“The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) notes with concern the dismissal of Erika McEntarfer as Commissioner of Labor Statistics by US President, Donald Trump, at a time when the global economy is experiencing significant disturbance.
The United Nations’ Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics establishes international professional and scientific standards for the production of official statistics. The RSS, as one of the world’s leading statistical societies and with a membership that includes official statisticians from many countries, is keenly interested in the adherence to these standards across the world to ensure quality and integrity.
Any concerns regarding data or methodology should be independently evaluated to ensure credibility is maintained. The dismissal undermines international trust in US statistics, which has ramifications well beyond policy decisions within the US, with impacts on global confidence in the world economy.
The RSS is against all forms of political interference in the production of official statistics and urges President Trump to ensure that the nonpartisan integrity of the position is retained. Furthermore, reassurance is needed to ensure that statisticians working for federal agencies have confidence to continue producing the objective statistical information that enables those in power to gain the trust of their communities.
These actions are essential to ensure a healthy democracy in the US, and to maintain international credibility in its statistics.”
Archive for federal agencies
A statement from the Royal Statistical Society on the dismissal of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Dr Erika McEntarfer
Posted in Books, Statistics, University life, Wines with tags @ScientistTrump, academic integrity, Britain, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Donald Trump, federal agencies, official statistics, political interference, Royal Statistical Society, RSS, Trump administration, United Nations, US economy, US politics on August 7, 2025 by xi'anmass decimation of U.S. science
Posted in Statistics with tags @ScientistTrump, antivaxers, CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chaos, Department of Government Efficiency, Department of Health and Human Services, FDA, federal agencies, federal scientists, firing, National Science Foundation, NIH, Science, Trump administration, Trump tracker, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, unions, US elections 2024, US politics on March 14, 2025 by xi'an
document the attacks on USA’s evidence infrastructure [reposted]
Posted in Statistics, University life with tags American Statistical Association, ASA, data encryption, Data Foundation, evidence, Evidence Act, federal agencies, SAFE-Track, Stand Up To Trump, Trump administration on February 23, 2025 by xi'an
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 14, 2025 — The Data Foundation today announced the launch of SAFE-Track (Secure Anonymous Federal Evidence, Data and Analysis Tracking), a new secure, encrypted portal that enables confidential reporting of impacts from recent changes to federal evidence and data activities. This initiative responds to reports of significant disruptions affecting private sector research firms, federal contractors, and ongoing evaluation projects across government.
“We are hearing initial reports from our private sector partners in the data and evaluation communities about widespread effects on America’s evidence infrastructure, from mass layoffs at research firms to the premature termination of critical studies,” said Dr. Nick Hart, President and CEO of the Data Foundation. “Through SAFE-Track, we aim to systematically understand these impacts and inform policymakers while protecting the privacy and security of those sharing information.”
SAFE-Track (www.safe-track.org) provides:
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Complete anonymity for submissions
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End-to-end encryption of all data
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No requirement for email or personal identification
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Option for secure follow-up communication through anonymous conversation codes
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Protections against collection of personally identifiable information
The Data Foundation is particularly interested in documenting:
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Business impacts on private sector firms and contractors
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Effects on ongoing research and evaluation projects
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Implications for evidence-based policymaking
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Challenges in implementing the Evidence Act’s requirements
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Real-time impacts on government effectiveness and efficiency
“This secure platform will help the Data Foundation gather information about how recent changes affect the data and evaluation community’s ability to measure government performance and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively,” added Hart. “Understanding these impacts is essential for supporting the bipartisan commitment to evidence-based policymaking established by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, which President Trump signed into law in 2019.”
The Data Foundation emphasizes that submissions should avoid including personally identifiable information or confidential business information unless respondents specifically choose to be identified. The Foundation will use aggregated findings to inform Congress, the White House, and other stakeholders about the scope and scale of impacts while maintaining strict confidentiality of individual responses.
Blitzkrieg [gegen Demokratie]
Posted in Books, pictures, Travel with tags 06 January 2021, anti-abortion organisations, BJP, blitzkrieg, democracy, far-right, federal agencies, Federal Government, federalism, Narendra Modi, National Prayer Breakfast, nationalism, Project 2025, religious right, riots, The Guardian, The New York Times, Trump administration, US Constitution, US elections 2024, US politics, White House on February 15, 2025 by xi'an
“The stream of transparently lawless executive orders — to make it easier to fire federal officials, to freeze spending that the president cannot freeze, to take away a right to citizenship that is written into the Constitution, to name just three — tell us in no uncertain terms that this administration has no intention of respecting the law or the Constitution.” NYT Feb 07
The frantic and unhindered pace at which the Trump regime is drifting away from democratic principles is both shocking despite the low expectations attached to the elected President, and terrifying. The demolition of the rules of law and of the Federal Government services seems to proceed like a bread-knife through butter.
“But it is important to understand that the anti-democratic movement is not monolithic. In fact, it isn’t even coherent. One part of the program answers to the oligarchs (…) Another part of the program is the work of fanatics (…) The Christian nationalist ideologues who supply much of the rest of the ideology of the movement are no less extreme.” NYT Feb 07
Every aspect of society and most of the planet are impacted, from the disengagement from international institutions and treaties, to the utter disregard for nation sovereignty (beside the USA!, of course) and the right of people to choose their own way. Making the Orange Menace turning more and more into the past and current fascist leaders he admires so much. By cancelling one way or another legal counter-powers, sapping all levels of federal administrations and agencies, buying out media or threatening them by a flurry and fury of frivolous suits, releasing and pardoning rioters, forcing entry into and sometimes deleting crucial or confidential data, turning the army into an auxiliary police force, in scapegoating more and more categories.
“The executive order is meant to reverse what it calls an `egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians, while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses’ under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. It cited the convictions of anti-abortion demonstrators for blocking access to abortion clinics.” NYT Feb 07
The most recent attempt at specifically “protecting” Christian activists (announced during the National Prayer Breakfast!) is yet another illustration of the Trumpian multi-tiered vision of the society, where different groups get different rights, some being “more equal than others”, under the pretence of protecting those groups. This is very similar to the argument used by Modi and the BJP in India.
