established doctors and legal professionals do... they are ruined by government scam!!!!! Thank you for sharing this. People need to be aware of how subtle these institutions are in their games.
</span>
Just imagine what would have happened had I not put our family doc in charge once Mr. AOW was admitted to the nursing home! The nursing home doc would never have released Mr. AOW, I assure you. After all, keeping Mr. AOW there lined his pockets -- his jihad-donating pockets. No kidding. I checked out the nursing home doctor online!
Always On Watch
<p><span>I plan to include the same kind of information contained in Obama's short form birth certificate and college transcripts.</span>
</p><p><span></span>
</p><p><span>cb</span>
</p><p><span>USMC (1975-1981)</span>
</p><p><span>LAPD (1980-2000)</span></p>
love it.
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