http://www.census.gov/
"The American Community Survey (ACS) / Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) is a new nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. It is an ongoing survey which will allow the Census Bureau to provide the nation with demographic data on a yearly basis instead of every 10 years."
"Full implementation of the American Community Survey (ACS) / Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) will occur in January 2005. At that time, and each month thereafter, a sample of households in all 3,233 U.S. counties and all municipios in Puerto Rico will receive questionnaires. The Census Bureau expects to survey group quarters populations (i.e. college dormitories, nursing homes, prisons) beginning in 2006."
Do I have to respond to the American Community Survey / Puerto Rico Community Survey?
"Yes. The American Community Survey (ACS) / Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) is part of the decennial census. It is the long form of the census sent to a relatively small sample of addresses every month throughout the decade. As such, under? Title 13 of the United States Code, if you receive the ACS / PRCS? questionnaire, you are required by this federal law to respond and to provide accurate information to the best of your ability."
"The ACS/PRCS is replacing the census long form for the 2010 Census.? It is authorized by Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193. Section 221 provides for a penalty of up to $100 for failure to answer. Providing false answers is subject to a fine of up to $500 - Section 221."
Ridiculous!? This new census program is going to be a CONSTANT ANNUAL PROBLEM rather than a once-in-a-decade problem!!!? We should start a statewide anti-census campaign!
bleh.
If I get tapped to do one of their damn surveys, I will just plead the fifth. If you are required to give the information, and to swear under oath that it is correct, then you could wind up incriminating yourself.
How about a census burning party? It's only a $100 fine if they catch you.
We could pull a John Kerry and burn someone else's census. ;D
How many people actually fill out those forms?
I don't!
Then they hound the neighbors to find out what they can about me.
Let's light'm up.
BTW, I asked about getting flags of executive branch departments of the fed/gov. (Yes, there are such things.) But, I was told that the flag company is not allowed to sell them to the public.
Quote from: John on January 02, 2005, 09:46 PM NHFT
Let's light'm up.
BTW, I asked about getting flags of executive branch departments of the fed/gov. (Yes, there are such things.) But, I was told that the flag company is not allowed to sell them to the public.
My supplier sells them ;) ;D
JP
When I receive my census in the mail, I'll be printing this out, taping it to the envelope, and sticking it back in the nearest USPS drop box.
(http://www.ctgreatbay.com/files/CensusReply.gif)
WOW!
I like that better than burning them.
Is there a BATF flag we could torch....maybe on the day they lit up the Davidians?
Quote from: katdillon on January 03, 2005, 07:13 AM NHFT
Is there a BATF flag we could torch....maybe on the day they lit up the Davidians?
To my knowledge, no. But we can have their Seal printed on a poster board and torch THAT
JP
Quote from: LeRuineur6 on January 03, 2005, 01:30 AM NHFT
When I receive my census in the mail, I'll be printing this out, taping it to the envelope, and sticking it back in the nearest USPS drop box.
(http://www.ctgreatbay.com/files/CensusReply.gif)
Hey Mike...could we use that somewhere on the wiki so people could download and use it? :)
Quote from: russellkanning on January 03, 2005, 08:27 AM NHFT
Quote from: LeRuineur6 on January 03, 2005, 01:30 AM NHFT
When I receive my census in the mail, I'll be printing this out, taping it to the envelope, and sticking it back in the nearest USPS drop box.
(http://www.ctgreatbay.com/files/CensusReply.gif)
Hey Mike...could we use that somewhere on the wiki so people could download and use it? :)
Absolutely. ;D
OK, Russell made a wiki page:
http://www.soulawakenings.com/underground/tikiwiki/tiki-index.php?page=Monthly+US+Census
I LOVE Mike's sticker! :D
One time, when I was 18, I got a survey from the military, and it said "This paper is government property, and MUST be returned under federal law". So, I returned it. Shredded, of course, in the pre-paid return envelope. :D
JM
Im confused, dont they have to amend the constitution or state constitution to go below the 10 year census limitation?
You would think. >:(
Quote from: Grunt on January 03, 2005, 10:22 PM NHFT
Im confused, dont they have to amend the constitution or state constitution to go below the 10 year census limitation?
How long has it been since the feds paid any attention to the consitution? Hell, they think it's a "Fluid document" for pity's sake.
Quote from: LeRuineur6 on January 03, 2005, 01:30 AM NHFT
When I receive my census in the mail, I'll be printing this out, taping it to the envelope, and sticking it back in the nearest USPS drop box.
(http://www.ctgreatbay.com/files/CensusReply.gif)
This deserves a stamp. ;D
The Government's Appetite For Nosy Information
by Phyllis Schlafly Mar. 15, 2006
While the Patriot Act and NSA wiretapping have received enormous attention and criticism from the mainstream media, another federal agency has been quietly gathering far more personal information about Americans than those laws ever can. And this unreported project affects thousands more people.
Our inquisitive federal government has been demanding that selected U.S. residents answer 73 nosy questions. They are threatened with a fine of $5,000 for failure to respond.
When I first heard about this from a reader in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, I thought it might be a joke or an anomaly. But when another in Ishpeming in Michigan's Upper Peninsula received the same questionnaire, I realized something is going on nationwide.
These nosy questionnaires come under the friendly name "American Community Survey." But this is not a Gallup or a Harris poll; the interrogator is Big Brother Government with the power to compel and computerize your responses.
The Constitution authorizes the government to take an "enumeration" every tenth year in order to reapportion the seats in the U.S. House to accord with the "respective numbers" of each state's population. The Constitution thus authorizes a count of persons; it doesn't authorize the government to find out with whom you share your bed and board.
Beginning only in 1960, the ten-year census-taking significantly changed. The government began sending a long form with many questions to a limited number of persons, randomly selected, and a short form with only six questions to all other U.S. residents.
