Favorite Rejects 2021-11-06

Andrew Prokop @awprokop

Hostage-taking has become common in Congress but it's usually tried against the opposing party. The use of it by House progressives — as an attempt to pressure members of their own party in the opposite chamber — is odd. Can't really think of a parallel.

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal

That…wasn’t a denial.

Kaitlan Collins @kaitlancollins

Reporter: Do you worry that it starts to look like the Democrats can't get out of their own way? Pelosi: "No — welcome to my world. This is the Democratic party."

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

The right move is to actually give the land back. It will immediately be converted into dense, beautiful, modern housing developments! dailyhive.com/vancouver/sena…

Wesley Yang @wesyang

The problem with the land acknowledgment has nothing to do with its content, or whether you are willing to give back the land. It's the imposition of a loyalty oath and conformity test in itself.

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

Supreme Court just gave half of Oklahoma back. Why not Palo Alto?

hcn.orgHow the Supreme Court upended a century of federal Indian lawHalf of Oklahoma is set to become tribal reservations, but what does that mean for crimes committed on those lands?

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

A fascinating BIF subplot is that it not only involves a lot of money, it’s structured to create an unusually large amount of discretionary authority rather than formula-based grants. Will Secretary Mayor Pete use that power wisely?

Yonah Freemark @yfreemark

The bill includes more then $100 billion in discretionary funds that the US DOT Secretary will develop the rules to allocate. That’s a massive, unprecedented amount. Picking the right projects is really important. https://t.co/lvFliottq6

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

The Obama DOT had less discretionary money to play with, and while they did some good things with it they also funded a lot of useless mixed-traffic streetcars. Pete has a very good team and I’m somewhat optimistic they will make better choices but it’s pretty up in the air.

Timothy B. Lee @binarybits

I think people have been over-estimating how much the NYC/LA/SF home cost issues are the result of NYC/LA/SF-specific regulations rather than the fact that NYC, LA, and SF are three of the biggest and fastest-growing metro areas in the country.

Timothy B. Lee @binarybits

SF has a smaller population but it's on a peninsula and next door to the San Jose metro area that includes Silicon Valley. It has also had the nation's hottest job market for ~30 years.

Timothy B. Lee @binarybits

But now if you look at places like Dallas, Atlanta, and Denver—places that saw below-average booms in the 2000s—they're seeing larger price increases. I think they're on the same trajectory as LA/NYC/SF. They're just a decade or two behind.

Timothy B. Lee @binarybits

Has anyone written a science fiction story set in a post global warming future where the major world powers are Russia, Canada, and the Antarctic republic?

Rachel Barkow @RachelBarkow

This is the predictable result of leaving DOJ in charge of clemency and not nominating commissioners for the Sentencing Commission who can produce needed reforms. The good news is Biden can easily remedy both if he just has the will to do it. https://t.co/kbTJnipAzS

Nazgol Ghandnoosh @NazgolG

The first annual increase in the federal prison population in 8 years, and still growing. https://t.co/ZJkYIJjcIG

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

Representative democracy is still firmly dominant over direct democracy.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

It was a funny gaffe when Pelosi said it eleven years ago but it continues to be true that the way media works is you have to pass the bill so people can find out what’s in it. Until it passes, all you get are process stories because conflict is more interesting. https://t.co/w1i55X4XqW

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

LOLLLLLLLLLL

Dean Preston @DeanPreston

The Chron's Heather Knight has teamed up with SF Yimby on a hit piece totally mischaracterizing my housing record. Welcome to Alice in Yimby Land. Truth is, for 20+ years I’ve fought for tenant rights and affordable housing. That's ruffled some feathers. https://t.co/hPOm5VkqUO

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

I guess I think that dispensing accurate medical information is a pretty okay form of propaganda

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Here’s Big Bird encouraging measles vaccination in the 1970s.

molly mermin @mollymermaids

dean preston finally achieved his socialist goals of being publicly owned …(in all seriousness this is some great research and an incredibly indictment of the kind of politicians who talk a big progressive game but are actually quite conservative)

Brian Hanlon @hanlonbt

Sup. Dean Preston is “anti-housing” because he has blocked homes for ~8,587 people and opposed homes for ~28,708 people, including affordable homes for ~8,478 people. No affordable homes in his district have been built since he took office. https://t.co/Ib4uTMY7UZ

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

"It's not a museum, it's a RIDE" was actually a @doctorow quote...one of my top 5 or 10 favorite quotes of all time.

Misha Saul @misha_saul

“Nobody ever knows if America is actually in decline because the centrepiece of American culture is freaking out about things” “Culture: it’s not a museum, it’s a ride” I spoke to @Noahpinion and it was really fun: https://t.co/wANkb5c9Qz

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

I believe sometimes war is necessary, and I also believe that people who revel in it are monsters.

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

Here's Robert McNamara literally crying as he calls himself a war criminal for ordering strategic bombing. If you don't even have as much human decency as Robert McNamara, there's something broken inside you.

youtube.comBehaving as War Criminals - The Fog of War - Robert McNamaralesson 5