Census worker found hanged

[Krisken]

Holy shit. This is just crazy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090923/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_census_worker_hanged

He had the word "Fed" scrawled on his chest according to the report. The FBI are still investigating on whether it was a murder or a suicide. For my money, I'm betting murder.

 

[Iaculus]

A lynch mob targeting census collectors?

What... the... fuck?

I mean sure, being asked to fill in surveys all the time can be a wee bit irritating, but isn't this going a little too far?

 

[Kitty Sinatra]

huh. Freaking crazy.

 

[SpecialKO]

Of course, Michelle Bachmann won't lose any sleep...

 

[Krisken]

A lynch mob targeting census collectors?

What... the... fuck?

I mean sure, being asked to fill in surveys all the time can be a wee bit irritating, but isn't this going a little too far?

I certainly think so. I'm sure things like this doesn't help-


Be afraid of the census, be very afraid.

 

[SpecialKO]

Oh fine, your video is soooo much better!

 

[Krisken]

Oh fine, your video is soooo much better!

Oh no, I think they compliment each other and show an interesting pattern of crazy.

 

[AshburnerX]

Holy shit. This is just crazy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090923/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_census_worker_hanged

He had the word \"Fed\" scrawled on his chest according to the report. The FBI are still investigating on whether it was a murder or a suicide. For my money, I'm betting murder.

This is probably like 90% likely to be a murder... and seriously, why kill the guy? Are you legally obligated to participate in the census? Isn't it an option to just tell them to go away?

 

[Krisken]

Holy shit. This is just crazy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090923/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_census_worker_hanged

He had the word \"Fed\" scrawled on his chest according to the report. The FBI are still investigating on whether it was a murder or a suicide. For my money, I'm betting murder.

This is probably like 90% likely to be a murder... and seriously, why kill the guy? Are you legally obligated to participate in the census? Isn't it an option to just tell them to go away?[/QUOTE]
No, the census is required by law. I believe refusal is up to $5,000 fine.

 

[SpecialKO]

Oh fine, your video is soooo much better!

Oh no, I think they compliment each other and show an interesting pattern of crazy.[/QUOTE]

Here's a good one from before the election:



Love the love for McCarthyism.

 

[Espy]

Yeah she is nuts. Grade A, pure nuts. She makes Palin look brilliant.

 

[Frank]

Jesus fucking Christ.

That shit is madness.

 

[Shegokigo]

There is no fee for refusal. I've worked as a census worker. As for "Filling out survey's all the time"? It's done once every 4yrs. :bush:

Jesus fucking Christ.

That shit is madness.

 

[Kitty Sinatra]

Your government disagrees, Shego:

"The American Community Survey is conducted under the authority of Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141 and 193, and response is mandatory. According to Section 221, persons who do not respond shall be fined not more than $100. Title 18 U.S.C. Section 3571 and Section 3559, in effect amends Title 13 U.S.C. Section 221 by changing the fine for anyone over 18 years old who refuses or willfully neglects to complete the questionnaire or answer questions posed by census takers from a fine of not more than $100 to not more than $5,000"

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/SBasics/What/What1.htm

 

[Shegokigo]

My government were the ones who told me the rules when I applied. *shrug*

 

[Shakey]

When the census came to my house they said it was optional. I felt sorry for the lady. I had a horrible hangover, I had a few beers to help relieve it, and my place looked like shit. Of course I still decided to take it. Not a job I would ever wish on someone.

 

[ZenMonkey]

This really shocked me when I read about it. I couldn't help thinking of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (quote yoinked)

CHILD at front door with double-barrelled shotgun: "You men from the bank?"
PETE, one of 3 escaped convicts, looking for a hiding place: "You Wash's boy?"
CHILD: "Yassir! And Daddy tolt me I'm to shoot whosoever from the bank!"
He pokes his shotgun at the three men, who raise their hands.
DELMAR: "Well, we ain't from no bank, young feller."
CHILD: "Yassir! I's also s'pose to shoot folks servin' papers!"
DELMAR: "Well, we ain't got no papers."
CHILD: "Yassir! I nicked the census man!"
DELMAR: "Now, there's a good boy. Is your daddy about?"

 

[Armadillo]

This is insane, of course, but let's not go too far down the road of blaming Bachmann, Beck, et al for this. There are serious concerns about whether the census is becoming too intrusive, whether it belongs under the jurisidiction of the White House, and so on.

Find the people who did this and punish them as harshly as possible.

 

[@Li3n]

This is insane, of course, but let's not go too far down the road of blaming Bachmann, Beck, et al for this.

The fire was already there, they're just adding some gasoline...

 

[Iaculus]

This is insane, of course, but let's not go too far down the road of blaming Bachmann, Beck, et al for this. There are serious concerns about whether the census is becoming too intrusive, whether it belongs under the jurisidiction of the White House, and so on.

Enough to start people getting lynched?

 

[DarkAudit]

This is insane, of course, but let's not go too far down the road of blaming Bachmann, Beck, et al for this. There are serious concerns about whether the census is becoming too intrusive, whether it belongs under the jurisidiction of the White House, and so on.

I reject that argument. Bachmann calling the census a prelude to internment camps and both her and Beck calling for armed revolt puts the blood firmly and indelibly on their hands.

The guy who murdered 3 Pittsburgh police officers did so because he had been convinced that "Obama was coming to take my guns away". The lady who showed up at a military base with a small arsenal did so because Beck and others had convinced her that it was really a "FEMA internment camp".

I'm not sure who is the more stupid here, though. Ms. Bachmann, or the people in her district who keep sending her back to Congress. Both she and they are a total disgrace.

