Bachmann Warns Of Link Between Census, Japanese Internment
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is taking her refusal to fully fill out her Census form, which is a crime punishable by a $5,000 fine, to a whole new level: Invoking the memory of the Japanese internment during World War II, and the evil role that the Census played in it!
During an interview this morning on Fox News, Bachmann mostly focused on the danger of her personal information falling into the hands of the dreaded menace ACORN. But at one point, she made a very interesting appeal to history:
"Take this into consideration. If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the Census Bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps," said Bachmann. "I'm not saying that that's what the Administration is planning to do, but I am saying that private personal information that was given to the Census Bureau in the 1940s was used against Americans to round them up, in a violation of their constitutional rights, and put the Japanese in internment camps."
At this point even Megyn Kelly, who had been gladly dishing out the anti-ACORN talk along with Bachmann, had to take a step back and raise the point that the Japanese internment was a long time ago and we haven't had such abuses since then.
For some context on how this fits into Bachmann's overall worldview, keep in mind that she's previously warned of the threat of "re-education camps" where young people would be indoctrinated into the government's official philosophy.
C'mon, GOP. You really want her to run for President in 2012. You really do. Not only is she hot, but she's gonna beat that dark-skinned guy. Oh, and did I say that she was hot?
And she's so much smarter than that Sarah gal. I'll bet Sarah couldn't even tell you what was happening in 1942.
Michele will win - we Democrats are scared of her. Really really.
June 25, 2009 11:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't tempt them. When Reagan and both Bush's were picked, I felt "Well, that's good, everyone will see they're mental midgets and they'll choose the smarter alternative".
June 25, 2009 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Co-sign. Although many here seem to think that the 2008 election proves the sanity of the United States, I still remember the 2004 election.
June 25, 2009 11:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
In my pollyannaish way, I still hope in my heart of hearts that people did see through the scales and the election was actually just hacked, with a well hidden trail of bodies to hide their tracks.
June 25, 2009 11:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ditto! The 2004 election revealed the American voter for exactly what he was (is?). Perhaps we need to do as Iran does - just don't allow the midgets to run. Oops, I forgot, we do that with primaries. Uh...the Bush's won primaries, but.... oh forget it.
June 25, 2009 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe I'm just too optimistic, but Michele takes batshit-crazy to a whole 'nother level than St. Ronnie did.
June 25, 2009 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think Bachmann is an utter, batshit-insane nutjob - which is why it pains me to realize that on this one issue I think I might essentially agree with her. I've reviewed the form and it seems wildly intrusive. If the data were anonymized, then no problem; the issue is that all of the detail is tied to specific people, and that just seems all wrong (unless it's voluntary of course).
The *reasons* she's given are as ridiculous as she is - but that's only because she's a complete imbecile, who doesn't realize that bringing ACORN into it is both completely unnecessary and essentially outs her as a batshit nutjob.
June 25, 2009 1:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is the form different from past census forms?
June 25, 2009 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Every census is a little different from the previous one, but the actual decennial census form for 2010 is probably one of the most basic there has been in a very long time. Eight questions only: name, age, birthdate, sex, race, and ethnicity of each member of the household, relationship of each to the head of the household, and whether the house is owned or rented.
I can only figure that the "highly intrusive" refers to the annual American Community Survey, which is sent to only about 3 million housing units each year. Even those questions are not terribly different in nature from questions that were asked on the early 20th century censuses.
June 25, 2009 5:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
It sounds like I was looking at the Community Survey, in which case I would want to scale back my comment significantly, although I have to confess I'm still left slightly uneasy even by the seemingly significantly less detailed census questions noted above.
Again, the issue is simply whether the data is made anonymous; if so, then that's all perfectly valid statistical information to collect in order to inform policy-making. By contrast, as soon as you start tying all of the specific bits of data to specific individuals, it all becomes biographical. And the notion of being legally required to provide *any* biographical information to *anyone* in the absence of a specific *biographical* reason (e.g., the commission of a crime) seems wrong to me.
But Bachmann is still a complete and utter nutjob.
June 26, 2009 4:06 AM | Reply | Permalink
It's not just her invoking of ACORN that signifies her as a nutjob. It's that she loudly proclaims that she's not going to do her own job, and thinks that's just peachy.
For nearly every person in this country, disagreeing with a law gives you three or four options, depending on where you live: Shut up and deal with it, disobey it and try to get it overturned by the Supreme Court on Constitutional grounds, get it changed through a voter initiative system, or lobby your representative to change it. If you actually *are* a representative, you have one reasonable option -- change the damn thing! That's only your WHOLE JOB! Bachmann doesn't like a law so she's decided she'll disobey it. She cites the Constitution, but she doesn't get to decide what's constitutional.
