Nick Sementelli
@nsementelli.bsky.social
National progressive political strategist by day, local safe streets and housing advocate by night. @ggwash board member.
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
A lot of education discourse is at root an inability to decide whether the purpose of our education system is to 1) teach material and measure learning 2) reward students who work hard 3) separate the smart kids (destined for smart guy jobs) from the dumb kids (destined to serve the smart guys)
November 15, 2025 at 5:52 PM
A lot of education discourse is at root an inability to decide whether the purpose of our education system is to 1) teach material and measure learning 2) reward students who work hard 3) separate the smart kids (destined for smart guy jobs) from the dumb kids (destined to serve the smart guys)
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
There is absolutely nothing old or consolidated about *multiracial, pluralistic democracy* in America. It only started 60 years ago.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
From 2022:
November 15, 2025 at 3:59 PM
There is absolutely nothing old or consolidated about *multiracial, pluralistic democracy* in America. It only started 60 years ago.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
And the conflict over whether or not it should be allowed to endure and prosper has been the central fault line in U.S. politics ever since.
That Godfather of "actually it's ephebophilia has entered the chat."
Please Bill, tell us more how Epstein and Trump are just like sexually abusive priests. The American people love those guys.
Please Bill, tell us more how Epstein and Trump are just like sexually abusive priests. The American people love those guys.
Holy shit. They're really doing it. They're doing "actually pedophilia is good now." The debasement of the American Right is complete.
MEGYN KELLY IS RIGHT ABOUT EPSTEIN - Catholic League
Bill Donohue
www.catholicleague.org
November 15, 2025 at 3:36 PM
That Godfather of "actually it's ephebophilia has entered the chat."
Please Bill, tell us more how Epstein and Trump are just like sexually abusive priests. The American people love those guys.
Please Bill, tell us more how Epstein and Trump are just like sexually abusive priests. The American people love those guys.
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Lots of buzz about the "affordability agenda," and how we get there.
Well, this is it. Housing and transport are most of the cost of living for most people. We can make it expensive, or we can make it affordable.
“The big difference is commuting. You don’t need a car.” apnews.com/article/hous...
Well, this is it. Housing and transport are most of the cost of living for most people. We can make it expensive, or we can make it affordable.
“The big difference is commuting. You don’t need a car.” apnews.com/article/hous...
No car? No problem. Building apartments near public transit could help address the housing crisis
Quantavia Smith, who was often homeless for a decade, now has a studio apartment in Los Angeles with easy access to public transit.
apnews.com
November 14, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Lots of buzz about the "affordability agenda," and how we get there.
Well, this is it. Housing and transport are most of the cost of living for most people. We can make it expensive, or we can make it affordable.
“The big difference is commuting. You don’t need a car.” apnews.com/article/hous...
Well, this is it. Housing and transport are most of the cost of living for most people. We can make it expensive, or we can make it affordable.
“The big difference is commuting. You don’t need a car.” apnews.com/article/hous...
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Oops! DC's housing/development agency forfeited ~$35m in federal money after bailing out a project helmed by Green Teamer Buwa Binitie.
Suzie Amanuel aptly shows how this was conveniently left out of the debate on the housing market for the RENTAL Act:
washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7742...
Suzie Amanuel aptly shows how this was conveniently left out of the debate on the housing market for the RENTAL Act:
washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7742...
How DHCD Forfeited $35 Million in Federal Assistance for Affordable Housing and Bailed Out a Well-Connected Developer
DHCD Director Colleen Green failed to disclose the loss of funding when asked during a D.C. Council hearing earlier this year.
washingtoncitypaper.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Oops! DC's housing/development agency forfeited ~$35m in federal money after bailing out a project helmed by Green Teamer Buwa Binitie.
Suzie Amanuel aptly shows how this was conveniently left out of the debate on the housing market for the RENTAL Act:
washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7742...
Suzie Amanuel aptly shows how this was conveniently left out of the debate on the housing market for the RENTAL Act:
washingtoncitypaper.com/article/7742...
Surely the problem with the soccer stadiums is that they are just too cheap and a 7 billion dollar subsidy for football will work though, yes?
