Favorite Rejects 2021-09-28

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

I have some how made it this far through the pandemic without ever having done a Microsoft Teams meeting, but somehow for my sins I have two this week.

Drew Harwell @drewharwell

Facebook researchers here seem baffled that kids during playdates are actually talking with each other, as opposed to staring at their screens: "Is there a way to leverage playdates to drive word of hand/growth among kids?" on.wsj.com/3kMdZtN

Ivan the K™ 🎃 @IvanTheK

.@steveliesman and @WilfredFrost nail it on Sen. Warren. She's still fighting a war that ended years ago. The banks aren't the problem this time around.

Hayes Brown @HayesBrown

mcconnell: Democrats can raise the debt ceiling on their own so we won’t default schumer: okay so can we raise the debt ceiling on our own? mcconnell: [chuckles] no.

Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur

SCHUMER asks for unanimous consent to hold a Senate vote to suspend the debt limit at a 51-vote threshold, i.e. no filibuster and Democrats can do it themselves. McCONNELL objects. No vote. The Republican filibuster holds.

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

So many "disaster averted by government giving people stuff" stories from 2020. Feels like there's some kind of lesson here...

Jordan Weissmann 🗽 @JHWeissmann

Like, this reminds me of how the CHHP seemed to suggest there'd been a large rise in food insecurity, which seemed like a puzzle since massive aid actually cut the poverty rate. Turns out, the rise in hunger was kind of a phantom. https://t.co/GlyJZ9VzaZ

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

In addition, the seeming popularity of means-testing suggests that the suspicion and resentment that drive American politics are not aimed entirely at the poor.