Favorite Rejects 2022-08-24

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

The economy is the most important factor in politics but abortion rights look clearly like one of the best things for Democratic candidates to talk about (in a politically savvy way that highlights GOP extremism and engages with conservative values) pewresearch.org/politics/2022/…

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

The Iran deal is good for the United States and good for Iran (that’s what makes it a deal). Because it’s good for Iran, some other countries in the region don’t like it which I totally get. But these are “allies” that don’t do anything for America.

politico.comIsraelis press U.S. not to rejoin Iran nuclear dealBut as they near a restoration of the 2015 agreement, Biden administration officials are unlikely to heed the Israeli calls.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Don’t treat Bay Area trends as typical of “cities” or “coastal cities” or “expensive cities” fully five out of nine jurisdictions with declining nominal rent are in the San Francisco area and none of the other four are in pricey coastal metros. apartmentlist.com/research/pande…

Jennifer Jacobs @JenniferJJacobs

This makes a total of $13 billion in US assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began six months ago https://t.co/xS1v3i9vYN

Jack Detsch @JackDetsch

NEW: Biden announces new $2.98B U.S. weapons package for Ukraine on Independence Day, the largest since Russia’s full scale invasion six months ago. Biden said aid will allow 🇺🇦 to obtain air defense systems, artillery systems & munitions, counter-drone, and radars in long term https://t.co/wvv8GzKz5l

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

I say America doesn’t need to fight Iran for the sake of other Middle Eastern states because they don’t do anything for America, and his example of assistance to America is that they try to feed us intel about how we should fight Iran on their behalf. It’s absurd. https://t.co/SlwGS8HXrX

Abe Greenwald @AbeGreenwald

Sure, Israel doesn't "do anything for America." It only exposed the secret nuclear warehouse and archive that Iran hid under the nose of the JCPOA's "inspection regime." And new inspections will be worse. But he thinks a deal is good by virtue of it being called a deal. https://t.co/Po6Us1fVQQ

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

One of GPT-3's main flaws is that the prose it generates has a kind of stilted, school essay voice but that makes it perfect for writing brief school essays.

Jon Askonas @JonAskonas

Short written assignments are FINISHED pedagogically. Educators need to wake up to this reality. There are alternatives: in-class blue books, oral exams, longer research papers (for now). But AI forces us to rethink our pedagogy. This took me 10 seconds in GPT-3. https://t.co/aKttuwJi9j

Jennifer Doleac @jenniferdoleac

Follow @ElectionScience to learn more about approval voting and ongoing efforts to reform state/local voting systems. CES has big plans for the yrs ahead! I'm bullish on this as a way to get out of this crazy equilibrium where the far left & far right control our policy convos.

The Center for Election Science @ElectionScience

The voting method should have nothing to do with selecting a different winner. It should be about empowering voters. That’s why approval voting is the better option because it provides real choice and transparency. https://t.co/AFuntFnqte

Oliver Willis @owillis

most liberals do not understand the extent to which fox news viewers seriously believe multiple us cities were burned to the ground in summer 2020. literally burned to the ground.

Ben Albert @BAlbertBen

@owillis I still frequently run into “entire cities burned to the ground”

Rachel Cohen @rmc031

really good/agitating @kevinroose column

nytimes.comWe Need to Talk About How Good A.I. Is GettingWe’re in a golden age of progress in artificial intelligence. It’s time to start taking its potential and risks seriously.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Key point here — when they did meetings where random people could show up and yell, opinion was against reform but when you look at statistically valid surveys and election results people liked the reform. Embrace democracy.

Emily Hamilton @ebwhamilton

.@salimfurth and Eric Cousens cover important zoning reforms in Auburn, Maine that include an ADU ordinance on steroids, parking reform, and new zoning for low-rise multifamily https://t.co/AFR02ZrwAd

Nate Silver @NateSilver538

"Trump pushed for vaccine approvals too fast" is the worst possible critique of the Trump administration's COVID policy. That probably saved a lot of lives. If anything approval should have been faster.

POLITICO @politico

The Trump administration pressured the FDA to authorize unproven treatments for Covid-19 and the first Covid-19 vaccines on an accelerated timeline, according to a House report released Wednesday. https://t.co/aJlYeu4oY0

Nate Silver @NateSilver538

Also, the late 2020 push from liberal public health elites that persuaded Pfizer to *change* its original protocols - and had the convenient side-effect of delaying any vaccine announcement until after the election - deserves more scrutiny.

politico.comPfizer trying to defuse critics amid push for vaccine before Election DayThe campaign by Pfizer comes amid growing scrutiny of the CEO’s predictions that the company will know this month whether it has a viable vaccine.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

I guess maybe if Democrats slam Trump for approving the vaccines too fast, conservative media will run lots of content about how the vaccines are safe.