Conservatives' Census Paranoia
PFAW:
There are many unanswered questions about the tragic hanging death of Bill Sparkman, a US Census Bureau employee, in rural Kentucky. But one thing is clear. Right-Wing leaders like Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and media outlets like Fox News have whipped up hysteria and paranoia over the 2010 Census.
Mr. Sparkman's untimely demise may or may not have been the doing of an anti-government fanatic, but it’s clear that the Right is creating an environment that is hostile to Census workers and the Constitutionally-mandated Census.
A steady stream of conspiracy talk by Beck, Bachmann, and others on Fox News has legitimized and propelled conspiracy theories among many everyday Americans who are now terrified of their own government. Talk of rounding up dissidents into concentration camps and nefarious plots by ACORN to steal Congress has fed anti-government sentiment, which could boil over at any moment.
This should be an important wake-up call to those national outlets that have employed fear in pursuit of ratings.
It's amazing to me that the party that presided over the biggest growth in government are now stark raving loons over aprogram that has been in place since 1790. Of course, it could be a classic case of Freudian projection, where they project exactly the kind of fascist tendencies in their own little heart and they panic at someone else being able to use the information the way they would if they have a chance. Or perhaps it's the very scary notion of information and facts that has their collective knickers in a bunch. God forbid we actually know that there really aren't 40 million illegal immigrants in this country, what could those wingnuts use to fear monger? Or that thanks to GOP policies, wages are down across the country? Or that those comfortably gerry-mandered seats in the House should actually be changed to the disadvantage of the GOP? [[Shudder]]
Facts are scary things to those wingnuts.
The Census is made of people! People!!!!
*cowers in the closet*
;)
"The greatest tyranny is censoring information in order to be better able to control people." - Cristina Saralegui
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sp-VFBbjpE
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
It's made of people indeed!
"The greatest tyranny is censoring information in order to be better able to control people." - Cristina Saralegui
beck put on his thinkin' glasses, these are some seriously thunk thoughts comin' our way
His widdle head will hurt soon and he'll stop! :D
"The greatest tyranny is censoring information in order to be better able to control people." - Cristina Saralegui
I first learned about the evil census in fourth grade back in 1962.
It was part of learning about congressional representation: if a given population grows, they may be entitled to more representation in congress.
Scary! Hmmmm....I'm guessing that the red states might have more trouble getting cooperation with the census.
Maybe we should just let 'em ditch the census....
"Good grief! S. Carolina has lost five million people; I guess that they gotta lose some representatives."
Heh. Too bad.
It'd be interesting to know if the right wing screaming idiots were frothing at the mouth over this in 2000 like they are now.
Don't seem to recall that being an issue back then.....
Of course, they were all still consumed Clenis Envy.
We don't know who murdered that poor guy, or why it was done, but let's make sure to posit a link to the right wing whether or not the facts justify it.
Sure, the hyper-nationalist GOP and its lackeys have a lot to answer for regarding the unchecked growth and expense of government. Sure, there's something pungently hypocritical about the fact that such people only become alarmed over abuse of power when they're out of power.
I can't help but suspect that the partisan "progressive" side is falling into the same self-serving habits of mind.
Incidentally, if there is an "anti-government" angle to this hideous crime, it probably has a lot more to do with federal anti-drug efforts in the region than anything that has dribbled down the chin of Glenn Beck or his ilk. At least that's the view of a well-informed local blogger (link courtesy of Andrew Sullivan).
fire?
Also, were you on the Reservation? Just as states have different criminal codes, so do Reservations? Just curious.
It's a well known fact that drug growers/manufacturers/traffikers would rather make a spectacle that would draw intense scrutiny to their area
rather than just disappear the body. Right?
While it is true that the perp is unknown, we should just ignore the fact that the collective right wing including Bachmann et al have been
STRONGLY objecting to the census, calling for blood rituals and other nonsense. Right?
I suppose that it is just a coincidence that death threats against this president are increased by a factor of hundreds
and the fact that our intelligent, articulate President is African-American. Right?
And the fact that he replaced a fundamentalist far-right goof probably also has nothing to do with it. Right?
