Herbert Gans has an op-ed on the prospect for a majority minority nation by 2050. He doubts it, as did I in this post.
Blogging on bureaucracy, organizations, USDA, agriculture programs, American history, the food movement, and other interests. Often contrarian, usually optimistic, sometimes didactic, occasionally funny, rarely wrong, always a nitpicker.
Monday, May 15, 2017
Getting Customer/Client/Citizen Feedback
Sens. Lankford and McCaskill introduced " the bipartisan Federal Agency Customer Experience Act
(S.1088), a bill to roll back a federal requirement that makes it
difficult for agencies to get feedback from the public concerning their
satisfaction with agencies’ customer service."
That's from the press release but it seems to me the bill does something more and different. I think I've seen agency websites use a standard web feedback form (from Foresight, or some such company) and I doubt they've cleared such collection of data through OMB. No doubt the clearance requirements for public data collections are an obstacle, but the more important thing they require is annual publication of the data collected. Way back in the early days of this blog I think I recommended a similar process, though I was suggesting a running total, like the data Google Analytics gave to bloggers.
The missing piece though in the Act is something explicitly tying the data back to Congressional oversight--it's fine to collect data but if the bosses (i.e. Congress) don't use it, it's simply an exercise.
Hattip: FCW.
That's from the press release but it seems to me the bill does something more and different. I think I've seen agency websites use a standard web feedback form (from Foresight, or some such company) and I doubt they've cleared such collection of data through OMB. No doubt the clearance requirements for public data collections are an obstacle, but the more important thing they require is annual publication of the data collected. Way back in the early days of this blog I think I recommended a similar process, though I was suggesting a running total, like the data Google Analytics gave to bloggers.
The missing piece though in the Act is something explicitly tying the data back to Congressional oversight--it's fine to collect data but if the bosses (i.e. Congress) don't use it, it's simply an exercise.
Hattip: FCW.
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Friday, May 12, 2017
USDA Reorganization
A post here on it at ThinkProgress.
The USDA report to Congress on the proposal.
Basically it would move NRCS, RMA, and FSA under one new Undersecretary, leaving FSA and FS each with their own Undersecretary.
This sentence from the USDA post perhaps hints that there will be more attention to the consolidation/cross-agency work that has been going on over the last 26 years:
We'll see.
The USDA report to Congress on the proposal.
Basically it would move NRCS, RMA, and FSA under one new Undersecretary, leaving FSA and FS each with their own Undersecretary.
This sentence from the USDA post perhaps hints that there will be more attention to the consolidation/cross-agency work that has been going on over the last 26 years:
Locating FSA, RMA, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service under this domestically-oriented undersecretary will provide a simplified one-stop shop for USDA’s primary customers, the men and women farming, ranching, and foresting across America.The proposal gives more prominence to the FAS and international trade, which is strongly supported by the ag interest groups, which may be enough to overcome concerns among the conservation types over a possible/perceived downgrading of conservation.
We'll see.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Cottonseed Again
Illinois extension has a post on the cottonseed issue. As it says, in greater detail than I have the brain cells to waste on, it's complicated, involving both the base acreage/"generic base" issue and WTO. From the conclusion:
Much depends on the final details of any Congressional response but cotton farmers are currently receiving significant assistance from the 2014 Farm Bill and adding cottonseed may provide a windfall to them, including one recoupled to cotton planting decisions. Congress, if considering adding cottonseed, may also have to consider further revisions to the 2014 Farm Bill such as precluding payments on generic base acres for any covered commodities planted on them.
Much depends on the final details of any Congressional response but cotton farmers are currently receiving significant assistance from the 2014 Farm Bill and adding cottonseed may provide a windfall to them, including one recoupled to cotton planting decisions. Congress, if considering adding cottonseed, may also have to consider further revisions to the 2014 Farm Bill such as precluding payments on generic base acres for any covered commodities planted on them.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
I May Be Wrong
On the Comey-Russia thing:
I doubt there's much going on between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Most likely the Russians wanted to undermine Clinton and Trump wanted to beat her, but I doubt any real collusion. People in Trump's campaign might have been more aware of Russian hacking than the general public, but I don't see them colluding.
