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15 Dec, 5 tweets, 2 min read
My take on Pete as Transportation Secretary is that it probably won't matter much one way or the other.
I'll say one other thing about Pete, which is sure to bring me grief: the left's cool kids are way, way too eager to shit all over the hyper-conscientious, ambitious, striving, Tracy Flick-type personality that Pete so perfectly exemplifies.
Yeah, Pete's a classic A student with his hand always up. But that means, if you give him homework -- like "make the Dept. of Transportation work better" -- & tell him it's the route to advancement, he'll definitely do it! He'll think hard & work hard on it. Could be worse.
This thread is helpful if you want to judge Pete by his history on transportation issues rather than by the elaborate identarian superstructure that the left has placed on his shoulders.
Good thoughts from @mattyglesias on Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary: slowboring.com/p/pete-buttigi…

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More from @drvolts

David Roberts Profile picture
17 Dec
Got my new Mac laptop in the mail today. Good lord it's a dream.
I love setting up a new computer. But there's one thing that really ought to be easier: making it so that the desktops on two computers mirror one another. It's wild what I have to do to make that happen.
When I took this thing out of the box & fired it up, it was fully charged. I've had it on ever since (~6 hrs), I've installed two OS updates, a dozen programs, synced w/ Dropbox, etc. etc. -- it's now at 50% battery. Still haven't plugged it in the wall. Amazeballs.
Read 4 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
12 Dec
I've got other things I ought to be doing ... so how about a thread?

When I talk about what contemporary US conservatives are doing (to wit: being f'ing horrible), I'm frequently told, "don't call them conservatives. They are fascists/thugs/racists/etc." Let's talk about that.
The impulse behind the response is to separate what people think of as philosophical conservatism -- small gov't, strong defense, traditional values -- from the kind of incoherent morass of resentments & cruelties we see on the right today.
But that's the wrong way to think about it. The nationalism, anti-intellectualism, xenophobia, resentment, cruelty, & lust for authoritarianism did not, at some point, displace conservatism. They are simply what conservatism becomes in the face of demographic change.
Read 15 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
10 Dec
This is a great episode of @yourewrongabout, about misinformation, why it ends up affecting older people the most/worst, and why the bulk of it comes from the right. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/los…
One of the grimmest conclusions of the research (which I'm glad Michael highlighted) is that once people are convinced of loopy conspiracy theories, it is almost impossible to talk them out of it. The only way to prevent misinfo from spreading is to prevent exposure.
But how do you prevent exposure? The only way is to have trusted institutions that you can rely on to vet information ("gatekeepers," as I said the other day to much outrage) before it's "out there." Michael gestures at putting more responsibility on the social media cos ...
Read 7 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
7 Dec
Some personal news! Friday was my last day at Vox. Today I'm launching a newsletter called Volts, devoted to my twin passions: clean energy and politics. (And I am now, yes, drvolts.)

Drop by to learn more and subscribe! volts.wtf/p/welcome-to-v…
No, I was not canceled! I do not view editing as tyranny. I'm not fleeing groupthink. I had nothing but positive experiences at @Vox, remain an avid reader, & will be contributing to it regularly going forward. It is growing & expanding & has an *incredible* bench of talent.
It's time for me to be my own boss, pursue my own weird obsessions, and best of all, build a community of people who share those obsessions. I am so excited to get back to the freewheeling spirit of blogging, with more room for experiments, speculation, & conversation.
Read 6 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
3 Dec
Don't miss this chipper @JaxAlemany piece about the bright political future ahead for the daughter of an aspiring despot, who got to the WH through nepotism & has accomplished nothing in 4 years but eliciting fawning profiles from gullible journalists. washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/…
"I think she's impressive and most people see she's impressive and if she wants to stay involved with politics, people will take her with open arms." For this searing insight, a "former White House official" was granted anonymity.
To imagine Ivanka Trump "impressive," one has to find being a soft-spoken, physically attractive white lady impressive *in & of itself*. It's like performance art: how minimal in substance & accomplishment can a white lady be & still be deemed impressive by white men? Very!
Read 4 tweets
David Roberts Profile picture
30 Nov
I was just reminded that technically I'm still on vacation for two more days. Based on that info, should I:
All right, I have heard your counsel, and I am ignoring it. Instead, here's another thread on carbon capture & sequestration. (I know this gets tedious, feel free to mute me, but I'm determined to articulate this properly so I shall keep trying.)
THREAD:

As I see it, the primary job of decarbonization is electrification. See the work of Saul Griffith & the folks at @rewiringamerica: vox.com/energy-and-env…
Read 19 tweets

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