Every year since 1790, the U.S. government has counted its people. In recent years, the census has sparked charges, especially among Latinos, that their communities were under-counted because of language difficulties and fear that census takers were interested in rooting out illegal immigrants.
But this year, fear about the government's intentions is coming not only from liberals concerned about minority under-counting and a form that does not consider Hispanics a racial category, but from conservatives worried about invasion of privacy.
Update on celebrity politicking: One-time singing sensation Barbra Streisand has come out against the recent Supreme Court ruling giving corporations the legal right to make political contributions as she does.
In a widely-overlooked item on Huffington Post this week, Streisand complained that the overwhelming 2008 "historic victory" of Barack Obama "was a mandate for change," as was the awarding of overwhelming congressional majorities to progressive Democrats.
But, according to Streisand, who says she's been a longtime supporter of free speech, progress in Washington has been stymied not by political infighting but by big money.
"Frustration has given way to anger," Streisand says, "as voters have witnessed the inability of our lawmakers to make progress on issues like health care reform, financial regulation, and energy policy. This inaction is due to a tidal wave of big money from the health insurance industry, Big Oil and giant financial institutions who have mobilized to challenge the people's mandate for change."
She adds: "The same financiers, whose greed contributed to the downfall of our economy, contribute significantly to candidates expecting a favorable return on their investment."
She favors new laws limiting large corporate contributions because "campaigns funded by small-donor driven public financing can turn Washington, D.C., away from 'rule by the monied' and towards 'rule by the many.'"
In addition to performing at Obama fundraising events, according to the Center for Responsive Politics' opensecrets.org website, Streisand herself has donated in excess of $600,000, mostly to Democrats or Democratic groups over the years.
ABC's "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos: John Brennan, deputy national security advisor; Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Reps. Jane Harman (D-Venice) and Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.).
Bloomberg's "Political Capital" with Al Hunt: Bloomberg reporters Julianna Goldman, Rich Miller, Hans Nichols and Indira Lakshmanan.
CBS' "Face the Nation" with Bob Schieffer: CBS News correspondents Nancy Cordes (Congress), Jan Crawford (legal affairs), David Martin (national security), Bob Orr (homeland security) and Chip Ried (White House).
CNN GPS with Fareed Zakaria: Roundtable on Obama's first year; conversation with Tom Ricks and interview of Kishore Mahbubahni on China's future.
"Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace: Brennan, Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) (Senate Intelligence Committee).
NBC's "Meet the Press" with David Gregory: Brennan; former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff; retired Gen. Michael Hayden; Doris Kearns Goodwin, presidential historian.
In the latest chapter of the ACORN video scandal, conservative activist James O'Keefe tonight posted footage he secretly recorded this year at the community organizing group's South Los Angeles office.
In the footage, O'Keefe (posing as a student at USC) and Hannah Giles (pretending to be a prostitute on the run from an abusive pimp in Miami) appear to ask an ACORN employee for assistance finding housing so that they can set up a brothel with underage sex workers. The employee, Lavelle Stewart, isn't shown objecting to their comments and offers to connect the pair with other organizations that specialize in housing.
O'Keefe said in a written introduction to the video, which was posted at biggovernment.com, that Stewart "tells us she thinks we have to hook up with 'someone who’s on that international sex business level,' that '14- and 15-year-olds been traveling overseas for years,' that she can do independent research for us, and that she has had meetings with Porn magnate Larry Flynt."
The Los Angeles office of ACORN, a housing advocacy group, refuted the video and O'Keefe's claims in an e-mailed statement this evening. The statement called the tapes "clearly doctored." The statement also said that Stewart "made it clear that ACORN does not help with such things" and attempted to take Giles and O'Keefe to a neighboring nonprofit agency that deals with international abuse.
"It is hard to respond to this tape," the statement said. "It is so heavily edited that it may be constructed to conceal the reality of the interaction." (The complete text appears on the jump.)
Lyn Motley, of the Los Angeles office, said in a second statement: “We are going to reserve judgment on the actions of the former employee on this tape until we see the full, unedited version of this interaction.” Stewart left the organization last month, over matters unrelated to O'Keefe and Gile's video, according to ACORN staffer Peter Kuhns.
O'Keefe and Giles shot to national prominence in September, when Fox News aired videotapes they made at several ACORN offices across the country in which employees appear to give them advice on tax evasion, human smuggling and child prostitution.
Outrage over the videos led Congress to cut federal funding for the community organizing group. This month ACORN filed suit against the federal government, saying the funding cuts were unconstitutional.
ACORN also sued O'Keefe and Giles in Baltimore, alleging that the audio portion of the video they made there was obtained illegally. In California, Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown has launched an investigation into the pair. California law forbids secret electronic recordings of "confidential communication."
