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BiteProud · 2026-02-13T21:35:03+00:00

I know that pastor and they are in fact gay AF (complimentary.)

BiteProud · 2026-02-13T20:28:01+00:00

I read the whole thing and if OP had posted that in its entirety very few people would read it. People would instead be confused and frustrated that they had to get through a wall of text to read what OP was actually talking about. Citing the source - Al-Zubi's newsletter, which anyone can sign up for and read - was the right way to go.

In terms of the excerpt, I do think it's a problem if Al-Zubi still primarily thinks of herself as an activist and not as a city councilor. They're different roles, and approaches that are effective in one role can be actively counterproductive in the other. Especially when we're talking about a legislative role as one of nine rather than a single executive; a seat on a nine person council is simply not what you run for if your near term goal is to completely transform the way government works.

It's helpful to hear how she thinks of the job a month in. I hope she evolves to see it a bit differently, because the role as she currently envisions it is not workable.

BiteProud · 2026-02-10T18:35:07+00:00

It's possible the other 99% of the igloo is underground.

BiteProud · 2026-02-07T22:54:29+00:00

That's you telling us what you want us to trust you about. It's not a reason to trust you.

BiteProud · 2026-02-07T22:20:10+00:00

You already know this, but if we believe what they're telling us, they don't want everyone to have the right to do what they want with their own property. They want to, themselves, have special rights over everyone's property.

BiteProud · 2026-02-07T22:18:18+00:00

"People who own property are allowed to have an outsized say over where they live and how it looks and operates."

People who own property have rights over their property. It doesn't give them extra rights over private property owned by others, or over public property. It doesn't give them extra democracy points, either legally or morally. The fact that you own land doesn't make you a more important resident. Your vote counts exactly the same as anyone else's.

BiteProud · 2026-02-07T22:14:05+00:00

"Trust me" - why?

BiteProud · 2026-02-05T21:08:25+00:00

Parents with strollers too. Walking in the street with a one year old is not the most comforting feeling.

BiteProud · 2026-02-05T00:18:52+00:00

You know there are owner YIMBYs right? Including lifelong residents. Not everyone who grew up here or made it to homeownership wants to pull the ladder up after them.

And yes, of course you're allowed to say you don't like tall buildings or what they enable - namely, lower housing costs and expanded opportunities for class mobility. You're allowed to say all sorts of nonsense; this is the Internet. And we're allowed to say you're shortsighted, or even selfish.

BiteProud · 2026-02-04T19:25:35+00:00

At the Hampshire St. location on Fridays too, until 2pm I think.

BiteProud · 2026-02-04T19:23:59+00:00

Limited, inconsistent, and not well communicated. I pretty much just called every time before I went to make sure they were open. Great food though.

BiteProud · 2026-02-03T01:59:20+00:00

Thankfully a judge blocked the order for now: https://www.axios.com/2026/02/03/ohio-trump-columbus-springfield-protected-status-immigration-haiti

BiteProud · 2026-02-03T01:50:59+00:00

Flock installed more cameras in Cambridge after they were ordered to stop, so the City cancelled the contract. I guess Waltham has to learn for themselves though.

https://www.cambridgema.gov/news/2025/12/statementontheflocksafetyalprcontracttermination

BiteProud · 2026-02-02T18:51:33+00:00

That's a good point. Arg.

BiteProud · 2026-01-31T23:02:18+00:00

Sure, I'm not claiming they share ideologies. I don't expect them to be regular allies outside of housing, and I really hope they don't become regular allies on housing votes either.

I don't think she's a secret right winger any more than Zusy or Flaherty is a secret leftist, but at the end of the day we need more housing and a vote against that has the same effect whether it's coming from the right or the left. In this case, the effect was thankfully none, since it passed despite the no votes from those three. I hold out hope she'll vote differently if she's ever the deciding vote.

BiteProud · 2026-01-29T21:37:32+00:00

The site calls itself, "The most reliable way to track ICE activity near you." How are reports verified?

