Just about everyone in my neighborhood indicated on their census form that they were a particular race, that I know good and well they are not. The word is that the census has never prosecuted anyone for "lying about their race". After all, how can the census prove you wrong? For reasons unknown to me, the census only takes the position that a person's race is what they say it is -- and some say everyone has a little of everything in them.

But what good is a census if large numbers of people in certain areas are not being all that truthful about their race. The people who run the census say that over 99% of the importance of the entire census circulates around the answer to that single race question (why is that?). And now large numbers of people are messing that up but good by not being truthful (let's just say it, lying).

It may best/worst way to protest of them all, at least on my block, but I can say, it got the pot holes fixed, and money is still rolling in.

Absolutely correct information would be nice but almost as good is flawed information that has a known amount of error. The census isn't going to contradict anyone, or prosecute anyone, but they can sample the population and make their own estimations. Of course you can also control for errors in your estimators by having them estimate the race of a known sample. The end result is you get a raw result with a well defined error. Which, in the end, is about as good as it gets.

Yes, some people are going to lie on purpose. You are also going to get a percentage who just, for some unknown reason, check the wrong box. There are even a small percentage of people who lie, but end up telling the truth. A considerable number of people misunderstand their own ancestry. A good percentage, largely out of wishful thinking and cultural idealization, claim American indian ancestry. Must of us are mutts. That is a good thing. Mutts are usually healthier and better adapted than purebreds.

Actually, all of us are mutts. Biologically speaking, "race" is a highly flawed concept.

I have a good friend who is self identified as American Indian. His actual parentage is obscure (long story). I was discussing DNA options with him just a few days ago so that he could learn his biological antecedents. He approaches this with some trepidation because the answer might not be satisfactory.

Perhaps our DNA haplogroup could be worked into our ID number on the soon to be obligatory TSA ID microchip embedded in the left mastoid process. That ought to clean up the census data.

I wonder what the recent(last 10yrs) owners of All those Indian casinos that, sprung up outa' nowhere would have to say about Scientifical proof that they weren't Native Americans,to begin with,thus making their sovereign land a myth!:)

I don't think science would say that at all. It's simply that most of us have "intertwined lineages" due to the antics of past generations. Those formal portraits in the history books don't begin to convey all the shenanigans that went on. Think Thomas Jefferson, a true intellectual giant, and his good friend, Sally Hemmings.

Apparently, we are all six billion of us descended from a population of around 2000 in S Africa. 2000? That's about the size of a large voting precinct here in my county.

Thank you for the article, Arney.

"The so-called Great Recession was declared officially over last fall, yet consumer confidence — or lack of it — remains consistent with an economy in deep trouble."

Could someone please tell me EXACTLY what indicators are being used to say that the recession is over? Don't use the Stock Market, it isn't an indicator.

Sue

I'm with you Sue and Arny. That article really hits home. Low income families are getting squashed by an ever increasing cost of living and middle income families are being strerched by the same forces. What we pay for the necessities like food, hydro, natural gas, gas for the vehicles, property taxes, etc. is an increasing percentage of our income and we can only cut back so much. If someone loses their job, it can push a family to the brink and that's going to have a ripple effect across the economy making that great recession that just ended look like a tea party.

Technically its the growth of the money supply rather than the contraction of the money supply. The money supply is still expanding due to rounds of Quantitative Easing, i.e. to re-inflate the whole private cartel of private banks (which all failed spectacularly in late 2008) called the Federal reserve and the US treasury Ponzi scheme rather than let it rapidly deflate to point that the worlds reserve currency becomes worthless. The result is trickle up economics with the wealthy financial controlling class just buying time to exchange fiat currency into realizable physical assets whilst preparing for a post peak oil future. Other challenges such as the peak oil situation are putting pressure on these folks on how to achieve the best way to transform a post industrial society into a system of Serfdom, Manorialism, Feudalism and Slavery once more (i.e. stable post industrial informational controlled societies through compliance such as use of information physiological operations such as terrorism) can be achieved whilst still in control of those financial methods of control of the wider populace. The next 20-40 years will be extremely challenging for everyone as letting the greatest historical Ponzi scheme collapse too quickly would be neither beneficial for anyone. You can't put a frog into boiling water as it will quickly jump out, better to let it get comfortable and then turn up the heat.

Well, based on Wall St. bonuses, life is just peachy, so that must be why we're in a recovery. Wall St. handed out a record $135 billion in bonuses for 2010. That's higher than even before the financial crisis in 2008. Obviously, bonuses are not handed out evenly, but on average, that's a $141,000 bonus.

I guess they were out of pitchforks at the local hardware store on the day Wall St handed out the bonuses. No...actually, that must've been the night of the final episode of American Idol last season. Or maybe people were just too busy at their second or third jobs.

I think they call it progress.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlJZaQdqto8