Eli Kahn 🏳️🌈
@elikahn.bsky.social
Urban/environmental policy guy, YIMBY, sci-fi/fantasy writer, liberal, atheist. Californian in the DC area. All posts represent my views, not those of my employer.
where are they painted that were drowned after their vows?
where are they painted that were drowned after their vows?
Again, the reason they keep doing pilots of UBI instead of just rolling it out for everybody is not that they think it doesn’t work but because it’s hella expensive at scale! I still think it would be a good idea but it genuinely would be a heavy lift politically!
February 16, 2026 at 11:11 PM
Again, the reason they keep doing pilots of UBI instead of just rolling it out for everybody is not that they think it doesn’t work but because it’s hella expensive at scale! I still think it would be a good idea but it genuinely would be a heavy lift politically!
the most underrated online document about politics (and life in general) is this tumblr post from 2015
and we can see the same logic at work in Emmer’s words here
and we can see the same logic at work in Emmer’s words here
February 16, 2026 at 10:05 PM
the most underrated online document about politics (and life in general) is this tumblr post from 2015
and we can see the same logic at work in Emmer’s words here
and we can see the same logic at work in Emmer’s words here
when you are overawed and left speechless by someone’s resemblance to a cartoonishly far-right British politician, you’ve been JACOBREESMOGGED [i am pelted with rotten fruit and booed off stage]
February 15, 2026 at 12:00 AM
when you are overawed and left speechless by someone’s resemblance to a cartoonishly far-right British politician, you’ve been JACOBREESMOGGED [i am pelted with rotten fruit and booed off stage]
Republican politicians’ behavior over my whole life has deteriorated further and further, because they *rationally* believe that nonpartisan institutions (and therefore Democrats, who respect those institutions) will refrain from punishing them out of fear of losing legitimacy.
This is another reason why I said yesterday that people need to begin making their peace with and hardening their hearts to the fact that the consequences for participants in this administration will need to be *shockingly severe.*
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
February 13, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Republican politicians’ behavior over my whole life has deteriorated further and further, because they *rationally* believe that nonpartisan institutions (and therefore Democrats, who respect those institutions) will refrain from punishing them out of fear of losing legitimacy.
the Enlightenment was good and in fact did not go far enough
February 13, 2026 at 6:35 PM
the Enlightenment was good and in fact did not go far enough
[sees headline]
oh ok I’m skeptical but maybe this can be ok if done responsibly
[sees byline]
well, that didn’t last long
oh ok I’m skeptical but maybe this can be ok if done responsibly
[sees byline]
well, that didn’t last long
Opinion | A universal system — which currently exists in countries like New Zealand and France — stabilizes coverage, prevents mass cancellations and creates a pool large enough to handle natural disasters. bit.ly/3Zz0ZeW
📝 Jane Kim
📸 Jules Hotz
📝 Jane Kim
📸 Jules Hotz
February 13, 2026 at 2:04 AM
[sees headline]
oh ok I’m skeptical but maybe this can be ok if done responsibly
[sees byline]
well, that didn’t last long
oh ok I’m skeptical but maybe this can be ok if done responsibly
[sees byline]
well, that didn’t last long
Hot take: HGTV is conservative coded because most first-time homebuyers are people in the exurban South and Midwest, which is where homes are being built. Another benefit to ending zoning in major cities is progressive 20-50-year-olds would have more influence over home decorating trends
HGTV is low key super right wing. It's basically the female equivalent of NASCAR and hunting shows
February 12, 2026 at 4:58 PM
Hot take: HGTV is conservative coded because most first-time homebuyers are people in the exurban South and Midwest, which is where homes are being built. Another benefit to ending zoning in major cities is progressive 20-50-year-olds would have more influence over home decorating trends
Reposted by Eli Kahn 🏳️🌈
The nature and basis of taxation is a core Congressional duty an allowing the tariffs to continue is a direct challenge to Congress authority. If not forcing them to nuke the fillibuster, when? At what point is it too much?
