My Census calls and visits....WILL THEY STOP??

After much contemplation, I finally did fill out the Census Report and sent it in on time.
Fine, I thought that was it. I think I withheld one thing and, frankly, I can't remember what it was, but most of it was sent in.

I just got my fifth call since my Mother's Day weekend's two visits to my home by two separate census workers. I told the first worker who came to my door "they aren't home" (that felt rather good) and, to the other, I said "You know, it's Mother's Day and I have guests, please come back if you have to, but I DID fill it out and send it in. " He said "OH, they must not have SCANNED it...we need you to do it again." grrr

I put off the first four census worker callers with "No, they're not here, please call back", when asked if they could speak to ...ME. Today, I figured, I am tired of the calls, I'll just answer the girl on the phone's questions. When we first started, I said "I think asking my race is wrong..." She very quickly said "Fine! I'll just report that you're not responding.." But, I told her to go on and I answered, and I thought that was that, I'm finally done with this thing.

Almost an hour later, a man called and asked for Mr. Z. He said he was with the census and that someone from the census had spoken to Mr. Z a few days ago. I told him Mr. Z had passed away in October. He was obviously surprised and said he was sorry. I said "You know, I've had two workers come to the door and I've had five callers, when is this going to STOP?" He very angrily said "If you're going to be like that, fine, I'll just report that you're not willing to respond.' I said "Wait a minute! I DID respond, first when I DID fill the form out and sent it in on TIME, and then, not an hour ago, to a woman on the phone....I told her I'd already filled it out and sent it in but she said all she had was my name (then how'd she call me?) so I went ahead and gave her all the answers! WHY are YOU calling me now?"

He then said "OH, my gosh, I'm sorry.....I'm also sorry about your husband and, you know, I don't like how they're running this thing; everyone's TRADING NAMES WITH EVERYBODY ELSE AND DOING THE SAME WORK MORE THAN ONE TIME. I apologize for that, from me and the GOVERNMENT."

You know, I wonder about this....is the census department just giving as many hours of work as possible to people out of work? Andrew Breitbart reported that he's had undercover people working as census employees saying to the officials "I only worked four hours, I thought you promised eight hours of work today" and the bosses have said, more than once, "Just write down eight hours..nobody cares."

Is that what's happening? Can we do no better than this? And is THIS how we'll handle HEALTH CARE BY THE GOVERNMENT? I sent mine in on time and I get all of this hassle, all of these extra hours of people on the phone and coming to my house? Can't they be computerized and, once you've answered, you're ticked off the list? (instead of JUST TICKED OFF?)

What is GOING ON? Do you have any stories like mine??

z

Census...."possible DEBACLES"? SURPRISE!

The Census is concerned........having a little trouble there, are they?
Read THIS!! Here, in italics, are a few choice paragraphs from the link:

WASHINGTON – As the U.S. census nears its final stages, the government is preparing for possible debacles that could derail its $15 billion head count, from mass identity theft and lawsuits to homeowners who refuse to answer their doors..... "Considering the volume of data that the Bureau of Census gathers during the census, some loss of confidential data is bound to occur," one document bluntly states. Citing past missteps, such as the loss of work laptops by census employees in 2006, it details a rapid-response effort that includes notification of authorities, if appropriate, as well as free credit monitoring for potential identity theft victims.

One document says the "No. 1 concern" could be a refusal by immigrants to participate.

Placing a cap on costs if immigrants try to evade the count, the response plan notes that a census worker will attempt to visit a home six times at most — or fewer, if a resident makes clear he won't cooperate — before the worker questions neighbors to get the information. If that fails, the Census Bureau will statistically impute data based on characteristics of neighboring households.

HERE IS MY FAVORITE PARAGRAPH:
Another risk being monitored by the Census Bureau is the possibility of a conservative boycott following recent rhetoric, including one blogger's threat to pull out a shotgun to scare away census workers (Z: A BLOGGER? OH, THOSE DARNED CONSERVATIVE BLOGGERS WITH ALL THOSE SHOTGUNS!). The White House condemned the remarks Tuesday, and the bureau said it remains on the lookout for signs of a boycott or other trouble. Conservatives who refuse to participate may also be counted by way of neighbor questioning or statistical imputation.

Anybody heard of the STASI? (no, I do not think the 700,000 census workers will be like the Stasi but it sure does give you pause...or should) Here's more:

Currently, the mail participation rate for the 2010 census is 63 percent, and officials remain cautiously optimistic they will be able to match, if not top, the 2000 mail-back rate of 72 percent by the time the Census Bureau winds down its mail-in operation in late April. From May to July, census takers are sent to homes that do not mail back forms.

Have any of you received the postcards about making SURE you sent your form in? I got one announcing it's coming, then got the form, then got one asking if I got it...A friend got THREE asking if she'd got hers. Can you imagine how much that costs?

