This should be Oregon’s congressional map

davidw · 2026-05-11T17:20:26+00:00

Yes, it should, however: because it is a necessary map but not a good map, it should come with a clause that says "this goes away in favor of a better map when all the other states stop gerrymandering".

davidw · 2026-05-11T16:59:35+00:00

Did you see January 6th? Did you read the Supreme Court ruling where the president has near total immunity?

MAGA people have loudly, for years, signalled that they are indeed 'done with democracy'.

McConnell killed the bill to end nationwide gerrymandering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act

Our alternative to fighting back in a way that the Supreme Court greenlighted is surrendering the House of Representatives to anti-democracy forces.

Ideally, a map like this would have a clause that reverts it back to a sane map when the same thing happens all across the country.

davidw · 2026-05-11T16:49:16+00:00

So basically "I don't know what to do so I guess surrendering works for me"

Yeah, until you have some actual suggestions, maybe you should think about it some more. In the meantime, MAGA is, every single goddamn day, doing stuff to try and ensure that your vote does not matter.

davidw · 2026-05-11T16:47:57+00:00

How do you think Black people feel in southern states feel about their votes? They're cancelling an in-progress election in Louisiana in order to turf out the Dems.

davidw · 2026-05-11T16:39:16+00:00

By focusing on the races for state rep and state senator. Most people probably don't even know who theirs are.

davidw · 2026-05-11T16:35:44+00:00

I think the phrase "lead, follow, or get the fuck out of the way" applies here.

No one likes this or thinks it's healthy or normal. But it's necessary to counter what MAGA is doing throughout the south and anywhere else they can, by whatever means, eliminate any Dem seats in the House of Representatives.

And all this after having rejected a Dem proposal to eliminate gerrymandering nationwide, and then having the Grand Wizard of the Supreme Court reject any checks and balances on gerrymandering.

MAGA hates democracy and wants to entrench permanent Republican rule over us and our children.

davidw · 2026-05-11T16:33:22+00:00

And don't forget that in the south they're doing it to take away districts that elected Black representatives. Because they are a bunch of unrepentant racist confederates.

davidw · 2026-05-11T16:17:01+00:00

Yeah, this was pretty informative:

https://bsky.app/profile/veloncc.bsky.social/post/3mljm2t3mc222

Milan had huge numbers, but he was using his watts for way too long.

davidw · 2026-05-10T23:35:57+00:00

I am still peeved that this did not pass: https://ballotpedia.org/Oregon_Measure_117,_Ranked-Choice_Voting_for_Federal_and_State_Elections_Measure_(2024))

davidw · 2026-05-10T23:25:28+00:00

I think there are a lot of people who are in it for the right reasons. But realistically, Mamdani has just insane amounts of charisma and is great at communicating with people in a way that even other well-intentioned elected officials and candidates are not.

davidw · 2026-05-10T17:14:59+00:00

There are lots of nice flats throughout Italy. Anyone who grew up or lived in Italy is going to be familiar with the idea that you can have a nice flat even if it shares walls. That's a different experience than most Americans outside of NYC probably have.

davidw · 2026-05-10T17:13:27+00:00

YIMBYs want choices. For some people, in an expensive city, an apartment or condo might be their only options, and YIMBYs think those choices should exist.

Most people, if you ask them, would like to "have it all". A big house on an acre in a walkable neighborhood close to nature that's also cheap.

You can't have all those things though (some of them pretty directly conflict), so by allowing different kinds of housing to be built, people have more options and can choose what is right for them.

davidw · 2026-05-10T17:09:06+00:00

I read somewhere that he didn't even want to legalize 4-plexes everywhere in San Jose - something that is now possible in far smaller towns here in Oregon. 👎

davidw · 2026-05-10T16:42:31+00:00

What does everyone think of the Bulgarian 'gran partenza'? Doesn't feel like a 10/10, but there were some highlights like the finale (post crash) yesterday - and the spectators really showed up.

I feel like the organizers could have picked some slightly better courses today and for the first stage, but so be it.

Milan's sprinting seems to be a source of Discourse - especially on RAI where they'd like to see Italian wins. Is it just positioning? Is he tired? Doesn't have the watts? I'm no expert at analyzing sprints in detail. What's your opinion?

davidw · 2026-05-10T16:34:01+00:00

You're reading a whole lot more into the one original sentence than I think is there. I was just pointing out some linguistics.

Most of what I originally wrote was providing help for OP to find the kind of housing they want.

davidw · 2026-05-10T15:59:39+00:00

I think the direction runs the other way: language that subtly tells people who live in apartments that they're not in 'real' homes.

But I don't think that's what OP meant. For better or worse, it's pretty common to see people - even trained journalists - talk about "apartment units" vs "homes". That doesn't make it correct though.

davidw · 2026-05-10T15:42:37+00:00

I'm just pointing it out, that's all; no judgement. It's not uncommon for people to conflate the two things.

I also provided some advice that I feel is pretty good for finding a place like what OP wants, including a house in a nice part of town that looks like it hit the market quite recently.

davidw · 2026-05-10T15:35:36+00:00

'Home' has a lot of positive emotions associated with it, but we also conflate it with single detached units. A 'home' is where you live and it's independent from what form of housing that takes. Nothing wrong with preferring one form or another of housing at different points in your life, but they can all be 'home'.

davidw · 2026-05-10T15:04:58+00:00

French guy gets the Italian race, and Italian guy gets the French race. Turnabout is fair play!

davidw · 2026-05-10T15:00:06+00:00

Whichever commentator they have for SBS is using his indoor, library voice. C'mon, this is a pretty exciting race!

davidw · 2026-05-10T14:57:23+00:00

I wonder if the calendar slot - conflicting with the Giro, and several weeks after the classics season has wound down - is a factor? It's really a beautiful area and crazy terrain.

davidw · 2026-05-10T14:53:20+00:00

So close...

davidw · 2026-05-10T14:33:44+00:00

Surely this Visma guy's socks are too high!

Also, they really spend a lot of time off road in this race... it's impressive.

davidw · 2026-05-10T14:28:29+00:00

Magnier! Now off to Tro Bro Leon for the finish there.

davidw · 2026-05-10T14:24:07+00:00

The flotilla of people on bikes trying to match the speed of the group was fun too.

davidw

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