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Archiver > JESSE-JAMES > 2000-05 > 0958543885


From: Chris Wayne <>
Subject: [JESSE-JAMES-L] US 2000 Census (Update)
Date: Wed, 17 May 2000 00:11:25 -0600


I've had a lot of responses from my post about the 2000 Census and
because it went out to multiple lists, replies went to me or the
particular list it was read on and so, I'm sending out a summary of
what has been generated. I wonder how many read this on multiple lists
(i.e. how many people belong to the same lists I do??)

First off, the range of responses went from very positive ("that was a
great idea" - open thinkers? :-) to those of caution and doubt ("I don't
know if they'll let you do that" - conformists, closed minded? :-) One
said that I could get in serious trouble tampering with a legal document
- puleeeze! That was so laughable, but hey, Janet Reno can come get me
anytime (zeig hiel)! That’s my information! And the instructions only
say to fill it out as completely as possible (Title 13), which I did.
Question 10 clearly asks about heritage (I'm using pages 39 & 40 to more
fully answer). It doesn’t say what you can’t do.

I see both functions of the census with equal enthusiasim. The first
function is accounting. Most people are concerned about this part, but
I agree with it asking personal questions for the benefit of everybody,
but do you really think the Government doesn't have or couldn't get that
info by other means? – someone mentioned credit info. If the Government
wanted to, they could do whatever they wanted (do I hear another zeig
heil {in the same manner one would say amen}) This is just another
fear like "big brother" or how the credit card and computer are tools of
the devil and how we’re going to lose our privatcy. If the information
is misused, then yes, we have a lot to fear about, and this
administration gives credence to that, but then you can do something
about that at the polls! Maybe the public will learn what is meant by
the saying "there's a sucker born every minute" after the assualt on the
Constitution, Easter weekend! It's all about leadership, which this
nation is lacking. The most leadership I've seen since Desert Storm was
Gov. Gary Johnson when he could be seen actively doing things during the
Cerro Grande Fire (Los Alamos, NM) from helping to fight the fire to
comforting the victims. This current President plays the public like
Suckers! If you think that this Elian Gonzales thing is just reuniting
a father with his son, then you had better wake up!

The problem with this census is that they're going to find out that they
need more things than they can allocate for. It's a noble purpose to
know where they need a school, but it will be a bust because we can't
build all the schools we need. The fear I do have is that because of
this fact, they're going to have to make decisions on what schools they
can build and I think they'll more than likely build in a well-to-do
white community where their kids have no respect or know what sacrifice
is, rather than build it in a less affluent community like Cuban Miami,
where they know the meaning of freedom! Sorry for having one foot on
the soapbox, but current affairs, politics and this census are
intertwinded by nature. If there is a maillist for this census, then
let us know, I haven’t seen one. If there is one, we need to move this
thread there.

After the accounting function is complete, there’s the genealogical
function to consider. I had some responses from past enumerators and
current ones, but none of them knew the answer to if the Bureau was
going to microfilm this census or not. If not then my efforts are for
not, or are they? Two new lines became evident while putting this info
together, I now have a more concise two page list (outline) representing
how I came to be. That’s, in itself valuable. I doubt that calling the
Bureau will be profitable, because the answer will be the typical "no
you can't do that" or "I don't know", whether you can or not. It is for
these reasons you should do it anyway, because you never know. Someone
also said that they would doubt that Kinkos would copy it onto the
form. When I took to Kinko’s, they had no problem doing it (11x17). I
just pointed out not to cover the bar codes. It cost $5.42 (client
stock). That’s a $5 investment in the next 72 years for a time capsule
or “Rosetta Stone”. It’s in the mail now.

Where I work, we share our office space with the micrographics
department. They have two camera machines with paper feeders that you
find on a printer, fax or xerox. All they do is prep forms like legal
documents to receipts on 81/2 x 11 sheets, load up the paper feeders and
run them through the machines to be microfilmed. The paper forms are
then packed into boxes and then stored. They'll stay in storage until
their retention period is up and that's usuaully several years. The
microfilm is kept indefinitely. The Government at all levels is
retention happy and I can't see the Bureau, not microfilming the
census. They spent a lot of money printing them out. When you take the
staples out of the census form, you can see how each sheet can run
through a scanner. I wasn’t as lucky, I had to manually scan all forty
pages :-)

The Government must realize the importance of microfilming the census
for future generations?? This will be the last census to go from paper
to microfilm anyway! The 2010 census will be done electronically. The
Government should add a page or two into the census for “messages” to
the future (sort of like an electronic time capsule). It can be
anything you wish. It can be as profane or as profound as you want.
Not everybody are genealogists :-)

What gets me is that you hear reports from the Government on how people
haven’t been returning the census. For one, there is no deadline on the
form, therefore, as long as they come in, even by the end of the year,
should be fine. Secondly, these reports started coming out prior to
April 1st! Why?! The form states that this is to count all those
persons living at that residence on April 1st. Most people probably
didn’t look it over until after April 1st. You don’t know who’s living
there until *after* the target date.

Again, if there’s no maillist for this census, maybe someone should
create one, if just to be able to pass on info?! If you’re interested
in what I copied onto the form, goto
http://www.nmia.com/~cwayne/genealogy/MyLine.doc (word97) for my
outline.

chris


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