Rick Hills
@rickhills.bsky.social
William T Comfort III Professor of Law, NYU Law School, studying & teaching local gov’t, landuse regulation, const’l law, fed courts, admin law, legislation, and federalism. Forlorn hope: reduce stakes and polarization by decentralizing divisive decisions.
To bad there’s not a simple way for DHS to avoid this sort of criminal fraud by masked imposters. 🤔 www.wired.com/story/fbi-wa...
FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves
In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the FBI said criminal impersonators are exploiting ICE’s image and urged nationwide coordination to distinguish real operations from fakes.
www.wired.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:30 AM
To bad there’s not a simple way for DHS to avoid this sort of criminal fraud by masked imposters. 🤔 www.wired.com/story/fbi-wa...
Congrats to NYC’s voters: Housing won big today. www.nydailynews.com/2025/11/04/n...
NYC voters approve ballot questions aimed at boosting housing, limiting Council control
As New York City tackles a pervasive affordability crisis, New York City voters were poised to pass three reforms to fast-track affordable housing development, despite pushback from the City Counci…
www.nydailynews.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Congrats to NYC’s voters: Housing won big today. www.nydailynews.com/2025/11/04/n...
A fine thread from @richardprimus.bsky.social on Judge Immergut’s opinion barring use of the National Guard in Portland. As SCOTUS observed in Dep’t of Commerce v NY, “Our review is deferential, but we are ‘not required to exhibit a naiveté from which ordinary citizens are free.’”
Which is true. And everyone willing to know it knows it. But courts—and especially the Supreme Court—have labored mightily to avoid saying it. All the way back to the travel ban cases in Trump 1.
This judge just told it straight.
(11/18)
This judge just told it straight.
(11/18)
October 6, 2025 at 10:10 PM
A fine thread from @richardprimus.bsky.social on Judge Immergut’s opinion barring use of the National Guard in Portland. As SCOTUS observed in Dep’t of Commerce v NY, “Our review is deferential, but we are ‘not required to exhibit a naiveté from which ordinary citizens are free.’”
Maybe the first time ever I’ve agreed 100% with Mother Jones. It’s time to unhook the Federalism fire escape. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
It’s time for soft secession
How blue states can use their economic clout to stand up to Trump’s agenda—starting with California.
www.motherjones.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Maybe the first time ever I’ve agreed 100% with Mother Jones. It’s time to unhook the Federalism fire escape. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
I strongly recommend this fine essay by Caleb Nelson evaluating the originalist basis of the theory that all executive officers must serve at the President’s pleasure. Nelson, committed to originalism, sees nothing in Art II requiring such a presidential power. democracyproject.org/posts/must-a...
Special Feature: Must Administrative Officers Serve at the President’s Pleasure?
A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.
democracyproject.org
October 2, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I strongly recommend this fine essay by Caleb Nelson evaluating the originalist basis of the theory that all executive officers must serve at the President’s pleasure. Nelson, committed to originalism, sees nothing in Art II requiring such a presidential power. democracyproject.org/posts/must-a...
Good morning, Brooklyn!
September 29, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Good morning, Brooklyn!
Another essay explaining what’s wrong with Blue Sky. (TL;DR: Too many keyboard warriors competing for Fiercest Invective against The Bad Guys Award). Posting it in hopes that my tiny little corner of this place might get better. open.substack.com/pub/conspicu...
Against Bluesky (and Blueskyism)
Politics, echo chambers, and the difference between persuasion, propaganda, and performance on social media
open.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Another essay explaining what’s wrong with Blue Sky. (TL;DR: Too many keyboard warriors competing for Fiercest Invective against The Bad Guys Award). Posting it in hopes that my tiny little corner of this place might get better. open.substack.com/pub/conspicu...
Tanner Greer’s analysis of Kirk’s significance to young people on the Right. The viewpoint here is alien to BlueSky. If you react with as little vitriol as this essay contains, then — congrats! — you’ll have shown a level of empathy atypical of social media. scholarstage.substack.com/p/bullets-an...
Bullets and Ballots: The Legacy of Charlie Kirk
What did Charlie Kirk mean to the Young Right?
scholarstage.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Tanner Greer’s analysis of Kirk’s significance to young people on the Right. The viewpoint here is alien to BlueSky. If you react with as little vitriol as this essay contains, then — congrats! — you’ll have shown a level of empathy atypical of social media. scholarstage.substack.com/p/bullets-an...
A clip of my mom in 1976 touting (1) federal subsidies for housing and (2) this new fangled thing called “solar energy.” She’s a Republican, folks. youtube.com/watch?v=Tptf...
