Eli Kahn 🏳️🌈
@elikahn.bsky.social
Urban/environmental policy guy, YIMBY, sci-fi/fantasy writer, liberal, atheist. Californian in the DC area. All posts represent my views, not those of my employer.
where are they painted that were drowned after their vows?
where are they painted that were drowned after their vows?
One definition of “civilization” is: the collective project to ensure that people who think like him do not win.
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 AM
One definition of “civilization” is: the collective project to ensure that people who think like him do not win.
Trump’s whole thing in life is he has gotten ahead by relentlessly bullying people. In his worldview, people should be able to get a better “deal” by being willing to lie, cheat, and berate people over the phone, and people (like most of us) who find that stuff unbearable deserve to lose out.
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Trump’s whole thing in life is he has gotten ahead by relentlessly bullying people. In his worldview, people should be able to get a better “deal” by being willing to lie, cheat, and berate people over the phone, and people (like most of us) who find that stuff unbearable deserve to lose out.
yeah, that tracks with my experience of hearing British people use it to denote privilege rather than ordinariness
I think another way of putting it is that in the US “working class” and “middle class” are overlapping categories, whereas in Britain they’re distinct from each other?
I think another way of putting it is that in the US “working class” and “middle class” are overlapping categories, whereas in Britain they’re distinct from each other?
November 10, 2025 at 9:32 PM
yeah, that tracks with my experience of hearing British people use it to denote privilege rather than ordinariness
I think another way of putting it is that in the US “working class” and “middle class” are overlapping categories, whereas in Britain they’re distinct from each other?
I think another way of putting it is that in the US “working class” and “middle class” are overlapping categories, whereas in Britain they’re distinct from each other?
I kind of assume that Americans use “middle class” to mean “not rich, not homeless” whereas Britons use it to mean “not poor, not literal nobility”
November 10, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I kind of assume that Americans use “middle class” to mean “not rich, not homeless” whereas Britons use it to mean “not poor, not literal nobility”
while I’m at it: the amount and tone at which your doctor’s office communicates with you should be roughly “occasional hookup who obviously is way more into you than you’re into them”
just, like, sending you memes, “hey stud, saw this and thought of you 😝 lmk if you still have the same insurance”
just, like, sending you memes, “hey stud, saw this and thought of you 😝 lmk if you still have the same insurance”
November 10, 2025 at 8:40 PM
while I’m at it: the amount and tone at which your doctor’s office communicates with you should be roughly “occasional hookup who obviously is way more into you than you’re into them”
just, like, sending you memes, “hey stud, saw this and thought of you 😝 lmk if you still have the same insurance”
just, like, sending you memes, “hey stud, saw this and thought of you 😝 lmk if you still have the same insurance”
i would watch this so hard that I am tempted to just go ahead and write it
November 10, 2025 at 8:00 PM
i would watch this so hard that I am tempted to just go ahead and write it
if you’re prescribed a medication once, it should be mailed automatically to your last known address, in perpetuity, without you ever having to fill out a form
if you want them to *stop* sending you meds it should be like canceling a gym membership. you should have to call them up and yell at them
if you want them to *stop* sending you meds it should be like canceling a gym membership. you should have to call them up and yell at them
November 10, 2025 at 6:18 PM
if you’re prescribed a medication once, it should be mailed automatically to your last known address, in perpetuity, without you ever having to fill out a form
if you want them to *stop* sending you meds it should be like canceling a gym membership. you should have to call them up and yell at them
if you want them to *stop* sending you meds it should be like canceling a gym membership. you should have to call them up and yell at them
i feel like it was this even 15 years ago!
November 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM
i feel like it was this even 15 years ago!
how things should work:
all legislation must originate in the House and be amended in the House; all nominations go through the House
the Senate’s powers are to give an up-or-down vote on legislation from the House, and that’s it
all legislation must originate in the House and be amended in the House; all nominations go through the House
the Senate’s powers are to give an up-or-down vote on legislation from the House, and that’s it
November 10, 2025 at 8:12 AM
how things should work:
all legislation must originate in the House and be amended in the House; all nominations go through the House
the Senate’s powers are to give an up-or-down vote on legislation from the House, and that’s it
all legislation must originate in the House and be amended in the House; all nominations go through the House
the Senate’s powers are to give an up-or-down vote on legislation from the House, and that’s it
you’re hearing more and more people saying “American House of Lords”
November 10, 2025 at 8:10 AM
you’re hearing more and more people saying “American House of Lords”
a lot of this imo is for some reactionaries, a person they are attracted to who doesn’t fit the mold of what they’re supposed to find desirable is threatening; if beauty is subjective, it means the rules of how to gain and hold social power are much more complex than they want to admit
November 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
a lot of this imo is for some reactionaries, a person they are attracted to who doesn’t fit the mold of what they’re supposed to find desirable is threatening; if beauty is subjective, it means the rules of how to gain and hold social power are much more complex than they want to admit
I have a recurring daydream of running for local office in SF with the slogan “San Francisco for Everyone!” and then referring frequently to it as I upzone places, to my political opponents’ growing horror as it gradually dawns on them that I meant that LITERALLY EVERYONE should live in SF
November 8, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I have a recurring daydream of running for local office in SF with the slogan “San Francisco for Everyone!” and then referring frequently to it as I upzone places, to my political opponents’ growing horror as it gradually dawns on them that I meant that LITERALLY EVERYONE should live in SF
I will also note that I’m not sure whether this applies to hot politicians generally, but one effect of Mamdani being a good looking guy is it’s hard to take an unflattering photo of him, with the result that you sometimes wonder if this kind of ad is really supposed to be *anti*-Mamdani
November 8, 2025 at 8:21 PM
I will also note that I’m not sure whether this applies to hot politicians generally, but one effect of Mamdani being a good looking guy is it’s hard to take an unflattering photo of him, with the result that you sometimes wonder if this kind of ad is really supposed to be *anti*-Mamdani
also, “I don’t have opinions about pop stars’ looks - I’m married!” is The Thing Polyamorous People Hate About Monogamy, the one monogamous people generally feel is an unfair strawman?
