Being a big Boston T. Party fan (based on his work, particularly Boston’s Gun Bible and Molon Labe! and our interaction at the last Liberty Forum) I was excited to read his newest book, One Nation, Under Surveillance to see what tactics he advocates individuals take to protect their privacy from Big Brother. Though Boston tackled this issue in Bulletproof Privacy, after more than a decade, that book was dated due to fast-changing technology and the ever-expanding Big Brother.
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that while reading One Nation I was struck simultaneously by feelings of empowerment and worry. For example, though I was aware of sweeping surveillance programs used by the Feds (Carnivore, ECHELON, the NSA’s direct access to AT&T’s servers etc.) the book disclosed even more privacy-usurping programs such as the Digital Collection System Network (DCSNet), which, according to a Wired.com source Boston cites “connects FBI wiretapping rooms to switches controlled by traditional land-line operators, internet-telephone providers and cellular companies.”
One Nation goes in depth about how you can take steps to protect your privacy in the areas most prone to government intrusion: ID, online, phone, mail, financial transactions, travel and more. Though many of the steps are admitted time-consuming ask yourself: What is my privacy worth?
One chapter I found particularly timely was “The Census and ACS” in which historical examples were used to underscore how census information collected by governments for supposed benign reasons was later utilized to commit massive violations of individual rights. For example, Reinhard Heydrich (thought by some to be Hitler’s successor before he was killed), who was the Nazi’s point-person in the eastern territories they had seized, claimed that “the census documents provide the basis for evacuation.” The same was true for those the Nazi’s deemed “undesirable” in Germany and other areas they occupied. It’s fair to say that without such information the scale and precision of the so-called Final Solution would not have happened.
Here in the “land of the free,” after that Statist bastard FDR issued Executive Order 9066, the Census provided the Army with records to facilitate the internment of over 110,000 Japanese-Americans. And a century before that census information was used by Sherman as he led the Union Army through Georgia on persons-killing property-destroying rampage. According to Sherman:
The closing scene of our recent war demonstrated the, value of these statistical tables and facts, for there is a reasonable probability that, with them, I would not have undertaken what was done and what seemed a puzzle to the wisest and more experienced soldiers in the world.
Boston rightly concludes:
By providing reams of information, the census allows politicians to further manipulate people’s lives. The more information government collects, the more control government can exert.
My suggestion to you? Pick up a copy of One Nation, Under Surveillance to become more-informed. Don’t fill out any government paperwork and refuse to talk with Census employees if they call or come to your door. Don’t get lulled into compliance by the $340 million marketing campaign the Census is waging this year – including two Super Bowl ads and a road tour (hey minarchists, where is that allowed by your holy constitution?).
You wouldn’t disclose any of the information requested on the ever-expanding census form to a complete stranger so why give it to a group with such a terrible track record that claims a monopoly on the use of violence? One that, as we’ve seen, is ever-ready to utilize the information to propagandize “us vs. them” scare tactics to distract individuals from the problems they’ve caused or exacerbated. Seems to me the real threat are those who claim a right to you and your property.
For a thorough overview of One Nation, check out Michael Hampton’s review of One Nation over at Homeland Stupidity.
Pete Eyre is the Outreach Consultant at 
Please understand that I am not advocating for this approach, but it seems relevant to point out that Somalis have been killing census workers since 1991. The function of any census is to find people and wealth to tax. So when “transitional national government” census workers come around, the Somalis kill them. This has also happened to tax takers.
“No taxation without representation!”
Who wants to be represented, when it means taxation?
Who wants to be taxed in order to be ‘represented’ by yet another deceitful liar?
Surely the men of Shay’s Rebellion understood THAT!
Killing census workers might be a little extreme and could lead to unpleasant consequences. Ostracization of the million census workers, as well as all government employees, is something that can be done safely by fearful Americans.
There should be a social price paid by those who work for an oppressive government. The lives of those who choose to work for the government should be made uncomfortable. Perhaps one day nobody will want to work for the government. That will be the day government vanishes.
Even the most timid anarchist should be able to shun the government clerks and enforcers in their midst. It requires nothing more than silence. Actually telling the government workers why you want nothing to do with them earns you a bonus point.
Obeying the government is extremism. Defending freedom, territory, privacy, and property with up to deadly force is not.
I can’t work for the government owing to a lack of qualification – my parents were married when I was conceived. But I think your view that the government disappears when no one wants to work for it is about as sensible as the idea that taxes would disappear when no one wants to pay them. Apparently, they use conscription and violence, even if you don’t want to be involved.
When they are off duty, they appear among us in ordinary clothing. As well, attempts to publish information on who they are and what they look like have resulted in web sites being taken down, etc.
