If you call yourself a Patriot, Constitutionalist, Militia man or just a plain American; It is time to stop complaining about the governments encroachments on your God given, constitutionally protected rights and liberty. The time for talk is over. It's now time to walk the walk and put the government in it's proper place.

First, read these news articles and watch the census video posted in this forum.

Second, fill out the census form per constitutional guidelines. Give them no further information.

Third, Post the appropriate No Trespassing signs at the entrance to your private property.

Fourth, be prepared to hand any census worker a Public Servant Questionnaire for him to fill out completely BEFORE you answer or discuss ANY of his questions.

Fifth, video tape the entire process. Require them to fully identify themselves on tape.

And, be prepared to take some flak.

In Preparation for the 2010 Census!

by Gary D. Barnett

I’m not going to lecture anyone here or attempt to describe, define, outline, analyze or rewrite the constitution. I am not going to go through the historical reasoning set forth for census taking and I will not even speak of the initiation of this tainted policy in this country. As an aside, I do realize that we are currently in an economic depression, and that worrying about a government census at this time seems minor, but is it really? I am simply trying to warn all those who still remember what liberty is, and all those who now have a new or reawakened curiosity about freedom, what to expect from the 2010 census and the census taking gendarmes who will soon be harassing all of us. And given the current high unemployment rate, government officials will have an over-abundance of choices to fill the part-time census taker jobs. I don’t consider this to be advantageous as government will be able to choose more obnoxious and more power-driven individuals to do its bidding than normal.

This is not a new subject matter for me as I have been threatened by the U.S. Census Bureau in the past. In a previous article, "Threatened by the Census Bureau," I talked about the intimidating and threatening approach that this organization uses to scare the citizenry into compliance. In my case, at least concerning the incident mentioned in the above article, I was threatened with fines and/or imprisonment if I did not comply. The only census that is to be taken according to our constitution, an obvious affront to liberty regardless of its so-called legality, is a simple head count every ten years. Therefore, the business census that I was sent was fully unconstitutional.

Already, the federal and state governments are preparing for this invasion of our privacy. The complicit mainstream media has been hired by government to announce and solicit compliance with this survey. Even my local radio station and newspaper are running ads for census taker positions daily. Testing centers have been opened and applicants are being interviewed. High wages are being offered to anyone willing to strong-arm the local populace. If this is going on here in my small community, it must be going on in every community. Just what is the cost of such a venture and how many new government agents will be hired to take on this task of counting heads?

The main problem, of course, is that over the years the U.S. census has taken on a new, lengthy and very intrusive nature. The census for 2010 though, as claimed by the Census Bureau, will be one of the shortest on record. Before you jump to the incorrect conclusion that the government is paring back its plan to know anything and everything about you, some explanation is in order. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s site, the 2010 census will be a "short form census" only. This is deceiving. The long form that is normally sent to 1 in 6 families during the actual census, "The American Community Survey," (52 pages) will not be sent in the 2010 census count. The bureau claims that "Decoupling the short form and long form allows the Census Bureau to focus efforts on the constitutional requirements to produce a count of the resident population, employ technology to improve efficiencies, provide more timely data, improve coverage accuracy, and contain costs while keeping operational risk to a minimum." This statement is simply a smoke and mirrors statement (a lie in other words) intended to pacify the public at large. The American Community Survey or long form, that used to go to 1 in 6 households during the decennial count, is now being sent to many every year. In addition, other census surveys, such as the business survey I received, are also being sent on a regular basis. All these surveys are mandatory. This means that there could be very adverse consequences should one refuse to comply! Are you beginning to get the picture?

In other words, the Census Bureau is as nosy as ever, even more so, and they are using the threat of force against those willing to stand up for their rights. The government is now just rearranging the process so as to give a false impression. So what else is new? Lying, cheating and misleading the citizenry is the government’s modus operandi.

Now to the meat of the problem! In my opinion, the harassment and threats for non-compliance will be intensified and more obvious than ever this coming year. Since I wrote my first article concerning this subject, I have received letter after letter from many who have been harassed, threatened, intimidated and just plain bothered by census takers. These people (census takers) are trained to not take no for an answer and they can be and will be aggressive and abrasive. I have always tended to be polite and to tell them only how many people are in my household. If they persisted in their endeavor, I simply asked them to leave my property. If they continued to be impolite, I then demanded that they leave my property at once, or I would take other measures. That, at least considering personal contact situations, has been enough to solve the problem so far. This has not been the case, however, considering other types of census taking. I believe that the Community and Business surveys, if not adhered to, will be the cause of more government wrath visited upon those properly refusing to answer such intrusive questions.