HUD Secretary Carla Hills Tours A Solar Home North Of Dallas - October 1976
YouTube video by SMU Jones Film
youtube.com
September 14, 2025 at 1:11 PM
A clip of my mom in 1976 touting (1) federal subsidies for housing and (2) this new fangled thing called “solar energy.” She’s a Republican, folks. youtube.com/watch?v=Tptf...
“‘They’re dragging your ass on Bluesky’ is a statement that strikes fear into the heart of practically no one.” open.substack.com/pub/noahpini...
The Bluesky-ization of the American left
Progressives discovered a seemingly invincible weapon. One day it stopped working.
open.substack.com
September 13, 2025 at 11:31 AM
“‘They’re dragging your ass on Bluesky’ is a statement that strikes fear into the heart of practically no one.” open.substack.com/pub/noahpini...
A question for immigration law profs like @adambcox.bsky.social : Has there been litigation on the meaning of DHS rule (287.8(c)(2)(iii)) requiring officers to identify themselves as soon as it is practical and safe to do so? Masking seems to be in tension w/ the rule. www.ecfr.gov/current/titl...
8 CFR 287.8 -- Standards for enforcement activities.
www.ecfr.gov
September 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
A question for immigration law profs like @adambcox.bsky.social : Has there been litigation on the meaning of DHS rule (287.8(c)(2)(iii)) requiring officers to identify themselves as soon as it is practical and safe to do so? Masking seems to be in tension w/ the rule. www.ecfr.gov/current/titl...
“Humorless, scoldy neuroticism, often rationalized by the view that one must be on ‘war footing‘ because the world is self-evidently in crisis.” open.substack.com/pub/natesilv...
What is Blueskyism?
And why is it so toxic for political persuasion?
open.substack.com
September 6, 2025 at 4:05 AM
“Humorless, scoldy neuroticism, often rationalized by the view that one must be on ‘war footing‘ because the world is self-evidently in crisis.” open.substack.com/pub/natesilv...
Sam Kriss on ChatGPT 5.0: “still essentially just a weighted average of all the fanfiction ever posted online.” substack.com/@samkriss/no...
Sam Kriss (@samkriss)
gpt-5 was released the other day. it was probably the most expensive ai ever built and has five trillion parameters, and by all accounts it’s a very minor improvement on the last model. obviously you ...
substack.com
August 9, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Sam Kriss on ChatGPT 5.0: “still essentially just a weighted average of all the fanfiction ever posted online.” substack.com/@samkriss/no...
Having spent dozens of hours digging up a rogues’ gallery of weeds (Russian Thistle, tumble weeds the size of beach balls, globemallow, punture weed loaded with goats’ heads, etc), I am sparing this 6’ Palmer’s Pigweed growing out of a cement block out of sheer respect for its tenacity.
August 5, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Having spent dozens of hours digging up a rogues’ gallery of weeds (Russian Thistle, tumble weeds the size of beach balls, globemallow, punture weed loaded with goats’ heads, etc), I am sparing this 6’ Palmer’s Pigweed growing out of a cement block out of sheer respect for its tenacity.
As @zhangtaisu.bsky.social @bridgetfahey.bsky.social and Lin note, there are many areas in which states can provide a check on federal manipulation of data. Jobs and inflation, however, are two areas where this safeguard fails, because states lack the state capacity to generate reliable numbers.
It seems like, well, an opportune time to push this paper again. We find qualitative similarities in how the Chinese and American governments produce economic statistics, but even we couldn’t anticipate how quickly those similarities would strengthen…
The Law of Information States: Evidence from China and the United States — Virginia Journal of International Law
www.vjil.org
August 1, 2025 at 7:51 PM
As @zhangtaisu.bsky.social @bridgetfahey.bsky.social and Lin note, there are many areas in which states can provide a check on federal manipulation of data. Jobs and inflation, however, are two areas where this safeguard fails, because states lack the state capacity to generate reliable numbers.
Because the BLS provides information that political appointees can review and reject, Noah and I argue that Congress can always insulate BLS staff from serving at the Prez’s pleasure. But, as Abbe Gluck notes, loose language in Braidwood puts that position at risk. www.scotusblog.com/2025/07/expe...
August 1, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Because the BLS provides information that political appointees can review and reject, Noah and I argue that Congress can always insulate BLS staff from serving at the Prez’s pleasure. But, as Abbe Gluck notes, loose language in Braidwood puts that position at risk. www.scotusblog.com/2025/07/expe...
