Census: You filling it out? And did you get the long form and the short form?

A friend just called with "your census should be in your mail box today...have fun!" She was being very sarcastic, of course. Besides the short form census she teased me about today, which she'd just received herself, this same friend also got a lengthy census questionnaire some weeks back of something like 300 questions which she will not be responding to although it says you can go to jail for abstaining.
That questionnaire had questions like "Do you own your home?" "Do you have a line of credit on your home?" My friend's had bad identity theft so there is no way she's giving all this information about lines of credit, etc. On that form were also questions like "What time do your children leave home?" and "When was your home built?" "How many times have you been married and when were you last divorced?" WHY? They want to know when you shut your lights off and how much water you use and I'm thinking maybe they could just get the neighborhood water usage directly from the Dept of Water and Power and leave our private usage to us?
I got a letter last week saying I'd receive a 2010 Census form in the mail in one week. Did you get that? It says "Without a complete, accurate census, your community may not receive its fair share." It says "fair share" is defined as "Government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs you and your neighbors need." Don't tell US what we NEED, folks. And DEFINE "other programs"....I'm TIRED of giving money to ACORN, for example. "Fair share"....sounds so grabby ...like "I WANT MY FAIR SHARE!", doesn't it? Instead, how about having written "in order that we better know the needs of your community?" Wouldn't that have been a little more dignified?

Two Questions: Did any of you get that very long form? And, regarding the short form, ARE YOU GOING TO FILL IT OUT COMPLETELY? I thought that, in the past, you only had to answer how many lived there?

Why do they want to know if our home's paid for, or occupied "without payment of rent?" (like a shack-up, or what? :-) They want our PHONE NUMBER~!! Why? Isn't this supposed to be anonymous?? Oh. Wait, I'm literally reading mine as I type....it's not anonymous, they want our name....why? Isn't that NEW? When my friend called the census people and asked why she had to give her age and birth date, they said "Well, some people get confused and don't know how old they are." Is that just Obama voters? (cheap shot but who could refuse? :-) Who doesn't know his AGE? That's on this short form census you all should be getting, too!

If you're Black, you'll be so confused.......It says "What is Person 1's race?" White, Black, African Am., or Negro (are they KIDDING?, is this so nobody's feelings get hurt...isn't that all the same?), American Indian or Alaska Native (oh, they want your TRIBE name if you're either of the last two choices!!)

Please let me know what you're going to do. My friend said she's heard thousands aren't filling it out...I'd like to know what you think of that.............makes me nervous, but the government wanting this much information makes me even MORE nervous.

By the way, I'm REALLY ticked off. There isn't any ARMENIAN listed under Race! Ya, ya...I know we're WHITE, but geeeez.....it's not like we don't want OUR "FAIR SHARE", you know :-) Heck, if you're 'Other Pacific Islander', they give you a chance to fill in 'Fijian, Tongan, and so on'....you'd think we could all get that specific, right? To get our FAIR SHARE?

So, you going to fill it out? (by the way...regarding the image to the right...WHAT's in WHOSE HANDS? I'm getting nervous)

I just found the following info from THIS article: According to US CODE, "Whoever over 18 years of age that refuses or willfully neglects to answer any of the questions on the schedule submitted to him in connection with the census shall be fined not more than $5,000."

CHECK THIS OUT, from HERE: In 2000, another District Court agreed and found that it there is no constitutional limit on collecting additional data, when necessary for governance. That court also said responses to census questions are not a violation of a citizen's right to privacy or speech. Morales v. Daley, 116 F. Supp. 2d 801, 809 and 816. (S.D. Tex. 2000). 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).

"For Governance"? Doesn't that make you feel better????
I think all this BS is where they got the word CONcensus :-)

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