The government is now jumping the gun on the 2010 census, and without public announcement is already sending out an extremely long form, starting with a few thousand mailings each month to a handful of residents in widely scattered small towns that don't generate national media. Recipients can't find neighbors who received the same mailing, so it's difficult to avoid the impression that the project was planned to avoid publicity and citizen opposition.
The one filling out the new long form is labeled "Person 1." That person is required by law to list the name of every other person in the household, giving his or her birth date, sex, race, marital status, and relationship.
Other persons can be husband, daughter, grandson, in-law, etc. Others can also be "unmarried partner" (defined as a person "who shares a close personal relationship with Person 1") or "roommate (someone sharing the house/apartment but who is not romantically involved with Person 1").
Person 1 must answer 25 questions about his residence and the size of the property. What kind of a home, apartment or condo do you live in, when was it built, when did you move in, are you operating a business in your home, how many rooms and how many bedrooms do you have, what kind of bathroom and kitchen fixtures do you have, and what is the market price of your residence?
The survey asks how much you pay each month for electricity, gas, water, rent, real estate taxes, fire or flood insurance, plus six very specific questions about your first and second monthly mortgage payments. There are questions about your telephone and automobile, and about how many months of the year you and others occupy the residence.
The survey then gets really personal, demanding the answers to 42 questions about you and about every other person who resides in your household. Person 1 is used like a private investigator to extract the information from everybody else, and warned that if anyone doesn't want to answer your nosy questions, you must provide the name and telephone number of such person so Big Brother can follow up.
The information demanded for you and every other person includes very specific questions about what kind of school you and each other one attended and to what grade level, what is each person's "ancestry or ethnic origin" (no matter if your ancestors came here hundreds of years ago), what language you speak at home, how well you speak English, where you lived one year ago, what are specific physical, mental or emotional health conditions, and whether you have given birth during the past year.
More questions demand that you tell the government exactly where you are employed, what transportation you use to get to work, how many people ride in the vehicle with you, how many minutes it takes you to get to work, whether you have been laid off or absent from your job or business, how many weeks you worked during the last year, what kind of a job you have (for-profit company, not-for-profit company, government, self-employed), what kind of business it is, exactly what kind of work you did, what was your last year's wage or salary, and what was your other income from any other source.
The Census Bureau warns: "We may combine your answers with information that you gave to other agencies." (Does that mean IRS? Social Security? New Hires Directory? Child support enforcement? Criminal databases? Commercial databases?)
The questionnaire promises that it will take only 38 minutes to answer these questions. Of course, that low-ball estimate doesn't include the hours that it takes to collect the required information from so many different sources.
I wonder if they require a response if you're illiterate.
I wonder because I read an article in my sociology class the other day about adult illiteracy, and how a lot of people are illiterate and still manage to function in society.
Well .... they need this info to centrally plan our society ... give them a break.
Census Bureau gets personal
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/NEWS/603050311/1001/BUSINESS
JON WALKER
jwalker@argusleader.com
Article Published: 03/5/06, 2:55 am
The government already knows who makes how much money.
Now it's asking who has a barbershop in the basement, who's in law school, and who has trouble dressing, bathing or remembering where he left his car keys.
Some Americans recall such details from the long form of the U.S. census questionnaire that hit a minority of households in the nation's head count every 10 years.
ADVERTISMENT
Click Here!
But now the Census Bureau, backed by money Congress approved last year, is asking those questions annually to make the results more timely. The answers help the government hand out money for its programs and let communities see how they're growing in terms of wealth, poverty and lifestyle.
Glen Tschetter, 81, a retired automotive wholesale worker, thought the questionnaire was junk mail when it arrived at his Sioux Falls home. When he studied it, he liked it even less because it seemed too personal.
"They wanted to know if you had any stocks or bonds, how much you made last year, how much you got from Social Security," he said. "I don't think it's anybody's business."
He showed it to his pastor, the Rev. Chris Franklin of First Christian Church, who said, "I thought it was a scam."
Officials acknowledge the concerns. Pat Rodriguez, data technician for the Census Bureau in Denver, said people worry about the validity of the survey, particularly in an age of easy identity theft.
"Some of these questions don't even seem to be legitimate, but when you look at legislation, it makes sense because it applies to local community needs and funding," Rodriguez said.
The Census Bureau promises confidentiality for individuals, but details those individuals supply coalesce into massive data devoured by city planners, researchers and publishers of almanacs. The new survey should make the effort more useful, officials said.
"The census comes out every 10 years and the data get old quickly. People are always looking for more current information," said Nancy Craig, information specialist with the State Data Center at the Business Research Bureau at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
The Census Bureau will continue its national head count in years ending in zero, following the constitutional requirement to measure the population every 10 years.
In the past, most Americans received a short census form to complete, but a random group received a long form with extended questions. The long form now gives way to the community survey.
As with the old system, the new survey will reach a minority of the population. Instead of a 1 in 6 chance of receiving the long form every 10 years, a resident now has a 1 in 8 chance of receiving the American Community Survey every five years. The bureau will contact 250,000 households a month, 3 million a year, with addresses supplied by the postal service. In South Dakota, 184 households will receive the questionnaire this month. That number will grow as the government expands the program geographically, Rodriguez said.
Current events could create even more uses for the more up-to-date information gleaned by the new survey. The American Community Survey can be used, for instance, to examine the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the population, Department of Commerce economist Keith Hall testified at a federal hearing in September.
Julianne Fisher, communications director for U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, said Friday that Johnson's office had received no complaints from South Dakotans concerning the survey. The Census Bureau has a variety of data-collecting projects going from time to time, a number that tops 100.
"The questions sometimes do feel a little intrusive, but it's not being matched with anybody's name," Fisher said. "The information is a good way to gauge how communities are changing."
Rodriguez said people refusing to complete the community survey could face fines of $100 to $5,000. The Justice Department decides whom to penalize. "I don't know if it ever happens," she said. "We're not out to prosecute anyone."