They have to wait for the "official" version of the truth. Duh.
... it is just when other people's "extrapolation" starts to reflect bad on the wingnuts that they have a problem with said "extrapolations."
... to fight fire with water, of course.
If I understand your question about the "reservation," the answer is: No, we were on a state highway, and the officer in question specifically invoked the Idaho State Code. I hope that answers your question.
The police spokesman on the scene in Kentucky specifically said that there were errors in the original AP report about Mr. Sparkman's death. If that's the case, PFAW is not only assuming facts that aren't in evidence, but also building its insinuations on false assumptions. When right-wing folks do that sort of thing, progressives properly call them on it. It seems to me that some folks on the left aren't all that keen on the notion of the categorical imperative....
I like the way you write, but I wonder about the use of poetic license.
And fighting fire with water is only feasible in certain situations. Ever see a large forest fire fought? Fire with fire works best.
Sparkman story now.
And anyone who thinks that humans are special is a self-important ass. Look at the mess they've made. Proof positive of their inferiority, in my opinion.
Because, after all, we all know that the police spokesman is there only to ensure that every bit of information known is available to the public the minute it becomes known.
Oh, wait, maybe that's not the real function of the spokesman? You mean, maybe the police spokesman exists to try to get the media out of the way of the investigation as much as possible, and to control the flow of information so that the public only knows what the police want them to know? I have no problem with that, actually. The public right to know does NOT extend to information that could hinder an investigation or prosecution, even though it seems to be hard to convince people of that....
"... it is just when other people's "extrapolation" starts to reflect bad on the wingnuts that they have a problem with said "extrapolations."
Isn't that kinda like what your doing? You have a problem with his (and others) theory that it might be illegal drug/alcohol related. Since that doesn't fit in with your bash the repubs ideas, it must not be right.
"It's a well known fact that drug growers/manufacturers/traffikers would rather make a spectacle that would draw intense scrutiny to their area
rather than just disappear the body. Right?"
One who said that his body was found in their area? His truck was parked nearby they could of driven him there from anywhere, and actually back in the old moonshine days, it wasn't uncommon to leave the body where it would be found.
Word on the "net" is that it looks like a KKK killing. What do you think about that?
My fear and lack of respect of women is apparent? I don't fear women or men based on gender, and I respect those I feel deserve it based on actions and words, not what is between their legs.
And the only word on the "net" that I've heard say it looks like a KKK killing is tequila's in the open post from today. If you have any links I'd be glad to look at them. I'm not really up on KKK killings could you explain the "normal" one to me? I thought from what little I've read about them it was either a bull whip and a lynching or dragging behind a truck? Is it common for the KKK to strip someone naked and bind them with duct tape? I never knew that, I guess it is true that you learn something everyday.
And I thought the KKK was against minorities not census workers? Could you explain how the two go together? White census worker/minority hating KKK. Just how does that work?
And for how I feel about it? I personally don't care if it was the KKK, a drug dealer, or anyone else. They should be punished to the full extent of the law.
With your very own hypocritical speculation as an excuse to why others should not speculate, and a final attempt to equate libs and conservatives to boot. I am sure all a pure "coincidence" of course, all in the name of "concern."
LOL.
.
I am an Indian -- that is, I'm an American citizen of Mexican Indio/Mestizo ancestry. I'd assume you've visited my blog. Kindly consult the picture.
The unwarranted confidence with which some people pronounce on the unspoken motives of other people never ceases to amaze me. Isn't that a form of pre-judging others -- which is to say, prejudice...?
Indian police officer? I am of Indian descent, too, and I do not like the way you handled that part of your story. If you want details, let me know. I'll give them to you. Freeish country, right? Did I ever claim to be unprejudiced? I think people who do not discriminate are afraid to be wrong. I just do not see the need for being mean.
and especially being told that i needn't think about those warnings, instincts, experiences and gut-gnawing feelings i get when reading such stories...
actually, i dont... but that's just me...
is as tranaparent as it gets. do the google search for michelle bachman on this site and at Huffpo and tell me what you find. then do a general Google search for 'bachman census'. your false equivalence is bullshit. what progressive went into a church and shot conservatives or yelled 'hitler' to a jew or shot the police at his front door?
