Ben Shapiro, a debate-team champion who peaked in high school, has challenged congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Ortez to a debate. One generally debates another candidate, not some jabroni, especially one known for bad-faith rhetorical tricks like the Gish Gallop. But hey, the Times sure is determined to cover this controversy.
The NYTimes and others are criticizing Alexandria @Ocasio2018 for not debating Ben Shapiro, but they’ve let Andrew Cuomo refuse to debate @CynthiaNixon for months without a single op-ed. I’m sure there’s a solid reason other than sexist double standards.
Abolish ICE and all borders (@markaprovost) August 10, 2018
There is a striking contrast between the scoldy, condescending tone of coverage of @Ocasio2018’s budget hand-waving and the decade of credulous-verging-on-worshipful coverage of the same from Paul Ryan.
Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) August 11, 2018
NPR, that bastion of liberal bias, interviewed two different people on both sides of an important issue. On one side, an activist who wants cops to stop murdering black people. On the other, a white nationalist! Gosh, there really are two sides to every issue and they all deserve a lot of consideration!
And in addition
“Silent Sam,” the confederate monument erected in 1913 as part of a white supremacy movement at the University of North Carolina, has been taken down. The university administration is very concerned that someone could have been hurt during this rude, rude act of vandalism. (In contrast, the Classics department issued a statement almost a year ago, noting that the statue should have been long gone by now).
See also
Meanwhile, cities are freaking out about rideshare and app-based dockless bikes and e-scooters. There are risks! There are externalities!
… if you’re worried about a technology that occupies a lot of public space, undermines public transit, and sometimes injures pedestrians, I’ve got some bad news for you about normal cars.
Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) August 11, 2018
Wholesome, yet slimy
Another look into the travails of the American snail-farmer.
The future
What happens when you can’t drive and can’t easily get yourself into a taxi or rideshare vehicle? Do you suddenly realize that building your entire geography around cars was a bad idea?
Careers
A word about the hiring process and what it reveals about how it is to work at your organization:
Conway’s law states that “Organizations which design systems … are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations.”
Prince states “I guess I should’ve known by the way you parked your car sideways/That it wouldn’t last”
In other words, how you do one thing is how you do everything.
Cultivating joy
A thread about chubby pets rated on a scale from “A Fine Boi” to “O LAWD HE COMIN”
Secretly Ironic 