Reach reporter Jon Walker at 331-2206 or 800-530-6397.
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.html
Uncle Sam wants your data - all year 'round
Sacramento Bee | January 11, 2005
By Dorothy Korber
In fast-growing regions like Sacramento, decade-old population statistics are about as relevant as Y2K survival kits. So, with the last U.S. census growing staler by the day, the federal government is embarking on a massive new survey that will collect demographic data year-round.
It's a historic shift for the U.S. Census Bureau, since the American Community Survey will replace the old "long form" questionnaire that went to one household in six in the 2000 census.
This month, 250,000 households across the nation will receive the first batch of surveys. Every month another quarter-million households will be polled. In a 10-year span, about one in four households in America will be surveyed, said Ken Bryson, a program analyst for the bureau.
Results for states and cities of 65,000 or more will be tallied annually, beginning in 2006. Information on smaller towns will be released beginning in 2008.
"Congress asked us to provide information that is more timely," Bryson said. "Sacramento is a prime example of why this is needed. It's amazing how much Sacramento has changed just since the 2000 census. And that change doesn't get measured if you're getting data once every 10 years."
Some things will not change. When the next decennial census comes around in 2010, the nation's people will still be counted the old way. But this time every household will receive the same "short form" questionnaire, which asks only name, age, sex, ethnicity and whether the residence is owned or rented.
This formal head count is required by law as the basis for political redistricting.
But the long form's more detailed questions - which delve into income, commute times, education level, birthplace, and even household plumbing - will now be asked in the American Community Survey.
"It's all the same stuff we asked in the long form," Bryson said. "And it's all important. Income data, for example, is used to allocate federal funds to school districts in high poverty areas. The question about plumbing is used to determine the number of older people who live in inadequate housing and may be candidates for assistance."
If you get the survey packet in the mail, he said, federal law requires you to respond. If you don't, expect another packet, reminder postcards, telephone follow up, and possibly even an enumerator at your door.
As with the decennial census, individuals' identities and information, by law, will remain confidential.
Not everyone will be covered by the community survey, Bryson said. Homeless people without a residential address, for example, won't be reached.
And this year residents of group quarters - such as prisons, nursing homes and college dormitories - will be excluded, but they will be added in 2006.
State and local demographers say they are thrilled by the prospect of fresh data from the ongoing survey. But they also expressed some qualms.
"We're really excited about getting new data every year," said state demographer Mary Heim. "In a place like California, which is changing all the time demographically, an annual survey is a great thing. We know there is growth, but we don't necessarily know the makeup of that growth. We'll definitely see the way trends are going."
Heim said she is concerned that federal funding for the community survey is to be allocated annually. "It's a battle the census bureau will have to fight every single year," she said. "We've got to make sure the survey stays robust."
The omission of group quarters this year, she said, was a result of short funding.
Another problem Heim sees is the discrepancy between the census bureau's estimate of California's population and the state's larger estimate.
"We think the bureau underestimates the California population by about 1.9 percent. We're trying to work with them on that," she said.
Demographer Gillian Biedler looks at regional population trends for the Sacramento Area Council of Governments. Like Heim, she said she is excited by the new national survey.
"It will be a huge help," Biedler said, "especially in this region that's growing so quickly. Around here, data from 2000 is ancient history. If I can use data from 2005, 2006, 2007, everyone will benefit from it. And it's always fun to get a new tool."
But Biedler also had a caveat.
"We know that there are groups that are chronically undercounted - the homeless population and the migrant population," she said. "This survey leaves out some people we need to be very concerned about. We have to be careful to take that into consideration."
Quote from: katdillon on March 15, 2006, 05:48 AM NHFT
Rodriguez said people refusing to complete the community survey could face fines of $100 to $5,000. The Justice Department decides whom to penalize. "I don't know if it ever happens," she said. "We're not out to prosecute anyone."
If they are not out to prosecute anyone, why the penalty?
I received a long form for the 2000 census. I was single then, so I filled in "1", left the rest blank, and sent it in.
Months later, a Census enumerator knocked on my door and said she needed some more information. I told her she already had all the information I was obligated to provide. "But sir, you're required by law..."
I held up my finger and said, "One. That's all you need to know." Then I shut the door as she was sputtering, completely bewildered that someone wouldn't be eager to give up personal details. Living by myself, I didn't have much to tell. It still wasn't any of their business.
Kevin
Good job!!
Quote from: KBCraig on March 15, 2006, 12:13 PM NHFT
I received a long form for the 2000 census. I was single then, so I filled in "1", left the rest blank, and sent it in.
Months later, a Census enumerator knocked on my door and said she needed some more information. I told her she already had all the information I was obligated to provide. "But sir, you're required by law..."
I held up my finger and said, "One. That's all you need to know." Then I shut the door as she was sputtering, completely bewildered that someone wouldn't be eager to give up personal details. Living by myself, I didn't have much to tell. It still wasn't any of their business.
Kevin
I had pretty much the same experience in that census, myself. They kept coming back, and I told them I was a single male living alone, end of story.
Maybe they thought you were too handsome a guy and lived in too big a place to be single ;D
You're using more than your fair share of living space. You must allow this family with four children to move in with you. >:D
As an Anarchist, I think we should do away with the census. As a Genealogist, I find it an invaluable tool, although, for Genealogical purposes it does not heve to be as invasive as it is.
The earliest censuses named the head of the household and then simply listed the number of people of either gender between certain ages, like Females between 16 and 26, females between 27 and 40, etc. Why they needed that much info for determining represenation, I don't know.
The census got more helpful(to Genealogists) when it began listing the name, age, birthplace and relationship of every person to the head of household. It reached the limit of its usefullness when it asks for the birthplace of the parents of each member of the household. Later it asks things like year of immigration and number of children the mother has had which can be usefull.
