Quote of the Day (Gillian Tett, on Why Voters Should Pay Attention to the Latest Census News)

“Worrying about the state of America's statistics might not seem that urgent, given all the other explosive political rows swirling in Washington. But voters should pay attention. For at the heart of this story are three key questions: can anyone paint an accurate portrait of what America is today? If so, how should this shape voting processes? And can this data be trusted in an era of manipulation, cyber hacks and artificial intelligence?”— British columnist and editor Gillian Tett, “Who Counts?”, The Financial Times, Aug. 22-23, 2026

Movie Quote of the Day (The Three Stooges, With the Fine Art of Census-Taking)

Larry [played by Larry Fine]: “What does your husband do?”

Lucy Wyckoff [played by Jean Willes]: “He's an expert in legerdemain.”

Larry: “Legerdemain. Oh, a bookkeeper.”

Lucy: “No, he's a prestidigitator.”

Shemp [played by Shemp Howard]: “Oh, a pants presser?”

Moe [played by Moe Howard]: “Are you guys ignorant? Didn't you hear the lady say? He presses refrigerators.”

Shemp, Larry: “Oh!”

Lucy: “No, no, no. We do an illusion act in vaudeville. He's a magician. He makes things disappear.”

Shemp: “I got an uncle who can make things disappear.”

Moe: “Is he a magician?”

Shemp: “No, he's a kleptomaniac.”— Don't Throw That Knife (1951), screenplay by Felix Adler, directed by Jules White

I watched this short last week, just after I had filled out the 2020 Census questionnaire online. My response came, I must admit, after a card in the mail advised me of a personal visit at home from a representative of the Census Bureau if I didn’t reply immediately to the latest inquiry from Uncle Sam.

Now, I see that, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Bureau wants a four-month delay in deadlines for its all-important head count. I imagine that the notion of getting up close and personal with millions of American citizens--with who knows how many infected by the disease?--was not what the army of census-takers signed up for.

Talking about what can "make things disappear"!