(07-06-2019 08:12 AM)Rice93 Wrote: (07-06-2019 08:07 AM)tanqtonic Wrote: (07-06-2019 07:25 AM)Rice93 Wrote: (07-04-2019 10:56 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote: (07-04-2019 10:30 AM)tanqtonic Wrote: A friend of mine noted this last night, and I found it amusing:
Trump now has the left protesting the 4th of July.
And disrespecting the Betsy Ross flag.
When did it become unAmerican for Americans to find out how many Americans were living in America?
What is your view as to why adding this citizenship question to the census is so important to the Trump administration?
What do you think the mission and job of the census is?
Seems to be kind of one of those 'basic questions', does it not?
Kind of like the question 'how far is Mars from the Earth' would be for NASA, right?
The Supreme Court did not seem to look at it as the no-brainer that your post suggests.
Perhaps you should actually read the base materials before your rhetorical reply.
The section of the Roberts opinion regarding the power to ask the question, the section being unanimously agreed to, concluded
Quote: [the enumeration clause] “permits Congress, and by extension the Secretary, to inquire about citizenship on the census questionnaire.”
Six justices – all but Alito and Gorsuch – joined the next subsection of Roberts’ opinion, in which the court rejected the government’s contention that the Census Act gives Commerce Secretary Ross carte blanche – not subject to review by courts – to decide what questions to include on the census questionnaire. Which in turn set the stage for the final outcome of remanding the case in light of insufficient administrative background and activity.
Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh signed on to the next two parts of Roberts’ opinion. In the first, the court reversed two parts of the district court’s ruling that overturned Ross’ decision to add the citizenship question. Roberts and his conservative colleagues also reversed the district court’s ruling that Ross’ decision violated provisions of the Census Act that require the Secretary of Commerce to use administrative records, rather than questions on the census, whenever possible.
The final portion of the Roberts opinion, having 5 votes, said that the process to include the question deviated from the normal administrative procedures. SCOTUS sent the case back not as 'rendered', but as 'remanded', upholding the district court decision to send the case back to the Department of Commerce for it to provide a better explanation.
Quote:“Reasoned decisionmaking calls for an explanation for agency action. What was provided here was more of a distraction.”
Again, I dont suggest Vox or Mother Jones for much of an in-depth explanation.
So actually, it does seem to be as 'much as a no-brainer', especially considering the portions of the decision that stated the Census was not just a headcount function, but emphasized the ability and freedom to use it in an information gathering process.