February 12, 2026 at 4:33 PM
The nature and basis of taxation is a core Congressional duty an allowing the tariffs to continue is a direct challenge to Congress authority. If not forcing them to nuke the fillibuster, when? At what point is it too much?
politics makes more sense when you recognize how many people, both leaders and regular voters, just straight up want everyone’s life to be worse
it’s kinda funny how some think tanks are like “we should introduce sensible, economically sound policies to win over swing voters” while the politicians who actually win over swing voters are like, the dumbest people on earth
February 12, 2026 at 3:17 PM
politics makes more sense when you recognize how many people, both leaders and regular voters, just straight up want everyone’s life to be worse
German songwriter, 1983: in my song i created the 99 Luftballons as a cautionary tale
US government, 2026: at long last we have shot down the 99 Luftballons from classic protest song “Do Not Shoot Down the 99 Luftballons”
US government, 2026: at long last we have shot down the 99 Luftballons from classic protest song “Do Not Shoot Down the 99 Luftballons”
this does rather suggest something easy and cheap that regular people all along the Mexico side of the border could do that could crash the US economy and bring down a hostile regime
February 12, 2026 at 12:19 AM
German songwriter, 1983: in my song i created the 99 Luftballons as a cautionary tale
US government, 2026: at long last we have shot down the 99 Luftballons from classic protest song “Do Not Shoot Down the 99 Luftballons”
US government, 2026: at long last we have shot down the 99 Luftballons from classic protest song “Do Not Shoot Down the 99 Luftballons”
Reposted by Eli Kahn 🏳️🌈
totalitarians generally don’t believe in “people.” the idea of the individual human subject is contrary to their whole thing. there are groups, masses, cadres; but the individual is a liberal fiction.
it's the npc thing that kills me. there are people who hold political views that i find worthy of contempt. but not to the point where i deny they have humanity or agency.
February 11, 2026 at 11:25 PM
totalitarians generally don’t believe in “people.” the idea of the individual human subject is contrary to their whole thing. there are groups, masses, cadres; but the individual is a liberal fiction.
we need a nationwide ban on school dress codes
Dear god, I hate the state legislature. This bill is so micromanaging and will end up humiliating adolescent girls and poor kids.
Bill outlines dress code rules for Iowa public schools - Radio Iowa
Iowa public schools would have to adopt student dress codes that “promote personal hygiene, neatness and modesty” under a bill that’s cleared a House subcommittee. Republican Representative Samantha F...
www.radioiowa.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:56 PM
we need a nationwide ban on school dress codes
the next Democratic administration has to kill the coal industry dead with extreme prejudice. it has to be so wiped out that there isn’t even cultural memory of it to make nostalgia out of
February 11, 2026 at 3:42 PM
the next Democratic administration has to kill the coal industry dead with extreme prejudice. it has to be so wiped out that there isn’t even cultural memory of it to make nostalgia out of
This is why dictatorships are bad and weak. As a counterexample, it was obvious that the Brexit negotiations were an unending humiliation for Theresa May, but she had to keep going because she was answerable to the people. Trump is answerable to no one, and it makes both him and the country weaker.
What if we had an entire foreign policy based on the petty resentments and insecurities of mediocre weak men?
Trump: "So I put on a 30% tariff, which is very low. I got an emergency call from I believe the prime minister of Switzerland. She was very aggressive ... I didn't really like the way she talked to us, so instead of giving her a reduction, I raised it to 39%."
February 11, 2026 at 5:47 AM
This is why dictatorships are bad and weak. As a counterexample, it was obvious that the Brexit negotiations were an unending humiliation for Theresa May, but she had to keep going because she was answerable to the people. Trump is answerable to no one, and it makes both him and the country weaker.
Reposted by Eli Kahn 🏳️🌈
When a sitting representative refers to the Super Bowl halftime show as “pornography,” people should use that to reflect on how they and other representatives are simultaneously working to ban, censor, and restrict “pornography” and what that actually means
February 10, 2026 at 6:52 PM
When a sitting representative refers to the Super Bowl halftime show as “pornography,” people should use that to reflect on how they and other representatives are simultaneously working to ban, censor, and restrict “pornography” and what that actually means
Which Member of Congress will file a resolution censuring Mr. Ogles for his vile insult towards 3 million Americans? It is time to stop indulging Republican elected officials’ regular practice of insulting their fellow Americans. This is not merely symbolic!
@beyer.house.gov
@beyer.house.gov
February 10, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Which Member of Congress will file a resolution censuring Mr. Ogles for his vile insult towards 3 million Americans? It is time to stop indulging Republican elected officials’ regular practice of insulting their fellow Americans. This is not merely symbolic!
@beyer.house.gov
@beyer.house.gov
there’s such a wide-ranging political attack going on against freedom of speech and the arts and online communities worldwide and I don’t know what to do about it. It feels like people won’t even stand up for *their own* freedom to read, let alone others’.
