p-g-lewis.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Not spending money that is appropriated by Congress is called impoundment, and is impeachable. Spending money that isn't appropriated by Congress is called theft, and is criminal.

submitted 17 hours ago • 5 comments

It's pretty rich to hear a guy like Musk who is into crypto call Social Security, which has been in place for almost 90 years, a "Ponzi scheme." If rich people just paid the same percentage of their income in Social Security taxes the rest of us do, SSA would be solvent for generations to come.

submitted 1 day ago • 35 comments

1/ The reason this is particularly bad—and undermines all the great journalism the Times does—is that it a) treats lives like a game b) will be seen as the view/cavalier attitude of the entire NYT, and not just 10 columnists, many of whom should have been put out to pasture long ago.

submitted 1 day ago • 70 comments

In European cities, they have piazzas, plazas, squares, and places—where people meet. In North American cities, we have intersections—where cars meet.

submitted 2 days ago • 10 comments

AP: “.. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 794 in all, are expected to yield no savings.” @apnews.com #DOGE 🇺🇸 apnews.com/article/doge...

submitted 1 day ago • 151 comments

Here's an example of how the news deserts open even when there still is a daily newspaper. Not 10 years ago, this would have been three jobs and probably five jobs. And no, one reporter can't do what five reporters used to. - County gov - Regional politics - Sac delegation - DC delegation

submitted 3 days ago • 3 comments

The experts on walking are the walkers. When he was appointed Traffic Director of the District of Columbia, William Van Duzer was President of the American Road Builders Association, an early proponent of urban expressways. Auto club executives praised Van Duzer as “a true friend of the motorist.”

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

Arizona requires Tempe to allow missing middle one mile from their downtown urban core At a meeting tonight, they described this area as “about the smallest…we could manage” When asked if they had even considered doing more than the bare minimum, the answer was a flat “no”

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

All my life I have studied democratization and autocratization. My 1st field trip was to newly democratic Argentina. I then added autocracies to my portfolio: Cuba, Ven, etc. I think I can recognize the stages of transition to authoritarianism. Here are the boxes Trump has already checked off.

submitted 14 days ago • 60 comments

New Haven - A City Ripped Apart by Urban Renewal Tries for Reinvention. A series of smaller initiatives are gradually knitting the city back together. www.governing.com/magazine/a-c...

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

Missouri's AG Andrew Bailey is suing Starbucks, arguing that its workforce is too "female" and "non-white" and as a result Missouri consumers “pay higher prices and wait longer for goods and services" because its workforce is "less qualified" This is a brazenly racist and sexist lawsuit.

submitted 16 days ago • 1305 comments

UPDATE Scottsdale City Council votes 5-2 to ax DEI funding, 2 public commenters spoke in support, 45 were opposed. www.12news.com/article/news...

submitted 19 days ago • 3 comments

We got a message from the university to remove any use of the "DEI", "diversity", "equity", or "inclusion" from all public-facing documents. They said that even "biodiversity" is being flagged by the federal government. We live in the dumbest timeline.

submitted 20 days ago • 934 comments

Kyrsten Sinema Update: the former Arizona Senator is reported to have lobbied for Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to become the next director of national intelligence

submitted 25 days ago • 4 comments

Hard to come up with a better example of one whose research made this world better. When you ride a bike over what used to be a parking lane, when your kids play without fear of being killed by a motorist or when you breathe cleaner air in your city, give Donald Shoup a small silent thanks.

submitted 22 days ago • 1 comment

Having been embarrassed by China in AI competition, the USA seems determined to hand over the rest of the basic research to them and try to make a living by being hewers of hedge funds and drawers of private equity.

submitted 22 days ago • 3 comments

Hey guess what I have some good news! This is from data I got this afternoon. year 1 after Portland's fourplex legalization: 1% of new housing citywide year 2: 7% year 3: 26% Some things take some time to pay off. These delightful 20-somethings bought one of them; told me they love it.

submitted 23 days ago • 13 comments

Systemic misinformation is a tool of authoritarian states.

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

New, from me: So much is happening, so quickly. The purpose of shock and awe is to bewilder and overwhelm. It is important not to look away, or get discouraged. Try to discern the what is a big and real threat. Here is my best effort to do so. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/meditation...

submitted 25 days ago • 44 comments

just saying: it's possible that "I'm gonna dramatically constrict my state capacity while plotting dramatic imperial expansion, and expanding my set of internal enemies while alienating most of my foreign allies" is the beginning of a world-historical masterstroke. but also possible that it isn't

submitted 25 days ago • 110 comments

substack.com/home/post/p-...

