Allison Lirish Dean
@ear2thepavement.bsky.social
Urban planner + journalist writing about the intersection between planning, bureaucracy, and democracy. I’m also working on the green transition in Rhode Island. www.allisonlirishdean.com
Pinned
Make Bureaucracy Great Again
In the past, the administrative state was a powerful force for good in Americans’ lives. To defeat Trumpism, it needs to become one again.
www.currentaffairs.org
To defeat Trumpism, the administrative state must once again become a powerful force for good in ordinary Americans’ lives. My latest for @currentaffairs.bsky.social www.currentaffairs.org/news/make-bu...
I’m not a pollster or a statistician, but as a reasonably educated consumer of statistical information it feels like there is a lot of misleading spin in the anti-Trump polling world. Trump’s net approval is not “plummeting” but has been very stable for awhile now.
October 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I’m not a pollster or a statistician, but as a reasonably educated consumer of statistical information it feels like there is a lot of misleading spin in the anti-Trump polling world. Trump’s net approval is not “plummeting” but has been very stable for awhile now.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
US highway spending is a mess.
Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina.
In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.
Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina.
In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.
American Roads Are Paved With Inefficiency
Why do US highway projects cost so much? A researcher finds some surprising sources of infrastructure inflation, and points to ways to make road work more affordable.
www.bloomberg.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:07 PM
US highway spending is a mess.
Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina.
In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.
Yale prof @zliscow.bsky.social & colleagues found that South Carolina’s DOT spends $375,500 repaving a mile of highway – more than twice as much as North Carolina.
In @bloomberg.com, I spoke with Liscow about the wild inefficiencies of state DOTs.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Republicans in North Carolina today adopted a new congressional map, favored by President Trump, that is expected to shift one seat toward the GOP.
www.newsobserver.com...
www.newsobserver.com...
October 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Republicans in North Carolina today adopted a new congressional map, favored by President Trump, that is expected to shift one seat toward the GOP.
www.newsobserver.com...
www.newsobserver.com...
As the saying goes, “just one more lane will fix it.”
Reporting from New York Focus last year found that the project would save drivers six minutes max, at a cost of $1.3 billion.
nysfocus.com/2025/10/14/h...
nysfocus.com/2025/10/14/h...
Hochul Hits Pause on Hudson Valley Highway Expansion
Reporting from New York Focus last year found that the project would save drivers six minutes max, at a cost of $1.3 billion.
nysfocus.com
October 22, 2025 at 8:09 PM
As the saying goes, “just one more lane will fix it.”
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
A report by an environmental group says millions of tons of discarded U.S. electronics are being shipped overseas each month — much of it to Southeast Asian countries not prepared to safely handle hazardous waste.
Watchdog report says American e-waste is causing a 'hidden tsunami' in Southeast Asia
A report by an environmental group says millions of tons of discarded U.S. electronics are being shipped overseas each month — much of it to Southeast Asian countries not prepared to safely handle hazardous waste.
bit.ly
October 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
A report by an environmental group says millions of tons of discarded U.S. electronics are being shipped overseas each month — much of it to Southeast Asian countries not prepared to safely handle hazardous waste.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Nor is it a good reflection on local dem leadership, who cannot manage to express unhappiness, much less contempt, over Cuomo's contemptuous candidacy.
Curtis Sliwa is more principled in his personal contempt for the disgraced former governor who voluntarily resigned from office amidst 13 credible sexual harassment claims and other scandals than a good number of Democratic voters in this city, and that's not a good reflection on those voters.
October 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Nor is it a good reflection on local dem leadership, who cannot manage to express unhappiness, much less contempt, over Cuomo's contemptuous candidacy.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
My day on RIPTA thanks to
@govdanmckee.bsky.social
-finding the 71's frequency has been cut almost in half
-waiting 19 min for the R-line at 9:30am
-packing onto an extremely overcrowded 22 because its frequency is slashed
-barely missing the 75, so I took the 72 which is 3x farther from home.
@govdanmckee.bsky.social
-finding the 71's frequency has been cut almost in half
-waiting 19 min for the R-line at 9:30am
-packing onto an extremely overcrowded 22 because its frequency is slashed
-barely missing the 75, so I took the 72 which is 3x farther from home.
