Commentary

Hidden Headlines – Citizenship on the Census & the Electoral College

These are two items the liberals want to abolish. They claim it’s discriminatory to ask if someone is a citizen of the United States of America, and they want to wipe out the electoral college, one of the brilliant checks and balances that keeps the U.S. from becoming ruled by a dictatorial mob.

This podcast is an eye-opener and will help you win arguments with your liberal detractors, because you will have the facts, not the fake talking points.
One great article I used in preparation for this is entitled, The Genius of the Electoral College, by the King’s Meadow Study Center. You can read it by clicking here.

National Debt Rises: Blame Swamp Economics (baseline budgeting explained)

Yes, our national budget deficit continues to rise. But to listen to the democrats and their mouthpieces in the media, the debt is Donald Trump’s fault. Take for example this article from The Hill:

Two and a half years into his term, President Trump has little to show for breaking with erstwhile Republican Party orthodoxy on trade and budget policy.

Indeed, far from delivering on his promise to cut America’s trade deficit, Trump has presided over a ballooning deficit that’s on pace to be some 25 percent higher than when he took office. This is happening at a time when the budget deficit is widening and the country’s public debt is well on its way to exceeding 90 percent of GDP.

Sadly, the Trump administration seems unfazed by the country’s deteriorating long-run financial position. It shows no indication of correcting policy course to put the economy on a sounder long-run economic footing.

Too bad Mr. Trump is not able to run the government’s budget the way he ran his various companies as a businessman. You see, in the swamp (aka, Washington D.C.) budgeting is conducted with a slimy little trick known as “baseline.”

Baseline budgeting is one of the most sinister ways that politicians claim to cut spending when they are actually increasing spending.

The baseline includes automatic adjustments for inflation and anticipated increases in “program participation.” Program participation is swamp for how many people are supposedly served by whatever a federal department provides. Baseline budgeting builds automatic, future spending increases into Congress’s budgetary forecasts. In other words, every department in the federal government gets an automatic raise every year. It also tricks the public in favor of big-spending politicians.

For example, if an department’s budget is projected to grow by $100 million, but only grows by $75 million, according to baseline budgeting, that agency sustained a $25 million cut. That is kind of like a person who goes on vacation and expects to gain ten pounds, but only gain seven pounds, and then tells everyone they lost three pounds on vacation.

Government is the only place this absurd logic is employed.

Oh, and one more thing: when a federal agency is coming up with a financial surplus toward the end of the year, what do they do? They spend every dime in the name of “use it or lose it.”

Politicians often like to have it both ways. Baseline budgeting gives politicians an opportunity to deceive taxpayers by allowing them to claim that they are holding the line on spending while providing more government services.

Eliminating the inflated budget baseline will force Congress to justify and account for increased spending instead of hiding behind automatic increases. It would also greatly aid in reducing our massive federal debt.

Has a person’s citizenship ever been asked in the United States Census?

Listening to the establishment media, it would appear as if President Donald Trump’s administration is the first in the history of the United States to inquire about one’s citizenship in the census.

Once again, fake news.

Why do we even have a census?

Under the Constitution, once every 10 years the federal government is required to count every person in the country. The data is gathered mainly by sending each household a form to fill out, asking a set of questions about everyone who is living there on a particular date, including their sex, race, age and many other details. Also (gasp), census workers visit homes and use other legal techniques to try to make the count as complete as possible.

The primary purpose is to determine, based on population, how many seats each state will have in the House of Representatives — and by extension, how many votes there should be in the Electoral College. But census data is used for a great many other purposes as well, including the allocation of nearly a trillion dollars in federal spending each year. That tax-generated cash helps pay for everything from public schools and Medicaid, to law enforcement and highway repairs. Additionally, state and local governments use the data in similar ways, including setting the boundaries of legislative districts.

In a nutshell, as intrusive as it may seem to some, the census is a big deal and, I contend, if you have nothing to hide why worry?

The Justice Department says it wants the question included in the census because it needs to have a more accurate account of how many Americans are eligible to vote. The Commerce Department says it needs that information to enforce the Voting Rights Act, which bars discrimination against racial or language minority groups in the conduct of elections.

Opponents say the citizenship question is being asked to frighten non-citizens away from participating in the census, whether they are in the country legally or not. These assailants are also using this issue as another tool to label Trump and his supporters as racist.

Do other countries ask about citizenship in their censuses?

Yes. In fact our neighbors to the north and south ask about citizenship in their census questionnaire, and even the ultra-liberal United Nations recommends the practice!

The United States used to directly ask about citizenship as well, but since 1950 the question has not been included in the census forms that most people receive, however, a much longer, more detailed questionnaire is sent to a small sample of households chosen at random and on that survey the citizenship question does appear.

Many in the news media have often referred to 1950 as the last time that the Census Bureau asked all households about U.S. citizenship status, but they are mum on whether the question was asked in prior decades.

Are you a citizen of the United States of America?