As for the firing, I'd expect an investigation but the major effect will be a continuing distraction from other issues, no impeachment or anything similar. Trump had the authority to fire the FBI director, however poorly it was handled.
I doubt there's much going on between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Most likely the Russians wanted to undermine Clinton and Trump wanted to beat her, but I doubt any real collusion. People in Trump's campaign might have been more aware of Russian hacking than the general public, but I don't see them colluding.
As for the firing, I'd expect an investigation but the major effect will be a continuing distraction from other issues, no impeachment or anything similar. Trump had the authority to fire the FBI director, however poorly it was handled.
Tuesday, May 09, 2017
Habituation II
I've suggested that maybe over time we'll get bored with President Trump. In that spirit:
"From fiveThirtyEight
10 percent
During President Trump’s first 50 days in office, 62 percent of his tweets got more than 100,000 likes. In the following 51 days, just 10 percent of his tweets passed that benchmark. [Bloomberg]"
"From fiveThirtyEight
10 percent
During President Trump’s first 50 days in office, 62 percent of his tweets got more than 100,000 likes. In the following 51 days, just 10 percent of his tweets passed that benchmark. [Bloomberg]"
Monday, May 08, 2017
Billy Beer and Kushner
"Billy Beer". That's an American icon, symbolic of the long time problem presidents have had with their relations. Jimmy Carter's younger brother Billy got himself into trouble several times, most notoriously by endorsing Billy Beer. Just within my memory, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, all had problems with siblings or children. Going further back, Lincoln had in-law problems and Adams had children problems.
So all in all I don't take the problem of Jared Kushner's sister pitching EB-5 visas in China too seriously. It's unseemly, but we can't expect saintliness.
So all in all I don't take the problem of Jared Kushner's sister pitching EB-5 visas in China too seriously. It's unseemly, but we can't expect saintliness.
Sunday, May 07, 2017
What Happened to Make Some Conservatives Smart?
For some strange reason I'm finding the reasoning of some conservatives much more impressive these days. People like George Will, Charles Krauthammer in the Post and Kevin Williamson in the National Review actually can write columns with which I agree, or at least engage with.
There was a science fiction story in my younger days, something about a dumb person becoming smart, then reverting. Flowers for Algernon, that's the story. Did these conservatives have that operation last fall? Will they revert back to their unenlightened ways at some time in the future? Inquiring minds want to know.
There was a science fiction story in my younger days, something about a dumb person becoming smart, then reverting. Flowers for Algernon, that's the story. Did these conservatives have that operation last fall? Will they revert back to their unenlightened ways at some time in the future? Inquiring minds want to know.
Friday, May 05, 2017
Dirty Cows
Seen a couple pictures of dairies recently. Always interested in them. Here's a tweet, leading to a Post article on the Canadian dairy flap, but the article doesn't have the tweet's photo.
IMHO the cows shown are dirty. Since it's a conventional setup and the focus of the article is Wisconsin dairy, and it's only April, my guess is that the cows mostly stay in the barn, as our cows did, and that's why they are dirty. But our cows would get dirty because they lay down, got their tails in the gutter with the manure, and spread the manure to their flanks and legs. In the setup shown, the cows are raised up on a platform, so the manure can spread across the lower driveway behind them. (Likely have a skid-steer small tractor to doze the manure.)
Do I have a point? Not really. Given the realities, cows are going to get dirty part of the time. Perhaps for the big dairies where they never get to the pasture they're going to be dirty all the time.
IMHO the cows shown are dirty. Since it's a conventional setup and the focus of the article is Wisconsin dairy, and it's only April, my guess is that the cows mostly stay in the barn, as our cows did, and that's why they are dirty. But our cows would get dirty because they lay down, got their tails in the gutter with the manure, and spread the manure to their flanks and legs. In the setup shown, the cows are raised up on a platform, so the manure can spread across the lower driveway behind them. (Likely have a skid-steer small tractor to doze the manure.)
Do I have a point? Not really. Given the realities, cows are going to get dirty part of the time. Perhaps for the big dairies where they never get to the pasture they're going to be dirty all the time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)