Some stuff you can't make up!
... aren't facts. There are plenty of people on the right who base their political activism on "instincts, experiences, and gut-gnawing feelings," the facts be damned. I'd hope that at some point we can restore reason to her throne...
Bachmann is deluded. As in anything and everything is out to get her, and her buddy in the clouds is the only one that understands her and her flock. Boo Hoo - no more priviledged, no more entitled, no more 'special' Bachmann...
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
one might suspect that Bachmann and her ilk are delusional, paranoid schizophrenics. All that hearin' of voices and havin' those invisible friends up in the clouds ... heh!
"By words the mind is winged." - Aristophanes
Don't you worry, honey. I have not been able to take her seriously since she criticized people for praising her son. She's a joke who got lucky.
The Dems have been ripped off repeatedly over the years because of a misplaced sense of honor, and it should end. Pin this on the Right, they deserve it. Pin everything we can on the right, then kick the crap out of them. It's either that, or lose this country.
Dr. Dean said yesterday (?) that it's all about the club. Dems are more worried about stepping on their colleagues toes than they are about what their constituents want.
*
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Who cares that they already read every e-mail I've ever sent, listened in on your phone calls and reviewed all the Web sites you visited? That's not important. They may find out my ethnicity!
ANYTHING can be made into an issue by right-wing ideologues who dupe their stupid, angry, potentially racist (if not outright racist) and generally paranoid followers in order to de-legitimize or weaken President Obama and/or the Democratic majorities in the Congress in order to strengthen their own powerblock.
If its not the census, its ACORN. If its not ACORN its socialism/communism. If its not socialism/communism, its Obama's citizenship. If its not his citizenship its his religion. If its not the War On Christmas, its fluoride in the water.
I think the problem Dem's and anyone else has in formulating a response to these whack-jobs is that the issue itself is entirely irrelevant.
from the bribery, etc. And they are doing a fine job, too. They are either too stupid or arrogant, or both to realize that they are being used, or they have no integrity. On second thought, all three apply.
I wouldn't say they're being used. I'd saying they're being paid. Sadly, I don't think you can anything much different about the DNC.
by the corporations. Money for them is endless, so bribing people is a cost of doing business. I expect they get tax write-offs for them. But when the corporate take-over of the entire government is complete, they will be thrown off the payroll. Their gravy train will crash and burn. They should not be putting their money into Wall Street, though. Better to bury it in peanut butter jars in the woods somewhere. They are mere tools, and as they are terribly short-sighted, they can't see this fact. Oh, well, eventually, one gets what one gives.
on the -1 year of the decade. Done it for centuries. I can't imagine Brits going batshit crazy over have to participate in a census.
Canada, every 5 years, in -1 and -6. Never heard of my close neighbours ready to riot for freedom from the census.
I also can't imagine a UK or Canadian resident having to go through bankruptcy because of medical bills, either.
me-oww!
And no right-thinking Red Stater should participate. We need to create a movement along TeaBagger lines to spread the word about Obama's evil Commie plot (the 2010 Census) to take the personal information of Americans and use it to fill his Internment Camps and feed his Death Panels.
If we're lucky, no Republicans will participate in the Census...and all redistricting and federal funds will go into the hands of the sane people...aka Democrats. Here's a suggestion the rallying cry: "DON'T TREAD ON ME YOU NAZI OBAMACENSUS!"
"Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face?" - General Jack D. Ripper
I can already see the signs at the rally:
We Are
Against
Senseless
Sensus!!
the righties are afraid of demographic changes that census will illuminate. After all, I'm pretty sure next year's census will show that the Latino community is growing ever more, only just how much we'll have to wait and see. That will have implications for everyone, including packs of paranoid racists!
And oh the horrors! 70, 80, 90 years from now perhaps Michelle Bachmann's family might have a genealogist amongst them who will use the census to his/her advantage, only to have to gently break the news to the family that they descend from Michelle Bachmann! :(
"The greatest tyranny is censoring information in order to be better able to control people." - Cristina Saralegui
Re=thugs project everything.