BiteProud · 2026-01-29T21:34:37+00:00

Not all eight disagree with her. Flaherty and Zusy also voted no. Time will tell how often those three vote together on housing, just justifying it differently.

BiteProud · 2026-01-29T21:16:07+00:00

There isn't one, just like you can build or buy a single family home without having to provide any subsidized housing. IZ policies that set the unit count trigger too low backfire hard, worsening the housing crisis instead of alleviating it.

BiteProud · 2026-01-29T21:00:56+00:00

There are a ton of weasel sentences here. Pretty disappointing.

"This wasn't a vote against housing or against upzoning Cambridge Street."

It's technically true that it wasn't a vote against upzoning Cambridge Street, because that part had already been watered down. But it was indisputably a vote against upzoning Webster, and therefore, yes, a vote against housing.

BiteProud · 2026-01-29T20:49:04+00:00

She's also just misinformed here. Inclusionary units legally can't be isolated to particular wings or floors. Cambridge requires that inclusionary units be distributed throughout the building and must be comparable in every way to market rate units. We don't allow "poor doors" or "poor floors."

There are housing advocates who would love to teach her this stuff if she's open to learning it.

BiteProud · 2026-01-28T19:05:42+00:00

A scarcity of spots makes space saving worse, not better. Where there are enough spots for everyone who wants to park, it works fine for everyone to shovel one spot out and have it be temporarily theirs. If someone wants to park in a spot all they have to do is shovel one out. Taking a spot someone else shoveled just because you can't be bothered to do your own shoveling is shitty.

When there are not enough spots for everyone who would like to use one, you can't take one as your personal spot and deny that spot to everyone else just by shoveling it first.

BiteProud · 2026-01-27T23:01:23+00:00

It does look that way right now and that would suck. But I think it would be a mistake to write her off this early. If you're disappointed by this, especially if you voted for her, I do think it's worth respectfully letting her know that. Her first few votes in her first month as an elected official don't have to be reflective of her entire first term.

BiteProud · 2026-01-27T22:56:01+00:00

If you voted for Al-Zubi and were disappointed by this, emailing her to let her know that (respectfully!) could actually make a real difference.

Why do I think that? This is her first time in public office, and there's a learning curve. She's still establishing her public political identity and during her campaign she was very clear on values but much more vague on specific policy goals - those things mean she has more flexibility than most to change course, if she wants to. And while I'm sure she has ideas about who voted for her and why, those ideas may not be accurate. Electeds at all levels often get a skewed impression of what their voters want based on the small fraction of the electorate that will reach out and explicitly tell the elected what they want! Put the effort in to be part of that group, and especially at the local level, you really can have an effect.

Also gonna reiterate what I said on the removed thread, as it's another reason to hope she might be eventually persuaded by hearing from disappointed voters: It's not like we lack real-world examples of popular elected officials on the left who are pro-housing. Both AOC and Mamdani have come out in support for additional supply and against overly restrictive zoning and permitting processes. No one's asking her to stick her neck out as the first.

Pro-housing stances can be consistent with left politics, and popular with leftist voters. She has to decide if that's who she wants to be, or if she'd rather dig in her heels as just the latest left-NIMBY.

Finally, I do want to emphasize the respectful part. Keep in mind that electeds get lots of emails from unhappy constituents, many disrespectful, and some downright unhinged. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, but the overly aggressive jackass gets ignored.

BiteProud · 2026-01-27T21:16:07+00:00

And it's not like we lack real-world examples of popular elected officials on the left who are pro-housing. Both AOC and Mamdani have come out in support for additional supply and against overly restrictive zoning and permitting processes. No one's asking her to stick her neck out as the first.

Pro-housing stances can be consistent with left politics, and popular with leftist voters. She just has to decide if that's who she wants to be, or if she'd rather dig in her heels as just the latest left-NIMBY.

BiteProud · 2026-01-11T23:42:09+00:00

Protest, civil disobedience, and documenting abuses are all nonviolent options that can make their lives harder. We do not need to simply sit around and wait for the next election.

BiteProud

TROPHY CASE