They don't release censuses for 70 years. They released the 1930 census in 2000. The big question that year was did the household have a radio.
Quote from: TN-FSP on March 16, 2006, 12:09 AM NHFT
Maybe they thought you were too handsome a guy and lived in too big a place to be single ;D
::)
Wow, first Lloyd and now Alan....you have a taste for mature men, I guess.
Quote from: katdillon on March 16, 2006, 09:57 AM NHFT
Wow, first Lloyd and now Alan....you have a taste for mature men, I guess.
Is it the maturity, or the lack of hair on the top of the head?
Quote from: Pat McCotter on March 16, 2006, 01:58 AM NHFT
You're using more than your fair share of living space. You must allow this family with four children to move in with you. >:D
And then pay them rent to make up for owning "their" house. ;D
Quote from: Michael Fisher on January 02, 2005, 07:09 PM NHFT
Do I have to respond to the American Community Survey / Puerto Rico Community Survey?
Not if it gets "lost" in the mail I don't. >:)
I know you can find it on the index page that Kat linked on the other page, but here's a direct link to the new form:
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/SQuest05.pdf
I read through it a bit. It's ridiculous.
Quote from: intergraph19 on March 16, 2006, 11:47 AM NHFT
Quote from: Michael Fisher on January 02, 2005, 07:09 PM NHFT
Do I have to respond to the American Community Survey / Puerto Rico Community Survey?
Not if it gets "lost" in the mail I don't. >:)
With the 10 year census they eventually send people out to collect the answers from people who didn't return the form.
Quote from: John on January 02, 2005, 09:18 PM NHFT
I don't!
Then they hound the neighbors to find out what they can about me.
" . . . they eventually send people out to collect the answers . . . "
They can ALL go to hell!
Well John is feeling fiesty this morning.
Quote from: John on April 02, 2006, 06:03 AM NHFT
" . . . they eventually send people out to collect the answers . . . "
as usual, this is something we can take advantage of. Make them send people out and spend their money chasing you so they have less for the DEA and HUD.
You know there is no money where government programs are concerned.
I wonder which one of us will get a note from the census takers first.
I finally figured out why I never remember filling out one of these forms .... in 1990 I was in college and they wouldn't know how to find me or I just threw it out. In 2000 I was sleeping on people's couches after my first wife kicked me out....I bet she filled it out.
Maybe when I get one here sometime we can fill it out with some really funny info.
Maybe if enough of us in NH refuse they will take one of our US Reps. They can take Bass. :) It would be funny to hear on the news that NH seems to have shrunk in population drastically or that we are being stubborn.
Quote from: Jon Maltz on March 16, 2006, 03:32 PM NHFT
Quote from: intergraph19 on March 16, 2006, 11:47 AM NHFT
Quote from: Michael Fisher on January 02, 2005, 07:09 PM NHFT
Do I have to respond to the American Community Survey / Puerto Rico Community Survey?
Not if it gets "lost" in the mail I don't. >:)
With the 10 year census they eventually send people out to collect the answers from people who didn't return the form.
So would you be opposed to the resurrection of Tarring and Feathering Gov.t Agents?
It doesn't do any permanent damage and it may help them and others realize what we are about.
Quote from: russellkanning on April 04, 2006, 12:51 PM NHFT
Maybe when I get one here sometime we can fill it out with some really funny info.
Maybe if enough of us in NH refuse they will take one of our US Reps. They can take Bass. :) It would be funny to hear on the news that NH seems to have shrunk in population drastically or that we are being stubborn.
Just say you have about a dozen people in your house, so we can have more representatives to effect positive change more quickly.
Our current reps in Washington seem to be a bad influence.
Quote from: russellkanning on April 04, 2006, 12:51 PM NHFT
I wonder which one of us will get a note from the census takers first.
The Department of Commerce has been trying hard to get me to fill out the American Community Survey.
First they sent the long form with a pamphlet. When they didn't get it back fast enough they sent another one. Then two or three reminder letters with pamphlets. None of this stuff had a name or my street address on it. It had some weird "roural route" blah blah address on it.
Then they started calling. They left three messages, all coming from different places. Caller ID reported: "census bureau" 240.420.6029, Arazona 520.798.4152, Indiana 812.218.3144 . They called 14 times without leaving a message. Some days they called three times. Most of the calls came from Indiana.
A week ago they sent a Field Representative to my house. It was an petite older lady(50-60), gray hair. I wasn't home. It was 5:30 PM when she knocked, and my babies' momma opened the door.
Field Rep said: "I know this must be a bad time". She set her bag down on some wicker furniture on our deck, and started looking in it.
My wife went out and shut the door. The Field Rep said she was with the census bureau. At that point my babies mamma said "OK, you must have missed the no trespassing signs, this is private property, and you are going to to have to leave".
Field Rep: "We are allowed to cross property lines." The lady was looking through her bag the whole time.
My babies' mamma said "uh, OK", and went inside, and closed the door.
Field Rep: "now wait a min...". Our chihuahua was outside barking at the ladies legs the whole time, and my babies mamma left him out there with her. She then went into her bag, left a letter and pamphlet and a note asking us to call her collect. It took her 3-5 mins to dirve away.
Then we got this letter, with name and street address:
(http://sethcohn.com/images/scan.GIF)
(http://sethcohn.com/images/scan1.GIF)
Very cool, you all standing up to them.
karma for the Dead Pres and First Lady
Quote from: dead president on May 13, 2006, 08:23 AM NHFT
My wife went out and shut the door. The Field Rep said she was with the census bureau. At that point my babies mamma said "OK, you must have missed the no trespassing signs, this is private property, and you are going to to have to leave".
Field Rep: "We are allowed to cross property lines." The lady was looking through her bag the whole time.
My babies' mamma said "uh, OK", and went inside, and closed the door.