Can Soccer Stadiums Revitalize American Cities?
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Surely the problem with the soccer stadiums is that they are just too cheap and a 7 billion dollar subsidy for football will work though, yes?
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Deportations actually _increase_ housing prices because they shrink the construction industry.
The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand
The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand
November 13, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Deportations actually _increase_ housing prices because they shrink the construction industry.
The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand
The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA
Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...
blog.apaonline.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Misinformation *is* central to democratic problems today, but the solution is *not* to correct such epistemic failures directly. Instead, we must address them at their roots, in social identity.
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Or so I argue in a new post for @apaphilosophy.bsky.social.
blog.apaonline.org/2025/11/12/t...
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Also most voters have just never thought remotely seriously about policy. “Should we get rid of illegal immigrants? Well, of course; they’re illegal!” There’s nothing deeper than that going on until they start seeing what that actually entails.
Some Dems and pundits overread the significance of Trump's win. They looked at dissatisfaction with the border and discerned a seismic cultural reaction to immigration levels inside the country. The former was real. The latter is a mirage.
(h/t @gelliottmorris.com)
newrepublic.com/article/2030...
(h/t @gelliottmorris.com)
newrepublic.com/article/2030...
November 13, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Also most voters have just never thought remotely seriously about policy. “Should we get rid of illegal immigrants? Well, of course; they’re illegal!” There’s nothing deeper than that going on until they start seeing what that actually entails.
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
I just remembered this from Glenn Kessler 3 months ago
November 13, 2025 at 4:52 AM
I just remembered this from Glenn Kessler 3 months ago
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Yeah, I guess that's why the Rays and O's just sold for nearly $1.8 billion a piece.
@keithlaw.bsky.social I'm in a great ol mood, and I'm a bit late to this party, but I'd love to hear your comment on the report that "MLB has privately told owners that teams lost $1.8 billion last year, led by the New York Mets with about $350 million in losses" (braces for impact, ducks for cover)
November 13, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Yeah, I guess that's why the Rays and O's just sold for nearly $1.8 billion a piece.
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
the biggest lesson from the emails today is that powerful people are so unafraid of consequences for crimes as bad as “raping children” that they will just talk about it openly in emails
the only path to a better society is one where that is no longer true
the only path to a better society is one where that is no longer true
November 12, 2025 at 10:51 PM
the biggest lesson from the emails today is that powerful people are so unafraid of consequences for crimes as bad as “raping children” that they will just talk about it openly in emails
the only path to a better society is one where that is no longer true
the only path to a better society is one where that is no longer true
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
If I’m understanding these ppl correctly, all it takes to deter lethal and sexual violence is an almost-never-enforced $2.00 cover charge?
That seems like a far more efficient solution to crime than Musk’s Personal Robot Stalker.
That seems like a far more efficient solution to crime than Musk’s Personal Robot Stalker.
"The more-than-300 comments responding to that anonymous post are full of mothers looking for property in New Jersey or Florida, predicting that Mamdani’s promise to make buses free will lead criminals to rape and kill innocent passengers."
LMAO @ UES mommies crashing out
LMAO @ UES mommies crashing out
Upper East Side Moms Are Melting Down Over Mamdani
A 35,000-person Facebook group devolved into panic and infighting after the mayoral election.
www.thecut.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
If I’m understanding these ppl correctly, all it takes to deter lethal and sexual violence is an almost-never-enforced $2.00 cover charge?
That seems like a far more efficient solution to crime than Musk’s Personal Robot Stalker.
That seems like a far more efficient solution to crime than Musk’s Personal Robot Stalker.
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Think reeeeeaaallll hard about why this same thing, an insane drop in housing production, happened in every city in America immediately after the Civil Rights movement
amusing chart. it turns out New York City built more housing units in the 1920s than in the 1970s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and 2010s put together www.nyc.gov/content/plan...
November 12, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Think reeeeeaaallll hard about why this same thing, an insane drop in housing production, happened in every city in America immediately after the Civil Rights movement
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
This new affordable housing project in San Jose is going to require public subsidy of one million dollars per unit, and that is *on top of* the rent that the tenants will pay. At these prices, subsidized affordable housing will never get us broad housing affordability. We need to unleash the market.