Well, as my form announcing its coming said.......we need that census for us to get our "Fair Share". FAIR SHARE..............imagine? Got to get that government money, folks! GeeeeeZ

Will they be knocking on YOUR DOOR?

z

Obama filled out his Census Form........and the results are in...."envelope, please..."

Before you read this, please check out my Easter Food blog and participate..thanks! Okay..now down to POLITICS, as usual!:

I was wondering, does Obama's only checking BLACK for race make him a liar again?

The New York Times HERE, says "It's Official; Barack Obama is the first Black president".

Isn't he fifty percent Black and fifty percent White? And isn't that common knowledge? Now, any black American can write anything he or she wants, but he's the PRESIDENT, does he know how this appears? Imagine the outrage if a mixed race Republican president only checked WHITE?

And, while I'm on it...."NEGRO?" Why "Black, African American, or Negro?"
Well, the NY Times mentions NEGRO is there because "...some older blacks still refer to themselves that way." What? As if "some older blacks" can't figure out "Black" or "African American" doesn't include them? I don't know about YOU, but I'm pretty sure they could :-)

(I wanted to avoid politics this holy weekend, but geeeez, sometimes you just can't help it, right?)
And no...this story hasn't turned up on the Yahoo homepage yet...of course.

Census under Obama? Anybody else see a danger here?

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS? Tell me I'm over reacting...Please?

Obama shifts Census oversight, triggering angry protest by Republicans

By Carrie Dann Congress Daily February 6, 2009

President Obama has decided to bring the U.S. Census Bureau under White House jurisdiction, a move that incensed House Republicans, who fired off a blistering letter to him Thursday, calling it "outrageous and unprecedented" and a "blatant partisan and political maneuver."*** The move would shift the chain of command with the bureau and the Commerce Department, where the bureau currently resides. It comes after the Congressional Black Caucus, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and other groups expressed displeasure with Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. Gregg, the groups said this week, opposed efforts to secure emergency funding for the 2000 Census, which they asserted exposes a potential lack of commitment to ensuring that hard-to-reach minority populations are properly accounted for in the 2010 census.

A White House spokesman confirmed Thursday that Obama plans to work closely with the bureau, which will remain within the Commerce Department."From the first days of the transition the census has been a priority for the president, and a process he wanted to re-evaluate," the spokesman said in a prepared statement."There is historic precedent for the director of the census, who works for the Commerce secretary and the president, to work closely with White House senior management -- given the number of decisions that will have to be put before the president," he said. "We plan to return to that model in this administration."

House Republicans reacted quickly. House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Oversight and Government Reform Census Subcommittee ranking member Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., seized on speculation that the move would place the yet-unnamed Census Bureau director under the watchful eye of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, instead of leaving Gregg in charge. They suggested the move could improperly influence legislative redistricting, which is shaped by Census counts."By circumventing the secretary of Commerce's oversight of the Census Bureau and handing it directly to a political operative such as Mr. Emanuel, you are severely jeopardizing the fairness and accuracy of the 2010 Census," Issa and McHenry wrote Obama.

Details of the day-to-day relationship between the White House and the Census Bureau seem hazy. Aides speculated Thursday that the bureau's budget and public-affairs functions may be routed through OMB, an arrangement that would assuage the fears expressed by advocates concerned that the Census director's public statements and congressional testimony would be subject to censorship by less-than-supportive leadership at Commerce. Sources on both sides of the issue said black lawmakers and others interested in securing more funding for the 2010 Census had been hoping for assurances of support from Obama as soon as they learned about Gregg's possible selection to Commerce post.One Democratic aide close to the matter called the administration's decision a direct response to the grievances of minority groups upset with Gregg's appointment."People started yelling at them," said the aide, who added that the details of how the White House's interactions with the Census director remain woefully undefined."Their answer was 'OK, fine, [Gregg] won't be in charge,'" the aide said. "It wasn't a plan. It was a reaction."

The administration's idea to shift jurisdiction over the Census Bureau was not entirely new. In September, congressional Democrats, led by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., proposed legislation to make the bureau an independent federal agency. Such agencies report directly to the president, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency did before it became part of the Homeland Security Department. A Census Bureau spokeswoman declined to comment on any organizational changes until a director is in place.

Z***: "blatant political and partisan maneuver"?? ARE THEY KIDDING? It's SO blatantly AGENDA-DRIVEN, THAT is the problem!! I think I just realized why the Republicans are always losing their bearings...WHEN WILL THEY EVER CALL THINGS LIKE THIS FOR WHAT THEY REALLY ARE? And...it looks like Gregg won't be taking over Commerce, huh? HE DARED CRITICIZE THE ONE! And look at the special interest groups and how powerful they got and Obama caved!! "No special interest"..? WHAT? You all know what redistricting has done to the vote, don't you. This just smacks of that on an enormous scale. Man, we are in SUCH trouble.

z