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?
I like how the OP responds “💯” to the comment as though the comment isn’t an indecipherable, entirely new set of bonkers statements about everything, which may or may not contradict stuff in the original post
February 17, 2026 at 2:53 PM
I like how the OP responds “💯” to the comment as though the comment isn’t an indecipherable, entirely new set of bonkers statements about everything, which may or may not contradict stuff in the original post
This might be just the circles i pay attention to, but I’d also attribute a lot of the mystique of each to trains, in Chongqing’s case the one that runs through a building
hard to say if that contributes more than the exterior lighting, though
hard to say if that contributes more than the exterior lighting, though
February 17, 2026 at 3:39 AM
This might be just the circles i pay attention to, but I’d also attribute a lot of the mystique of each to trains, in Chongqing’s case the one that runs through a building
hard to say if that contributes more than the exterior lighting, though
hard to say if that contributes more than the exterior lighting, though
this is the kind of thinking that has kept the grinch community marginalized in Whoville for too long
February 17, 2026 at 3:28 AM
this is the kind of thinking that has kept the grinch community marginalized in Whoville for too long
$1000/month for each US citizen is $340 billion a month in total, or $4.1 trillion per year. Total US government spending was $7.6 trillion last year. Basically you would need to have broad tax increases and/or have UBI supplant Social Security.
February 16, 2026 at 11:19 PM
$1000/month for each US citizen is $340 billion a month in total, or $4.1 trillion per year. Total US government spending was $7.6 trillion last year. Basically you would need to have broad tax increases and/or have UBI supplant Social Security.
this is also what people do when they say that if people <18 get to vote, they should also be eligible for the draft
age limits exist to protect children, who are a vulnerable group. not to balance power between children and adults—that makes no sense. people do not need protection from voting!
age limits exist to protect children, who are a vulnerable group. not to balance power between children and adults—that makes no sense. people do not need protection from voting!
February 16, 2026 at 10:10 PM
this is also what people do when they say that if people <18 get to vote, they should also be eligible for the draft
age limits exist to protect children, who are a vulnerable group. not to balance power between children and adults—that makes no sense. people do not need protection from voting!
age limits exist to protect children, who are a vulnerable group. not to balance power between children and adults—that makes no sense. people do not need protection from voting!
“some will always play corporation games. who cares; they’re always changing corporation names. we just want to dance here—someone stole the stage. they call us irresponsible, write us off the page” -me at the salons of 18th-century Paris
February 15, 2026 at 5:01 AM
“some will always play corporation games. who cares; they’re always changing corporation names. we just want to dance here—someone stole the stage. they call us irresponsible, write us off the page” -me at the salons of 18th-century Paris
personally i think we should build our society on rock and roll
February 15, 2026 at 4:59 AM
personally i think we should build our society on rock and roll
what is “we need to build our society on something”??? like what does that mean???? how does David Brooks imagine thought happening?
February 15, 2026 at 4:59 AM
what is “we need to build our society on something”??? like what does that mean???? how does David Brooks imagine thought happening?
This reminds me of how things work on housing, where “apartment developers only ever build luxury products!” is a narrative that serves the interests of both left-NIMBYs and also sometimes developers
“normal” advertising hype is good in the short term but undermines the industry in the long term
“normal” advertising hype is good in the short term but undermines the industry in the long term
February 14, 2026 at 11:48 PM
This reminds me of how things work on housing, where “apartment developers only ever build luxury products!” is a narrative that serves the interests of both left-NIMBYs and also sometimes developers
“normal” advertising hype is good in the short term but undermines the industry in the long term
“normal” advertising hype is good in the short term but undermines the industry in the long term
This week: Mylène Farmer, who I think it’s fair to call France’s most iconic pop star. In typical French fashion, most of her songs are about either death, sex, or the death of meaning. I think this is my favorite of hers, at least these days:
Mylène Farmer - C'est dans l'air (Clip Officiel)
YouTube video by Mylène Farmer
m.youtube.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:16 PM
This week: Mylène Farmer, who I think it’s fair to call France’s most iconic pop star. In typical French fashion, most of her songs are about either death, sex, or the death of meaning. I think this is my favorite of hers, at least these days:
like, yeah, women are allowed/required to make more distinctive fashion choices
but also: have you ever looked at how a man’s t-shirt drapes across the small of his back when he has broad shoulders and prominent shoulderblades?
but also: have you ever looked at how a man’s t-shirt drapes across the small of his back when he has broad shoulders and prominent shoulderblades?