Affordable San Jose housing project lands key construction financing
An affordable housing development has landed some key chunks of construction financing.
www.eastbaytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM
This new affordable housing project in San Jose is going to require public subsidy of one million dollars per unit, and that is *on top of* the rent that the tenants will pay. At these prices, subsidized affordable housing will never get us broad housing affordability. We need to unleash the market.
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Good riddance to Nico Harrison, the personification of everything that’s going on. Blew up something good because he didn’t understand it and it didn’t conform to his vision of toughness. One of the clearest pictures of Everyone Is 12 Now ever produced. Untold damage to my psyche. Enjoy podcasting.
November 11, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Good riddance to Nico Harrison, the personification of everything that’s going on. Blew up something good because he didn’t understand it and it didn’t conform to his vision of toughness. One of the clearest pictures of Everyone Is 12 Now ever produced. Untold damage to my psyche. Enjoy podcasting.
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
I have to hand it to them, it's an incredible bit to publicly lose a game of chicken, admit that's what happened, and then spend the next day lecturing everyone about courage and tenacity
November 11, 2025 at 2:05 AM
I have to hand it to them, it's an incredible bit to publicly lose a game of chicken, admit that's what happened, and then spend the next day lecturing everyone about courage and tenacity
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
the message is clear that Republicans are in charge permanently, can kill any D legislation with the filibuster, never need to govern at all, and when pressed, they can threaten the lives of millions any time they want and they will be given whatever it is they demand in exchange for their mercy.
November 10, 2025 at 2:26 AM
the message is clear that Republicans are in charge permanently, can kill any D legislation with the filibuster, never need to govern at all, and when pressed, they can threaten the lives of millions any time they want and they will be given whatever it is they demand in exchange for their mercy.
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
“People are blaming republicans for food prices and flight cancellations and health insurance costs and are furious about gilded ballrooms and Gatsby parties and the president is falling asleep on tv and is the most deeply unpopular president in history, time to cave” is a hell of an argument
November 9, 2025 at 8:55 PM
“People are blaming republicans for food prices and flight cancellations and health insurance costs and are furious about gilded ballrooms and Gatsby parties and the president is falling asleep on tv and is the most deeply unpopular president in history, time to cave” is a hell of an argument
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
November 9, 2025 at 12:10 AM
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
congress is a russian nesting doll of counter-majoritarian structures. seems to me that there's no need for a supermajority rule on top of that!
November 8, 2025 at 10:27 PM
congress is a russian nesting doll of counter-majoritarian structures. seems to me that there's no need for a supermajority rule on top of that!
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
one thing i find crazy-making is the idea that getting rid of the filibuster would make congress a purely majoritarian institution. bicameralism itself is counter-majoritarian! equal state representation is counter-majoritarian! the fact that senate elections are staggered is counter-majoritarian!
November 8, 2025 at 10:26 PM
one thing i find crazy-making is the idea that getting rid of the filibuster would make congress a purely majoritarian institution. bicameralism itself is counter-majoritarian! equal state representation is counter-majoritarian! the fact that senate elections are staggered is counter-majoritarian!
Reposted by Nick Sementelli
ryan is right. people HATE hearing this. but it is just a matter of simple incentives. if you want a more representative legislature — and if you want a legislature more resistant to corruption — then you need to jack up the salaries. serving as mayor of NYC should net you a cool 500K *at least*
people hate hearing this but it's 100% true, creating a huge pay gap between political leaders, their staffs, and other elites is a recipe for corruption. of course the flip side of that is taxes on the rich should be jacked way the hell up
The Mayor of New York only makes $260k. I bet there are police that make more than that in NY with overtime.
We need to pay elected leaders more money and stop pretending it's some sort of calling. They're managing hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and millions of people's lives.
We need to pay elected leaders more money and stop pretending it's some sort of calling. They're managing hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and millions of people's lives.
November 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
ryan is right. people HATE hearing this. but it is just a matter of simple incentives. if you want a more representative legislature — and if you want a legislature more resistant to corruption — then you need to jack up the salaries. serving as mayor of NYC should net you a cool 500K *at least*