October 22, 2025 at 8:03 PM
My day on RIPTA thanks to
@govdanmckee.bsky.social
-finding the 71's frequency has been cut almost in half
-waiting 19 min for the R-line at 9:30am
-packing onto an extremely overcrowded 22 because its frequency is slashed
-barely missing the 75, so I took the 72 which is 3x farther from home.
@govdanmckee.bsky.social
-finding the 71's frequency has been cut almost in half
-waiting 19 min for the R-line at 9:30am
-packing onto an extremely overcrowded 22 because its frequency is slashed
-barely missing the 75, so I took the 72 which is 3x farther from home.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Luxembourg touts free transit in an FT ad. And they’re not even socialist!
October 22, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Luxembourg touts free transit in an FT ad. And they’re not even socialist!
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Throughout my entire experience in Israeli detention, I saw countless cracks beneath the surface. For every ostensible manifestation of strength and vitality, there was a corollary sign of weakness, stupidity, decline, or all three. www.currentaffairs.org/news/my-time...
My Time as a Prisoner of Israel
Like hundreds of other activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, I was abducted by the IDF and held in Ketziot prison. There, I saw firsthand that Israel’s “strength” is more fragile than it seems.
www.currentaffairs.org
October 22, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Throughout my entire experience in Israeli detention, I saw countless cracks beneath the surface. For every ostensible manifestation of strength and vitality, there was a corollary sign of weakness, stupidity, decline, or all three. www.currentaffairs.org/news/my-time...
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
a reminder that ICE received an astonishing influx of money with the megabill this summer: boltsmag.org/how-the-gop-...
ICE is stockpiling arms, including chemical weapons, guided missile warheads and explosive components. The spending dwarfs anything we've ever seen in the agency - a 700% increase.
The President is building an army to attack his own country.
The President is building an army to attack his own country.
October 21, 2025 at 6:39 PM
a reminder that ICE received an astonishing influx of money with the megabill this summer: boltsmag.org/how-the-gop-...
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
A fascinating election to watch in two weeks — the CW is that policing has receded as an issue, but here’s a data point otherwise:
Soren Stevenson lost an eye during a 2020 BLM protest after he was shot by police with a foam projectile. He is running for Minneapolis city council this fall. “I do talk about police accountability because it is vital to who I am as a person,” he said.
As Minneapolis Votes, Some Struggle to Keep Police Violence in the Spotlight
Five years after George Floyd, the mayor and his allies on city council claim credit for vast improvements, but critics keep pressing the case for more discipline and police alternatives.
boltsmag.org
October 22, 2025 at 1:36 AM
A fascinating election to watch in two weeks — the CW is that policing has receded as an issue, but here’s a data point otherwise:
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
THIS is who the White House nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel:
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
GIFT: www.wsj.com/opinion/paul...
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
GIFT: www.wsj.com/opinion/paul...
Opinion | Paul Ingrassia’s ‘Nazi Streak’
The Trump nominee’s repellent texts are a lesson for young MAGA.
www.wsj.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:40 PM
THIS is who the White House nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel:
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
GIFT: www.wsj.com/opinion/paul...
“MLK Jr. was the 1960s George Floyd and his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell.” “I do have a Nazi streak in me from time to time, I will admit it.”
GIFT: www.wsj.com/opinion/paul...
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
WELL HOW ABOUT THAT
"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Millionaire Tax That Inspired Mamdani Fuels $5.7 Billion Haul in Massachusetts
A millionaire levy in Massachusetts that New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani holds up as a model for taxing the rich has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing...
www.bloomberg.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
WELL HOW ABOUT THAT
"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
"A millionaire levy in Massachusetts has generated $3 billion more in revenue than expected without forcing significant high-profile departures from the state."
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
A higher percentage of New York City Jews are voting for Zohran Mamdani than Jews nationwide who voted for Donald Trump, and yet the latter are treated as a substantial voice in American Jewish culture, while the former are almost totally ignored by mainstream American Jewish organizations.
October 21, 2025 at 10:02 PM
A higher percentage of New York City Jews are voting for Zohran Mamdani than Jews nationwide who voted for Donald Trump, and yet the latter are treated as a substantial voice in American Jewish culture, while the former are almost totally ignored by mainstream American Jewish organizations.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Mamdani is already getting the criminals out of NYC!
October 21, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Mamdani is already getting the criminals out of NYC!
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
The ghost of William Whyte hates this trend. You should, too.
October 21, 2025 at 8:21 PM
The ghost of William Whyte hates this trend. You should, too.