February 10, 2026 at 3:16 PM
there’s such a wide-ranging political attack going on against freedom of speech and the arts and online communities worldwide and I don’t know what to do about it. It feels like people won’t even stand up for *their own* freedom to read, let alone others’.
reverse Gell-Mann amnesia where someone generally idiotic is right on one major issue, leading you to wonder if they have a point elsewhere (they don’t)
February 10, 2026 at 2:46 PM
reverse Gell-Mann amnesia where someone generally idiotic is right on one major issue, leading you to wonder if they have a point elsewhere (they don’t)
I think this kind of overstates the case: “purity” has always been with us, and a lot of toxic orthorexia content is definitely people trying to change the world not just themselves. This Times article wouldn’t be so insulting if it didn’t carry the implication that you *should* quit caffeine.
starting to feel like there's a direct relationship between the growing obsession with lifestyle hygeine (no drinking, no caffeine, no sex, obsessive working out and looksmaxxing) and the inability to meaningful moral stands on issues of actual import
Cafes across the U.S. are embracing the low- and no-caffeine lifestyle, with options that are a far cry from dusty tea bags and rewarmed decaf. nyti.ms/3XKlqoj
February 9, 2026 at 10:38 PM
I think this kind of overstates the case: “purity” has always been with us, and a lot of toxic orthorexia content is definitely people trying to change the world not just themselves. This Times article wouldn’t be so insulting if it didn’t carry the implication that you *should* quit caffeine.
Far-right politics can sometimes be legible as the class solidarity of retirees as a class. There aren’t enough bosses to make this a winning political message, but there *are* enough retirees.
BREAKING: Nigel Farage calls for an end to working from home and the focus on work-life balance
"People aren't more productive working from home - it's a load of nonsense”
Whatever you do JUST DON’T VOTE REFORM!
"People aren't more productive working from home - it's a load of nonsense”
Whatever you do JUST DON’T VOTE REFORM!
February 9, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Far-right politics can sometimes be legible as the class solidarity of retirees as a class. There aren’t enough bosses to make this a winning political message, but there *are* enough retirees.
Reposted by Eli Kahn 🏳️🌈
When I wrote Section 230 I did so knowing it would be critical for protecting free speech online. 30 years later and it’s one of the last things standing in the way of Republican censorship of the internet. Here’s to many more years of defending this vital safeguard of free speech.
February 8, 2026 at 6:28 PM
When I wrote Section 230 I did so knowing it would be critical for protecting free speech online. 30 years later and it’s one of the last things standing in the way of Republican censorship of the internet. Here’s to many more years of defending this vital safeguard of free speech.
it is getting to be time for me to go up a weight category on some exercises
am i going to actually join a gym this time? or am I going to continue my practice of buying myself progressively larger dumbbells so i can keep living my horrible goblin shut-in life?
almost certainly the second thing
am i going to actually join a gym this time? or am I going to continue my practice of buying myself progressively larger dumbbells so i can keep living my horrible goblin shut-in life?
almost certainly the second thing
February 8, 2026 at 8:29 AM
it is getting to be time for me to go up a weight category on some exercises
am i going to actually join a gym this time? or am I going to continue my practice of buying myself progressively larger dumbbells so i can keep living my horrible goblin shut-in life?
almost certainly the second thing
am i going to actually join a gym this time? or am I going to continue my practice of buying myself progressively larger dumbbells so i can keep living my horrible goblin shut-in life?
almost certainly the second thing
Reposted by Eli Kahn 🏳️🌈
the most impactful thing Elon Musk has ever done or will ever do regarding science and innovation in this country is illegally cut billions of dollars of research funds for literally no reason
February 8, 2026 at 3:01 AM
the most impactful thing Elon Musk has ever done or will ever do regarding science and innovation in this country is illegally cut billions of dollars of research funds for literally no reason
gonna start posting various foreign language pop music on a regular-ish basis to a) indoctrinate people into my music taste and b) post about stuff that isn’t politics
first up, a Mongolian song where the singer compares his fruitless search for love to Forrest Gump’s aimless running:
first up, a Mongolian song where the singer compares his fruitless search for love to Forrest Gump’s aimless running:
ROKIT BAY - BOR ARIST GUMP [LYRICS]
YouTube video by GAMEWORLD ENTERTAINMENT
m.youtube.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:52 AM
gonna start posting various foreign language pop music on a regular-ish basis to a) indoctrinate people into my music taste and b) post about stuff that isn’t politics
first up, a Mongolian song where the singer compares his fruitless search for love to Forrest Gump’s aimless running:
first up, a Mongolian song where the singer compares his fruitless search for love to Forrest Gump’s aimless running:
Reposted by Eli Kahn 🏳️🌈
End this administration and lock up every person in it and bar everyone associated with it from office for the rest of their lives
February 6, 2026 at 3:00 AM
End this administration and lock up every person in it and bar everyone associated with it from office for the rest of their lives