King's Count

We're leaving together
But still it's farewell
And maybe we'll come back
To earth, who can tell?
--Europe

Yesterday I heard a local radio ad encouraging people to take part in the upcoming census because of the (paraphrasing slightly) 'huge amounts of money on the line.' In other words, get counted so that our locale can get more funds from the government. A land grab...

As Ron Paul notes, today's census has grown way beyond its original Constitutional scope.

People have been wary of the motives behind census-taking since at least Herod's time. And, of course, politicians, census, and gerrymandering have long been bedfellows.

In authoritarian welfare states, stakes behind the census increase to new heights.

The fact that no one is willing to challenge the Consitutionality of the current approach is a sad indicator of how far we've drifted from our founding intent.