really striking how much centrist commentators basically refuse to engage with political history prior to 2008 in order to prop up tendentious and self-flattering narratives.

Brian Beutler@brianbeutler.bsky.social · 3h ago

I suspect two things lie behind the fixation on supermajorities: 1) Dems are trying to protect incumbent moderates who intend to reprise the Manchin-Sinema role; 2) centrists want to use the specter of democracy-reform failure to extort concessions from the left. www.offmessage.net/p/democrats-...

“Researchers found that children in London whose lung growth had been stunted by pollution showed impressive improvements after the introduction of an Ultra Low Emission Zone in 2019 reduced emission… …local clean air zones could help reduce some of the harm caused by pollution during childhood.”

Children's stunted lungs show recovery in ultra low emission zone

Children's lung capacity caught up with their peers in less polluted areas once a clean air zone came in, a study shows.

bbc.com

i think one of the hidden keys to politics right now is "how can our side make sure that the 'trump is gonna kill a bunch of beautiful wild horses' story gets in front of the millions of otherwise apolitical consumers of social media horse-related content"

ashley fairbanks@ziibiing.com · yesterday

if we want to win the midterms, let's turn out the horse girls.

I know there are lot of people who think voting does nothing to stop fascism, but I do notice that one group who seems to think voting does something to stop fascism are the fascists, who are trying to prevent it as much as possible.

Joshfrai@joshfrai.bsky.social · 10h ago

Well, voting’s not important or anything so no biggie. ncnewsline.com/2026/08/20/n...

I think I need to work this Mumford quote into my class: "In short, we have had the alternative of humanizing the industrial city or dehumanizing the population. So far we have dehumanized the population.”

Sorry, is this photo Claymation Talarico?

The Cook Political Report@cookpolitical.com · yesterday

🚨 Cook Political Report is shifting 4 key statewide race ratings: #TXSEN: Lean R → Toss Up
 #IASEN: Lean R → Toss Up #TXGOV: Solid R → Likely R #IAGOV: Toss Up → Lean D Read our latest: www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/gov...

One way to understand the restrictiveness of zoning is to look at land price gradients across zone boundaries, @lausterna.bsky.social and check into what that looks like in Vancouver.

Zoning Constraints and Land Price Gradients – Mountain Doodles

Steep land price gradients across zoning boundaries are an indication of zoning restrictions being binding. We take a look at what this looks like for the City of Vancouver.

doodles.mountainmath.ca

"Montreal was building the first legs of its subway in the 1960s. We could have built the equivalent of 36 Paris Metros for that $375 billion at the cost that Montreal was building its subway. And so part of this is just creating like an Earth 2 in my mind. What if we had gotten it right?"

The Overhead Wire@theoverheadwire.com · 23h ago

New #TalkingHeadways! Patrick Kennedy @thedotcity.bsky.social joins the show to talk about "An Atlas of Intercity Highway Impacts" - link.theoverheadwire.com/rakfd

Well whatta you know? Speed cameras in Oakland reduced speeding by about 80% on the treated corridors, essentially the same result as the speed cameras in San Francisco. Seems like a pretty successful policy, if you ask me.

San Francisco Chronicle@sfchronicle.com · yesterday

A new report shows that drivers are slowing down significantly on what have been some of the city’s most dangerous roads.

I don’t think it’s accurate to say that the entire San Francisco region was "popping with [housing] construction" when it averaged like 1/3 of the permitting rate of Toronto or Vancouver (also cities that needed to build more).

Alex@alxlndomountain.bsky.social · yesterday

yet by 2018 the industry was so overheated that developers were routinely complaining about massive cost escalation and labor shortages as the entire region was popping with construction. might one consider that the industry was running at its red line?

This kind of credulous reporting about the Guard’s deployment in DC is a big part of the problem: 1. It’s not reducing crime; and even if it were that’s not a justification for their deployment. 2. It matters because unleashing military patrols in a U.S. city is fascist, authoritarian behavior.

New Public Comment on the self-interested case for quitting X publiccomment.blog/p/it-is-past...

It Is Past Time for You to Quit Elon Musk's X

Yes, I'm talking to you. 🫵

publiccomment.blog

"...each above-ground spot in a parking deck in and around Washington, D.C. can cost $29,000 to build. While that’s below the national average of $52,000, it would also mean that Trump’s proposed 32,000 parking spots could cost more than $900 million."

Martin Austermuhle@maustermuhle.bsky.social · 3w ago

One part of Trump's $22 billion makeover of Dulles that's been missed is his big, beautiful, world-record 32,000-spot parking garage. That's *way* more parking than recent estimates show the airport needs, and it would tower over the historic terminal: www.notus.org/metro/dulles...

i dont think we can underestimate the rising costs of housing and [car-dependent] transportation, both seen as needs, that places downward pressure on the price side for everything else.

