Jan Vink

Good questions, we deserve those answers. Is there any update?

Applied Demography Toolbox

Added a few items and made some updates to the Applied Demography Toolbox page:
https://applieddemogtoolbox.github.io/
#Demography #PopMastodon #AppliedDemogToolbox

Oops, talked too soon. The whole site is currently offline

We will have to keep an eye on Section 2 of the 14'th Amendment in the Congressional version of the Constitution. A "data error" might erase it next.

Somebody at Commerce will tell him that, wouldn't they?

US constitution

This is the US Constitution page @ the Library of Congress

Sections 9 and 10 have been removed

9 includes habeas corpus, the courts' review of unlawful detention & imprisonment

This gov't can't change the Constitution w/ sneaky editing, but it's a new low: constitution.congress.gov/constitution/

Quote from Erica Groshen, senior economics advisor at Cornell ILR School: “When a statistical agency revises its data, that is an indication it cares both about timeliness and about accuracy. It’s saying: ‘We’re going to get you something in a short period of time that we think contains valuable information using methods that are well-tested. However, it’s not going to be as good as the revised data we’ll have in a month or two.’ So revisions are not a bug, they are a feature of the program.”

@ericagroshen.bsky.social adds: "With regard to allegations of altering the data, the process is highly, highly choreographed, with tight deadlines. BLS does this every month, and everybody knows who needs to do what job on what day to get this out on time."

Statement from Friends of BLS on Commissioner McEntarfer’s Removal.

“This escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system.”

www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2025...

Nice deprivation index dashboard for New York:
mypublicdashboard.ny.gov/t/OJRP_PUBLI...

The Bus Station That Didn’t Exist, and Other Data Epiphanies, Nightingale “Data is multidisciplinary” is my mantra—it’s 2025, and I’ve now worked 20 years in every possible flavour of data—data visualization, open...

📊 Journey through a gallery of "eureka moments" that expose the hidden complexities of data in government.

Giuseppe Sollazzo draws on two decades of experience to reveal why challenging assumptions and understanding context are paramount for effective data use.

nightingaledvs.com/bus-station-...

Question: This week BEA will release the "Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index". Is that price index also getting less reliable for similar reasons?

I am confused: one moment the GOP want only residents in counts, the next moment they want to exclude only unlawful aliens. Besides both being unconstitutional, which is it?
Also: who is spending money to allow the Census to do the rendering? Will the Bureau get money to cover the additional work?

3 Months later, 1 report published, some pushed ahead another three months but I am very disappointed that the Census Bureau decided to withhold publication of numerous reports "While the Census Bureau conducted this assessment, it will not externally release the accompanying report. (June 2025)"

New York sues feds over Census, grant cuts New York State is taking the lead in another multi-state lawsuit against the Trump administration

It has all the ingredients of a new movie "The Clause"

www.news10.com/news/ny-news...

So much still to do, so little time

I got my copy in the mail yesterday. I haven't read it all, but I can already highly recommend it.

NO KINGS NOW!!!
NO KINGS FOREVER!!!

Data About America’s Communities Are In Jeopardy, and Lives May Hang in the Balance, Nightingale Over the years, I’ve worked with counties across California focused on combating drug overdose in their communities.

"These data are not bound by political lines. They benefit Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. People of all political persuasions can, and do, make use of the treasure trove of data that the U.S. government publishes"

HT Andy Krackov via @datavizsociety.bsky.social

It is not too early to get prepared for 2030!

I hope that the planning of the 2030 census operations will be funded and free of political interference

Want to trust federal statistics, like jobs & inflation? If so, you should object to a rule to make senior federal stats staff more like political appointees.
Find out more & how to comment on it here: (www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2025...).
Deadline: 5/23/25. Quantity matters, so repost.

Donald Trump’s Information Warfare Against America Federal data used to be economic jet fuel. Now much of it is either gone or weaponized.

Federal data is an invaluable national asset and economy driver. But for Trump & Co., it's "woke" and must disappear, or it's personal, private, and perfect for weaponization against people and groups they don't like. My latest at @thebulwark.com
www.thebulwark.com/p/donald-tru...

Bar chart showing 651 NSF-funded research projects, with total terminated days in dark grey or red, completed days in light grey or red. Red highlights projects listed by Ted Cruz as "neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda".

For #TidyTuesday this week, we're looking at data on terminations of NSF grants 📊

🎨 Using colour to highlight one category
📈 Transparency to highlight the important data
✍️ Annotations instead of a legend for transparency

#RStats #ggplot2 #DataViz

❗ACTION ALERT❗
Are you familiar with plans to reclassify civil servants to move positions that require specialized expertise into political positions?
There is an opportunity for public comment.
And fortunately Friends of BLS & @copafs.bsky.social have put together a script you can use

"Just as roads and bridges are fundamental to our physical infrastructure, demographic information is vital to our data and policy infrastructure."

New piece co-authored by @mmather.bsky.social and APDU Board member @datageekb.bsky.social in Why Social Science from @cossa.bsky.social

"There are indicators that after 15 minutes of accounts being created [by DOGE], somebody tried to access it from Russia with the right password, and that happened over 20 times." Andrew Bakaj, Chief Legal Counsel at Whistleblower Aid, on DOGE's alleged mishandling of sensitive data at the NLRB.

Maybe you can help me Matt. What does this privacy guaranty means in plain English in terms of the 2020 Census data products? We have an Epsilon (26.34 in final person DHC) and Delta (10^-10), but what do the probabilities represent?

Such sad news. It was always a pleasure working with Andy, he will be missed.

A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data A whistleblower tells Congress and NPR that DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data and hid its tracks. "None of that ... information should ever leave the agency," said a former NLRB official.

NEW from me: A whistleblower says DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data...and then someone posted a threatening letter to his door.

www.npr.org/2025/04/15/n...

www.bxtimes.com/op-ed-future... My oped on the need for a NYS Census office. Please take a read and share!