So you may agree with her on the basic principle, for which there's a reasonable argument, but then you get sullied by association with her whiny turdcake actions. It's just not fair.
June 25, 2009 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good point.
As my granny used to say, "Never over-estimate the intelligence of the American people."
Why else would we willingly pay tens of thousands for lower quality healthcare then we'd receive for free in civilized countries?
We're f-ing dumb -and the Republicans have made keeping us dumb an art form.
June 25, 2009 11:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, I think the American public understands pretty well that our health care system is broken. We're not keeping this system because we want to. We've got it because spineless Congress critters are in the back pockets of insurance industry lobbyists.
June 25, 2009 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think your Granny was paraphrasing P.T. Barnum, the original quote being:
"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people."
June 25, 2009 12:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was H.L. Mencken.
June 25, 2009 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
We have a winner!
June 25, 2009 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
A sucker is born every minute?
June 25, 2009 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
There's a seeker born every minute.
June 25, 2009 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
The quote has been attributed to both Barnum and Mencken, as a quick google will show.
It was almost certainly said by neither individual, and is a "mythquotation."
If you have the paragraph, or a lengthier quote of the phrase in context, I'd be happy to be shown wrong.
June 25, 2009 8:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Please don't compare Reagan and Bush Sr. to Bachmann. Now Bush jr., I can see the comparison.
June 26, 2009 2:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bush Sr. I might allow as a slighly higher caliber. Reagan's reversal of environmental policies and dismantling of Carter's alt energy programs show his idiocy. I have problems with his sticking his head in the sand on the AIDS crisis. I don't really know, but I think it was an ideological denial of the humanity of those affected. Millions of deaths, untold misery because he was afraid of treating gay men like people.
June 27, 2009 9:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Palin/Bachman 2012
An unstoppable force!
June 25, 2009 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Palin/Bachman 2012
What's The Worst That Could Happen?
June 25, 2009 1:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder why all the eligible male GOP candidates for 2012 are literally fucking themselves out of the competition? They're making it way too easy for Palin to claim the crown of Party leader.
June 25, 2009 2:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bachmann makes Palin look downright reasonable. Scary stuff!
June 25, 2009 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Male GOPers would wander around drooling over their 2 hotties!
June 25, 2009 4:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's the ticket for the Republicans for President/Veep in 2012. Bachman/Palin.
Two ambitious theocrats out to impose a religious government on America and both wacked out worse than if they were on drugs. That would of course be a Republican feminist ticket.
June 25, 2009 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bachmann-Palin Overdrive?
June 25, 2009 2:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, please, what a perfect ticket.
Crazy and stupid.
June 25, 2009 4:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
The more she talks, the more I cannot believe that she won an election.
June 25, 2009 11:19 AM | Reply | Permalink
Twice! ;-)
June 25, 2009 11:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
That doesn't help. :)
June 25, 2009 11:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
You've gotta know the district. It's a real gerrymander, with batshit-crazy dark-skinned-fleeing I-got-mine-don't-tax-me suburbanites in their McMansions on the east side of the Twin Cities metro, mixed with the St. Cloud downwardly mobile working-class germanic/nordics in the NW corner.
Add to that weak Dem candidates and a strong (10%) third party run (supported by Michele) and that's the recipe for her win.
BTW, the independent candidate was named Anderson. That name's always good for at least 10% from the Senile Swedes - ohh yaah, he must be Ole's son, I'll vote for him!
She wouldn't have a snowballs chance in hell of running statewide against, say, Amy Klobuchar for Senate. Or for governor, assuming the Dems put up a real candidate for a change (re not Mike Hatch).
June 25, 2009 11:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
One more thought -
Michele's time is limited. With the upcoming census and redistricting, the DFL will be lumping her home (Stillwater area) with the solid-blue metro area instead of St. Cloud. So, failing a Rep comeback in the state legislature, she's only got another one term, max.
June 25, 2009 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
so she will just be replaced by some other nut they dig up.
look.
these crazies act like this because they have an audience that supports them.
and a media establishment that wants them.
they are throw away nuts.
but the real issue is why do people listen to them?
and vote for them??
i always return to racism because the message these people always send is, "they. are not like us".
and i think that is what matters most to supporters of these shills.
and dont forget,with a black president "he", obama will be the one doing all these bad things to you.
June 25, 2009 12:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dear god, she's from Stillwater? I spent 8 years of my childhood in Mahtomedi, which is right next door. Thank goodness I got out of there before my political ideology started to take hold. I might have been a Republican. Or batshit crazy.
June 25, 2009 12:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or?
June 25, 2009 12:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
That was funny.