Field Rep: "now wait a min...". Our chihuahua was outside barking at the ladies legs the whole time, and my babies mamma left him out there with her. She then went into her bag, left a letter and pamphlet and a note asking us to call her collect. It took her 3-5 mins to dirve away.
Good job. 8)
Use this picture I created (long ago) to return their letter. ;)
[attachment deleted by admin]
Quote from: Roger Grant on May 13, 2006, 07:36 PM NHFT
karma for the Dead Pres and First Lady
Yup.
And To Mike to; for reminding me to recycle. ;D
So what happens if you don't fill it out?
Quote from: katdillon on January 02, 2005, 07:43 PM NHFT
How about a census burning party? It's only a $100 fine if they catch you.
Kat, I trashed the last one I got, no problem. They don't come after you. This is a FEMA thing, ya know?
Quote from: Pat McCotter on March 16, 2006, 01:58 AM NHFT
You're using more than your fair share of living space. You must allow this family with four children to move in with you. >:D
You hit the nail right on the head, Pat. This is FEMA in action. They are getting ready for a crisis and want to know who has a big house so they can assign other people to live with you. They need to know all about your floorplan and the rest.
AS I SAID, DO AS I DID AND JUST RIP IT UP.
Quote from: Jon Maltz on March 16, 2006, 03:32 PM NHFT
With the 10 year census they eventually send people out to collect the answers from people who didn't return the form.
SO DON'T BE HOME!
Quote from: Scott Roth on May 14, 2006, 08:49 PM NHFT
Home is where you hang your hat. I don't own any hats. So there...
I'm not sure what that means but OK, just don't answer your door. How many times can they come back? They are not JW's.. LOL
:hello2: Alright Jane!
Got a call from the field rep yesterday, and she left a message.
Got another call from her today, but no message.
Upgraded my phone sevice to allow call blocking, and blocked the 5 census phone # :P
8)
Quote from: lawofattraction on May 16, 2006, 05:45 PM NHFT
Quote from: CNHT on May 14, 2006, 08:52 PM NHFTjust don't answer your door. How many times can they come back? They are not JW's.. LOL
I successfully avoided the 1990 census this way. But that bitch sure was persistent. She must have come to the door 15 times and also sent a few letters, too. She finally gave up.
I didn't face much persistance with the 2000 census. I had the short form, filled in "1", left the rest blank, and sent it in. (I was single at the time, not counting my tomcat.)
Many weeks later, a very polite lady rang my doorbell, explained that she was from the Census Bureau, and wanted to follow up on my response. She smilingly mentioned that I was obligated to answer by law, and seemed genuinely confused when I held up a single finger.
"One," I said. "That's the only thing you need to know. But you seem very nice, so I hope you have a wonderful day."
I shut the door while she spluttered quietly. (I think she was expecting something like that.)
I never heard from them again, though. I guess a single white man living alone in a 3/2 home in a mostly white suburban neighborhood just doesn't raise many red flags. If I'd been Hispanic in an inner city rental house, I expect the Census SWAT Team would have kicked the door in at 3am to count noses, to make sure we were properly represented in Congress.
Kevin
Maybe we could just fill out the form with like 30 people, no income, etc. .... all the things they are looking for .....oh and 20 homeless guys unofficially live in our dumpster out back. We could have 5 reps in NH not just 2.
I've been trying to work on a cease and desist letter to had to them if they show up again:
Quote
Dear [offender],
It has come to my attention that you have commited criminal trespass on the private property located at [LOCATION], and continued this practice in defiance after given verbal notification of the offense by an authorized person.
According to NH Law, RSA 635:2
[635:2 Criminal Trespass. ?
I. A person is guilty of criminal trespass if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place.
....
III. Criminal trespass is a misdemeanor if:
(a) The trespass takes place in an occupied structure as defined in RSA 635:1, III; or
(b) The person knowingly enters or remains:
(1) In any secured premises;
(2) In any place in defiance of an order to leave or not to enter which was personally communicated to him by the owner or other authorized person;]
You are not authorized to enter onto the private property at [LOCATION]. No trespassing signs are posted. Crossing the property line without permission is a violation of NH law. You are hereby warned and notified to CEASE AND DESIST your unauthorized entry onto the propety located at [LOCATION] . If you do not immediately cease and desist, I will have no choice but to pursue legal action against you.
Sincerely,
[YOU]
-or-
Quote
CEASE AND DESIST ORDER
(DATE)
Dear Sir or Madam:
This CEASE AND DESIST ORDER is to inform you that your and the Department of Commerce's harassing and intimidating actions has become unbearable. Such behavior is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form. This letter is to demand that your and the the Department of Commerce's continuing involvement in information gathering, harassment and intimidation must CEASE AND DESIST immediately. Should you and the the Department of Commerce continue to pursue these activities in violation of this CEASE AND DESIST ORDER, we will not hesitate to pursue further legal action against you and the the Department of Commerce's, including, but not limited to, criminal complaints.
[Insert specific harassment inicidents here. Be sure to include date and place of occurance]
Myself and my fellow citizens have a right to remain free from the Department of Commerce's intimidating, manipulative and high-pressure tactics, and we will take the responsibility upon ourselves to protect that right. Note that a copy of this letter and a record of its delivery will be stored. Note too that it is admissible as evidence in a court of law and will be used as such if need be in the future.
This CEASE AND DESIST ORDER demands that you immediately discontinue and do not at any point in the future under any circumstances do the following to me: speak to, contact, pursue, harass, attack, strike, bump into, brush up against, push, tap, grab, hold, threaten, telephone (via cellular or landline), instant message, page, fax, email, follow, stalk, shadow, disturb my peace, keep me under surveillance, gather information about and/or block my movements at home, work, social gatherings, religious functions and/or at any other activities.
NH Law, RSA 635:2
[635:2 Criminal Trespass. ?
I. A person is guilty of criminal trespass if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place.
....
III. Criminal trespass is a misdemeanor if:
(a) The trespass takes place in an occupied structure as defined in RSA 635:1, III; or
(b) The person knowingly enters or remains:
(1) In any secured premises;
(2) In any place in defiance of an order to leave or not to enter which was personally communicated to him by the owner or other authorized person;]
[Federal: Note that your behavior is a violation of US Federal Laws 18 USC Subsection 2265 Full Faith and Credit, 18 USC Subsection 2261A Interstate Stalking, 18 USC Subsection 875(c) Interstate Communications, 47 USC Subsection 223(a)(1)(c) Harassing Telephone Calls in Interstate Communications]
Should you willfully choose to continue your current course of action, I will not hesitate to file a complaint with the Police Department for your ongoing violations of the Criminal Laws noted previously.
This letter does not constitute exhaustive statement of my position nor is it a waiver of any of my rights and/or remedies in this and/or any other related matter.
I demand your immediate compliance, and furthermore that you confirm in writing that all violative activity will cease immediately.
Very truly yours,
(NAME)
Sent via [Priority Mail/Delivery Confirmation/Hand delivered]
cc:
- [Your local Police Deparment /local Police Precinct]
I know who the field rep is, so I could deliver it to her, but I figure I would see if she tries to visit again, and have it waiting for her.
I wonder what the true population of NH is. There might be just tons of us that don't tell the census guys how many people live here.
Wouldn't it be funny if they talk about the mystery of the shrinking population of NH with new homes and buildings going up all the time. :)
Quote from: russellkanning on May 18, 2006, 01:36 AM NHFT
I wonder what the true population of NH is. There might be just tons of us that don't tell the census guys how many people live here.
Wouldn't it be funny if they talk about the mystery of the shrinking population of NH with new homes and buildings going up all the time. :)
I'd say 1.6 million
They say it's 1.4 by now (estimate)... I am including students, people staying with family, etc...
My mother says she remembers when it was 800,000
Well, folks, our residence is being surveyed by the census bureaucrats - a survey we are required by law to respond to - with penalties imposed if we do not - the American Community Survey (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/).
I have received over the past couple months two mailings from the census folks to participate in the American Community Survey. I ignored these. I still have the mailings - they are identical except for the "letter" enclosed.
Now the visits have started. I came home to find their brochures stuck in our door and a note saying he will be back later in the week.
We have already decided we are not going to respond to the government about this survey but I thought I'd keep folks on the forum informed. If they get too ornery for me I will release the names and numbers of the offenders (Dada? ;D)
Quote from: Pat McCotter on November 04, 2006, 11:59 AM NHFT
Well, folks, our residence is being surveyed by the census bureaucrats - a survey we are required by law to respond to - with penalties imposed if we do not - the American Community Survey (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/).
Isn't the census supposed to be once every 10 years? Tell them to come back in 4 years. :)
This takes me back to 2000 when the census idiots showed up at my apartment in college. I had mailed in the form listing only the number of people living there (all the info they constitutionally need to apportion Congressional seats). They came by my apartment at least three times, and they sent a supervisor out once, too. Eventually they caught on that I wasn't going to play along; although the supervisor was a little tricky -- he asked me a seemingly friendly question that I almost answered ("So, what does your roommate do?").
They kept asking me whether I understood that the more info that the census can collect, the more federal money can come to my community.
It is pretty fun to play their little cat-and-mouse game; just never let them in -- make them stand on the porch.
:clapping: good for you Pat!
It looks like you're on step 3 (of 3):
Quote
The American Community Survey is conducted using three methods of data collection to contact households:
Mail: Self-enumeration through mail-out/mail-back:
Telephone: Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI); and
Personal Visits: Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI).
Self-enumeration through mail-out/mail-back methodology -- The self-enumeration procedure uses several mailing pieces:
a prenotice letter,
the American Community Survey questionnaire,
a reminder card,
and a replacement questionnaire if the original questionnaire is not returned in a timely manner.
Sample Addresses that do not respond by mail may be contacted using the follow-up procedures CATI, CAPI, or both.
Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI)-- The CATI operation is conducted approximately six weeks after the American Community Survey questionnaire is mailed. We will attempt to obtain telephone numbers and conduct telephone interviews for all households that have not responded by mail during the six-week period. Census Bureau telephone interviewing staff will conduct these interviews.
Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI)-- Following the CATI operation, a sample will be taken from the addresses which remain uninterviewed. These addresses are visited by Census Bureau field representatives, who will conduct personal interviews.
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/SBasics/DataColl.htm
Damn, I never get census forms.
el presidente resisted them also:
http://forum.soulawakenings.com/index.php?topic=58.msg66532#msg66532
Reading the link re el presidente and the census folks' assurance that your data will be kept "confidential" under U.S. law reminded me of the Census Bureau's admitted (http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/conmono2.pdf) link to the location and internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. However, they assure us that:
Quote
Adherence to these safeguards preclude a repeat of the 1941/42 behavior.
Of course they also noted that:
Quote
I would also like to state clearly that for many years the Census Bureau was
less than forthcoming in publicly acknowledging its role in the internment
process. Silence was not the worst offense, for there is ample evidence that
at various times the Census Bureau has described its role in such manner
as to obfuscate its role in internment.
Oh, yeah, they turned over the records for the draft in WWI:
Quote
Government requests for access to individual census records increased during
World War I. Since the 1910 census law did not prohibit disclosure, the Census Bureau
furnished many transcripts to the U.S. Department of Justice, local draft boards, and
individuals, especially in connection with cases where the individuals had been arrested
for draft evasion.
pat let me know how i can help. Send me whatever info you have, if you like, or post it here if you like.
Thanks Dave.
I wish I had a brochure to hand him when he shows up at the door but I wouldn't know what to put in it. As it is I will be in Maine this week so Gloria will just tell him that we don't do surveys.
I'll keep you posted.