I have had fun, though, looking up the names of pigs and judges in Whitepages.com. Really useful resource that.
Thursday I sighted a 2010 Census Marketing vehicle [Video Link].
The census is sponsored by Google? Whatever happened to Google not doing evil?
I saw one of their adverts on telly. It was all about the children and how to divide up the pie of stolen money. What a mess.
What is the realistic penalty for refusing to participate in the census? In theory, one can be fined hundreds of dollars, yes? Or perhaps even locked up? I’m in favor of flipping off A**H*** government agents, but it is important to be informed as to the likely consequences.
Don’t answer the door, don’t do a thing, and the maximum fine for non-compliance, if they catch you, if they convict you, is $100.
According to United States Code, Title 13 (Census), Chapter 7 (Offenses and Penalties), SubChapter II, section 221 if you’re over 18 and refuse to answer all or part of the Census, you can be fined up to $100. If you give false answers, you’re subject to a fine of up to $500. If you offer suggestions or information with the “intent to cause inaccurate enumeration of population,” you are subject to a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in prison, or both.
There’s no reason to answer your door. If the pigs come knocking, why open the door? Make them take the time and make the effort to kick it down. This is physically demanding, they may not be that interested, and it gives you time to call friends for help, run out the back door and over the back fence, get to a panic room, do all kinds of things.
Why be so damned trusting? Nobody who comes to your door without calling in advance should get the time of day. Nobody who comes to your door – postal carriers, delivery services, flowers, groceries, pizza, process servers, pigs, census takers, Jehovah’s witnesses, Mormons, Scientologists, Baptists, family, neighbors, Girl Scouts with their poisonous partially hydrogenated cookies, that irritating kid who thinks you owe him another chance to do a lousy job mowing your lawn – none of them should be unexpected. None of them should get the time of day from you if they are unknown to you. And every single one of them is better on the other side of a good strong door.
Don’t open the door, don’t open your mouth. Learn when to shut the f#ck up. Don’t say a word. “Whatever you say, say nothin’ when you talk about you know what, for if you know who should hear you, then you know what you’d get. They’ll take you away to you don’t know where for you wouldn’t know how long. So whenever think about talkin’ just remember the words to this song.”
Yes, if they pop a squat outside your door and sit there for 48 hours, maybe you’ll get fed up and come outside where they can see you. Or maybe you can get out the fire escape and sneak back in the same way. (You should put toilet paper and a garbage can outside your front door, in case that’s a real squat they’re poppin’. jk)
Seriously, $100? What is that? Not even a tenth of an ounce of gold. It is coming up on five ounces of silver plus a bit of old style change. Gosh.
Don’t fill out the form. Don’t lie. Don’t make up dozens of people who don’t exist. Just stay inside and don’t answer the door when they come.
Remember, the form they give you to fill out doesn’t have to come back right away, and they won’t start really getting uptight until April rolls around. Remember, the little jerk they send around is doing a grunt work job for government pay, so don’t take out your aggravation on him or her. Don’t have any respect for them, either, they are taking stolen (tax) money in every paycheck. But you don’t need to pile all your unexpressed aggression on their backs.
Say nothing, do nothing, and the penalty is $100. If they catch you. If they convict you. If they bother. It isn’t a lot of money. It would arguably cost them thousands of dollars just to put together a case, just to open up a court room for the case. Don’t plea bargain. Don’t plead guilty. Make them convict you. It is for more than $20 so the constitution says you have the right to a jury trial even if they want to pretend it is civil. Make them empanel a jury. Make them show up for court. All by itself, this process costs them thousands of dollars, ties up the system, and helps you make your point.
Remember, they’ve abused the census before. They cannot be trusted. They hate humanity and want to enslave everyone that they do not kill in horrible ways. http://www.toad.com/gnu/census.html
They nuked civilians in 1945, and for years thereafter, so they are vicious, violent, and not to be trusted.
Withdraw. You cannot expect to succeed by fighting the system using its methods – violence, fraud, force. Smashing the state sounds great, but can be hazardous to your health. And they might come to your mother’s home looking for you, hasn’t she done enough? lol
Seriously, the penalty for not getting involved is very small. Sit down in your comfortable chair, don’t answer the door, and don’t be counted.
I couldn’t have said it better!
Fine blog. I got a lot of good data. I’ve been watching this technology for awhile. It’s fascinating how it keeps shifting, yet some of the core elements stay the same. Have you seen much change since Google made their latest acquisition in the arena?
My neighbor is a caniball, he failed to fill his census forms. They sent people to his door to collect the information. He had about 5 census takers show up over the last few weeks. He said his grocery bill has dropped by $200 a month.
Hi, for your post. You don’t know how this helped me.