Open source, procurement, and gov tech.
Hey, competent tech folks: your country needs you. Your knowledge, your experience, and your connections can improve the United States for everybody. I’m not asking you to go work for the federal government. I’m not asking you to go work for a non-profit. I’m asking you to become a government technology vendor. I want you to sign up at …
Continue reading “I want you to become a government tech vendor.”
Nieman Reports: A Local Newspaper Endures a Stormy BacklashThis is the story of how the tiny Idaho Falls Post Register bravely uncovered a series of cases of pedophiles acting as leaders in area Boy Scout troops, as told by the managing editor of the paper. In the face of an angry public very much in …
The Guardian: Mexico City considers fixed-term marriage licencesThe city is considering offering two-year marriage licenses. Couples would get married, and two years later their marriage contract would end, though they could, of course, renew it. Why? Because so many marriages end after two years, requiring an expensive and trying divorce. I've been forecasting limited term …
Ars Technica: Patent trolls have cost innovators half a trillion dollarsA study by some Boston University researchers have found that, from publicly traded companies alone, $500B has been spent on paying off patent extortionists. That's a quarter of all U.S. R&D expenses, wasted. If we want to get serious about reducing the cost of doing …
W3C: Personal names around the worldThe World Wide Web Consortium has put together this great document about how people's names differ globally, and the implications of those differences on website and database development. I've long preferred simply providing a "name" field—none of this "first name" "last name" business—and this reassures me that this is the …
Macleans OnCampus: Is this what 17-year-old students are really like?I think Beloit College's annual Mindset List is wretched. Every year it's full of mistakes, exaggerations, and generally poor thinking. I'm glad to see McLeans acknowledge this. DejeroNews stations are either loving their Dejero or coveting one. It's like a whole news truck in a suitcase, …
Talking Points Memo: White House—We Thought We Were Down To The DetailsTurns out the real reason that Boehner walked out on Obama on Friday is because Boehner demanded a repeal of the individual healthcare mandate. Which, ironically, would actually have worsened things, since the individual mandate will significantly reduce federal spending. New York Times: Some …
TPM: ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Opens Fire On Store Because It Ran Out Of Crawfish42-year-old Larry Wayne Kelly—yes, middle name "Wayne"— opened fire on Pensacola's L&T Seafood Market with an AK-47 after they sold out of crawfish. When police tried to arrest them, he tried to run them down with his car. But it's OK, Kelly says, …
Richmond Times-Dispatch: 1,100 felons regain rights in McDonnell’s first yearColor me surprised. I would happily have put down $50 saying that McDonnell wouldn't restore the civil rights to but maybe 10% as many felons as Gov. Tim Kaine Kaine did. He's on pace to match Kaine. This is still a terrible system—we're one of just …
The New Yorker: Worrying About ReaganJane Meyer chronicles concerns about President Reagan's mental health that began in in his second term. Incoming chief of staff Howard Baker started a quiet internal investigation, talking to top White House aides. Quoting the head of that investigation: "They told stories about how inattentive and inept the president was. …