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Common-sensical Census~::::::=-iI--~ -"

To the editor: Though~:::::=Virginia M. Clothier's letterj-::> =("Census Nonsense" KCN :::::::;4/15) comes off as somewhatl. :::i:snippy, I fully understand he~,;:::<_-bewilderment. She closes]; -::: z:her diatribe with this plea: ~::::<"May the Good Lord infiltrate -:::-:our government with His:;:::=:guidance and a good dose of:::::=-:;:common sense." -: - ;:~Her thoughtful prayer and.f";;;"~clearly articulated frustratioU-';:';:'~aside, Ms. Clothier simply+ L:does not understand howr:::;common-sensically her gOv'7:-;-ernment works. (I'm sure < -: :<-her cluelessness has nothing.to do with the fact that she isfrom Rock Hall. After all, :'::tsignificant percentage of allAmericans have no idea wh~Washington does what .itdoesJ ~iHer main complaint is that .~••while tax collectors havenaqualms about sending the.it;demands to her post offio~box, all the while expecting,~timely payment, the Census •. :Bureau refuses to send it~ ";questionnaires to a box, ,fi ~contends that boxes are ll(!)t~_ ..~:&checked frequently enough ;:',:':to facilitate a "prompt '-i..response; even-though .••the "> ::::.'5government giv.es itself., 19- -'~ ~years between official enw . .~.merations. ! JWhat's not to understandabout that?Allyou need to <;it;is step through the looking- ~';'"glass, and it all becomesclear. Just as the chief 01Homeland Security declared'after the Christmas airPlaIi~bomber's underpants failedto blow up: "The systemworks!" Just don't pay anxattention to the man behindthe curtain,

Ms. Clothier is right onabout one thing. And that isthe importance of everyonebeing counted. Governmenthandouts are apportioned .•according to the size of .alocale's population. RockHall, for instance, benefited -'greatly by the federal dollarsappropriated locally for ten- •rorism abatement. The towngot enough federal bucks tooutfit each and everyone 6fits police officers with a newflashlight.So ifRockHallers are und~1f ..counted, they won't get th~fair share of federal highWi~ .construction money and t!..ri>:poorbaysiders will forev' -::.;remain captives of a tw0l::: J

blinker town. : '-'ZA short count for Rock Ha :::~.:means less of that free suri ; -::;.Plus federal cheese to spreaJ - :::.-:

(- -around. And maybe even a-:~'decrease in the number o~::::::IRS agents assigned to th~:::::;::area. Though I doubt that ~::.:::::happen now that the IRS is.~ - _ -..charge of nailing healtli::::::::-insurance dodgers. Not t~:::: ~mention that Rock Hall ha~::::::-achieved prominence as th¢:: -::embezzlement capital of th~:::::USA, and thus presents itsef=::::::as a target of opportunity £or<:>the feds. , - > -In the end, though, it allevens out. Ms. Clothier gotno census form; I got three, _. _including one threatening mefor not responding to the first •.one. (Though I already had.)Fortunately, by deadlinetime, I had filled out all three.I can't wait for that triple dip .of surplus cheese. And if thegovernment runs health care'with the same hyper efficien-cy .that it counts the popula-tion, I expeet that instead dfthe usual single inspectionwhen required, it will provideme with three colonoscopies.

J. Taylor BuckleyBroad Neck

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