You could just quote the relevant portion of the U.S. Constitution (Article I, section 2, Clause 3):
Quote
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.
Just ask the nice census person to write you a five page essay (with sources) explaining why he / she should be allowed to ask you a bunch of personal trivia questions in light of the above language from the Constitution.
The intent of the Founders in having a census was merely to apportion representatives among the several States. There is no constitutional reason to request additional information (during the days of the 3/5 compromise, I suppose that asking whether one was a slave or not would have been a relevant question for determining population for purposes of apportionment).
So, maybe you could just give the nice census taker a free copy of the Constitution with the above passage highlighted (don't forget to write nhfree.com somewhere inside the cover).
They've been sending these surveys to me also. I haven't recieved phone calls, me having a cell phone probably has something to do with that. ::) I have wondered when they are going to stop by for tea and gossip. But to my knowledge that hasn't happened yet.
Congrats Pat on your CD.
I haven't seen a survey, but one of the neighbors got one. I saw them returning it. >:(
Quote from: error on November 07, 2006, 10:08 AM NHFT
I haven't seen a survey, but one of the neighbors got one. I saw them returning it. >:(
Did you shout, "Traitor!" and point at them?
They will either feel ashamed or think that you're crazy; either of which is good for you.
I like the idea of a quickie flyer that just is a copy of spencer's quote from the constitution, and a copy of the tenth amendment.
at the end you could summarize in one sentence what these two passages, put together, mean.
I may try to write up such a flyer but in the meantime that's the concept, which I think is powerful.
Imagine more and more fed employees runnning into more and more people who are just quoting the constitution's restrictions on them and declining to be very cooperative when they stray beyond those restrictions.
Another thought....probably it is useful to ask them to wait for a bit while you close the door and stop to think a bit about how you'll react. I hope you'll give me a call on my cell or someone else who you can let know they are there.
You can also call Porc-411 and let (almost) everyone know at once. :) 413-0411
Confirmed: The U.S. Census Bureau Gave Up Names of Japanese Americans in WWII
Government documents show that the agency handed over names and addresses to the Secret Service
By JR Minkel
Science Image: Japanese-American prisoners
Image: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
REVELATIONS: Records show that in 1943 the Census Bureau revealed names and addresses of Japanese Americans in the Washington, D.C., area. Prior research had found that the Bureau provided the government with less specific information about Japanese Americans in California and other states to round them up (above) for imprisonment in internment camps.
Despite decades of denials, government records confirm that the U.S. Census Bureau provided the U.S. Secret Service with names and addresses of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
The Census Bureau surveys the population every decade with detailed questionnaires but is barred by law from revealing data that could be linked to specific individuals. The Second War Powers Act of 1942 temporarily repealed that protection to assist in the roundup of Japanese-Americans for imprisonment in internment camps in California and six other states during the war. The Bureau previously has acknowledged that it provided neighborhood information on Japanese-Americans for that purpose, but it has maintained that it never provided "microdata," meaning names and specific information about them, to other agencies.
A new study of U.S. Department of Commerce documents now shows that the Census Bureau complied with an August 4, 1943, request by Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau for the names and locations of all people of Japanese ancestry in the Washington, D.C., area, according to historian Margo Anderson of the University of Wisconsin?Milwaukee and statistician William Seltzer of Fordham University in New York City. The records, however, do not indicate that the Bureau was asked for or divulged such information for Japanese-Americans in other parts of the country.
Anderson and Seltzer discovered in 2000 that the Census Bureau released block-by-block data during WW II that alerted officials to neighborhoods in California, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Arkansas where Japanese-Americans were living. "We had suggestive but not very conclusive evidence that they had also provided microdata for surveillance," Anderson says.
The Census Bureau had no records of such action, so the researchers turned to the records of the chief clerk of the Commerce Department, which received and had the authority to authorize interagency requests for census data under the Second War Powers Act. Anderson and Seltzer discovered copies of a memo from the secretary of the treasury (of which the Secret Service is part) to the secretary of commerce (who oversees the Census Bureau) requesting the data, and memos documenting that the Bureau had provided it [see image below].
Science Image: memo
Image: COMMERCE DEPARTMENT FILES/COURTESY OF SELTZER AND ANDERSON
SMOKING GUN: This letter from acting Commerce Secretary Wayne Taylor to Treasury Secretary Henry Mogenthau, dated August 11, 1943, documents that the Census Bureau provided the Secret Service with a list of Japanese Americans in the Washington, D.C, area. The memo is initialed "JC," for Census Bureau Director J.C. Capt. The Census Bureau has previously denied disclosing specific information about individuals during 1942 to 1947, when legislators made it legal.
Click here for a larger image
The memos from the Bureau bear the initials "JC," which the researchers identified as those of then-director, J.C. Capt.
"What it suggests is that the statistical information was used at the microlevel for surveillance of civilian populations," Anderson says. She adds that she and Seltzer are reviewing Secret Service records to try to determine whether anyone on the list was actually under surveillance, which is still unclear.
"The [new] evidence is convincing," says Kenneth Prewitt, Census Bureau director from 1998 to 2000 and now a professor of public policy at Columbia University, who issued a public apology in 2000 for the Bureau's release of neighborhood data during the war. "At the time, available evidence (and Bureau lore) held that there had been no ? release of microdata," he says. "That can no longer be said."
The newly revealed documents show that census officials released the information just seven days after it was requested. Given the red tape for which bureaucracies are famous, "it leads us to believe this was a well-established path," Seltzer says, meaning such disclosure may have occurred repeatedly between March 1942, when legal protection of confidentiality was suspended, and the August 1943 request.
Anderson says that microdata would have been useful for what officials called the "mopping up" of potential Japanese-Americans who had eluded internment.
The researchers turned up references to five subsequent disclosure requests made by law enforcement or surveillance agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, none of which dealt with Japanese-Americans.
Lawmakers restored the confidentiality of census data in 1947.
