Census Workers Attacked: On Michele Bachmann's Conscience?

Image from source, Think Progress

The question in the headline is not part of the excerpted story below, but it should be. When a sitting member of Congress--even a wack-a-doodle like Michele Bachmann--spends significant time and energy demonizing the census, what do you expect her fellow wack-a-doos to do?  The census is Constitutionally mandated, something you'd think these supposed "strict Constitutional constructionists" would support. Somebody needs to tell these people that the 2nd Amendment is not the sum total of the document.

[Excerpt]

Report: More than 113 Census workers threatened and attacked this month.

Last week, a routine visit by a U.S. Census worker in Yuba City, California ended in violence when “police officers shot and killed a woman they said had first threatened the worker with a gun, then later confronted officers with a shotgun.” The Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe reports today that the threat against a Census worker was not an isolated incident. In fact, the Census Bureau says that “more than 113 census takers have been the victims of assaults or attacks this month". . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

SNL: President Obama and the Census

This, apparently, is what the census might look like if you are a teabagger and/or Michele Bachmann. It's pretty funny, and I think Fred Armisen is getting better as Obama. A much better-than-average Saturday Night Live (but still flat in places).

Star Trek's George Takei & Husband Take the Census

George Takei has an awesome voice, and great sense of humor about himself. This is a fun and instructional video about what to do if you're in a same-sex relationship, and are filling out your census form. You do your civic duty, you get to be counted, and you get to set conservatives on stun. Heh.

RNC Sends Out Fake "Census" Again

Image from AppletreeBlog

I live by a rule when it comes to salesmen and sales pitches: if you're trying to trick me, you have nothing I want to buy. This goes for SPAM emails, junk faxes, junk mail, car salesmen with nebulous "fees," religious hucksters and political campaigns and committees. Not only do I think that these kinds of swindles are distasteful, but I've got to wonder, what do they think of me? If I'm tricked by this pitch, and they make their sale, I'm no better than a mark. A rube.

That's not so terrible for a salesman. What do they care if I'm gullible? Hey, they made a sale. But for a politician or group of them, if they're looking at me like a sap, they're going to govern like I'm a sap. I already know that people like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh must have contempt for their audiences with the load of bull they're selling. But the actual, official politicians? They're trying to build a reliable constituency. That's why undelivered campaign promises tend to turn some voters away from a party. What happens if it's worse than that, and they actually set out to sucker people?

The GOP/RNC have sent me many pieces of campaign literature, since I was until a few years ago a registered Republican. They essentially lost me in 1992, but I didn't make it official until 2006. So I get their sales pitches. And more than one of their mailers has been a "push poll," designed to look like something more official. I've reported several of them here. But at a time when an actual census is being mailed out, and when Americans are required by law to respond to them, a fake "census" is particularly egregious. The truth is clear: The RNC and GOP have no respect for their constituents.

[Excerpt]

Maloney, Clay, McHenry criticize RNC 'census' mailer

Officials of both parties are sharply criticizing a fundraising mailing from Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele they say could be confused with official correspondence regarding this year’s Census.

The fundraising letter comes in the form of a “survey,” a frequently used device for partisan fundraising, but this one has a twist: calling itself the “Congressional District Census,” the letter comes in an envelope starkly printed with the words, “DO NOT DESTROY OFFICIAL DOCUMENT” and describes itself, on the outside of the envelope, as a “census document. . .”

Read more at: Politico

Census Worker Found Hung, With "FED" on Chest

Yikes. This is disturbing. The details are scant, but I can't imagine that they won't be scary.

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