Thoughts on Three Subjects: The Census and Latinos; Police; Population Control

We are seeing a lot of PSAs (public service announcements) on TV aimed at encouraging people to return their census forms. Evidently this is a greater problem in Latino communities because illegal immigrants fear that the government can use census data to track down, and even deport, illegal immigrants. Evidently there is a rumor to his effect going around in Spanish-speaking communities.

However, I have never seen any of these PSA in Spanish. Does that make sense to anybody?

A news item of a couple days ago said that Chicago police officers, who now have video cameras in their cars, have been keeping these cameras turned off. The cameras are supposed to deter any police wrongdoing, for example during traffic stops. The police excuse for not having their cams turned on? They might be shown doing something they are not supposed to do. No further comment needed.

Population control: I feel that no family should have more than two or three children. More people being born means more pollution, more strain on natural resources, more energy use and hence production of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, and destruction of habitat for wildlife. We are covering America with subdivisions and parking lots.

I could go on and on, on that subject. But now evidently there's yet another reason to limit family size: A recently-announced study shows that women increase their risk of stroke with every child that they give birth to. So today I was wishing I could say to the guy I saw with five kids, "Think of what you are doing to your wife every time you knock her up!"

Of course, given the nature of things, tomorrow a study will come out showing no such relationship. Meanwhile, the mother of all those kids didn't look at all harassed, I have to admit. Plus, they looked like a family who could afford those children. But, for the reasons above, I don't feel a family should have all the kids they can afford to.

Copyright © 2010 by Richard Stein