 

[SpecialKO]

This is insane, of course, but let's not go too far down the road of blaming Bachmann, Beck, et al for this. There are serious concerns about whether the census is becoming too intrusive, whether it belongs under the jurisidiction of the White House, and so on.

I reject that argument. Bachmann calling the census a prelude to internment camps and both her and Beck calling for armed revolt puts the blood firmly and indelibly on their hands.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. If Bachmann, Beck, and the rest had just been saying "too instrusive" and asking "whether it belongs under the jurisdiction of the White House", that would be one thing, and I would accept that they bear no responsibility.

But with the level of insane rhetoric that they've been throwing out there specifically regarding the census, accusations of fascism, and armed revolution, this puts this squarely in their camp.

On a side note, who's jurisdiction should the Census be part of? Or is the thought that it should be done away with?

 

[Charlie Don't Surf]

I waffle between thinking (hoping) those wackos have absolutely no sway with any real people, and being terrified at how many people take them seriously. This incident is swinging me back to the latter

 

[Chibibar]

that is mess up.

 

[AshburnerX]

On a side note, who's jurisdiction should the Census be part of? Or is the thought that it should be done away with?

There is a legitimate need to know and understand the make-up of your country and the Census is one of the ways this is accomplished. That being said, it should be voluntary. If you have a problem with people not participating once it becomes voluntary, offer a tax incentive (Small. Maybe a $100-$200) to anyone who takes it.

I think that's the biggest concern about all of this: That people think they are being FORCED to give up their personal information to a government they no longer trust. You suddenly start paying them for their time and most of them would shut the fuck up.

 

[Shegokigo]

This really shocked me when I read about it. I couldn't help thinking of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (quote yoinked)

CHILD at front door with double-barrelled shotgun: "You men from the bank?"
PETE, one of 3 escaped convicts, looking for a hiding place: "You Wash's boy?"
CHILD: "Yassir! And Daddy tolt me I'm to shoot whosoever from the bank!"
He pokes his shotgun at the three men, who raise their hands.
DELMAR: "Well, we ain't from no bank, young feller."
CHILD: "Yassir! I's also s'pose to shoot folks servin' papers!"
DELMAR: "Well, we ain't got no papers."
CHILD: "Yassir! I nicked the census man!"
DELMAR: "Now, there's a good boy. Is your daddy about?"

In my top 10 favorite flicks for a reason! -

 

[Krisken]

This is insane, of course, but let's not go too far down the road of blaming Bachmann, Beck, et al for this. There are serious concerns about whether the census is becoming too intrusive, whether it belongs under the jurisidiction of the White House, and so on.

Find the people who did this and punish them as harshly as possible.

Just out of curiosity, what do these people have to say before they can be "blamed" for inciting violence?

 

[AshburnerX]

This is insane, of course, but let's not go too far down the road of blaming Bachmann, Beck, et al for this. There are serious concerns about whether the census is becoming too intrusive, whether it belongs under the jurisidiction of the White House, and so on.

Find the people who did this and punish them as harshly as possible.

Just out of curiosity, what do these people have to say before they can be "blamed" for inciting violence?[/QUOTE]

"Kill Whitey."

 

[Chibibar]

On a side note, who's jurisdiction should the Census be part of? Or is the thought that it should be done away with?

There is a legitimate need to know and understand the make-up of your country and the Census is one of the ways this is accomplished. That being said, it should be voluntary. If you have a problem with people not participating once it becomes voluntary, offer a tax incentive (Small. Maybe a $100-$200) to anyone who takes it.

I think that's the biggest concern about all of this: That people think they are being FORCED to give up their personal information to a government they no longer trust. You suddenly start paying them for their time and most of them would shut the fuck up.[/QUOTE]

you know.. I think this is a good plan.

Forcing people to do something is not a good way to get people to do it. I think a tax incentive for participating is a good idea. You be surprise how many people will take it (if offer tax incentive) this mean people will have to file TAXES to get it

 

[MindDetective]

I'm kind of in favor of sampling. You obviously have to do more than pure randomly sampling but there are lots of techniques out there that will provide a great representation of the population, on which you could very accurately still allot representatives and federal funding, etc. It would be done at a fraction of the cost without losing much fidelity in your picture on demographic info.

The problem is that the founders conceived of the census as a necessary measure before statistical and sampling methods were strongly established (by more than a century!) so in a lot of ways we're clinging to old ways. Perhaps by only sampling 10 or 20% of the population, we can get less resistance to the idea and do it more cheaply at the same time.

The biggest obstacle might be that people take it even LESS seriously than they do now. In which case, a compromise might be in order. Take a census every 25 years and perform sampling every five or 10.

 

[rabbitgod]

I like the idea of a tax incentive. Just add a form to the standard federal and offer people $50.

Or go like Mind Detective.

 

[DarkAudit]

Bachmann has good reason to be scared of the census. Minnesota might lose a seat in the next redistricting. HER seat.

If that's so, she's doing it wrong. Underreporting the numbers is a sure way for her to lose that seat.

 

[ZenMonkey]

Or is the thought that it should be done away with?

Pretty sure that would take a Constitutional amendment.

 

[MindDetective]

Or is the thought that it should be done away with?

Pretty sure that would take a Constitutional amendment.[/QUOTE]

That might be true for sampling too. Isn't it about time we did some amending of that ol' scrap of paper anyway?

 

[AshburnerX]

Of course, the Census is also practically useless in providing one bit of relevant data we need: Numbers of illegals in a community. I'd imagine some of the Census resistance is from groups worried about outing themselves and having to deal with INS.