RADICAL RIGHT Census Fearmongering Backfires The 2010 Census will count "everyone residing in the United States: in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas," as mandated by the Constitution. Filling out the Census and sending it back to the federal government is required by law. But last summer, conservatives -- led by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Fox News' radical host Glenn Beck -- began a fearmongering campaign designed to discourage Americans from filling out their forms. Many on the right argue that "it is unconstitutional for the census to ask anything beyond the number of people in a household." While this year's questionnaire asks about race, gender, and age, the Census "has asked similar questions for decades." Indeed, Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution requires the government to conduct a population count every 10 years as to assure accurate representation in Congress. Now that health care reform passed, the right is setting its sights once again on the Census, ratcheting up fiery rhetoric intended to scare Americans about some imaginary federal government overreach. Anti-immigrant groups have also relaunched their anti-Census campaign, fearing "theft of representation from lawful Americans." But at the same time, conservatives are starting to publicly recognize that filling out the Census is beneficial, and some have expressed worry that lower participation "could reduce the number of Republican seats in Congress and state legislatures." In a new public service announcement, former Bush adviser Karl Rove encouraged Census participation. "One of my favorite founders is James Madison, principal author of the Constitution. He created an instrument of democracy by writing into the Constitution a requirement for a census every 10 years to ensure fair representation in Congress," he noted.
EXTREME RHETORIC: Bachmann led the anti-Census charge last year, declaring that she would illegally refuse to answer any question beyond the number of people living in her home. Even though Bachmann has since voted for a House resolution urging Census participation, she returned to fearmongering last month, saying "there's some very serious problems with the census" because it is "counting illegal aliens." The right-wing noise machine -- from Beck, radio host Rush Limbaugh, and blogger Michelle Malkin, to new CNN contributor and Red State blogger Erick Erickson -- is also getting the message out. Erickson said recently he would "pull out" his wife's shotgun if authorities try to arrest him for not filling out the American Community Survey -- a longer questionnaire conducted by the Census Bureau that is sent to a small subset of Americans to collect more detailed demographic information. Beck has said that he refuses to complete the Census form because the government is "out of control." Beck has also said that the survey is an attempt to "increase slavery." The Commerce Department responded to Erickson's shotgun comment, saying that precautions are being made to "protect the safety of both census workers and the public."
ANTI-IMMIGRANT FERVOR: The 14th Amendment requires that representatives be apportioned according to an indiscriminate population count of "the whole number of persons in each State." Moreover, the data is used to allocate federal funding. Thus, non-citizens, children, ex-felons, legal residents, and several other non-voters are included in Census apportionment data in order to paint an accurate portrait of a state's demographic makeup and population density that's key to effective and adequate representation. However, anti-immigrant groups such as Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) don't want everyone in the U.S. to be counted. ALIPAC recently started a campaign to frighten undocumented immigrants from filling out the survey. An ALIPAC press release stated that "[i]llegal immigrants are being targeted with taxpayer funded ad in Spanish encouraging them to fill out the Census, so they will get more taxpayer resources and have more political power." "We want Congress to take action now to authorize and require the use of census data collected to identify illegal aliens, exclude them from the census count for tax resources and Congressional redistricting, and to detain and deport those found in violation of our immigration laws," said ALIPAC William Gheen.
TRYING TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE: The Wall Street Journal reported this week that according to Census data, "some of the most conservative states have among the lowest response rates so far" which now has many Republicans worried. In fact, Texas has one of the lowest rates of return in the country, which is perhaps why Rove is now appearing in the public service announcement "designed to convince people to mail back their 2010 census forms by the end of the month." And Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC) recently called out the right-wing smear campaign surrounding the Census. "[W]hat worries me is blatant misinformation coming from otherwise well-meaning conservatives," McHenry said. "Anyone who tells you that this year's census is unconstitutional and that you are not required to fill out the form completely is flat out wrong. ... That argument doesn't stand up to either history or the Constitution's text." The congressman told the Journal that it is everyone's "constitutional duty to respond" to the Census. "It's often difficult for conservatives to separate overall government intervention from a question as simple as the census," he said.
