Census and Kurdistan

Sorry I didn't get around to the blog last night. I was busy doing the nation's business until almost midnight. The bureau of the census had sent its questionnaire to us the other day, and I had laid it aside. And then I got a note telling me to get it done right away. The instructions said that it takes only 38 minutes to complete, so I got on it. 2 1/2 hours later, I finally finished it, but I was burning mad. I was expecting the usual stuff about who lives in the household, marital status, etc. What I found was more like "Big Brother is Watching You". Why would they need to know the street address (with zip code) of the client I worked for last week? They also wanted to know the value of my home, the cost of taxes and property insurance, the amount of my electric, gas, and water bills for the last 12 months. There were questions about my income (including interest and dividend income, no matter how small), and they asked extensive questions about my health care. This outrageous incursion into my privacy has to be part of Obama's attempt to control everything, because it certainly has his touch. I can see this happening in Cuba or Venezuela, but it shouldn't be happening here in my beloved America. Oh, I meant to tell that there is a law that says I have to fill it out, with a reminder that there is a substantial fine if I do not comply. The forms I had to complete might not be the questionnaire that everyone else has to fill out; it is called the American Community Survey (Obama's administration is good at assigning innocent-sounding names to their nasty programs). Now I only have to worry about an IRS audit if the questionnaire doesn't quite match my Form 1040, or I might get lucky and only receive an ominous call from the Acorn people.
Something I doubt you have heard in the traditional media - the United States is in very serious negotiations in Iraq to establish three large military bases in the Kurd-controlled northern part of Iraq. The U.S., the Iraqi government in Baghdad, and the powers that be in Kurdistan are evidently in agreement about the bases, so it is probably a done deal. All parties involved have a lot to gain from such an arrangement. No doubt this can be traced back to the Bush administration, because Obama wouldn't have thought about it. If you didn't already know about this, remember - you heard it here first!