One particular individual has written to me on several occasions and explained exactly what was going on due to not fully complying with one of these very unconstitutional surveys. This individual received threats, letters from census supervisors and several personal visits without prior notice. One census worker was actually hanging around trying to find an opportunity to confront this citizen. Fortunately, this person never complied, but most under these same circumstances would have. I find this troubling and wish more would stand up to these simpletons doing the bidding of leviathan.

Much of the problem stems from the fact that local, state and federal agencies depend on "good" census participation in order to allocate more federal dollars. There is also the little discussed advantage of capturing and recording extreme amounts of personal data from the now vassal-like society dependent on government. According to the 2010 Census Bureau site, there are many needs concerning the census, so many questions on the census are followed by a list of Community Benefits gained due to answers given. These so-called Community Benefits include education, government, planning, social services, employment, housing, banking, etc. I don’t know how one can separate this agenda from something akin to a socialist or communistic agenda, but I do know that attempts by government to plan society are antithetical to liberty, and therefore should be shunned.

The incentives for forced compliance are evident and at all levels of government, but the incentives for us to resist this invasion should be stronger than government’s will to control us. For those willing to stand up to these trimmers in government, confrontations are likely, and I should know, as I have now seen this dynamic from more than one angle. But I hope that during this upcoming census many will stand their ground and put these imbeciles in their place! Just how much more are we going to take?

April 11, 2009

Gary D. Barnett is president of Barnett Financial Services, Inc., in Lewistown, Montana.

Copyright © 2009 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given."

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2010 Census: Legal Obligations and Potential Fines for Non-compliance

Are you required by law to answer all the questions on the 2010 Census forms? What are the potential fines if you decide not to?

Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States requires that an "enumeration" shall be conducted every ten years "in a manner as [Congress] shall by law direct." The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states that the enumeration shall consist of "counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed."

There have been no subsequent amendments to the Constitution giving Congress the authority to require an enumeration of the number of bedrooms or toilets in your house.

The first question of the 2010 Census asks, “How many were living in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2010?” For those who support and defend the Constitution of the United States this is where the census form should end.

But, what are the implications for the person who wishes to take a stand against the encroachments of his unalienable rights by the ever growing bureaucracy of our central government? What if you refuse to fully comply?

The census form American are about to receive in the mail, or the census workers who may appear at the doors of American homes with their GPS devices, should be able to reference only the following from Title 13 the US Code:

TITLE 13 - CENSUS
CHAPTER 7 - OFFENSES AND PENALTIES
SUBCHAPTER II - OTHER PERSONS

Sec. 221. Refusal or neglect to answer questions; false answers

-STATUTE-
(a) Whoever, being over eighteen years of age, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested by the Secretary, or by any other authorized officer or employee of the Department of Commerce or bureau or agency thereof acting under the instructions of the Secretary or authorized officer, to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions on any schedule submitted to him in connection with any census or survey provided for by subchapters I, II, IV, and V of chapter 5 of this title, applying to himself or to the family to which he belongs or is related, or to the farm or farms of which he or his family is the occupant, shall be fined not more than $100.
(b) Whoever, when answering questions described in subsection (a) of this section, and under the conditions or circumstances described in such subsection, willfully gives any answer that is false, shall be fined not more than $500.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.

This is the current US Code written expressively for conducting the US Census.

However, we are dealing with a corrupt central government that claims the prerogative to interpret the law as it wishes. This is how we have come to live under a regime that believes it can declare anyone an enemy combatant and torture them up to and including the point of death.

Tsars and their apparatchiks in the US Census Bureau are not immune to this tendency operate with little to no regard for what the law actually says. The US Census Bureau has given the indication that they intend to disregard what Title 13 clearly says about limiting a person's failure to fully comply to not more than a $100 fine — a small amount to risk for many who may wish to take a stand in defense of the Constitution and the limited powers it grants to the central government.