I agree with experts that conservatism is a mental disorder.
*
Republicans are like carnies, circus barkers and scam artists.
They have big tents and elephants and they start fights to draw a crowd. Republicans know there's a sucker born every minute, and republicans think taking advantage of others is a winning strategy.
In other words they are scum. Predators.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
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Here's the reason I think:
Luke 2:1-4 (King James Version)
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
This is called the Census of Quirinius, so it's religious, Christian, involves both a census and taxes (which conservatives really hate), and when blurred with Matthew probably helps Herod find the boychik
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PLeNdfkoBI&fe...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
The repugs are the most cowardly bed wetters this country has ever produced. They are afraid of everyone and everything. I think it has a lot to do with also being the stupidest people in the country. They have lost the ability to rationally think through a problem and need to be told each day what to make of the world around them.
Lil' Pishers.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Funny. Sad, but funny - and well said.
If I were a psychopath, I would join the republican party, and get in on the gravy train taking the Teabircher morons to the cleaners.
WOW and where were you Michelle when Bush and the Rubber stamping GOP controlled congress passed the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions act and the national intelligence act. Posse Commitatus has been so weakened these days that the line between federal and state law enforcement and the military is a blur.
For once I would love to see the media call these Idiots out.
to have been a member of congress when the government was rounding up them ferners to haul 'em off to camps! You can fool some of the people some of the time, which apparently applies to a sad majority of Minnesota's 6th district.
"Trust no one, Mr. Mulder." - Well-Manicured Man
the political stakes were just raised to life and death. LITERALLY!
Some stuff you can't make up!
just said something about someone seeing the body and it was naked, hanging from a tree, and the hands and feet were bound with duct tape. Also, an ID was taped to the neck and the eyes were taped over. Clearly a suicide.
to break the law
Some stuff you can't make up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=380C_nVJotY
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
details to the AP. It's on both Countdown and Rachel tonight. Cops still holding out. "Fed" written across his chest in marker. His federal ID taped to his naked body near his head. Law enforcement, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that it was a Census Bureau ID.He was also gagged.
that I can begin to imagine the terror that poor man must have felt.
Congratulations Rep. Bachmann.
Nice job, Fox News.
Here's hoping that karma is more than a bitch.
two people responsible for stringing the poor man to his death. Here's to hoping that one gets a conscience or one brags about it.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
.
accidentally put his clothing in his truck, accidentally wrote "fed"on his own chest with a marker, accidentally duct taped his Federal Census ID to his neck, accidentally duct taped his eyes and mouth, accidentally duct taped his feet together, accidentally duct taped his hands together, accidentally put a noose around his own neck, accidentally climbed a tree, accidentally tied the rope to the tree, and accidentally jumped out of it. I, however, believe it was a suicide. Like the black man in the 60's down south who handcuffed his hands behind his back and then strung himself up in a tree to commit suicide. History repeats itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwwkErDJitQ&fe...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Bushco, specifically a John Yoo character.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
4 sure
Some stuff you can't make up!
Hearing bush and cheney's names mentioned specifically may not be suitable for children before 9pm though...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
The fear is deep within them and eating away at their guts. There is no longer any hope for them. Stick em with a fork. They’re done.
Also, too, their feelings of grandeur are eclipsing reality. They think these GPS devices used by the census workers will be used in future to bomb their house. You see, when we liberals take control of the military the first thing we will do is take away what’s theirs by bombing their houses to smithereens. Screw strategic locations like bridges and stuff. We want to destroy their houses and they know who they are. Mwahahahahaha.
for frightening stoopit peeples.
If i was a right wing whacko like them, i'd get busy with the shovel before it's too late - dig up the back yard - start pouring cement and putting in lead shielding - stuff like that. They better hurry too and stick to their chores until it's done! I hope they're listening. It'll give them something to do with their free paranoia time, and keep them out of trouble.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Out of synch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNTcufUBntg&fe...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Michele Bachmann and Glenn Beck are personally responsible for the murder of Census Bureau employee Bill Sparkman. They personally incited the paranoia and violence that led to Sparkman's murder, and they should be charged with inciting this crime.