McEntarfer is the epitome of the apolitical civil servant. She started at the Census Bureau 20 years ago as a labor economist and has worked at calculating jobs numbers ever since. She was confirmed by the Senate 86-8 in 2024, at the height of partisan polarization. www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...
Trump fires labor statistics boss hours after weak jobs report
The president implied that the BLS commissioner, longtime federal employee Erika McEntarfer, manipulated the data "for political purposes."
www.nbcnews.com
August 1, 2025 at 7:17 PM
McEntarfer is the epitome of the apolitical civil servant. She started at the Census Bureau 20 years ago as a labor economist and has worked at calculating jobs numbers ever since. She was confirmed by the Senate 86-8 in 2024, at the height of partisan polarization. www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...
“…you shouldn’t treat the fact that you don’t believe the same dogma as everyone else as meaning you’re immune from dogma.” benthams.substack.com/p/the-freeth...
The "Freethinkers" Who Aren't
How the “heterodox” became what they hated
benthams.substack.com
July 28, 2025 at 9:14 PM
“…you shouldn’t treat the fact that you don’t believe the same dogma as everyone else as meaning you’re immune from dogma.” benthams.substack.com/p/the-freeth...
Insightful essay on why the culture of impatience captured by “TL;DR” is destroying your capacity to think, grow, and feel. It really isn’t TL: Give it an R. open.substack.com/pub/maalvika...?
compression culture is making you stupid and uninteresting
why the death of nuance should scare you -your fav gen z philosopher xx
open.substack.com
July 26, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Insightful essay on why the culture of impatience captured by “TL;DR” is destroying your capacity to think, grow, and feel. It really isn’t TL: Give it an R. open.substack.com/pub/maalvika...?
Evaluation of Minneapolis’ reducing zoning constraints in suggests that deregulation reduced housing costs by 15-23%—even without adding a lot of new units, because density alone may reduce construction costs. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Effects of Minneapolis Upzoning on House Prices: Evidence from the Minneapolis 2040 Plan
The Minneapolis 2040 Plan, which came into effect in January 2020, introduced sweeping re- forms to housing regulations. One of the most significant aspect of t
papers.ssrn.com
July 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Evaluation of Minneapolis’ reducing zoning constraints in suggests that deregulation reduced housing costs by 15-23%—even without adding a lot of new units, because density alone may reduce construction costs. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
“Our politics revolve around the idea that scarce resources mean keeping people out. We are utterly unprepared for a world in which perhaps the scarcest resource will be people.” www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/o...
Opinion | Something Extraordinary Is Happening All Over the World
www.nytimes.com
July 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
“Our politics revolve around the idea that scarce resources mean keeping people out. We are utterly unprepared for a world in which perhaps the scarcest resource will be people.” www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/o...
Do the Coffee Beans Procedure for being a law prof, and you’ll discover that, if you like that job (I do!), then you are indeed crazy. open.substack.com/pub/experime...
Face it: you're a crazy person
OR: why your brain needs a boxcutter
open.substack.com
July 3, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Do the Coffee Beans Procedure for being a law prof, and you’ll discover that, if you like that job (I do!), then you are indeed crazy. open.substack.com/pub/experime...
This is the quotidian quagmire, multiplied by thousands across the country, too routine and boring to get attention from anyone w/o a nearby down payment at stake, that has brought us the housing crisis.
Plymouth Housing’s permanent supportive housing project in downtown Redmond is facing an appeal—claiming not enough parking. A public hearing is set for July 2. Affordable housing voices are needed in the convo—not just “Safe Eastside.” Info: www.redmond.gov/2235/2025-He...
2025 Hearing Examiner Schedule & Information | Redmond, WAArrow LeftArrow RightSlideshow Left ArrowSlideshow Right Arrow
www.redmond.gov
July 2, 2025 at 7:05 PM
This is the quotidian quagmire, multiplied by thousands across the country, too routine and boring to get attention from anyone w/o a nearby down payment at stake, that has brought us the housing crisis.
Andrew Sullivan, an anti-Trump conservative: “This is the Israel we have gone to war for. It is not the Israel of the 20th Century. It is a belligerent, ethno-nationalist country, run in part by ugly racists and those who wish Israel were Arab-free.” andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-conseq...
The Consequences Of Israel's Hegemony
The two-state solution is nailed to the perch. The settlement project is super-charged.
andrewsullivan.substack.com
June 27, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Andrew Sullivan, an anti-Trump conservative: “This is the Israel we have gone to war for. It is not the Israel of the 20th Century. It is a belligerent, ethno-nationalist country, run in part by ugly racists and those who wish Israel were Arab-free.” andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/the-conseq...