February 13, 2026 at 10:59 PM
like, yeah, women are allowed/required to make more distinctive fashion choices
but also: have you ever looked at how a man’s t-shirt drapes across the small of his back when he has broad shoulders and prominent shoulderblades?
but also: have you ever looked at how a man’s t-shirt drapes across the small of his back when he has broad shoulders and prominent shoulderblades?
…bigotry, but in a small dose” which erases an important distinction.
That said, I’m hesitant to make an argument of the form “our politics would be great if we switched out $INCORRECTWORD for $CORRECTWORD” so maybe it was a doomed discourse to begin with.
That said, I’m hesitant to make an argument of the form “our politics would be great if we switched out $INCORRECTWORD for $CORRECTWORD” so maybe it was a doomed discourse to begin with.
February 13, 2026 at 10:54 PM
…bigotry, but in a small dose” which erases an important distinction.
That said, I’m hesitant to make an argument of the form “our politics would be great if we switched out $INCORRECTWORD for $CORRECTWORD” so maybe it was a doomed discourse to begin with.
That said, I’m hesitant to make an argument of the form “our politics would be great if we switched out $INCORRECTWORD for $CORRECTWORD” so maybe it was a doomed discourse to begin with.
Honestly, I kind of think the *word* “microaggressions” was the biggest mistake in this discourse.
It seems to me the phenomenon worth commenting on was “stuff people say and do that could totally be innocent or could be suggestive of bigotry” but “microaggressions” makes it sound like “definite…
It seems to me the phenomenon worth commenting on was “stuff people say and do that could totally be innocent or could be suggestive of bigotry” but “microaggressions” makes it sound like “definite…
February 13, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Honestly, I kind of think the *word* “microaggressions” was the biggest mistake in this discourse.
It seems to me the phenomenon worth commenting on was “stuff people say and do that could totally be innocent or could be suggestive of bigotry” but “microaggressions” makes it sound like “definite…
It seems to me the phenomenon worth commenting on was “stuff people say and do that could totally be innocent or could be suggestive of bigotry” but “microaggressions” makes it sound like “definite…
hard disagree, but yeah, I would, given the “hardwired into the gender/sexual orientation” thing
February 13, 2026 at 10:46 PM
hard disagree, but yeah, I would, given the “hardwired into the gender/sexual orientation” thing
Washington is really leaving every other blue state in the dust when it comes to pro-housing reforms, at least at the state level (and honestly I’d bet at the local level as well).
February 13, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Washington is really leaving every other blue state in the dust when it comes to pro-housing reforms, at least at the state level (and honestly I’d bet at the local level as well).
The fact that we need such institutions, and the fact that this level of open confrontation is dangerous and feels wrong, does nothing to change the strategic logic at issue. There is no alternative to becoming fearsome.
February 13, 2026 at 10:12 PM
The fact that we need such institutions, and the fact that this level of open confrontation is dangerous and feels wrong, does nothing to change the strategic logic at issue. There is no alternative to becoming fearsome.
At the same time, the only way to change the behavior of the nonpartisan institutions is to be the faction most willing to write angry letters and cancel subscriptions and boycott and raise your kids such that they’d feel dirty taking a job at those institutions.
February 13, 2026 at 10:12 PM
At the same time, the only way to change the behavior of the nonpartisan institutions is to be the faction most willing to write angry letters and cancel subscriptions and boycott and raise your kids such that they’d feel dirty taking a job at those institutions.
People respond to incentives, and nothing Republicans have seen in my lifetime has suggested that behaving like Trump is a bad idea. If we want future ambitious conservatives to act differently, the way we treat Trump’s collaborators has to make up for *decades* of them winning.
February 13, 2026 at 10:04 PM
People respond to incentives, and nothing Republicans have seen in my lifetime has suggested that behaving like Trump is a bad idea. If we want future ambitious conservatives to act differently, the way we treat Trump’s collaborators has to make up for *decades* of them winning.
this is probably the best I’ve done it and it still looks bad
tbf I put Iceland too far from Europe and it ended up being consequential for the Americas
tbf I put Iceland too far from Europe and it ended up being consequential for the Americas
February 13, 2026 at 5:12 AM
this is probably the best I’ve done it and it still looks bad
tbf I put Iceland too far from Europe and it ended up being consequential for the Americas
tbf I put Iceland too far from Europe and it ended up being consequential for the Americas