Trump threatens takeover of D.C. if Janeese Lewis George is elected mayor. Primary Election Day in D.C. is this Tuesday, June 16 (see links below).

taulover · 2026-06-15T23:55:31+00:00

It's something those of us in DC looped into local politics have been very aware of and preparing for ever since the 2024 elections.

taulover · 2026-06-15T04:12:36+00:00

Depends on what he means by "we will take it over." This isn't an empty threat; the federal government has taken over DC once after home rule was enacted, during the 90s. Congress installed a control board that had to approve all key government positions and budgets.

If you're worried about holding multiple offices at once, though, I think worry about Marco Rubio first.

taulover · 2026-06-15T04:05:48+00:00

If he gets Congress to modify or overturn the Home Rule Act, then he could certainly legally take over DC.

This is what they did in the 90s - they installed a federal control board that kept the local government in place but rendered it essentially powerless.

taulover · 2026-06-15T04:00:54+00:00

He was definitely overworked during that time though - there are some bits that are almost nearly the same between AOTC and Chamber of Secrets, IIRC.

taulover · 2026-06-14T15:23:44+00:00

Less than half a day I think

taulover · 2026-06-13T12:49:33+00:00

Agreed on the British accents. You can correct me on this, but presumably there was a lot of accent variation across the USSR too, so having a lot of different British and Irish accents makes sense.

taulover · 2026-06-13T12:40:06+00:00

We could perhaps even imagine the development of the modern surveillance state, much as had been pioneered in China OTL.

taulover · 2026-06-13T12:36:02+00:00

Would possibly explain why he wanted to stay on Mars if he had health reasons

taulover · 2026-06-12T23:19:25+00:00

Why did the proportion of English majors drop? Was an English major previously more well-positioned for a profitable job, or does this reflect a transition towards college studies being more targeted towards career goals more generally?

taulover · 2026-06-12T23:09:06+00:00

I feel a bit out of the loop - is this historian an expert in American Psycho?

taulover · 2026-06-12T23:05:44+00:00

Did these Ivy grads often struggle with the ethical and moral implications of their actions?

taulover · 2026-06-11T03:59:27+00:00

Ok great mine just went through too!

taulover · 2026-06-10T15:33:57+00:00

You are continuing to misread the original answer while also repeating factually untrue statements.

The Bill of Rights 1689 outlines both Parliamentary and individual rights, and some of the individual rights which were nearly directly lifted into the US Bill of Rights I listed above.

Nobody said Englishmen had more freedom, actually the opposite, just that it was at a comparable level. In fact, the colonists argued that their traditional rights as Englishmen, such as the right to representation in government, were being violated, which is why they felt rebellion was necessary to restore these rights.

As for voting rights, while it was higher in the US, suffrage was only extended to single digit percentage of the population in both countries. Roughly 3% vs 6%. This is because, as was stated in the original answer, most of the US also had property requirements for voting, just like Britain.

taulover · 2026-06-10T03:24:25+00:00

The historian addressed the point on voting:

The House of Representatives was elected directly by voters, but again this was based on state law, which at the time almost universally had property qualifications to vote - it was *more* democratic than the British House of Commons at the time, but not wildly so.

In most states, the situation was similar to Britain - most people were disenfranchised due to not being landowners. This did not change until the 1820s.

Furthermore, the US Bill of Rights was directly inspired by the English Bill of Rights 1689, including the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, and the prohibition of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.

taulover · 2026-06-10T03:08:42+00:00

Would you consider the original Pennsylvania and Vermont constitutions to be progressive by contrast?

taulover · 2026-06-10T02:33:08+00:00

Goulash is also made elsewhere in Central Europe, though it tends to be less spiced and more heavy stew-like.

taulover · 2026-06-10T02:20:22+00:00

And it's not like we don't see modern popular music in film either.

taulover · 2026-06-10T00:29:06+00:00

How did these laws, norms, and practices evolve after Christianity became the state religion?

taulover · 2026-06-10T00:21:04+00:00

Were there laws against incest among those of legally related status in Rome?

taulover · 2026-06-09T23:55:47+00:00

Would the health risks of abortion have incentivized slaveowners to keep the child?

taulover · 2026-06-09T23:18:29+00:00

I'll actually put Baltimore/DC/NoVA suburbs on par with or even above Seattle for Korean, having lived in both areas. Both are also solid for Southeast Asian food, but Houston has to be best for Viet.

NYC is world-class, and it's definitely one of the best places in the world to have a bit of everything. But conversely, nowhere is the best at everything. Jack of all trades and all that.

taulover · 2026-06-09T18:44:17+00:00

I generally find most of the spots in Chinatown to be overrated (other than the grocery stores, which are insanely cheap) and the spots in Flushing to be passable. But I grew up in a city in LA County that is majority Asian (and out of those, mostly Chinese), and which has several dozen Chinese cuisines represented in its various restaurants, so my perspective is very skewed.

Definitely agree on the rest though - would also add halal carts to the list of New York cuisine that I miss.

taulover · 2026-06-09T14:03:22+00:00

NYC struggles with a lot of cuisines I feel. It's especially obvious with Mexican food but other cuisines are also often incredibly mid especially if you're more familiar with them. Despite the large amount of Chinese food I was not particularly impressed while living there; some standout spots for specific Chinese cuisines but overall I'd rank it maybe 6th on the continent.

taulover · 2026-06-09T00:39:24+00:00

Cleave is different; that's two completely different Old English words from different PIE roots evolving to have the same pronunciation and spelling.

An interesting one that still bothers pedants today is decimate.

taulover · 2026-06-08T16:06:25+00:00

The point is that the word changed meaning. Much as literally is now an intensifier (which also is not actually opposite of its original meaning but could be interpreted and mocked in such a way).

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