Officially, Seltzer notes, the Secret Service made the 1943 request based on concerns of presidential safety stemming from an alleged March 1942 incident during which an American man of Japanese ancestry, while on a train from Los Angeles to the Manzanar internment camp in Owens Valley, Calif., told another passenger that they should have the "guts" to kill President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The incident occurred 17 months before the Secret Service request, during which time the man was hospitalized for schizophrenia and was therefore not an imminent threat, Seltzer says.
ADVERTISEMENT (article continues below)
The disclosure, while legal at the time, was ethically dubious and may have implications for the 2010 census, the researchers write in a paper presented today at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America held in New York City. The U.S. has separate agencies for collecting statistical information about what people and businesses do, and for so-called administrative functions?taxation, regulation and investigation of those activities.
"There has to be a firewall in some sense between those systems," Anderson says. If a company submits information ostensibly for documenting national economic growth but the data ends up in the antitrust division, "the next time that census comes they're not going to get that information," she says.
Census data is routinely used to enforce the National Voting Rights Act and other policies, but not in a form that could be used to identify a particular person's race, sex, age, address or other information, says former director Prewitt. The legal confidentiality of census information dates to 1910, and in 1954 it became part of Title 13 of the U.S. Code, which specifies the scope and frequency of censuses.
"The law is very different today" than it was in 1943, says Christa Jones, chief of the Census Bureau's Office of Analysis and Executive Support. "Anything that we release to any federal agency or any organization ? all of those data are reviewed," she says, to prevent disclosures of individual information.
The Census Bureau provided neighborhood data on Arab-Americans to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2002, but the information was already publicly available, Jones says. A provision in the controversial Patriot Act?passed after the 9/11 attacks and derided by critics as an erosion of privacy?gives agencies access to individualized survey data collected by colleges, including flight training programs.
The Census Bureau has improved its confidentiality practices considerably in the last six decades, former director Prewitt says. He notes that census data is an increasingly poor source of surveillance data compared with more detailed information available from credit card companies and even electronic tollbooths.
Nevertheless, he says, "I think the Census Bureau has to bend over backwards to maintain the confidence and the trust of the public." Public suspicion?well-founded or not?could undermine the collection accurate census data, which is used by sociologists, economists and public health researchers, he says.
"I'm sad to learn it," he says of the new discovery. "It would be sadder yet to continue to deny that it happened, if, as now seems clear, it did happen. You cannot learn from and correct past mistakes unless you know about them.
Even if we could trust the Census Bureau not to reveal the data at some future point in time, how do they keep the NSA and other spooks from just grabbing the data as it is transmited over data networks?
The last time the census people came to the place where I was at... I yelled through the door that they were trespassing on private property and I considered that I direct and immediate physical threat to my family and I... I further yelled that I was armed and prepared to defend my property against all trespassers and they were to leave immediately... I also said I was going to call the authorities and report possible heavily armed(they looked like "big women" but who knows what they might be hiding under those clothes...knives, guns, bombs, etc.) attackers trespassing on my property with the stated intentions of gaining access to my family in our home!
They left as quickly as they could lumber away with all that hardware stuffed under their clothes...
And they never returned...
Good Riddance!
Unintended Consequences by John Ross...
Henry Bowman would have loved "V"...
Hey Claire, It's way past time now!
Powerchuter, I LIKE that response!
Hello all,
I have been reading around here for a little while... I am not in New Hampshire yet, but am coming for PorcFest... Anyways back on topic...
I got one of these Surveys in the mail, and with my new found freedom thinking mind, I am choosing not to fill it out. I am going to write a letter in response, and was wondering if you all could look it over... it is short, but just making sure I am not doing anything stupid.
Quote
Director of US Census Bureau
PO Box 5240
Jeffersonville, IN 47199-5240
Dear Director,
I am declining to fill out 'The American Community Survey' that your organization has sent me. Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the US Constitution allows for the "Enumeration" every ten years. Even though this is not a census year, I will let you know that there are 4 people living at the above residence at this current date and time.
Thank you for your understanding of my right to privacy.
My wife and her mother are in the house during the day, and they are both Asian, and could be mistaken for Muslims, so I am a little worried if they start showing up, that it will send up a red flag.
I am also not planning on giving my name, which I think is still within the my rights as stated by the constitution.
Anyways, what do you all think?
Honestly I think it's a mistake to even acknowledge you received it....
Can you say "shredder", boys and girls...
Betcha can!
This is a UN/Fema project from the Feds instituted in the late 80's.
I have been tearing up census forms for years and will continue to do so.
They cannot make you fill it out.
Like 'chuter says, to the shredder...don't even acknowledge it.
Well I must say being an "airhead" sometimes has it's advantages. I always just thought it was junk mail, (which it is really), and threw them away. :)
Oh I forgot to add now I am more sophisticated and have a shredder too! :D
Welcome Cranium.. see you at Pfest.
If you want to make a point... send the letter.
If you just don't want to be hassled... shred.
You really won't get into any trouble for failing to respond to the ACS. In fact, its primary purpose is to determine how much federal government money your geographic area will be eligible for under various federal wealth seizure and redistribution programs. For that reason alone, I would not respond to it at all.
You will probably get two more mailings. Then you will get a visit from the local census agent. This is how it happened with us I told the agent we don't do surveys and closed the door on him. We haven't heard from them since.
The ACS replaces the census long form. A random sampling of residences is selected every month to receive the survey. This, according to the government, helps government officials get more timely demographic information.
More in the ACS Handbook for State and Local Officials (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/ACS04HSLO.pdf).
Quote from: error on May 20, 2007, 09:42 PM NHFT
The ACS replaces the census long form. A random sampling of residences is selected every month to receive the survey. This, according to the government, helps government officials get more timely demographic information.
More in the ACS Handbook for State and Local Officials (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/ACS04HSLO.pdf).
Yep. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.