June 25, 2009 9:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
You just can't help yourself when listening to this mindless fruit bowl babble, just in their right mind told this detritus that she was accorded a brain?
Dosen't she realize the they the doctors when she was born found a perfect vacum between her ears at birth, and decided to give her hope by dropping a grain of sand there, hoping it calcifie into somethin useable. and no I don't think with her abilities it turned into a gem "Pearl" more like a rock, she so damn stupid that she sounds like a rock that is rollling uncontrollably down a mountian.
Perhaps if she emulated an enema bag she would find herself usefull.
June 26, 2009 5:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Did she forget that she WORKS for the government? If she doesn't trust her employer, then maybe she should a) work harder to fix it or b) quit.
OR...minnesconsin is right...that makes her perfect for President...she can REALLY fix these crazy internment problems from the inside...
June 25, 2009 11:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ah, but the GOP talking point has always been, and will continue to be, that "the govment" is "those guys, over there, who are trying to take your money and screw you over" rather than us, ourselves, acting on our own behalf. Whether it's the idea that We, The People want to pool our resources and create guaranteed healthcare for ourselves, or get a better understanding of the diversity of our society, the GOP would have us believe otherwise. I guess you could say they want us to buy into the idea that we're our own worst enemy, and that they know better what we need than we do.
June 25, 2009 12:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Batshit insane. Really, what else can you say?
June 25, 2009 11:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Eric,
The argument that "the Japanese internment was a long time ago" is somewhat weak.
I think a stronger rebuttal is this. Imagine we didn't have a census back then. Does Bachmann really think that would have prevented us from rounding up everybody with a Japanese appearance or surname?
June 25, 2009 11:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
How about Article 1, section 2 of the Constitution requires it?
June 25, 2009 11:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Stop waving that thing in front of me! It's just a piece of paper!
June 25, 2009 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
For the record, Eric wasn't making that argument; Megyn Kelly was. Eric was simply relaying how even SHE couldn't swallow any more of Bachmann's hogwash.
June 25, 2009 12:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Megyn Kelly may not be aware of it, and it's probably a pretty sure bet Bachmann is not, but the laws governing the confidentiality of census data have been strengthened since the 1940s.
But isn't Bachmann part of the camp that had no problem with the government monitoring telephone calls and e-mails on a massive basis? That kind of thing concerns me a heck of a lot more than what is on the census forms.
June 25, 2009 5:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm more concerned about the mind control drugs that President Obama has been putting into our water supply - and those Z-Rays coming from the black boxes that the government made us attach to our TV sets. They're gonna to turn us all into drooling zombies who kill for the DNC. It's Michelle Bachmann's worst nightmare come true. Those Democrats won't need Acorn anymore to do their horrible bidding. Last Tuesday, just days after they plugged in one of those so-called "Converter" boxes, my elderly neighbors Rufus and "June Bug" Smedley were never seen again. They had a "conversion" all right, but NOT the one they were expecting. "June Bugs" daughter (from a previous marriage) claims the couple is vacationing in Montana, but she's always been a bit strange (you never know which way her eyes are pointing when she talks to you). Plus,the Smedley's next door neighbor (for his safety, I'll just call him Marvis "M.") claims he saw the couple mysteriously sink into a sand trap off the 7th hole of the town golf course (and around the time they took off on that so-called vacation). Marvis stood guard for 9 hours (until blind Sam McCall beaned him with a shot off a 3-wood) but never saw them pop back up again!
Who are you going to believe - my neighbor Marvis (a paid-up member of our local Lions chapter), or those Democrat Communists up there in Washington?
Thank the good Lord for true, still-intact Americans like Michelle Bachmann, but I wonder... when will they come for her?
In the meantime, a warning to all - stay off of beaches and golf courses and keep your children out of sand boxes! You may also want to avoid drinking municipal water or taking showers.
That's all for now - I just heard a strange noise in the basement.
June 25, 2009 8:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm more concerned about the mind control drugs that President Obama has been putting into our water supply - and those Z-Rays coming from the black boxes that the government made us attach to our TV sets. They're gonna to turn us all into drooling zombies who kill for the DNC. It's Michelle Bachmann's worst nightmare come true. Those Democrats won't need Acorn anymore to do their horrible bidding. Last Tuesday, just days after they plugged in one of those so-called "Converter" boxes, my elderly neighbors Rufus and "June Bug" Smedley were never seen again. They had a "conversion" all right, but NOT the one they were expecting. "June Bugs" daughter (from a previous marriage) claims the couple is vacationing in Montana, but she's always been a bit strange (you never know which way her eyes are pointing when she talks to you). Plus,the Smedley's next door neighbor (for his safety, I'll just call him Marvis "M.") claims he saw the couple mysteriously sink into a sand trap off the 7th hole of the town golf course (and around the time they took off on that so-called vacation). Marvis stood guard for 9 hours (until blind Sam McCall beaned him with a shot off a 3-wood) but never saw them pop back up again!
