Ben Ross
@benrosstransit.bsky.social
Transit advocate. Social Democrat. Author of Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism.
Reposted by Ben Ross
The European mind cannot comprehend this... (Metlife Stadium)
February 10, 2026 at 9:11 PM
The European mind cannot comprehend this... (Metlife Stadium)
When I told a group of people in their 80s & 90s about the over-100 drivers, they all said "tell me where they live so I can stay away from there."
In Montgomery County MD, 1,117 holders of valid drivers licenses are between 95 and 99 and 120 are over 100. There is no driving or cognitive test to renew (you do need a vision test), and licenses are valid for 8 years.
opendata.maryland.gov/Transportati...
opendata.maryland.gov/Transportati...
MVA Valid Driver Licenses: Age Stratification by County FY2010 - FY2025 | Open Data | opendata.maryland.gov
opendata.maryland.gov
February 10, 2026 at 6:37 PM
When I told a group of people in their 80s & 90s about the over-100 drivers, they all said "tell me where they live so I can stay away from there."
In Montgomery County MD, 1,117 holders of valid drivers licenses are between 95 and 99 and 120 are over 100. There is no driving or cognitive test to renew (you do need a vision test), and licenses are valid for 8 years.
opendata.maryland.gov/Transportati...
opendata.maryland.gov/Transportati...
MVA Valid Driver Licenses: Age Stratification by County FY2010 - FY2025 | Open Data | opendata.maryland.gov
opendata.maryland.gov
February 10, 2026 at 6:34 PM
In Montgomery County MD, 1,117 holders of valid drivers licenses are between 95 and 99 and 120 are over 100. There is no driving or cognitive test to renew (you do need a vision test), and licenses are valid for 8 years.
opendata.maryland.gov/Transportati...
opendata.maryland.gov/Transportati...
Yes, I see the rumble strip. I don't see how that helps bicycle safety. And I would normally refer to that as a accessibility or ADA compliance project, not a pedestrian safety project.
February 10, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Yes, I see the rumble strip. I don't see how that helps bicycle safety. And I would normally refer to that as a accessibility or ADA compliance project, not a pedestrian safety project.
What is the difference between before and after? I see some cement in the gutter and a bigger curb, but nothing that would affect safety.
February 10, 2026 at 4:30 PM
What is the difference between before and after? I see some cement in the gutter and a bigger curb, but nothing that would affect safety.
There's another reason. People keep stuff in their cars. It's a major convenience if you drive a lot.
February 10, 2026 at 3:49 PM
There's another reason. People keep stuff in their cars. It's a major convenience if you drive a lot.
A libertarian is someone who thinks that minimum wage laws, legalizing apartment buildings, and building light rail lines puts us on the Road to Serfdom but electing Donald Trump didn't.
I feel like I'm losing my goddamnned mind.
This op-ed was written by Kathrine Mangu-Ward. Katherine is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine.
Reason fired @shikhadalmia.bsky.social for being too anti-Trump.
This op-ed was written by Kathrine Mangu-Ward. Katherine is editor-in-chief of Reason magazine.
Reason fired @shikhadalmia.bsky.social for being too anti-Trump.
Opinion | Libertarians Tried to Warn You About Trump
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:28 PM
A libertarian is someone who thinks that minimum wage laws, legalizing apartment buildings, and building light rail lines puts us on the Road to Serfdom but electing Donald Trump didn't.
Reposted by Ben Ross
Looking at the replies & quote-posts to this, I can't tell which anti-Nithya Raman coalition will be louder.
The Hamas-Likud alliance or the left nimby-rich homeowner alliance?
I'm 3000 miles away & don't have to live with the consequences, but I feel bad for LA if these folks get any traction.
The Hamas-Likud alliance or the left nimby-rich homeowner alliance?
I'm 3000 miles away & don't have to live with the consequences, but I feel bad for LA if these folks get any traction.
Nithya Raman has distanced herself from the far left with her outspoken yimby politics & refusal to comply with DSA's anti-Israel litmus test.
forward.com/news/578358/...
forward.com/news/578358/...
Only in LA: DSA councilmember who called for ceasefire wins pro-Israel backing, riling left-wing supporters
Nithya Raman, an LA city councilmemember who supports a ceasefire, earned the support of Democrats for Israel β and a censure from DSA.
forward.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Looking at the replies & quote-posts to this, I can't tell which anti-Nithya Raman coalition will be louder.
The Hamas-Likud alliance or the left nimby-rich homeowner alliance?
I'm 3000 miles away & don't have to live with the consequences, but I feel bad for LA if these folks get any traction.
The Hamas-Likud alliance or the left nimby-rich homeowner alliance?
I'm 3000 miles away & don't have to live with the consequences, but I feel bad for LA if these folks get any traction.
Reposted by Ben Ross
Individual effects of the Redwing Rd sidewalk proposal on the right-of-way of each of the 10 houses the sidewalk is proposed to go in front of.