Online shopping eliminated these gatekeepers and disintermediated the market, allowing consumers to express their desires more directly. And it turns out that what people really want is cheap disposable goods, not more expensive but higher quality stuff that lasts a long time.

it’s pretty obvious that a lot of people remember that COVID lockdowns were unpleasant and from there just extrapolate that they were therefore bad policy

RIP Louisa Gag, a transit planner who dedicated her career to making Boston’s streets safer for cyclists & pedestrians. She was killed while biking to work on July 9, 2026. Street safety improvements shouldn’t be delayed, watered down, or treated as a political inconvenience. Safe streets now!!

A great example of why the "make eye contact with drivers and wear reflective clothing" advice for pedestrians and cyclists is bad. Nothing short of physically limiting where and how drivers can operate their vehicles will work.

Drivers Have Run Over, Flipped Off And Cursed Out Chicago’s Traffic Aides For Doing Their Jobs

Traffic control aides are needed during big summer events, like Lollapalooza this weekend. But drivers often take out their frustration on them — and two aides were recently hospitalized after being h...

blockclubchicago.org

Are you passionate about pedestrian safety and accessibility? Do you find value in working with students on local civic engagement? Join us for a special edition of Sidewalk Palooza as part of this year's GW Day of Service on August 22. Reach out if you want to be involved!

Like in the first Trump term, people are standing around looking for some neutral arbiter to decide something is wrong and take action. The press stands around wondering about the voters. The voters stare back at the press. Some Democratic leaders hide behind a potted plant hoping they go unnoticed.

Julie K. Brown@jkbjournalist.bsky.social · 3w ago

New: Andrew and Tristan Tate are facing sex trafficking and child porn charges. Yet Trump world had a party for them. open.substack.com/pub/jkbjourn...

Seems like it should be a minimum for any story about a driver hurting someone that the writer look up and share if there are unpaid tickets associated with the vehicle. A boy is seriously injured because this vehicle and its driver shouldn’t be on the road. www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/5...

5-year-old on scooter in critical condition after Southeast DC hit-and-run

A search is unfolding in D.C. after a 5-year-old on an electric scooter was hit by a driver and critically injured. The driver left the scene after the collision. This is the second case in the DMV re...

nbcwashington.com

Bad Drivers DC@dc.baddrivers.lol · 4w ago

Stats for VA plate TAK9548: $4652 in unpaid tickets.

On the other hand, at least drivers have extra parking to come get a “quick shot.”

Something I find particularly infuriating is that when you *do* act outraged over pedestrian deaths you are treated as hysterical and as if you're overreacting.

Melissa Bowman@dtkmelissa.bsky.social · 4w ago

"As a society, we are horrified by gun violence, but generally give scant attention to deaths on our roads that result from motorists’ choices." From @seanyyz.bsky.social

Riding bikes is 10X more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities. And that’s just the climate emissions. Doesn’t include the massive public & personal cost difference, the air & noise pollution difference, the massive space difference, etc, etc…Via @theconversation.bsky.social

Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

Active travel can help tackle the climate crisis earlier than electric vehicles – even if you swap the car for a bike for just one trip a day.

theconversation.com

One of the myths of car ownership is that users fully pay for infrastructure costs. It’s only partially true, and in DC, it is not particularly true. Especially with the gas tax on the decline, it’s time to consider other options to sustainably fund the costs of building and maintaining our roads.

Astoria's King Souvlaki food truck is embracing the 31st Street protected bike after previously backing a lawsuit to stop it.

'It's a Great Bike Lane': King Souvlaki Abandons Astoria Lawsuit Fight - Streetsblog New York City

Astoria's King Souvlaki food truck is embracing the 31st Street protected bike after previously backing a lawsuit to stop it.

buff.ly

Report: Waymo Cars Mean Way Mo’ Traffic

Report: Waymo Cars Mean Way Mo' Traffic - Streetsblog New York City

Are Waymo cars safer? Maybe. But will they make our streets and neighborhoods more livable? Way no.

buff.ly

Sometimes I think it’s too reductive to say that a car is a uniquely deranging object to own, but then I see people who claim left politics compare the people trying to turn a carpark into a children’s home to Netanyahu and I think “no, the car has made you crazy”

Claire McNab@2legged.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 4w ago

@kayfourbee.bsky.social Local authority decision would exacerbate local reource shortage. But instead of seeing a better decision which doesn't create a resources crisis, your preferred solution is to tell people to eff off. That sounds liks the Netanyahu approach to urban planning […]

Getting attached to individual politicians as people is kinda batshit behavior even under the best of circumstances but it's especially insane in The United States where there's an enormous amount of randomness and path dependency in terms of who gets into these high level elected offices.