Who are you going to believe - my neighbor Marvis (a paid-up member of our local Lions chapter), or those Democrat Communists up there in Washington?
Thank the good Lord for true, still-intact Americans like Michelle Bachmann, but I wonder... when will they come for her?
In the meantime, a warning to all - stay off of beaches and golf courses and keep your children out of sand boxes! You may also want to avoid drinking municipal water or taking showers.
That's all for now - I just heard a strange noise in the basement.
June 25, 2009 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Paranoid cocaine addict? She really does come off as someone who is on coke.
June 25, 2009 11:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not coke. Jesus.
June 25, 2009 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
You only have to look at her eyes to know she is batshit crazy. She has kind of a Manson-like wide-eyed intensity and insane look in her eyes...I find her very spooky. In this clip she didn't have quite the intensity she usually has--maybe she was having a down day...
June 25, 2009 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I swear, the popcorn sales off this gal's shenanigans alone has GOT to be contributing siginificantly to slowing the recession.
June 25, 2009 11:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
I wish Michelle would have an affair with someone from ACORN. This way, the Right would disown her and we wouldn't have to hear this garbage anymore.
June 25, 2009 11:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
See, it would have been funnier if you had said you wished "Michelle would hike the Appalachian trail with someone from ACORN."
You missed one there.
June 25, 2009 11:42 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't want anyone from ACORN alone with Michelle on the Appalachian trail.
June 25, 2009 2:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
I said it would be funny, not free of rabies.
June 25, 2009 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Someone should just tell her that Jesus would have never been born in Bethlehem but for a census...
June 25, 2009 11:31 AM | Reply | Permalink
oh snap!
June 25, 2009 11:33 AM | Reply | Permalink
Please! Don't contribute to her Messiah complex!!
June 25, 2009 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
You must not have heard that the ultra right is re-writing The World of God because they think it's not property-loving enough.
October 26, 2009 2:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
There she goes again...talking about the issues that matter to most Americans. Seriously, wtf?
June 25, 2009 11:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is actually helpful advice, here's why:
Those most likely to follow her advice will be red state voters. Therefore, by the census count, blue state populations will be overstated relative to red states. Or viewed another way, red state populations will appear to have declined. This will require redistricting, which in order to take the "lower" red state populations into account, would necessitate the elimination of red state congressional seats to the benefit of blue states!
June 25, 2009 11:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Very astute point. But really, it would be much better to follow through with Obama's plan to reduce the Red State population figures by simply rounding up conservative citizens and sending them to the internment camps he's currently building with the stimulus money. Stay the course, dude.
June 25, 2009 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Why not the best of both worlds? If they drop off the census rolls, we can build the camps in some godforsaken barren red state out west without having to acknowledge the population bump the camps would cause and thereby increase its representation in Congress.
June 25, 2009 12:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
...and in turn, legitimizes the Tea Parties since the red state populace won't be accurately represented in Congress and then it allows them to form an armed revolutionary movement!
This isn't idiocy, it's genius!
June 25, 2009 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ahahahaha!
June 25, 2009 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Absolutely right. This could be a good thing for Minnesota. There's been talk about the possibility of us losing a congressional district after the census. If they undercount hers, maybe that'll be the one to go.
June 25, 2009 1:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Even setting aside the obvious insanity of her statements, just look at her pictures. She's got the crazy eyes.
June 25, 2009 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Indeed - she's got the look of lunacy!
June 25, 2009 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think she's related to the runaway bride.
June 25, 2009 6:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree that Bachmann is a deluded person in general, but I agree with her about the general danger of giving personal information to the government. The fact that the Japanese internment camps were a long time ago isn't particularly dispositive. Let's not forget that our government has been torturing people in illegal prisons scattered around the world within quite recent times. She may well be right, albeit for the wrong reasons. Let's also not forget that Obama thinks that those who have tortured shouldn't have their privacy disturbed by investigations of their illegal and atrociously immoral actions. Bachmann is a nut, but she's right for the wrong reasons in her concerns about bad government behaviors. I also am concerned about "re-education camps."
June 25, 2009 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
I think this is a valid point. Her arguments actually make some sense. I'm sure many of us would give her more credit for them if she were a consistent advocate of privacy rights. (E.g., if Ron Paul were saying this, I doubt he'd get that much ridicule.)