Beck has to stick to cooking on his show. Bachmann has to choose between religion or politics.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
It is really sad that Mr. Sparkman a human being who was probably trying to make a little extra money to make ends meet in his world is demonized and probably killed by an angry demented person who rationalized that this poor mope was a government agent trying to somehow spy on him.
What a really sad state of affairs.
Now all I need to hear is the killer was a compassionate conservative.
On the face of it it's a direct response to the edicts of beck and Bachmann.
It may turn out either way - i think sometimes a settlement of some kind is involved and the political calling card could be a foil.
On the other hand it's easy to check if any insurance policy money is part of the picture or not. first of all - how do you kill yourself after you bind yourself to a tree trunk with duct tape?
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
These "strict constructionist" kooks ought to familiarize themselves with Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution.
from the AP
I'm betting that Bubba and Bubba Jr have left DNA all over it. And I'll bet the radio is tuned to some AM talk/"news" station...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzJGckMYO4&feature=related
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I worked for the Census Bureau in Austin in 2006. My work involved testing out hand held devices which would allow us to digitally record and transmit census data without the need for paper. I believe the device that we tested had a GPS on it. We were instructed not to use it because it could corrupt the data that we had thus far collected.
The purpose of the GPS device was not to pinpoint the location of those who responded to our queries with undesirable answers. It was to provide us with our location so that we may get to our next location. In other words, it was to help us with directions just like any other GPS device.
We were instructed to return to each location numerous times until we received the answers to our questions or to ask neighbors for census information. However, there were no questions that we ever asked that I felt were inappropriate for the Census Bureau to ask. So I'm not sure what people are all up in arms about. There are no questions about political or religious viewpoints. Who do conservatives fear the government will round up?
I realize that my tenure completely fell under the Bush administration years when all was honorable and fair in the government and that it has since been corrupted. Perhaps the President has insisted on inserting questions such as, "Did you vote for me in 2008? Do you plan to vote for me in 2012? Are you now or have you ever been a Republican?" Just to be safe, I'm bringing my AK to the door every single time someone with a black bag emblazoned with the Census 2010 comes to the door.
Oh, and that video at the end with the guy with the assault weapon and the census worker, that was part of our training video.
GPS unit for surveying trees in the ROW. The unit only records points that I enter--it is not a monitor of my motion that someone else is watching. While working in marginal areas with paranoid people, however, they don't know that. That fact has kept me safe over the years.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
the GOP is up in arms because the Census will count undocumented immigrants (as it always has) and they're afraid one of the districts will lose a representative because of it. There must be similar fears in other places. The GOP, then, is simply trying to stop the Census pointblank by inciting panic among the stoopid. They could give a rat's ass who gets killed.
One more reason why we should NOT be trying this reaching across the aisle bullshit. Crush them!
This happened in a part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. In Kentucky. Maybe he wandered too close to a still. There's still plenty of Moonshine being made there & they don't take kindly to "Revenuers" nosing around.
I'm thinking there wouldn't be much need for a census worker to be canvassing deep in the DBNF. Census workers tend to be gathering information from people, not pine trees.
MY GOD THEY WANT OUR PHONE NUMBERS!!!!
The next thing you known they will put our names and phone numbers in a big book which will be publicly distributed. Heck they will probably just put these books on doorsteps across the country so that just anybody can see our names and numbers.
Oh the humanity!
...in the Mayan calendar.
About the murdered census worker, Bill Sparkman:
I see that nothing has changed in the South. The same mentality that led to the murder of four in Mississippi for registering black voters still exists today in Kentucky.
Is it any wonder that those..."people" refuse to accept that Barack Obama is a native-born American who won the presidency in a legitimate election?
It seems obvious to me that Rep. Bachmann's comments about Japanese internment in WWII are meant to scare immigrants, especially Mexicans, into avoiding the census, losing dollars and political representation from the government.
What I can't figure out is why the wingnuts would want to scare each other, since it could lead to the under-representation of them. Perhaps someone could clear that up for me?
Michelle Bachmann (and other wingnuts) may seem like she can't tell reality from fiction, but it's nothing but a ruse to fool the legions of gullible people.
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