Travis Roach

Also, Mexican food is much better than poutine. Sorry Canada.

if you tamper with government data because it’s too downbeat, you might end up with private sector data that’s MORE downbeat

Bee on a thistle

Switchgrass pollen

Weirdo Henry Eilers is weird

Late summer blooms #nativeplants

The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau. For a full statement opposing this move, read:

Trump’s first BLS Commissioner, Bill Beach, calls today’s firing groundless and dangerous.
www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2025...

Me three months ago:

NABE strongly condemns the baseless removal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer and the unfounded accusations leveled against the work of the agency. This unprecedented attack on the U.S. statistical system threatens the long-standing credibility of our economic data infrastructure. Business leaders and policymakers depend on reliable, impartial economic data to guide decisions that affect investment, employment, and the health of the economy. The BLS produces these data using transparent, rigorously documented, and scientifically sound methodologies. U.S. economic statistics are regarded as the gold standard worldwide, setting the benchmark for accuracy, transparency, and independence. Large revisions to jobs numbers in recent years reflect not manipulation, but rather the dwindling resources afforded to statistical agencies—resources that are essential to timely, accurate measurement. To cast doubt on the integrity of these processes for political reasons risks doing lasting harm to the institutions that support American economic stability. Commissioner McEntarfer is a highly respected labor economist and a dedicated career civil servant, having spent more than 20 years at the U.S. Census Bureau before being appointed to lead the BLS. Her work has earned broad bipartisan trust. Her removal threatens to erode public confidence in the BLS and the broader federal statistical system, even as these institutions continue to uphold the highest standards of integrity and excellence. NABE encourages Congress to review the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of Commissioner McEntarfer, ensure that statistical agencies are adequately resourced to produce timely and accurate data, and consider steps to strengthen their independence and integrity. We also urge elected officials, business leaders, and the broader policy community to speak out in support of the BLS and the federal statistical system...

National Association of Business Economists (those who work for private industry)
files.constantcontact.com/668faa28001/...

Trump firing the BLS director for a bad jobs report - days after demanding the Smithsonian remove him from the list of impeached presidents - is banana republic stuff.

If a Democrat pulled these stunts, Republicans would be setting themselves on fire outside the White House.

Okay, *now you can start to worry about data being manipulated.

If you want a weird but true fact to talk about:

Dexter Holland, lead singer of The Offspring, was instrumental in this. His doctorial thesis in molecular biology was sequencing mRNA in HIV. The paper was also heavily cited in creating the COVID-19 vaccine.

Just released: A list and brief description of research studies the Arnold Ventures Criminal Justice team funded in the first half of 2025. Over $15 million out the door to figure out what works. Keep the great ideas coming!

www.arnoldventures.org/newsroom/gra...

I’m just forecasting a great collaboration April Fool’s joke

Wichman and Vu (2026) “Difference in Deference: A Surname Approach”, Economic Inquiry.

Is climate change dangerous? Yes, it is.

A first response to the frankly embarrassing DoE report open.substack.com/pub/richardt...

Got my first, “welcome back for the new school year” email

A quick JOLTS 📈🧵, starting with openings, which seem to have stabilized at more or less their prepandemic rate. #NumbersDay

The trade data for May are in: U.S. wine exports to Canada have continued their steep decline.
After a year-over-year decline of 93.2% in April 2025, the May 2025 value fell by 97.2% to US$ 0.96 million - down from US$ 34.30 million in May 2024. (June data will come on Aug 5)

After contentious US committee vote, Bayer and allies a step closer to new federal protections for pesticides By Carey Gillam A group of US lawmakers failed on Tuesday to beat back a provision in a congressional appropriations bill that would help protect pesticide makers from being sued and could hinder…

A House Committee voted to grant Monsanto amnesty from lawsuits. These corporate monopolies are attempting the same thing in Iowa, now the #2 cancer state. Unlike Joni Ernst, I don't think we all have to die because of special interests buying our democracy. www.thenewlede.org/2025/07/vote...

tfw there are a lot of bugs in your yard (complimentary)

Fiiiine, apparently half my readers enjoy an info dump, so here we go!

Grasslands Sequester Carbon Too or “Why trees are not the be-all and end-all.”

Ahem. *takes a sip of water*

When I wake up and check the temperature-humidity combo

When I tell my dog it’s medicine time

Why nature must be made visible in decision making Too often, nature is treated as a constraint to development. The prime minister’s comments earlier this year about the impact of bat conservation on the completion of HS2, sparked frustration within the conservation community, as this unhelpfully framed nature as being in conflict with economic growth.

Bats save the economy billions by acting as natural insecticides , yet they don't count in GDP calculations like pesticides do.

In this blog, Matilda Dunn, policy analyst, shares reflections on how to make nature visible in decision making: buff.ly/qbqIN8J

Marie-Thérèse, Face and Profile, by Pablo Picasso, 1931, 📸 via @pbs.org

for some added context; this painting was of Picasso’s underaged muse

Gridded Environmental Impacts Frame (Gridded EIF) A novel privacy-protected geospatial dataset derived from the Census Bureau’s confidential Environmental Impacts Frame (EIF) microdata infrastructure.

For anyone who's interested, updated versions of the Gridded EIF data product for 2024 are now available: www.census.gov/data/experim...

For this release, we're experimenting with housing unit level data: we produce noisy counts of occupied housing units by age, income and housing value.

In Search of Equity, WNBA Players Have a Nobel Laureate on Their Side Harvard economist Claudia Goldin, who focuses on the role of women in the American economy, has been advising the WNBPA in its CBA negotiations.

Spent a bit of time at the WNBA All-Star Game chatting with a new basketball fan: Harvard economist Claudia Goldin, who has been advising the WNBA players in their labor negotiations, part of a more robust strategy this year from the union

Rethinking Air Quality Regulation Devolving responsibility for air quality regulation to the states may offer opportunities to reduce complexity, tailor policies to local needs, and motivate innovative approaches.

A long Cato white paper reviews the history of pollution regulation and what we know about the health effects of fine particulate matter
www.cato.org/white-paper/...

Wait, I was assured that Biden had already killed the oil industry