Whitney Q

The Big Beautiful Bill has a SNAP Poison Pill How states will get the blame for massive cuts to food stamps

Fascinating discussion of error rates and help procedural errors are calculated in a high stakes metric.

We make it hard to administer.
Then we fine the states
And punish recipients.

donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-big-be...
@cjforms.bsky.social

What can be learned from states that made good faith efforts with work requirements? Lessons from New Hampshire

Check out the piece referenced by @besttrousers.bsky.social on @donmoyn.bsky.social's Can We Still Govern here: donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-can-b...

Important read from @civicdesign: Their four principles for designing clear, effective government forms:

1⃣ Make it trustworthy.
2⃣ Explain the problem clearly.
3⃣ Be specific about the problem.
4⃣ Tell them how to take action successfully.

More here: civicdesign.org/form-letters...

This Hero WOD celebrates the life and service of Minnesota State Representative and Speaker of the House Mellissa Hortman, who was killed along with her husband and dog on June 14, 2025. The workout is in rounds for time, representing the cycle of the legislative calendar. Doing a WOD with others is an act of community. In that spirit, she talked about “coming together to do the work.” Embrace the challenge, but choose the weights that you can sustain 3 rounds for time (3 is the number of deaths) • 25 Snatches (25 is the year of the attacks) • 34 Overhead Lunges (she represented District 34B) Each time you pick the barbell up for the lunges, 5 Snatch Balances first (5 is the number of casualties that day) • 61 Kettlebell Swings (she was the 61st Speaker of the House) • 110 ft. Suitcase Carry/Farmer’s Walk (she was 55 years old, so 55x2)

So here's a Hero Workout that celebrates the life and service of Minnesota State Representative and Speaker of the House Mellissa Hortman, who was killed along with her husband and dog on June 14, 2025.

In Crossfit, hero workouts recognize extraordinary lives and effort. They are often first responders or military personnel.

It's tragic to have to say this, but we should honor the service of legislators and election officials, too.

Lobachevsky is one of my faves.

"Plagiarize.
Let no one's work evade your eyes.
Just plagiarize plagiarize plagiarize"

Team work time: in person, remote and hybrid. How do you decide on a case by case basis.

I'm looking for research on the advantages and when each mode works best/not as well

Gone, of course.

It’s amazing what happens to turnout when campaigns actually speak directly to groups they want to vote for them on platforms and in places they actually are

This quote keeps rattling around in my head from Julius Caesar

"Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war.'

#Amtrak continues to cover itself in glory. Worst communication system ever.

It was a real emergency - wires down across the tracks north of NYC. But no info but wait and see. And conflicting messages that make absolutely no sense.

So we played chicken: suck it up and rebook and get a hotel? stay and risk getting stranded at the station at the other end?

Well, I gotta hand it to Amtrak for being even worse at customer service than the airlines,, and with much less customer protections in place. Will the train leave? Won't it? Who knows. Apologies don't replace information.

Another entire department of people doing great work in the federal government to mourn

All created with thanks to Sarah Horton, who I wrote A Web for Everyone with, Tom Biby for the wonderful illustrations.

And, of course, all of the people whose experiences we borrowed from to create these stories.

Carol: Grandmother with macular degeneration An accessibility persona from A Web for Everyone — Carol has always loved reading, so her fading eyesight is a real sorrow to her. She tried recorded books, but she didn’t like listening instead of…

Carol: Grandmother with macular degeneration

"My grandkids are dragging me into the world of technology."

knowaboutaccessibility.org/2025/04/21/c...

Maria: Bilingual community health worker An accessibility persona from A Web for Everyone — Maria comes from a traditional Mexican extended family. She grew up helping her parents and older relatives navigate the English-speaking world. H…

Maria: Bilingual community health worker

"I love this. It’s all here … when I can find it."

knowaboutaccessibility.org/2025/04/28/m...

Vishnu: Engineer, global citizen with low vision An accessibility persona from A Web for Everyone — These days, Singapore is a center of the world, and Vishnu is one of its global citizens. After graduating from one of India’s technology colleges…

Vishnu: Engineer, global citizen with low vision

"I want to be on the same level as everyone else."

knowaboutaccessibility.org/2025/05/08/v...

Steven: Deaf graphic artist and ASL speaker An accessibility persona from A Web for Everyone — The nice thing about being a graphic artist is that most of the time his work can speak for itself. My only disability is that everyone doesn’t si…

Steven: Deaf graphic artist and ASL speaker

"My only disability is that everyone doesn’t sign."

knowaboutaccessibility.org/2025/05/08/s...

Lea: Editor, living with fatigue and pain An accessibility persona from A Web for Everyone — Lea was on track to become the editor of the magazine she worked for when she started having numbness in her hands and feeling completely fatigued…

Lea: Editor, living with fatigue and pain

"No one gets that this really is a disability."

knowaboutaccessibility.org/2025/04/28/l...

Emily: Cerebral palsy, living independently An accessibility persona from A Web for Everyone — Emily is determined to do things for herself, so she’s tried a lot of different keyboards and joysticks over the years, looking for the right kind…

Emily: Cerebral palsy, living independently
"I want to do everything for myself."
knowaboutaccessibility.org/2025/04/28/e...

Jacob: Blind paralegal and a bit of a geek An accessibility persona from A Web for Everyone — Jacob is a paralegal in a large law firm. He reviews cases and writes summaries, cross-referencing them to the firm’s own cases and clients. He’s …

Jacob: Blind paralegal and a bit of a geek
"The right technology lets me do anything."
knowaboutaccessibility.org/2025/04/28/j...

Trevor: High school student with autism An accessibility persona from A Web for Everyone — Trevor is a bright 18-year-old who plays games and watches music videos on his laptop. He lives at home with his parents and younger sister. He at…

These mini portraits of people with disabilities were created to show a range of ability, aptitude, and attitudes to consider when designing.

Introducing them here:

Trevor: High school student with autism
"I like consistent, familiar places on the web"
knowaboutaccessibility.org/2025/05/08/t...

Pete Buttigieg is a master of deft communication, breaking down misunderstood ideas into accurate but easily digestible protein bars for the masses.

In short, I want @petebuttigieg.bsky.social to explain the end of Lost to me.

Know About Accessibility All of us should know about accessibility

So happy that the personas that we created for A Web for Everyone now have a second home on the Know About Accessibilty website.

knowaboutaccessibility.org
rosenfeldmedia.com/books/a-web-...

The Death of Direct File Tech for good not welcome in the Trump administration

It's that kind of morning, as I spiral down into the news.

This one makes me saddest of all for all the reasons in the article, and because someone I know was the UX lead for this amazing project.

donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-death-...

Why the Paperwork Reduction Act needs to go, Part 1 If we have fewer federal workers, we'd better choose what's most important for them to do. A law that keeps us locked into nineties era paperwork should be first on the chopping block.

Why we can't fix the forms for @cjforms.bsky.social

"Our forms still look like they’re from the eighties and nineties in part because ...They are digital versions of the paper that preceded them, because that’s what we have an approval process for."

open.substack.com/pub/eatingpo...

Wish I could be there.
Error rates are the key design challenge for election forms!

I'm with you. The cost of chasing down things like this is not worth the value -- and that's what they are counting on.

OTOH, I've been working through my father's "collection" of unused postal stamps that he liked, no matter how many it takes to make up today's postage.

Movies for today's news, April 16 edition:

The Mauritanian with Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tahar Rahim