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Federal agents many in masks at Broadway and Canal moments ago questioning a man, a bunch more agents just walked away. "Can i call my mom," the man asks, he's now being loaded into a car and being driven away. More TK @thecity.nyc
October 21, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Federal agents many in masks at Broadway and Canal moments ago questioning a man, a bunch more agents just walked away. "Can i call my mom," the man asks, he's now being loaded into a car and being driven away. More TK @thecity.nyc
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
National Guard deployment in DC is costing $1 million/day www.cnn.com/2025/08/28/p...
They’re there each time I step out of the Metro, idling in groups with nothing to do
Meanwhile, around the corner, people are sleeping on the street, nowhere else to go, as Trump cuts funding for homeless people
They’re there each time I step out of the Metro, idling in groups with nothing to do
Meanwhile, around the corner, people are sleeping on the street, nowhere else to go, as Trump cuts funding for homeless people
October 20, 2025 at 11:01 PM
National Guard deployment in DC is costing $1 million/day www.cnn.com/2025/08/28/p...
They’re there each time I step out of the Metro, idling in groups with nothing to do
Meanwhile, around the corner, people are sleeping on the street, nowhere else to go, as Trump cuts funding for homeless people
They’re there each time I step out of the Metro, idling in groups with nothing to do
Meanwhile, around the corner, people are sleeping on the street, nowhere else to go, as Trump cuts funding for homeless people
Thread: There are so many problems with this NYTimes piece, starting with the assumption that being a "centrist"—whatever that is right now—is somehow "non-partisan" and a virtue unto itself. Being a "centrist" is just as ideological or "partisan" as anything else. Also, voters “prefer capitalism to
October 20, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Thread: There are so many problems with this NYTimes piece, starting with the assumption that being a "centrist"—whatever that is right now—is somehow "non-partisan" and a virtue unto itself. Being a "centrist" is just as ideological or "partisan" as anything else. Also, voters “prefer capitalism to
I found this @currentaffairs.bsky.social
piece by @lilysanca.bsky.social really helpful in understanding debates about the police and about the “defund” movement in particular: www.currentaffairs.org/news/now-is-...
piece by @lilysanca.bsky.social really helpful in understanding debates about the police and about the “defund” movement in particular: www.currentaffairs.org/news/now-is-...
Now is Not the Time to “Moderate” on the Police
Prominent mayoral candidates are distancing themselves from “defund” and instead offering “cops and more” public safety plans. But that approach neglects the victims of police brutality and risks furt...
www.currentaffairs.org
October 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I found this @currentaffairs.bsky.social
piece by @lilysanca.bsky.social really helpful in understanding debates about the police and about the “defund” movement in particular: www.currentaffairs.org/news/now-is-...
piece by @lilysanca.bsky.social really helpful in understanding debates about the police and about the “defund” movement in particular: www.currentaffairs.org/news/now-is-...
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
October 20, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Americans have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents.
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
They’ve had their necks kneeled on.
They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear.
At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them.
By @nicolefoy.bsky.social
Reposted by Allison Lirish Dean
What Trump has to say to American farmers is that they have to understand it is more important to save his friend Milei who has a big election coming up. Peasants. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Q: What do you have to say to farmers who feel that the deal is benefitting Argentina more than it is them?
TRUMP: Look, Argentina is fighting for its life, young lady. You don't know anything about it. You understand what that means? They are dying
TRUMP: Look, Argentina is fighting for its life, young lady. You don't know anything about it. You understand what that means? They are dying
October 20, 2025 at 11:02 AM
What Trump has to say to American farmers is that they have to understand it is more important to save his friend Milei who has a big election coming up. Peasants. bsky.app/profile/atru...
Ho boy. Happy Monday. Would love to hear someone like @lukewsavage.bsky.social tear into this one:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...
Opinion | America Still Has a Political Center, and It’s the Key to Winning
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Ho boy. Happy Monday. Would love to hear someone like @lukewsavage.bsky.social tear into this one:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...
Why are these three politicians at the top of this article? I know what Mamdani’s message is, and to some extent AOC’s, but what is Hakeem Jeffries’ “message”? Is there a single regular person who can articulate it?
October 19, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Why are these three politicians at the top of this article? I know what Mamdani’s message is, and to some extent AOC’s, but what is Hakeem Jeffries’ “message”? Is there a single regular person who can articulate it?
