Ben Wetzler

Republicans, they're not like us.

It's so weird how most US cities are run by like,, a version of the Urban Growth Machine that's somehow also nimby now? Like they'll support extremely dubious public private partnerships for sports stadiums, and want to legalize gambling for the tax revenue, but housing is too far

People are all “didn’t you write about how the food system is bad??” I also wrote a book where the crime is that wealthy landowners used environmental rules and legal protests to kill a beneficial project solely to artificially inflate land prices. why is this a surprise to you

“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened up a Cheesecake Factory” — Obama

If 2025's major ballot prop theme was Yay Increase Multifamily Buildings Yugely (YIMBY), 2026's might be Fix All Streets and other Stuff Today (FASST). hellgatenyc.com/crash-course...

I guess I understand why- as a small lab dealing with nuclear physics- you'd see this as a good hook to get press coverage, but presumably the company is planning on selling the unlimited quantities of free energy, not the smaller-than-microscopic gold produced as a byproduct?

I wasn't super excited for the new Mass Effect but this still sucks.

I am yet again staking out the position that a pardon issued as part of a corrupt or criminal scheme in which the President is involved or materially benefits from is void ab initio I’ll find some Blackstone or Coke quote supporting this when I need to

Well, look at that. California is seeing a big increase in multifamily housing permits. We passed historic CEQA reforms w/AB 130 to make it easier to build housing & now we’re seeing momentum. There’s still lots of work to do, but this is an encouraging sign. www.ocregister.com/2026/10/08/c...

The 2027 IBC has been officially published, and it allows single-stair apartment buildings up to four stories! See the new section 1006.3.3.2 codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2...

I may never stop laughing.

1. We're at the bottom now. 2. It is the court's responsibility to reestablish its credibility, not the Democratic Party's. 3. The SC has weaponized its prestige. Lower courts don't have this problem. 4. Expansion worked last time (after Dred Scott Lincoln expanded it to 10 justices) so why not now.

strategic political capture of the court has, for 40 years, been a one-way ratchet. among other things, this has inculcated a sense among conservatives that they can act with virtual impunity. showing them that their opponents will play hardball is a necessary first step toward a better status quo.

"Nineteen deciding votes for Trump nominees and none against" just about sums Collins up. Whenever Republicans actually need her vote, she's there.

These two-stair, zero-elevator buildings are such a scourge. And nobody in the building or fire worlds is concerned about them even after years of debate, they still think this is fine and I’m somewhere between misguided and evil for making them think about this. phillyyimby.com/2026/10/new-...

if people said "no" to him, he would simply disappear. look at him. look at the impotent rage. we can still say no to him and all of this. we do not have to live this way

"We are going for the killshot. You want in?" is a hell of a fundraising pitch, not gonna lie.

“Every member of this ethnic group is a criminal who needs to be imprisoned by the state” is just pure uncut Nazi shit

Kind of a buried lede in the results of this Supreme Court approval rating poll from Marquette: Overall support for Supreme Court expansion, which even Democratic politicians were dismissing as "radical" just a few years ago, is now at 53 percent today.marquette.edu/2026/09/marq...

This afternoon, ICE agents shot someone on Marble Hill Avenue, right here in Manhattan. My heart is with the person who was shot and their family, and with a neighborhood that has been living in fear. An agency built on cruelty and thuggery has no place in New York City or anywhere.

"Leader of a political movement exclusively focused on destruction whose supporters only take joy in the deprivation of others worried that he will leave nothing of value behind"

Texas is basically saying it wants to encourage fraud as a matter of public policy and you should keep that in mind whenever you see a large firm incorporated in Texas

Personally I find it less than ideal that this is how Google works now

Send Stephen Miller to The Hague.

The (very sweet) elderly Lyft driver in Tucson told me (totally unprompted) that she blamed Biden for her groceries going up but thinks Trump is more focused on personal vendettas than the economy. Also she doesn't like talking politics. GOP cooked.

“'Because we can’t afford a home, we’re probably not going to have kids,' she said. 'We can’t even afford a dog.'” Do high housing costs reduce birthrates? What does the best evidence tell us about this question?

This happens in an episode of Super Friends. The whole place goes haywire when a mouse starts chewing on the wires.

"It shoots through schools."

🚨 We're hiring! 🚨 Open New York is looking for a Westchester Organizing Coordinator to help Open New York build community, advance policy, and grow our membership in one of the most expensive counties of New York State. Apply now! open-new-york.breezy.hr/p/0d8a0eb3e0...

Every game coming out is either faux 8-bit or hyper-HD. Give me something middle of the road. Some state-of-the-art 2005 graphics.

Donald Trump 1) is very corrupt and for ideological/aesthetic reasons wants to align the US with tinpot dictators 2) has a bogus public image as an expert deal-maker 3) is quite stupid Knowing this, Putin has convinced him to destroy all our closest alliances in exchange for bags of dirt.

We will vote to rebuke him so decisively no president will dare such abuses again for centuries.

NEW POLL: 53% of Americans support expanding the Supreme Court, including majorities of both Democrats and independents. Two weeks ago, House Dems stood united to keep that option on the table. Happy Constitution Day! law.marquette.edu/poll/

To be clear - I don’t think this is a sign that voters understand second order effects, I think they’re looking at Trump and going “that guy is clearly full of shit”, which is way worse for him

Reminder that this community workshop is tomorrow! This is a huge opportunity for more housing and affordable housing in Kensington and Flatbush, and I hope to see you there!

I don’t think the dynamics here are that complicated. Imagine a foot race where the winner gets a trillion dollars, but as the leaders of the pack approach the end line they see it’s at the very edge of a sheer 1000’ cliff. They would probably try to coordinate some slowdown.

The last speaker at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony lost his father to the attacks.

The combination of the Fugitive Slave Act and the Dred Scott decision was such a major escalation in the lead-up to the Civil War bc it put to lie the idea that slavery was a "states rights" question. The South and SCOTUS were determined to force slavery into the North.