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

18F along with the US Digital Service were one of the bright sparks in making government work better. Direct File has been a successful innovation to allow people to do tax reporting for free. Think we can safely give up on the notion that Musk is interested in improving government capacity.

submitted 27 days ago • 47 comments

How consulting firms rake in the dough on big transport projects.

submitted 28 days ago • 1 comment

It will *be a payoff. We’ve got to start using the actual words for what’s happening.

submitted 30 days ago • 22 comments

RFK Jr. doesn't know Medicare vs. Medicaid, but the people benefiting from these programs sure know their impact. @commonwealthfund.org helps you see how Medicaid helps your state. Ex: 3.1m in PA are on Medicaid/CHIP and are least likely to have medical debt. www.commonwealthfund.org/publications...

submitted 30 days ago • 0 comments

I mean

submitted 33 days ago • 3 comments

New: Some suggest milder winters -> fewer cold-weather deaths will be a climate change upside. A new study finds that across Europe a massive rise in hot-weather deaths will cancel out any benefit. Findings 'debunk proposed theories of ‘beneficial’ effects of climate change' says author. Gift link:

submitted 34 days ago • 4 comments

Important to realize scope of what's happening and how different it is from headlines: -Not just getting rid of post-2020 DEI practices, setting up an attack on post-1965 civil rights law and practices -Not just cracking down on illegal immigration, expelling legal immigrants and blocking refugees

submitted 35 days ago • 24 comments

"On Saturday, Jan 24, 1925, Los Angeles introduced a law that gave motorists priority in the city’s streets." The loss of our streets—since time immemorial the foundation of our public realm—to cars alone is one of the greatest tragedies in modern urban history. usa.streetsblog.org/2025/01/21/w...

submitted 37 days ago • 1 comment

“America has a walking culture. What we lack are walkable places. Our history can help us rediscover our suppressed culture of walking. This will help us pursue a more walkable future.” usa.streetsblog.org/2025/01/21/w...

submitted 40 days ago • 2 comments

submitted 38 days ago • 1 comment

TN Bill proposes removing from office local elected officials who vote the wrong way on local immigration enforcement.

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments

I wrote this based on my JHPPL article on inequitable administrative burdens of appealing coverage denials, incorporating a new interview I did with a doc who reviews claims for a major insurer and who said, "We’re told denying things is OK because people can appeal" www.statnews.com/2025/01/23/h...

submitted 38 days ago • 28 comments

In honor of the billionaires, I spatchcocked a chicken which requires removing the backbone and breaking it's bones so it lays prostrate. Also stuffed lemon slices + herbs under its thin skin. Recipe: www.seriouseats.com/butterflied-...

submitted 41 days ago • 8 comments

Dr. Fauci was our guest at Wolftrap outside of DC last summer, and before the show I asked him why he thought had become MAGA’s primary villain in the COVID epidemic. After the fact, it was useful to find someone else to blame rather than Trump, but why him? What started it?

submitted 41 days ago • 41 comments

“We have all of these policy documents that tell us we want certain types of development, and we’re just not getting it. We’re getting drive-throughs, we’re getting self-storage, (more) auto-centric development” Plans are often just rhetoric. Codes have teeth. www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report...

submitted 50 days ago • 1 comment

A lot of drivers seem to think that going right through a stop sign is fine as long as you don't see any bikers or pedestrians around. But the whole point of stop signs is that you don't always see. Then, when these drivers hit someone, the defense is always, "They came out of nowhere."

submitted 52 days ago • 30 comments

Appeals court rejects claim by Cochise supervisor that he is immune from prosecution for delaying certification of 2022 election results. tucson.com/news/local/g...

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

The fact that the FBI didn’t hold a press conference announcing the largest seizure of self-made explosives in history tells you everything you need to know about race and ideology of the suspect. Wanna guess? www.nytimes.com/2024/12/31/u...

submitted 60 days ago • 656 comments

I'm late to seeing this fine Henry Grabar piece. I agree that trying to understand the Urban Renewal era through the lens of Caro's "Power Broker" is generally a mistake. 1/2 slate.com/business/202...

submitted 65 days ago • 1 comment

To be clearer about this: S. Korea appears to be entering a constitutional crisis, & the basic reason is its impeachment process is complicated. There's a supermajority in the legislature to remove the discredited executive, which would be more than enough to settle things w a confidence mechanism

submitted 65 days ago • 1 comment

I see that Microsoft decided to celebrate Christmas with a big bountiful Windows update for us to download.

submitted 67 days ago • 0 comments