Favorite Rejects 2022-11-22

Thomas C. Theiner @noclador

The US gets to lay waste to russia's military AND to russia's state finances on the cheap. Best US geostrategic investment ever.

Moshe Schwartz @YWNReporter

The U.K. Ministry of Defence says Moscow’s 2023 military spending will reach $84 billion, more than 40% over budget. U.S. support for Ukraine, by contrast, is “an incredible investment” — for just 5.6% of its defense budget. -Semafor https://t.co/as8aZABUGf

Jack Detsch @JackDetsch

NEW: Defense Secretary Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe had a “lengthy exchange” about Taiwan during their 90-min mtg: US defense officials US & China talked about restarting a number of defense dialogues after China cancelled calls during Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Okay but James Cameron made the highest-grossing film of all time and then *broke his own record* to make the new highest-grossing film of all time.

Variety @Variety

"It's very f---ing [expensive]...you have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.” https://t.co/f5hoBszL9T

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Stories of steady progress over time tend not to be told and when they are told they tend not to be read, but they’re very important to understand.

Edouard Mathieu @redouad

Guinea worm disease is close to being eradicated. In the late 1980s, there were nearly a million new cases of guinea worm disease recorded worldwide. In 2021, there were only 15. How was this achieved? Read our recent post: https://t.co/LCVn78JFAb

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Dems scored a persuasion win in the face of significant turnout headwinds — can read that as good or bad news depending on your taste. https://t.co/t3b4K29RCN

Josh Kraushaar @JoshKraushaar

“Philadelphia’s share of the state’s total Democratic vote has dropped from 20% in 2016 to 15% this year. Overall turnout dropped most sharply in Latino parts of the city and, to a lesser extent, in Black neighborhoods.” https://t.co/lqFghlQJnC

Eric Levitz @EricLevitz

This @dylanmatt piece spotlights an important reality that's often elided in the discourse: The U.S. safety-net has grown *more* supportive of the poor since Reagan's election (while remaining obscenely threadbare by West European standards). vox.com/the-highlight/…

Casey Newton @CaseyNewton

Magazine feature I would LOVE to read: a look at the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen diaspora 18 months after they left and tried to make it on their own using YouTube and Patreon. Feels like an amazing tech + business + culture story

Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D @RVAwonk

I want to engage this question earnestly, b/c it’s a legit question. The answer is yes, I do look at left, too. Left-wing activists are responsible for 2% of murders committed by political extremists in the US over the past decade; right-wing activists are responsible for 74%. https://t.co/eOzXog3vZT

Brad Slager: Polling For Soup @MartiniShark

Have you studied the random violence on the other side as well, or do you only look to the right? https://t.co/9b1uqS6Oo7

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

The top-performing messages are almost achingly banal.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Cognitive behavioral therapy, especially for first-time offenders, can get a sizable number of people to avoid doing new crimes after release.

William Arbour @williamarbour

I ask: is CBT effective at reducing recidivism among incarcerated adults? Does CBT work well in an incarceration setting? How can we improve existing programs? https://t.co/3qLTuWXbdn

Science News @ScienceNews

“Our device predicts internal speech directly, allowing the patient to just focus on saying a word inside their head and transform it into text.”

sciencenews.orgNew brain implants ‘read’ words directly from people’s thoughtsIn the lab, brain implants can translate internal speech into external signals, technology that could help people who are unable to speak or type.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Even I get bored by how much I go on about housing, but it’s a third of household consumption and housing + transportation is half (!) so it’s genuinely much more important than other issues.

Robinson Meyer @robinsonmeyer

have at long last and semi-involuntarily become a Housing Guy. every problem in america goes back to housing costs. the “decadence,” the cultural boredom, the sense that every “scene” is strip-mined before it can reach potential—housing, housing, housing. https://t.co/gxvwxDgmh2

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Amazing semafor.com/article/11/22/…