Sam Wang

Tracking Census Dataset Changes See when the U.S. Census Bureau adds or removes datasets.

🚀 I made a tracker that shows when the Census Bureau adds or removes datasets from their APIs.
Dashboard at www.hrecht.com/census-api-d... and follow @censusapitracker.bsky.social for major updates.

I've been wanting to build this for years but now seemed an especially important time to keep track.

The mid-decade redistricting wars are unending. I'll be on ABC with Jake Tapper to talk about what we know and what it means. Are Democrats doomed? Is democracy dead? Or just partly dead?

This Wednesday August 13, sometime around 5:00-7:00pm Eastern. Precise time when I know it.

I remember around 2006, when Harry J. Enten was one of dozens of nerds writing and talking about polls. At the time he was edgy and generally data-driven.

Now kind of sad to watch him thrash around. Just part of cable polling slop.

The mid-decade redistricting wars are unending. I'll be on ABC with Jake Tapper to talk about what we know and what it means. Are Democrats doomed? Is democracy dead? Or just partly dead?

This Wednesday August 13, sometime around 5:00-7:00pm Eastern. Precise time when I know it.

I think that makes it more apparent that when nothing is said on a critical subject, it's done with forethought.

Anas Al-Sharif أنس الشريف @ This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings. Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so l could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal). But Allah's will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.

I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls. I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland. I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed. I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission.

I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where l am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards. I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend-patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith. I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it. Do not forget Gaza... And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance. Anas Jamal Al-Sharif 06.04.2025 This is what our beloved Anas requested to be published upon his martyrdom. 3:25 PM • 8/10/25 • 675K Views

The final statement by Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, written months ago in anticipation of his likely death, posted on Twitter/X by a friend. Israel assassinated him tonight along with his reporting team in an airstrike in Gaza.

Worth noting, from a veteran reporter:

Horrific

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

Someone forgot to take down this webpage:

www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/v...

Violent Crime in D.C. Hits 30 Year Low Total violent crime for 2024 in the District of Columbia is down 35% from 2023 and is the lowest it has been in over 30 years, according to data collected by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) a...

www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/v...

In my expert opinion, she's excellent.

Barely an hour ago, Palestinian journalist Anas Al-Sharif warned us all:

“If this madness doesn’t end, Gaza will be reduced to ruins, its people’s voices silenced, their faces erased — and history will remember you as silent witnesses to a genocide you chose not to stop.”

Israel just killed him.

This NYT article uses PlanScore to analyze CAs current congressional map. Exactly the type of application we envisioned when we built PlanScore.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/u...

The Size of the United States Supreme Court | In Custodia Legis The Size of the United States Supreme Court

The size of the Supreme Court is established by statute. It’s variously been 7, then 10, then the current 9.

Appointments are implicitly for life as set in the Constitution (correcting my previous error).

A history: blogs.loc.gov/law/2020/03/...

Supreme Court Term Limits Staggered 18-year terms would bring regular turnover to the bench. The result would be a Court that better reflects prevailing public values.

Some argue (e.g. Brennan Center) that while appointments are for life, hearing cases at the highest appellate level is not necessarily required, and instituting an active/senior status distinction could be done by statute without a constitutional amendment - www.brennancenter.org/our-work/pol...

"No big chunks or sections of my wallet are going to be just given that haven't been fought for or earned by the mugger."

The Size of the United States Supreme Court | In Custodia Legis The Size of the United States Supreme Court

The size of the Supreme Court is established by statute. It’s variously been 7, then 10, then the current 9.

Appointments are implicitly for life as set in the Constitution (correcting my previous error).

A history: blogs.loc.gov/law/2020/03/...

"No big chunks or sections of my wallet are going to be just given that haven't been fought for or earned by the mugger."

UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on Czechoslovakia’s territorial concessions: "No big chunks or sections are going to be just given that haven't been fought for or earned on the battlefield."

Federal Science Advisory Committees Are Being Defunded and Dismantled. Here’s a Toolkit to Help Independent Scientists Step Up Despite the current Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle federal science advisory committees, scientists and their organizations can still collaborate to form independent committees.

What can you do when the government shuts down a scientific advisory group to prevent researchers and the public from working together on important issues? Start your own of course!

Great toolkit from the @ucs.org for how to start an independent scientific committee blog.ucs.org/melissa-finu...

However authoritarian his efforts, the President of the United States does not make laws. Laws are below the Constitution, but supersede rules and regulations. Rules and regulations supersede executive orders.

18 year fixed terms, one up every odd year (so two per presidential term), and the incumbents get phased out in descending order of seniority on the same schedule. Do that and they’d all end up having been on the court 18+ yrs. and reached a reasonable retirement age, nobody “unfairly” cut short.

Correct me if I am wrong, but my point is that terms for SCOTUS justices are not established in the Constitution, and Congress has the power to set whatever terms it likes in that regard.

Impeachment and trial is another story, not what I had in mind.

The tanks, the accents, the hand gestures 😂🤌🏽

Multiple times this year I’ve had coffee with fellow immigrants who grew up in corrupt third world countries and the shared sentiment has been that Americans don’t understand how bad things are going to get.

"Get it all on record now. Get the films. Get the witnesses. Because somewhere down the track of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened."

– Dwight D. Eisenhower, Germany, 1945

the decades-long project to make sure nothing like Watergate can ever hurt a Republican president again is one of the most successful political projects ever enacted, to our everlasting detriment

Zohran leads a RIDICULOUS pace for the Bus vs Pedestrian race on 34th St. God I love this town.

How an Upcoming Iowa Special Election Could Add an Interesting Wrinkle to the Redistricting Wars As you read this, around the country Republicans in numerous red states are looking into redrawing their congressional maps in order to make it easier for them to retain their majority in the House of...

1/ Friend sent me this, saying: "something encouraging".

It sure is, but I have to say, I've been obsessed with IA since '16, where there was (if I recall right) a 16 pt swing from Obama '12 to Trump '16 - and where @sanders.senate.gov broke out in '15/'16. He ...

open.substack.com/pub/wolvesan...