Note: I haven't actually watched the clip, so perhaps it's not just what she's saying, but how she's saying it.
June 25, 2009 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Actually it makes ZERO sense at all. It's crazy. If they were looking for specific information on a specific individual, they probably wouldn't need to ask you anything. They already have access to an enormous amount of your personal information already - they actually provide you with the access code to the majority of your info... your social security number.
Seriously, answering questions about how many people you have in your household, your gender, your age, and income is not that serious.
June 25, 2009 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Other than possibly the income part of that, I think that she's already stated she would fill out that part of the census (which might also dash the hope of those that hope this will result in fewer elected Republicans). It's the extra information she's said she doesn't want to fill out. See this previous link:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/06/bachmann-vows-to-shun-acorn-influence-leave-census-form-partly-blank-note-this-is-illegal.php
As to the argument that the government can already figure out the information, that's exactly an argument for reducing their access to private information.
Again, I don't buy her particular reasons for being concerned, but any attempt to reduce the amount of information the government keeps on us seems like a good idea, in general.
June 25, 2009 12:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm with Bachmann. I'm not telling the government how many pairs of shoes I have either.
June 25, 2009 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, she said she was not telling them anything except the number of people in the household. No names, no ages, no dates of birth. Zip.
Those "other questions" you are referring to are from the annual American Community Survey, which only goes to a small percentage of the population, not the 2010 census, which goes to everyone.
If you want the Census Bureau's explanation as to how data obtained in each of them will be used, see this publication (pdf).
June 25, 2009 6:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
The 2010 census does not ask for income.
June 25, 2009 6:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
It doesn't test for sense of humor either. Or so I hear.
June 25, 2009 6:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's a sample long-form census questionnaire: (it's a view as html link through google so you don't have to mess with a POS pdf)
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:S979SWnLKEEJ:www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d-61b.pdf+sample+census+questions&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Do you find any particular questions objectionable?
June 25, 2009 12:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
1) Race
2) Marital status (yes, I know the IRS, et probably alia, already has it)
3) Skill in the English language
4) Military service (yes, I know)
5) Method of transportation
6) Who I work for (see #2)
7) Type of home/number of bedrooms/etc.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not personally paranoid about these things, but I think the less the government knows about its individual citizens, the better. I'm thinking J. Edgar Hoover and MLK, Jr.
June 25, 2009 12:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
"I think the less the government knows about its individual citizens, the better."
That's a sensible position for an individual to take. But, if that position became widespread then government would have an awfully tough time deciding on congressional districts. Where to build schools, hospitals, and VA centers. How to plan emergency response. How to assess demographic changes, budget allocations, etc etc. My point is that each question does serve a legitimate government function, and helps it serve the public better. That's why I'm cool with it, at any rate.
June 25, 2009 2:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
I completely understand your position. In fact, I think I share it. It's just that, like you, I also understand the other side. I think it would seem a lot less crazy if it weren't coming from a known crazy person. That's all I'm saying.
June 25, 2009 2:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Only if you think that government shouldn't be doing anything except national defense and building roads. And even then, how will the government know where to build roads if it doesn't know anything about the means of transportation people are currently using, how far/long they have to drive to work in any given area, etc.
Census data is used for a lot more than just redistricting. It's used to try to plan more efficient use of government resources.
June 25, 2009 6:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
That was why I added the word "individual" in my statement. With today's technology, it's possible to know group statistics without knowing individual details.
I do realize I'm talking about an ideal, and I don't expect it to happen. My main point is that if this statement had come from a dedicated protector of civil rights, I think most posters here would treat it with more respect. However, don't misconstrue that to suggest I think that Bachmann deserves more respect. She doesn't.
June 26, 2009 10:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
The "long form" is now the American Community Survey. The 2010 Census is short form only and will look something like this. The only questions asked are headcount, home ownership, name, sex, age and DOB, Hispanic origin, race, relationship to the head of household, and other places of residence (to assess potential overcount). Oh, and phone number, because if there's a question, it's far cheaper to call than to send an enumerator.
FWIW, even the 1790 Census collected some data on race, sex, and age. Also, there was no privacy: Your household data, collected under the supervision of federal marshals, were posted in the town square for all to see.
June 25, 2009 3:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, I hear the black helicopters overhead right now. They are coming to get me!!
June 25, 2009 12:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
And the hits just keep on coming.
June 25, 2009 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
She makes my brain hurt.
June 25, 2009 11:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
I find it concerning that Michele Bachmann is uncomfortable with the Census.
June 25, 2009 11:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
She's auditioning for a TV or radio gig. You all are going to make her a fortune.
June 25, 2009 11:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
But she's not Japanese?
