Favorites March 4th 2022

Jerusalem @JerusalemDemsas

Policymakers *hate* her!! Learn how you could solve the housing crisis with this ONE WEIRD TRICK!

vox.comTax the landOne radical idea to solve America’s housing crisis.

Land Value Tax.

Mupper @mupper2

I don't know how this war in Ukraine will end, but the Ukrainians are literally giving NATO in the Baltics/Poland etc conventional breathing room for years if not decades with the amount of offensive kit/manpower they are taking out of the equation..

Seems much less likely now that Russia is going to roll through Ukraine and on to the rest of Eastern Europe.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

It’s gotten a little lost in the Ukraine shuffle but Rick Scott is really serious about raising taxes on retirees and the poor as a strategy to curb inflation. wsj.com/articles/beltw…

To refresh your memory, Rick Scott is in charge of the GOP senate campaign. These are some unusually unpopular views.

Jacob Rubashkin @JacobRubashkin

Fair to say this NPR/PBS/Marist poll is the best for Biden in a long time. Approval: 47/51 (was 39/55 in Feb.) Economy: 45/53 (was 36/58) Covid: 55/43 (was 47/49) Ukraine: 52/44 (was 34/50) 70% of voters support sanctions even if energy prices go up

Nate Silver thinks it's up from his handling of Ukraine. Noah Smith thinks Biden can further improve his numbers if he can highlight GOP pro-putin opinions over the last few years.

Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 @Noahpinion

Russia is famously difficult to invade, but when mounting offensive expeditions their record is not amazing. * Crimean War * Russo-Japanese War * WW1 * Polish-Soviet War * Winter War * Soviet-Afghan War

The whole "never get involved in a land war in Asia" thing is really about not being on offense.

MachinePix @MachinePix

Time-lapse of a self-propelled forage harvester.

If you're wondering, folks in the comments say it's maize.

Kamil Galeev @kamilkazani

The very idea that expanding on Chinese one-buyer market can compensate the losses on Western multi-buyers market is insane. China perfectly understand Russian neediness and will use its leverage fully. "Friendship" of a declining empire with a rising superpower is a delusion

I thought this was an interesting insight, they go on to point out that there may be an element of revenge to China's decisionmaking.\

The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent

⚡️Around 74% of Americans - including Republicans and Democrats - said the U.S. and its NATO allies should impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine, a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on March 4 found. An equally bipartisan 80% of Americans said the U.S. should stop buying Russian oil.

The no fly zone is a very bad idea (WWIII), and not buying the oil probably isn't so bad for the US, but it would be tough for Europe.

Jon Hanson @JonHans38150501

I hope Putin sees these numbers and starts to think "oh shit, the Americans might actually do it." Maybe democracies can't play the crazy leader card as easily as dictatorships can, but we have the "crazy citizenry card."

Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 @Noahpinion

Obviously Americans don't really know what this entails, it just shows that Americans are (rightfully) very mad at Putin. Politicians would be smart to use that energy.

Like Nuclear Madman Theory, except it's based on people being crazy in aggregate!

August 2020, Palo Alto