February 9, 2026 at 5:12 PM
Individual effects of the Redwing Rd sidewalk proposal on the right-of-way of each of the 10 houses the sidewalk is proposed to go in front of.
Back before social media, when you realized that the guy you believed in was a charlatan or a monster, you got a chance to keep quiet for a few months and rethink. A process that begot better intellectual ouput than the takes we get now.
February 9, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Back before social media, when you realized that the guy you believed in was a charlatan or a monster, you got a chance to keep quiet for a few months and rethink. A process that begot better intellectual ouput than the takes we get now.
Bill Kristol grew up in that milieu & IIRC the inner social democrat he talks about now was apparent when he was in college (I didn't know him well but ran into him sometimes). The Shachtmanites of my generation are mostly still around.
February 9, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Bill Kristol grew up in that milieu & IIRC the inner social democrat he talks about now was apparent when he was in college (I didn't know him well but ran into him sometimes). The Shachtmanites of my generation are mostly still around.
I wrote about this in 2005 and I thought the ex-leftists' commitment to democracy had disappeared in the face of opportunism. I was very wrong and I'm glad to say so.
dissentmagazine.org/article/geor...
dissentmagazine.org/article/geor...
George Bush's Philosophers - Dissent Magazine
The politics of George W. Bush, unlike earlier American conservatisms, is animated by ideas and not merely by interests. That is, at least, what Bushβs friends assert, and what his foes usually conced...
dissentmagazine.org
February 9, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I wrote about this in 2005 and I thought the ex-leftists' commitment to democracy had disappeared in the face of opportunism. I was very wrong and I'm glad to say so.
dissentmagazine.org/article/geor...
dissentmagazine.org/article/geor...
I would distinguish 3-groups: Ex-leftist neocons (the original ones to get the name), Straussians & military intellectuals.
Ex-leftists' core belief, on their path to being neocons, was in democracy, so easy to explain.
AFAIK Straussians aren't anti-Trump.
Military intellectuals hard to explain
Ex-leftists' core belief, on their path to being neocons, was in democracy, so easy to explain.
AFAIK Straussians aren't anti-Trump.
Military intellectuals hard to explain
February 9, 2026 at 3:23 PM
I would distinguish 3-groups: Ex-leftist neocons (the original ones to get the name), Straussians & military intellectuals.
Ex-leftists' core belief, on their path to being neocons, was in democracy, so easy to explain.
AFAIK Straussians aren't anti-Trump.
Military intellectuals hard to explain
Ex-leftists' core belief, on their path to being neocons, was in democracy, so easy to explain.
AFAIK Straussians aren't anti-Trump.
Military intellectuals hard to explain
A very good analysis, showing that inflation of food, housing & transportation, is much faster than overall inflation. This squeezes lower-income workers that most.
Additional factor not mentioned here: Automobile becomes more necessary due to sprawl development & suburbanization of poverty.
Additional factor not mentioned here: Automobile becomes more necessary due to sprawl development & suburbanization of poverty.
Why affordability and the vibecession are real economic problems
(Mike Konczal)
newsletter.mikekonczal.com/p/why-afford...
(Mike Konczal)
newsletter.mikekonczal.com/p/why-afford...
February 9, 2026 at 2:50 PM
A very good analysis, showing that inflation of food, housing & transportation, is much faster than overall inflation. This squeezes lower-income workers that most.
Additional factor not mentioned here: Automobile becomes more necessary due to sprawl development & suburbanization of poverty.
Additional factor not mentioned here: Automobile becomes more necessary due to sprawl development & suburbanization of poverty.
I have never talked to anyone, whatever their other views about transportation, who doesn't agree that driver behavior has gotten worse since the pandemic.
February 8, 2026 at 8:16 PM
I have never talked to anyone, whatever their other views about transportation, who doesn't agree that driver behavior has gotten worse since the pandemic.
Chevy Chase Village accessible only on foot or by horse or bicycle?
February 8, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Chevy Chase Village accessible only on foot or by horse or bicycle?
Elected officials, organizational leaders, people who campaigned for Trump? Sure.
But not ordinary voters. Take into account how disconnected many voters are from politics. How many vote on vague impressions. Welcome them back & encourage them to pay more attention.
But not ordinary voters. Take into account how disconnected many voters are from politics. How many vote on vague impressions. Welcome them back & encourage them to pay more attention.
February 8, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Elected officials, organizational leaders, people who campaigned for Trump? Sure.
But not ordinary voters. Take into account how disconnected many voters are from politics. How many vote on vague impressions. Welcome them back & encourage them to pay more attention.
But not ordinary voters. Take into account how disconnected many voters are from politics. How many vote on vague impressions. Welcome them back & encourage them to pay more attention.
DFI endorsed her.
βI donβt personally support the BDS movement & I believe in Israelβs right to exist. I also believe that any anti-Semitic language is hate speech. I would be against the participation of any local public agency in a boycott or divestment."
jewishjournal.com/news/322785/...
βI donβt personally support the BDS movement & I believe in Israelβs right to exist. I also believe that any anti-Semitic language is hate speech. I would be against the participation of any local public agency in a boycott or divestment."
jewishjournal.com/news/322785/...