June 25, 2009 11:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
She thinks she's turning Japanese, she thinks she's turning Japanese, she really thinks so.
June 25, 2009 11:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank God there's at least one sane person in the room.
June 25, 2009 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
No sex, no drugs, no wine, no women? Doesn't sound very Republican to me.
June 25, 2009 12:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
She's right -- but only about the government collecting more information than it should or needs.
This proves that nothing/no one is all good or all bad. Even Nixon had that shred of humanity as a football fan.
June 25, 2009 11:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
What are the chances that had she been alive in 1942, Michelle Bachmann would have been one the first "patriots" to be calling for the internment of "Jap-sympathizing terrorists?" She is not very understanding when it comes to alien "others" and her record of paranoia is well documented.
June 25, 2009 11:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
2 words-
Batshit crazy
June 25, 2009 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Um... if this is actually a CRIME and she not only advocates it but goesd ahead *does* it -isn't that grounds for impeachment and removal from office?
How different is it from, say, subborning perjury (and yes I realize that that's a specific instance and this is a general advocating of a position) or encouraging rioting?
June 25, 2009 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
As I frequently pointed out during the Clinton saga, it's not enough for it to be a crime. It has to be a high crime (or misdemeanor).
NB: the word "high" refers to the seriousness of the crime and not the mental state of the perpetrator.
June 25, 2009 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sweet Jesus - this from a woman whose party accused anyone who questioned their plans to secretly wire-tap Americans, of being traitorous?
June 25, 2009 12:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
1. Is her statement even remotely close to the truth? Did the census information collected by the U.S. from 1942-47 play any role in the internment of Japanese? Surely there's a way to fact-check this.
2. We've had a census in this country for a while now. Has anyone ever made these kind of partisan attacks against it before? My first guess would be something like the John Birch society, but who knows. I've yet to see whether or not Bachmann's insanity has any historical context. Anyone know?
June 25, 2009 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fact-check? You think that Michele and her ilk are going to be swayed by FACTS!? ;-)
June 25, 2009 12:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually I was thinking that maybe one of our awesome journalists in the print or TV media might look into statements like the ones Bachmann makes and let their readers/viewers know whether or not there was a shred of truth to them, but then I had a good laugh and went out hiking on the Appalachian Trail.
June 25, 2009 2:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here we go - according to Ali Frick, of Think Progress:
There are many things wrong with Bachmann and host Megyn Kelly’s so-called analysis: First, both women were shocked that the Census would ask for people’s telephone numbers. However, that information is not required by law, and is used only to contact recipients who have incomplete forms.
Second, Bachmann is confusing the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey (ACS), a long-form survey sent out to one in 40 households (0.0028 percent of the American public) each year. The Census, sent out once every ten years, asks only about one’s age, race, and the type of home one lives in. The ACS, started in 1996, collects more detailed data used to distribute more than $300 billion in federal funds to local communities.
Most importantly, the questions that Bachmann is so concerned about — questions she suggests might somehow lead to internment — are not new questions (not to mention they frequently overlap with information given to the IRS every year). Census questions on race have been asked since 1790; home language since 1890; rent since 1880; and income since 1940. The Census has asked what kind of heating fuel heats Americans’ homes since 1940.
Finally, it’s a federal crime for any Census worker to violate the confidentiality of the Census form, punishable by a federal prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Also, ACORN has nothing to do with collecting Census data. But then, we already knew that.
June 25, 2009 4:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sadly, yes, it appears that it did. But note that safeguards have been strengthened since then -- not that that would stop the PATRIOT Act crowd, or another George W. Bush determined to ignore the law.
But yeah, the census has long been a target of those highly suspicious of government, or officials of any kind asking questions. There was an incident regarding the 1870 census described in the memoirs of Marshall Twitchell, a Union veteran from Vermont who migrated to Louisiana's Red River Parish after the Civil War and was active in Reconstruction-era politics there. Twitchell and his brother were both appointed census marshals in Louisiana. One evening during the census-taking period, a posse of irate ex-Confederates rode up to their house and called out Twitchell's brother for offenses to the honor of the two grown daughters of one of the men in the posse. Twitchell managed to talk them down from lynching his brother after the father finally revealed the nature of the unpardonable offenses to the honor of those two flowers of Southern womanhood: asking them their ages.
June 25, 2009 6:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, slb. Between you and Ali Frick, my questions have been answered. :-)
June 25, 2009 8:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can a member of Congress be impeached on the grounds of dementia? Just askin'.
June 25, 2009 12:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
Has anyone explained to this stupid b*tch that if everyone in her district follows her lead an refuses to participate in the census her district will be eliminated?
