Bismo asked,
Ever hear of the American Community Survey? Separate form from the Census Bureau, sent to smaller sampling of homes than the full census. Just got one.
No, I never had heard of the American Community Survey, and my initial reaction was that it must be a fake census form sent by a marketing outfit. But no, it’s for real, from the United States government, and you’ll find it at this link.
The questions get a bit particular. Click here to see a PDF sample of the form that Bismo received. Here are a couple of examples.
I can understand where the Census Bureau is coming from. For example, they want to know not only if grandma is living at home, but how impaired she may be. Does grandma have unofficial custody of her grandkids? How many people work off-hours shifts, or have flex time? But considering that the American Community Survey is mandatory for those who receive it, with a maximum fine of $5000, I can also see where the Tea Baggers would say, “they’re steppin’ on our freedoms.”
In truth, I honestly don’t know what the sexual connotation is that’s associated with that term. I only know there is one because Stephen Colbert has said so. It’s like the Senator Larry Craig thing was, that happened in the men’s room at the Twin Cities airport — I simply have no idea about it, at all, until it’s explained. And I don’t want it explained!
Whether or not the Tea Party will have a legitimate presence in national elections remains to be seen. It may end up being a vote splitter, like the Nader’s Green Party was against Al Gore in 2000, and Ross Perot’s bid for the White House was for Bush Sr. in 1992.
There seems to now be splinter groups in the Tea Party that are genuinely representing grass roots interests. But I don’t believe the Tea Party’s origin is the grass roots movement that is claimed. The primary force behind it comes from a well-funded GOP contingent that includes Dick Armey. That’s where the money comes from to pay for Sarah Palin’s 100-grand fee (yes, Bill Clinton makes a lot for his speaking engagements, too).
What scares me is how the fringe element of the Tea Party seems to be not the fringe, but the core. Calling Obama a Socialist is laughable to Socialists. Calling him Hitler is a joke. The open gun types are embedded in the Tea Party, and they are very scary. A well regulated militia is what the 2nd Amendment says, and these guys are not regulated.
The guy who has really surprised me, and who makes me hopeful, is Scott Brown. I’m glad he won. He may not be the brightest in the bunch, but he seems to know himself pretty well. And I have no problem whatsoever with the male model thing, or his brief parading of his attractive daughters. I will have a problem, however, if he starts aligning himself with moral high grounders. Newt Gingrich was having a serious adulterous relationship while he was screaming for Bill Clinton’s head over the Monica Lewinsky affair. And that hypocrisy is something that I simply cannot, and will not, tolerate.
Gingrich is an idiot. A total imbecile, despite his alleged academic credentials. He’s no smarter than Rush Limbaugh, who has no academic credentials. The thing that the far Right gets by on, are the infamous talking points — getting everybody to say the same thing over and over again, as if the feigned strength of the conviction somehow makes the statement less false. It’s very easy to do that, so I’ll repeat myself. Newt Gingrich is a hypocritical, adulterous idiot. At least two of those assertions are true!
BTW, I will probably vote for Charlie Baker, Republican, in the gubernatorial election in November.
Tea Party members Doug…NOT Tea-Baggers. I’m kind of surprised at you for that.
“What time did this person usually leave home to go to work last week?” “Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing?” Yeah, I was amazed at some of these. They can justify each and every question as to what purpose it serves, and that’s all to the good; if this was a VOLUNTARY “survey” (I’ve seen some on the net call it an interrogation, and indeed it feels more like that) I’d likely have no real problems with it and answer it completely (though I’m sure many others wouldn’t). But for the government to claim the right to DEMAND under penalty (“We have ways of making you talk!”) I answer questions like this is astonishing to me.