City Council Candidate Does Not Support BDS But 'the Right of Public Citizens to Participate in Boycotts'
Nithya Raman, who is running against Democratic City Councilmember David Ryu in Los Angeles City Council District four, said in a Democrats for Israel (DFI) Los Angeles questionnaire she doesnβt perso...
jewishjournal.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:42 AM
DFI endorsed her.
βI donβt personally support the BDS movement & I believe in Israelβs right to exist. I also believe that any anti-Semitic language is hate speech. I would be against the participation of any local public agency in a boycott or divestment."
jewishjournal.com/news/322785/...
βI donβt personally support the BDS movement & I believe in Israelβs right to exist. I also believe that any anti-Semitic language is hate speech. I would be against the participation of any local public agency in a boycott or divestment."
jewishjournal.com/news/322785/...
Old enough to have ridden the Long Island Rail Road on trains that had bar cars.
But not old enough to have purchased.
But not old enough to have purchased.
February 8, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Old enough to have ridden the Long Island Rail Road on trains that had bar cars.
But not old enough to have purchased.
But not old enough to have purchased.
Looking at the replies & quote-posts to this, I can't tell which anti-Nithya Raman coalition will be louder.
The Hamas-Likud alliance or the left nimby-rich homeowner alliance?
I'm 3000 miles away & don't have to live with the consequences, but I feel bad for LA if these folks get any traction.
The Hamas-Likud alliance or the left nimby-rich homeowner alliance?
I'm 3000 miles away & don't have to live with the consequences, but I feel bad for LA if these folks get any traction.
Nithya Raman has distanced herself from the far left with her outspoken yimby politics & refusal to comply with DSA's anti-Israel litmus test.
forward.com/news/578358/...
forward.com/news/578358/...
Only in LA: DSA councilmember who called for ceasefire wins pro-Israel backing, riling left-wing supporters
Nithya Raman, an LA city councilmemember who supports a ceasefire, earned the support of Democrats for Israel β and a censure from DSA.
forward.com
February 8, 2026 at 1:25 AM
Looking at the replies & quote-posts to this, I can't tell which anti-Nithya Raman coalition will be louder.
The Hamas-Likud alliance or the left nimby-rich homeowner alliance?
I'm 3000 miles away & don't have to live with the consequences, but I feel bad for LA if these folks get any traction.
The Hamas-Likud alliance or the left nimby-rich homeowner alliance?
I'm 3000 miles away & don't have to live with the consequences, but I feel bad for LA if these folks get any traction.
Portuguese always sounded to me like a Slavic language when I lived in Massachusetts and heard it in the streets.
February 8, 2026 at 1:06 AM
Portuguese always sounded to me like a Slavic language when I lived in Massachusetts and heard it in the streets.
Also, motorist lanes in downtown Bethesda have been clear for 12 days. The sidewalks for 7 days. Even the bike lanes, except for occasional piles of plowed snow.
February 7, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Also, motorist lanes in downtown Bethesda have been clear for 12 days. The sidewalks for 7 days. Even the bike lanes, except for occasional piles of plowed snow.
This is particularly infuriating because some long-standard tests in environmental pollution are themselves tracer tests. Example: coliform bacteria is a tracer test for the presence of sewage, not a test for E. coli which is usually benign. 4/4
February 7, 2026 at 10:25 PM
This is particularly infuriating because some long-standard tests in environmental pollution are themselves tracer tests. Example: coliform bacteria is a tracer test for the presence of sewage, not a test for E. coli which is usually benign. 4/4
The reaction I got was that this method was imperfect and would need to be validated by experiment. Unwilling to compare to the greater imperfections of direct measurement (eg, sampling durations >24 hr then impractical). Wouldn't admit that approved methods not a reliable basis of comparison. 3/3
February 7, 2026 at 10:22 PM
The reaction I got was that this method was imperfect and would need to be validated by experiment. Unwilling to compare to the greater imperfections of direct measurement (eg, sampling durations >24 hr then impractical). Wouldn't admit that approved methods not a reliable basis of comparison. 3/3
Sampling the contaminant in soil gas and using radon as a tracer to determine the indoor air concentration has large advantages over sampling the indoor air itself.
1) Order-of-magnitude lower detection limits
2) Easy to average over 2+ weeks, when indoor air C varies with weather
3) Lower cost 2/3
1) Order-of-magnitude lower detection limits
2) Easy to average over 2+ weeks, when indoor air C varies with weather
3) Lower cost 2/3
February 7, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Sampling the contaminant in soil gas and using radon as a tracer to determine the indoor air concentration has large advantages over sampling the indoor air itself.
1) Order-of-magnitude lower detection limits
2) Easy to average over 2+ weeks, when indoor air C varies with weather
3) Lower cost 2/3
1) Order-of-magnitude lower detection limits
2) Easy to average over 2+ weeks, when indoor air C varies with weather
3) Lower cost 2/3