Wait - never mind. She's TOTALLY right. No one in her district will be safe if they respond to census-takers. They should be avoided at all costs.
June 25, 2009 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Her district WILL be eliminated. See my comments above. It's a bad gerrymander of two different batshit-crazy areas on different sides of the Twin Cities metro.
With the DFL in control of the legislature and hopefully the governorship by 2011 (cross fingers), all they have to do is cut the two regions and lump Michele with deep blue St. Paul.
June 25, 2009 12:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Somebody please tell Rep. Guano Faucet that Korematsu v. United States, 323 U.S. 214 (1944) held that the Japanese-American internment WAS constitutional. The (6-3) ruling sucks, but it's still valid precedent.
Oh, and by the way, the Supreme Court's stated basis for the decision was the necessity to defer to Congress and military authorities to assure public safety.
June 25, 2009 12:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
When Wingnuts collide.
Wouldn't it be interesting to have the two Michelles, Bachman and Malkin, "debate" this?
Also, isn't Bachman off a bit on her dates (being off her rocker is a given)?
FDR died in 1945. How did he manage to collect data in 1947?
Also, surprisingly, Hoover was against the internment. A real bastard in a lot of ways, he seems to have gotten at least one thing right.
I think FDR was one of our best presidents of all-time. But the internment issue was a huge stain on his presidency. A terrible idea. Ugly, racist, brutal.
But the Census? They had the information without it to do what they wanted to do. Bachman is a lunatic.
June 25, 2009 12:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Japanese internment was a horrible thing, but people don't usually know much about it, just that "it happened under FDR."
But who was demanding it? Why did FDR allow it?
These are easily answered questions of history.
The Japanese Internment was demanded by prominent members of, surprise, The GOP.
In fact, prominent Republican, then Attorney General of the state of California, future California Governor, and future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, Earl Warren (Yes, THAT Earl Warren) testified before Congress about the necessity of internment. An action that was lauded by Republican leadership of the day.
The Japanese internment was an atrocity shrilly demanded by Bachmann's own party.
June 25, 2009 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
@repbachmann: had to fill out my census form. now I know what it felt like in the japanese internment camps.
June 25, 2009 12:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nice.
June 25, 2009 1:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Win! you should post that here:
http://hoekstraisameme.com/
June 25, 2009 2:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Win! you should post that here:
http://hoekstraisameme.com/
June 25, 2009 2:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Representatives are not impeached. They are expelled. Each house gets to set the qualifications for its membership.
The hurdle appears to be "disorderly behavior", not "high crimes and misdemeanors".
Article I Section 5:
June 25, 2009 12:24 PM | Reply | Permalink
Was supposed to be in reply to the impeachment comments above...
June 25, 2009 12:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the correction. I wonder how many times it has happened in Congressional history?
…goes to the Googles, then to the Wikipedia…
Ah, 20 times (15 times from the Senate, but only 5 times from the House). More often than I would've guessed.
June 25, 2009 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bachmann-Turner OutofOffice.
June 25, 2009 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Baby Jesus loves you, Michele...everytime you open your mouth, another thousand Democrats are born!
June 25, 2009 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
But wait: Michelle Malkin says the internment camps were a good thing. And how is the next conservative administration supposed to round up all the creepy Muslim infidels in this country if they don't fill out their Census forms?
Looks like Bachmann is the one who needs a little wingnut re-education.
June 25, 2009 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
when the third remake of Children of the Damned is made Ms. Bachman will surely get a part without an audition, or perhaps she is audutioning in hopes of another remake.
June 25, 2009 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I guess wing-nuts shouldn't register to vote either, because that info can be used against them by the evil Democrat conspiracy.
Or maybe they should re-register as Democrats to fool the authorities.
Truth and facts don't matter, what matters are ideas that feed on their paranoia and justify what they already believe anyway (like Obama's birth certificate-- no matter what proof is offered, that birth certificate is always going to be a fake to them). So, in the interest of further ostracizing the weirdos, we should be finding things that feed into their paranoia and dangling it in front of them (like Bachman is basically doing). How about "the government has spies on freerepublic and redstate and can see you through your web cam whether its on or not."
June 25, 2009 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Naah, they don't need to do that - all they need to do is misbehave sexually and then Faux Noise will identify them as (D) on-screen!
June 26, 2009 11:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
She won't divulge her census info for fear of her government, yet I assume she supports warrantless wiretapping?
June 25, 2009 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Aye-ya-yai-ya-yai... This is getting to be like making fun of a developmentally disabled person now. How dim do the people of St. Cloud have to be to vote for tis clown??
June 25, 2009 12:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
Best you don't ask...