November 8, 2025 at 1:25 AM
also, “I don’t have opinions about pop stars’ looks - I’m married!” is The Thing Polyamorous People Hate About Monogamy, the one monogamous people generally feel is an unfair strawman?
in the past year I’ve made more friends who are older gay men, and it’s actually very reassuring to know that getting older doesn’t mean you have to close down the part of you that experiences desire.
November 8, 2025 at 1:25 AM
in the past year I’ve made more friends who are older gay men, and it’s actually very reassuring to know that getting older doesn’t mean you have to close down the part of you that experiences desire.
a better set of rules is:
-don’t bluntly call people ugly or anything worse than “not my type”
-don’t assume “not your type” means “no one’s type”
-don’t suggest that someone you’re not attracted to has no right to a public platform
-if you are attracted to someone, don’t make it their problem
-don’t bluntly call people ugly or anything worse than “not my type”
-don’t assume “not your type” means “no one’s type”
-don’t suggest that someone you’re not attracted to has no right to a public platform
-if you are attracted to someone, don’t make it their problem
November 8, 2025 at 1:25 AM
a better set of rules is:
-don’t bluntly call people ugly or anything worse than “not my type”
-don’t assume “not your type” means “no one’s type”
-don’t suggest that someone you’re not attracted to has no right to a public platform
-if you are attracted to someone, don’t make it their problem
-don’t bluntly call people ugly or anything worse than “not my type”
-don’t assume “not your type” means “no one’s type”
-don’t suggest that someone you’re not attracted to has no right to a public platform
-if you are attracted to someone, don’t make it their problem
i’m so glad the tragedy of a cat being run over by a Waymo has focused everyone’s attention on how zero human drivers have ever run over any pets, or indeed humans.
we should definitely ban any new technology for not being perfect, so we can go back to enjoying the usual carnage
we should definitely ban any new technology for not being perfect, so we can go back to enjoying the usual carnage
November 7, 2025 at 9:31 PM
i’m so glad the tragedy of a cat being run over by a Waymo has focused everyone’s attention on how zero human drivers have ever run over any pets, or indeed humans.
we should definitely ban any new technology for not being perfect, so we can go back to enjoying the usual carnage
we should definitely ban any new technology for not being perfect, so we can go back to enjoying the usual carnage
My first guess is it’s a function of partisan polarization around the issue of immigration (mostly the absence of pro-immigration left parties outside North America)
My second guess is it has to do with historic settlement patterns of the wealthy bases of traditional center-right parties
My second guess is it has to do with historic settlement patterns of the wealthy bases of traditional center-right parties
November 7, 2025 at 9:11 PM
My first guess is it’s a function of partisan polarization around the issue of immigration (mostly the absence of pro-immigration left parties outside North America)
My second guess is it has to do with historic settlement patterns of the wealthy bases of traditional center-right parties
My second guess is it has to do with historic settlement patterns of the wealthy bases of traditional center-right parties
oh no! forced, FORCED to participate in another religion’s rituals! what’s next? having to sit through another religion’s prayers at public meetings? having your public school football coach lead you in another religion’s prayers? the president trying to ban immigration by people of your faith?
November 6, 2025 at 5:22 PM
oh no! forced, FORCED to participate in another religion’s rituals! what’s next? having to sit through another religion’s prayers at public meetings? having your public school football coach lead you in another religion’s prayers? the president trying to ban immigration by people of your faith?
has Andrews ever, like, worked in a workplace, or does she just read angry Facebook posts about like “a woman YELLED at me for HOLDING THE DOOR FOR HER!” and make wild guesses?
November 6, 2025 at 2:55 PM
has Andrews ever, like, worked in a workplace, or does she just read angry Facebook posts about like “a woman YELLED at me for HOLDING THE DOOR FOR HER!” and make wild guesses?