Ms Sullivan, C-Span and the FBI

I was channel surfing, partially catching Fran Sullivan, GWB's staffer over DHS, etc.  Quite interesting, in that she's coming from a bureaucratic perspective, and some of the audience were also bureaucrats (i.e Chertoff, Ben-Veniste).  One thing which caught my attention in the area of sharing data was mention of the FBI's case file system.  As she observed, if the key to your filing system is a case tied to an individual, and all information gets entered in that system, you're liable to be unable to find  data which doesn't.  Unfortunately the case file is embedded in the FBI's DNA, so their ability to design their software is limited.  Rather like FSA's reliance on county files.

Bureaucrat Who Did His Duty

You always have to have a signature on an order.  That's what Lt. Hamburger said.  See this Brad DeLong post

Open Government at NTIS

My first contact with NTIS (which I think stands for National Technical Information Service, the techie wing of the Commerce Department) was back in 1970 or so when I was trying to research word processors and then CRT's--bought a couple publications of theirs.  Not much has changed, as Matt Yglesias discovers--their publications are now on CD's, but they still cost ($80). Matt thinks information yearns to be free; I believe the problem for NTIS is their operations are not funded by Congress, but by user fees.  This is somewhat similar to the Administrative Conference of the US which uses its online document service fees ($.08 per page to download) rather expansively.

In principle I think all information generated within the government should be on line, searchable, and available at no charge.

Striking Sentence of July 11

" The engineers programmed RUBI to cry when its arms were pulled. "

This comes from a NYTimes article on how computer scientists are creating robots who act as partners, teachers, or helpers, particularly for children, especially autistic children. The first trial with RUBI, two boys pulled off its arms.  So crying turned out to be the solution; the boys backed off.  I recommend the article.

Cost Per Visit

Federal Computer Week has an article on the United Kingdom's effort to reduce the number of web sites the government supports. perhaps 75 percent of the 820 sites. They've also come up with a metric the US government should use: the cost per visit to the site. (The priciest was $17+ per visit.)  Although, on second thought maybe the metric should be the cost per minute of visit.  I've proposed before each government website should have a link to a set of metrics describing usage of the website.  I repeat the suggestion.

And How About Federal Standards (Chickens)?

Understanding Government has a post on California chicken.  As they say, the animal rights people imposed tougher standards on CA chicken growers 2 years ago, over poultry opposition.  This year, animal rights and poultry people imposed the same tougher standards on eggs imported into CA.   One can see this in many ways.  I'd add to UG's discussion the  idea that liberals usually tend to support one nationwide standard for things, except when they don't, as here.  Again I go back to the idea of our weak government, due in part to federalism.  Political principle is easily discarded when the government structure makes it easy for you to win.

Housing Size

Ezra Klein has a post responding to a suggestion of mine--discussing the difference in housing size among the nations and cities. The US is sitting at something over 800 square feet per person (that's including all square footage in the house); European figures, which are "usable space", presumably just kitchens, living rooms, bed rooms, range from 300 for Estonia to about 550 for Denmark

US median housing size has gone from about 1500 in 1973 to 2500 in 2005, with the Northeast leading the way.

I doubt how much value the increased square footage adds to human happiness.  After all, it only takes 100-200 square feet to give each child a bedroom.

The Trials of the Bureaucrat

Census takers are bureaucrats. Via Chris Blattman, here's how the great American public deals with them.

Burke on Causes of the Revolution

Then, Sir, from these six capital sources; of descent; of form of government; of religion in the northern provinces; of manners in the southern; of education; of the remoteness of situation from the first mover of government; from all these causes a fierce spirit of liberty has grown up. It has grown with the growth of the people in your colonies, and increased with the increase of their wealth; a spirit, that unhappily meeting with an exercise of power in England, which, however lawful, is not reconcilable to any ideas of liberty, much less with theirs, has kindled this flame that is ready to consume us.

Funniest Sentence for Codgers Today

From Joel Achenbach at the Post, who's got a 50th birthday upcoming:

 It's a milestone when "nap" makes your daily To Do list.