Friday, July 09, 2010

Taking leave of our census

It's old news already, covered well by other bloggers, but just a couple of quick notes:

  • Are people aware that, once again, we--that is, Tony Clement and, of course, Stephen Harper, without whose divine approval not a blade of government grass stirs--are slavishly following in the footsteps of American politicians?

    Anyone remember Michele Bachmann, the far-right flake who is frequently the unwilling recipient of Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" award?

    Michele co-sponsored a bill just last year to--guess what?--gut the American census. Reasons? "Privacy concerns" -- utterly bogus, of course, but Clement is now channelling her. Do Canadian cons ever have ideas of their own?

  • Be sure to read Dan Gardner's take-down today--referring to this move as "the Conservative government's latest act of gratuitous stupidity." He points to what should be obvious: a voluntary long-form is useless because of its inevitable sample bias. And here's more on that subject from blogger Stephen Gordon [h/t BCL].

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