June 25, 2009 2:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Redistricting may not be a solution as she could always move to safer ground which has been done by congressional members in both parties in a number of states because of fears of losing either a primary to another incumbent from the old districting scheme or in the fall election. After the 2000 census in Iowa two congressmen--Democrat Boswell and Republican Leach did this-- Leach to avoid a primary with Jim Nussle and Boswell to escape a very Republican western Iowa District now represented by Steve King.
June 25, 2009 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
She just makes shit up! What a wack job, however would the govt of been able to pick out japanese people without a census form! If only they looked different that would of made all the dif...oh wait!
June 25, 2009 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Representative Cuckoo on the quarter-hour! She's a little bit like Big Ben. :D
June 25, 2009 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
She really needs help. Either she's nuts and actually believes this stuff, or she's clinical in another way. She seems to need attention like a drug.
June 25, 2009 1:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Obviously, if extreme wingnuts had the reasoning ability displayed by the squirrels who make daily raids on my "squirrel-proof" bird feeder, they wouldn't be extreme wingnuts. Granted. But still, what a complete ninny you have to be to buy this line. When Obama suspends the Constitution and rounds up the Real Americans, be using tax, Social Security and voter registration data to assemble the lists of Proscribed Enemies of the People.
Census data is only updated every decade and its the next thing to useless for identifying enemies of the state unless the criteria are solely racial . . . oh, wait, I get it. Never mind, now it all makes sense.
June 25, 2009 1:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
The type that shuts off access to the food if to much weight is on it, works for my parents. Though they keep trying... which is funny to watch.
June 25, 2009 1:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
So how much weight did your parents lose?
June 25, 2009 5:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
where is she getting this stuff?
what is her source?
there must be some talk show host or someone who is pushing this perspective and feeding her , and other gullible nitwits, this line. i guarantee, there are other wingnuts out their who are repeating the same story, with deep conviction...who have no effing idea what they are even saying.
also have no clue that no one is interested in rounding them up.
plus reeducation is obviously a lost cause.....
June 25, 2009 1:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually, she's the wacko talk show circuit muse.
June 25, 2009 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
WHY haven't the un-marked trucks with the guys in white suits and restraints showed up at her home or office yet?? This woman is dangerous to those around her and herself...
So she's worried about the census info NOT the info she allowed, gleefully, to be gathered under chimpy bush's surveillance programs?? Hummm....Me thinks she needs to do a little homework...BUT, no time..gotta prepare for being on Hannratty's program later and going to the latest NeoNut gathering in DC tonight...So busy..so busy.... got to get a census shield ready...
This woman is a raving lunatic.....
June 25, 2009 1:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Looking in to this woman's eyes, is like looking Into the Void...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqgggIMK7Ic
June 25, 2009 1:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Careful.
Nietzsche had a point, you know.
June 25, 2009 1:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
I was only half joking. The idea that she represents a segment of this country scares the crap outta me.
June 25, 2009 2:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
No kidding. A little on the fringe or dedicated to a cause is one thing. Insane is another.
Seriously, how did she get elected? Even if it is a conservative district, there isn't a Republican there who is less nuts?
June 25, 2009 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, I'm no Constitutional scholar, but when she said that "Article 1, Section 2" of the Constitution says she is only required to give the number of people living in her household, I had to check.
Should we be surprised that Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution says no such thing?
It describes the makeup of the House of Representatives.
See for yourself: http://bit.ly/130QL
This woman is insane.
June 25, 2009 1:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's the Article of the Constitution from which the need for a census is drawn. None of the specifics are included (duh! The Framers knew better than to spell it there!). So she's right in as much as Article 1 Section 2 is the source, but you're right (and she's wrong) that it says anything about numbers of people in particular households. It mentions only that free males should be counted (except Indians and "others"). Of course the 14th, 19th and 26th Ammendments fixed that language a little.
June 25, 2009 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think Bachmann is an utter, batshit-insane nutjob - which is why it pains me to realize that on this one issue I think I might essentially agree with her. I've reviewed the form and it seems wildly intrusive. If the data were anonymized, then no problem; the issue is that all of the detail is tied to specific people, and that just seems all wrong (unless it's voluntary of course).
The *reasons* she's given are as ridiculous as she is - but that's only because she's a complete imbecile, who doesn't realize that bringing ACORN into it is both completely unnecessary and essentially outs her as a batshit nutjob.
June 25, 2009 1:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Like madmatt says she just makes shit up with only purpose to be talked about. She is self advertising for her next gig - radio or TV. I'm sure there is a slot in Fox for her. And she will get a pretty large groud who listen to her. Not because of what she says . but that she says anything, especially with not a shred of facts. And we are going to watch her just because she is so off the tracks, even for republican wing nuts.