Under the explanation of the American Community Survey (formerly the Census long form) the US Census Bureau claims the following:

"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."

At the bottom of its explanation, the Census Bureau provides a link to what should be the last word on the matter; Title 13 — the specific US Code for conducting the census as referred to in Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution.

The Census Bureau does not provide a link to Title 18, the US Code for federal crimes and sentences, by which the Bureau claims the fine for incomplete census questionnaires is "in effect" amended and raised to "not more than $5,000".

(In his recent commentary on the census Congressman Ron Paul has repeated this claimed potential fine of up to $5,000.)

Could the Census Bureau just be flaunting a potential $5,000 fine threat to scare off those contemplating acts of non-compliance on their census forms? Here are the pertinent excerpts from Title 18, that the Census Bureau references to support its claim that Title 13 has been amended by Title 18 ? (emphasis added):

TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART II - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CHAPTER 227 - SENTENCES
SUBCHAPTER A - GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 3559. Sentencing classification of offenses

-STATUTE-
(a) Classification. - An offense that is not specifically classified by a letter grade in the section defining it, is classified if the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is - (1) life imprisonment, or if the maximum penalty is death, as a Class A felony;

...(9) five days or less, or if no imprisonment is authorized, as an infraction.

(2) Exception. - With respect to a person convicted of a Federal offense described in paragraph (1), the court may impose any lesser sentence that is authorized by law to take into account any substantial assistance provided by the defendant in the investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an offense, in accordance with the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the policy statements of the Federal Sentencing Commission pursuant to section 994(p) of title 28, or for other good cause.

SUBCHAPTER C - FINES

Sec. 3571. Sentence of fine

-STATUTE-
(a) In General. - A defendant who has been found guilty of an offense may be sentenced to pay a fine.
(b) Fines for Individuals. - Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, an individual who has been found guilty of a offense may be fined not more than the greatest of -

(1) the amount specified in the law setting forth the offense;

...(7) for an infraction, not more than $5,000.

(e) Special Rule for Lower Fine Specified in Substantive Provision. - If a law setting forth an offense specifies no fine or a fine that is lower than the fine otherwise applicable under this section and such law, by specific reference, exempts the offense from the applicability of the fine otherwise applicable under this section, the defendant may not be fined more than the amount specified in the law setting forth the offense.

No doubt there are more than a few federal legal counsels that will argue in favor of the Census Bureau's claim that their reading of Title 18 means that census officials can threaten Americans with up to a $5,000 fine if they refuse to answer all the bureau's prying questions. The argument of the Census Bureau comes down to this though: Though the rules the Census Bureau is authorized to operate under are clearly defined in Title 13 of the US Code, they believe that they can supersede the intent and will of the Congress on the grounds that a special rule applicable to sections in one Title of the US Code can be interpreted as an implied amendment to an unrelated Title of the US Code. ("It's good to be King" is the shorter argument here.)

If the intent of Congress (not the US Census Bureau) is that Title 18 "amends" Title 13, then Congress needs to legally amend the law set forth in Title 13. By injecting its intention to apply a section of Title 18 to override the clear statements made in sections of the unrelated Title 13, the US Census Bureau is "in effect" indicating that it intends to follow the lead of the IRS and other federal agencies to rule and intimidate the American public through their own arbitrary interpretation and enforcement of the law.

An American wishing to defend the intent of the Constitution, or simply their own privacy, against the census questionnaire should only have to be at risk of being assessed with up to a $100 fine. However, the Census Bureau, likely sensing growing opposition to its extra-constitutional efforts, is attempting to intimidate people with its contrived threat of up to a $5,000 fine.

Are they just bluffing? It probably depends on how many people call their bluff.



End Notes: There have been no pertinent changes to the above US Code cited since the 2000 census. Amendments were made to Title 13 in 1976 which struck out the provision authorizing imprisonment for not more than sixty days for refusing or willfully neglecting to answer questions and the provision for authorizing imprisonment for not more than one year for willfully giving a false answer to a question. The last time the will of the Congress was tested then, deference was afforded to the side of the people.

Disclaimer: This author will be answering the census the same way he did in 2000: Question #1 only. Though a note was attached to the partially completed census form indicating a willingness to be assessed the $100 fine, no fine was assessed.

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