IRAQ -- IS THE U.S. MILITARY COVERING UP A 2007 KILLING OF REPORTERS AND CIVILIANS IN BAGHDAD?: In 2007, two Reuters employees -- photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen and driver Saeed Chmagh -- were killed by a U.S. helicopter strike in Baghdad. The U.S. military's argued that the attack occurred after security forces came under fire from men accompanying the reporters, and that the rules of engagement were followed in returning fire. Skeptical of the military's claim, Reuters filed a Freedom of Information Act request for video of the killings, but was unable to obtain them from the military, despite warnings from the Pentagon's inspector general that future shootings were "likely to reoccur" if the event was not closely examined. During an event yesterday at the National Press Club, whistleblower website Wikileaks unveiled that it has a video, obtained from unnamed military sources, from one of the Apache helicopters involved in the attack. The video, which has now been uploaded to YouTube and placed on a Wikileaks website dedicated to the incident, appears to show that the military's helicopters attacked the Reuters employees unprovoked, apparently mistaking their cameras and tripods for weapons. The video does not show the victims firing on U.S. military personnel, nor does it show that they were any apparent threat. "A senior American military official confirmed" to the New York Times "that the video was authentic." If the video is indeed an accurate portrayal of events, it would appear that the military's official response to the events is inaccurate and that it has not been telling the truth when it claims that the Apache attack "occurred after security forces came under fire." Additionally, it would appear that the Apache pilots in question violated the 2007 U.S. Rules of Engagement for Iraq, which permit the use of "deadly force" only against individuals who "pose a threat to Coalition Forces by committing a hostile act or demonstrating hostile intent."
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Twenty-five coal miners died and four others remain missing in a "huge underground explosion" at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch Mine yesterday, making it "the worst U.S. mining disaster in more than two decades." The tragedy is the latest deadly disaster involving coal baron Don Blankenship's Massey Energy, which has been repeatedly cited for "serious safety violations." President Obama said Monday that the nation's new nuclear guidelines will "substantially narrow the conditions under which" the weapons will be used. The Nuclear Posture Review, to be released today, "renounces the development of any new" weapons and represents "a sharp shift" from "his predecessors." American taxpayers are making an 8.5 percent profit off bank bailouts, according to a new survey. The profits come from 49 companies that have already repaid their portion of the Troubled Asset Relief Fund, and the Treasury Department predicted Friday that the bailout would be a net profit to taxpayers once all of it is returned. In a speech before a group of supporters yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) took a jab at former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. "I was going to give a few remarks on the people who were over here a week ago Saturday, but I couldn't find it written all over my hands." He added, "You betcha." "Bombs hit apartment buildings and a market in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 49 people," in a series of attacks that have killed more than 100 people over the last week. Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, whose political bloc came out slightly ahead of current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's in the recent elections, blamed the violence on political gridlock. Democrats and Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) "traded barbs" Monday over who was responsible for the expiration of unemployment benefits for thousands of Americans. Bunning insists that Democrats are responsible for not paying for the extension, while Democrats claim the benefits qualify for "emergency spending" that does not need to be immediately paid for. "The panel established by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis has been hobbled by delays and internal disagreements and a lack of focus," the New York Times reports after interviewing "a majority of its members and government officials briefed on its work." "We lost a fair amount of time on the front end," said commissioner Keith Hennessy, a former economic adviser to President Bush. "Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's top political advisers announced Monday evening that they are parting ways with the embattled committee following Chief of Staff Ken McKay's dismissal." Curt Anderson of OnMessage Inc., who advised Steele's 2006 Senate run, "confirmed in a statement that his firm is ending its relationship with the committee and the chairman." State Department legal adviser Harold Koh attempted to articulate a legal rationale for the use of drone attacks, which many experts consider to be a violation of international law. "In this ongoing armed conflict, the United States has the authority under international law...to defend itself, including by targeting persons such as high-level al Qaeda leaders who are planning attacks," Koh said. And finally: President Obama's thoughts on his pitching performance at yesterday's Washington Nationals game.
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"I never considered myself a maverick."
-- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), 4/03/10
VERSUS
"You may figure out from time-to-time, Sarah [Palin] and I don't agree on every issue. What do you expect of two mavericks?"
-- McCain, 9/17/08
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