The Census v.s. the right to be left alone...

Please complete and mail back the enclosed census form today...

...And that's just what I did, scratched in 03 for question #1, leaving the rest blank, and stuffed the form in the postage paid envelope and stuck it in the mailbox.  Done.

My census experience left me wondering what others are saying.  A quick search turned up this pearl, "The Sole and Express Purpose of the Census",
from the Tenth Amendment Center (one of my favorites).  It turns out that the piece is re-blog of "Are the Additional Questions on the Census and American Community Survey just Another Usurpation of Power? By Robert Greenslade".  I took some time to read a few of Mr. Greenslade's other essays.  The guy is smart and has plenty to say.  Please check out his work (link above), the archive links are listed on the right side of the page.  Enjoy!

An introduction to "Who We Are"

In the blog entry titled "Now there are eleven", I prefaced Michael Boldin's piece with some commentary on the purpose, and place, federal and state government hold relative to the people.  What I like to call who's who in the zoo (If you think back to your last reading of "Animal Farm", you'll know why I like the "who's who in the zoo" thing).

It seems that each time I advance the idea that the people are NOT subordinate to the states, and that the states are NOT subordinate to the federal government, the idea is almost universally rejected.  Really!  Most Americans have subscribed to the "reality" advanced by the media and the public schools - a reality where the federal government is supreme, the states subordinate subdivisions of this supremacy, and the American people are each individually known to, and answerable to, the aforementioned supremacy.  That is, of course, complete nonsense.

Now there are eleven...

The governor of Wyoming has signed HJ0002, claiming “sovereignty on behalf of the State of Wyoming and for its citizens under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government or reserved to the people by the Constitution of the United States.”

Wyoming joins 10 other states that have passed similar resolutions in the past year.  While these resolutions don't have the force of law, they do place the federal government (an agent of the states) on notice that the states (as agents of the people) are prepared to be interpositioned between the fed and the people and to act as needed to nullify extraconstitutional legislation.

Why is this important?  Because this is how things are supposed to work.  All authority in government springs from the governed.  The people of each state formed their government.  In doing so, the people ceded a LIMITED amount of their sovereign authority to government.  This authority is to be used to preserve the liberty of the governed - and no other purpose.  In a like manner, the federal government was formed by representatives of the states.  Each of the states agreed to cede CERTAIN elements of their authority to the federal government for the purposes of preserving liberty,  protecting from invasion, and providing for uniform trade throughout the Union.  This is the limit of federal authority.  See Art. I, Sec. 8, and Amendments IX and X.  This "pecking order" will receive much more attention in future posts on Who's Who In The Zoo?

Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center has written a nice piece on the Wyoming resolution.  You can read it by clicking the "read more" link below or by visiting the Tenth Amendment Center.

Hijacking the Census - do you have a flush toilet?

Today I received a letter from the U.S. Census Bureau. The letter reads like this:

Dear Resident:

About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail. When you receive your form, please fill it out and mail it in promptly.

Your response is important. Results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each community get its fair share of government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs you and your neighbors need. Without a complete, accurate census, your community may not receive its fair share.

Do you see anything strange in the Census Bureaus remarks? Yeah, that's right - no mention of the two legitimate purposes for the census, as explicitly instructed in the Constitution.