The first U.S. census was taken in 1790 and the question was not asked. The first time this question was directly asked of U.S. household members was in 1820 and again in 1830. There was a 30-year pause, and then the query reappeared in 1870 (but only for those over the age of 21). The question was asked again from 1890-1940.

In 1950, census workers asked about the birthplace of every member of each household. The question on the census worksheet was “What State (or foreign country)” was each person born in? If the answer revealed someone had been born outside the U.S., census workers were instructed to “immediately” ask whether that person was naturalized, which would mean that the person had become a U.S. citizen. The question was dropped in 1960 and reappeared in 1970 for a randomly chosen 5-percent of the population. in 1980-2000 it was also asked to 1/6th of the population (see the chart produced by my friends at the Center for Immigration Studies).

Unlike how the census was conducted in 1950, the citizenship question that the Trump administration wants to ask next year is old-school and direct: “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” The 2020 question, if it is included on census forms, is intended to collect the citizenship status of every person living in each U.S. household, regardless of birthplace.

The Census Bureau has said that it must begin the immense job of printing census questionnaires by tomorrow (July 8) in order to conduct the 2020 count on time. If that is a firm deadline, it would seem to be all but impossible to resolve the issue in time to conduct the head count with the citizenship question included.

But some experts suggest that the deadline could really be more flexible than that. If so, the Census Bureau may be willing hold off printing the forms past Monday, in the hope that when the courts make a decision, there will still be enough time left to get the printing completed.

Again I say, ask the question. If one has nothing to hide, what’s the big deal?

Hidden Headlines: Why America is a Blessing to the World

In this special Independence Day edition of Hidden Headlines, I affirm America’s exceptional status as world leading superpower that has brought immeasurable good to planet earth. Quite frankly (and you’ll likely hear it in my tone), I am sick of those on the left who constantly trash this great land. As I point out in the podcast, without the United States the world would likely be a very dark and nasty place.

I also highlight the lives of three signers of the Declaration of Independence and how they, their wives, and children, were ruthlessly persecuted by the British Crown for their unyielding, in-your-face, stand for Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

You can listen to Hidden Headlines right here on this website, or at iTunes, GooglePlay, Soundcloud, and Spotify.

Thanks for your support!

Brian

Many of the signers to the Declaration of Independence signed their lives away

The following is an excerpt from my book, “Eco-Tyranny: How the Left’s Green Agenda Will Dismantle America” (2012, WND Books). I’ve also shared this story in Episode 40 of my Hidden Headlines Podcast (July 4, 2019).

Francis Lewis was born in Wales in 1713. He was orphaned at the age of five and raised by relatives. After a college education in London, he became a business apprentice and earnestly saved his money. At the age of 21, he set sail for New York where he established an importing business.

In 1756, during the French and Indian War, Lewis was a special aid to the British forces, supplying them with uniforms and other critical supplies. He was on business at Fort Oswego, when a bloody battle broke out against the French aggressors. Lewis was taken prisoner and sent to France aboard a ship, cruelly housed in a wooden box. Upon his release at the close of the war, Lewis was rewarded for his service to the crown with 5,000 acres of land in New York.

Again, while one might think that such a man would be forever loyal to Great Britain, such was not the case for Lewis. He saw how the edicts from England were strangling freedom in the colonies, and, according to Lossing, Lewis held dearly to “his republican views.”

Lewis’ wife Elizabeth was also a devout patriot and fervently supported her husband when he was elected a delegate to the General Congress in 1775 and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia the following year. Once the Declaration was signed, the British placed a price upon the head of Francis Lewis. Before he was able to reach his home on Long Island, ground troops and a warship were sent to seize his wife and destroy his property. Elizabeth watched from a balcony as a cannon ball crashed into a wall immediately next to her. Immediately a servant shouted, “Run, Mistress, run!”[1]

Mrs. Lewis calmly replied, “Another shot is not likely to strike the same spot,” and she did not budge.

The soldiers soon entered the home and destroyed all books, papers, and ruthlessly pillaged the entire property. Elizabeth Lewis was taken to New York and thrown into prison. She was not allowed a bed or a change of clothing, and given little to eat. A former family African servant discovered her location and was able to smuggle some small articles of clothing and some food to her. He also reported her whereabouts and condition to Congress. Demands were made for her better treatment, but the British were determined to make an example of Mrs. Lewis’ prominence and wealth.

Finally, General Washington was able to broker a prisoner exchange, and Elizabeth was able to join her husband in Philadelphia. However, it was plain to everyone that because of her mistreatment, she was broken in health and was slowly sinking into the grave. Francis Lewis soon asked for a leave of absence from Congress to devote his whole time to his wife. She died in 1779.

Grief-stricken, Lewis retired from Congress to live with his sons. This great patriot died in 1802 at the age of 89 in New York City. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the yard of Trinity Church.

[1]Harry Clinton, Mary Wolcott Green, The Pioneer Mothers of America, Volume 3 (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1912), p. 121.