OFF THE WIRE
"The U.S. Constitution empowers the Congress to carry out the census in "such manner as they shall by Law direct" (Article I, Section 2). The Founders of our fledgling nation had a bold and ambitious plan to empower the people over their new government. The plan was to count every person living in the newly created United States of America, and to use that count to determine representation in the Congress."
TL
The interpretation of the Constitution is just the consensus of a few people called "lawyers" who wear goofy Taliban-looking garb (probably to go al-fresco to prevent jock itch or in the case of the girls, yeast infections).
That Constitution has been - and continues to be - heralded as the "supreme law of the land." It's the magical document that "establishes" that we are a nation of LAWS not of people. But guess what? The Constitution is "organic." (That's what a judge told David Stilwell just before she convicted him for not rolling his window ALL THE WAY DOWN during a DUI checkpoint (of course he appealed and won - but throughout the trial, Dave faced jail time!!)
The Constitution is nothing more than a piece of paper that lawyers use to give THEM and those they serve, the power over we the sheeple. If the Constitution was "set in stone" then why can't the Supreme Court justices rarely - if ever- come to a consensus about case law?
Still wanna go back to the precious "principles" of our "sacred" Constitution? What are those "principles?" Nation of laws not of men? Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness? Nation of men not laws? Unalienable rights? PROVE IT!
As for the Census Bureau....
Good luck defying the Census Bureau. You "might" get away with it, but the government has lots more guns and drones (cops) to force us into submission. These days you won't even get a decent dousing of lube before getting the royal you-know-what...
So you all that take the moral high-ground to exercise your 4th - let me know how that works out for you. You LOST before you ever began to "fight." Even if you "win," the fact that you were forced to defend yourself from tyranny makes you a big fat loser - unless your fight is deliberate and to expose the immorality of our upside-down system. We shouldn't have to be 'fighting" for "rights." Allegedly, our ancestors gave their blood so we could live a life of "freedom." Just like Jesus gave his blood so we could be saved for all eternity (or so that's what many of us have been TOLD to believe.)
Both religion and government are dangerous stuperstitions. But at least with religion, the likelihood of a vengeful god takes place AFTER we die (unless, of course you get some nut-job that declares holy wars on living people). In the case of government, we are ALL susceptible to the horrors of brute force at our front door at any time!
From the U.S. Census Bureau:
...
It is constitutional to include questions in the decennial census beyond those concerning a simple count of the number of people. On numerous occasions, the courts have said the Constitution gives Congress the authority to collect statistics in the census. As early as 1870, the Supreme Court characterized as unquestionable the power of Congress to require both an enumeration and the collection of statistics in the census. The Legal Tender Cases, Tex.1870; 12 Wall., U.S., 457, 536, 20 L.Ed. 287. In 1901, a District Court said the Constitution's census clause (Art. 1, Sec. 2, Clause 3) is not limited to a headcount of the population and "does not prohibit the gathering of other statistics, if 'necessary and proper,' for the intelligent exercise of other powers enumerated in the constitution, and in such case there could be no objection to acquiring this information through the same machinery by which the population is enumerated." United States v. Moriarity, 106 F. 886, 891 (S.D.N.Y.1901).
The census does not violate the Fourth Amendment.Morales v. Daley, 116 F. Supp. 2d 801, 820 (S.D. Tex. 2000). In concluding that there was no basis for holding Census 2000 unconstitutional, the District Court inMorales ruled that the 2000 Census and the 2000 Census questions did not violate the Fourth Amendment or other constitutional provisions as alleged by plaintiffs. (The Morales court said responses to census questions are not a violation of a citizen's right to privacy or speech.) "…[I]t is clear that the degree to which these questions intrude upon an individual's privacy is limited, given the methods used to collect the census data and the statutory assurance that the answers and attribution to an individual will remain confidential. The degree to which the information is needed for the promotion of legitimate governmental interests has been found to be significant. A census of the type of Census 2000 has been taken every ten years since the first census in 1790. Such a census has been thought to be necessary for over two hundred years. There is no basis for holding that it is not necessary in the year 2000."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the District Court decision on October 10, 2001, 275 F.3d 45. The U.S. Supreme Court denied petition for writ of certiorari on February 19, 2002, 534 U.S. 1135. No published opinions were filed with these rulings.
These decisions are consistent with the Supreme Court's recent description of the census as the "linchpin of the federal statistical system … collecting data on the characteristics of individuals, households, and housing units throughout the country." Dept. of Commerce v. U.S. House of Representatives, 525 U.S. 316, 341 (1999).
Do I have to respond to the American Community Survey (ACS)?
Yes. Responding to the American Community Survey (ACS) is about helping national, tribal, state and local officials make informed decisions with timely and accurate data. Just as people are required to respond to jury duty, get a driver’s license in order to drive, pay their taxes and report their income, they also have the obligation to respond to decennial census surveys.
The ACS is conducted under the authority of Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 141 and 193, and response is required by law. 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 amend 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.
Coercion or theft?.... BOTH
We are not a country of laws.... we are a country of men and women called "LAWYERS."
Donnie, you know I love you but I must ask, are you still "proud" to be an American? No need to answer to my rhetorical question, and as always I respect everyone's quest for truthful knowledge!
TL