I hope so! And it seems in this case, the focus is on Puerto Ricans rights, not the addition of partisan seats. I have just seen too many lists like this where PR is presented as a little more than a tool to serve Democrats’ ends, and I think it’s important to call out that that’s fucked up.

I don’t think that’s a very fair representation. There is honest, grassroots resistance to being further integrated into the empire that colonized them. The current situation IS fucked. But they deserve self determination, not to be forced to statehood.

I will post till blue in the face that PR statehood does not belong on these lists. It MUST be PR self-determination, which may very well not be statehood. They deserve better than they have now, but what they want may not serve our political ends and we should accept that.

So it is a zero sum game and it’s fundamentally different values, as Max stated, not just different preferences. I’m not gonna try to convince you otherwise on this value, but it does prove it’s a difference of values not preferences.

Property tax. Yes, people in burbs tend to be wealthier and contribute more via income tax. But suburban style developments do not pay enough in property taxes to sustain the cost of spread out infrastructure. Compact res and business districts subsidize burbs in this way.

I don’t find it hard to “understand” a preference for the burbs. I find it unreasonable for that preference to define others’ ability to develop their own property, and I know that suburban development is not financially self-sustaining long term. I

People can prefer the burbs. The arg is whether they should be allowed to infringe on the property rights of others to maintain that preference (while also making housing more expensive).

Also most burb residents don’t bear the cost of that development style. It’s heavily subsidized.

Like, having your big hits go from pretty vaguely conservative codes paeans to the past/rurality, to some deeply racist bloodthirsty shit (with an ideology), to just plain lowest common denominator intentionally trashy cultural appeal IS the path from pre-W —> W —> Trump

Toby Keith. Died before the full turn, but:

Should’ve been a cowboy (‘93) —> courtesy of the red white and blue/beer for my horses (‘01) —> red solo cup (‘11)

Tracks the conservative movement really fucking well

The ones for whom abundance is a cover for turning democrats in 1980s republicans, yes. Can’t see why it would be so for honest reformers.

Among the dumbest fake tensions of all time. I understand some of the *players* have tensions but there is zero between the actual ideas. Fewer housing regs will just make it easier for new entrants, aka de facto anti monopoly policy. This nonsense drives me up the wall.

You’re writing @notalawyer.bsky.social’s 5-4 intros for him now?

Would Mamdani have authority to remove him? If so, seems like he’s trying to put lipstick on a “new guy will fire me anyway bc I am wholly unqualified and am only here due to graft” pig

This really affirms that while MattY is a little bit reactionary, he is mostly very stupid, with an extra special stupid heuristic that he uses to understand politics, despite it being incorrect so frequently.

Extremely Hanson’s Razor

one year and everyone is so sick of your boy that Virginia is starting to look like Massachusetts and a democratic socialist won a million votes in NYC, get fucked