Justin Bloesch

Thanks!

@stephenjacobsmith.com where can I find this? Sounds super interesting.

The International Residential Code (1&2 family), which controls townhomes, is much lower cost than International Building Code, which controls multifamily.

This isn’t true globally - @stephenjacobsmith.com’s shows building costs per unit decrease with density everywhere but US/Can.

Having flashbacks to Trump’s 2021 demand that a state official “find” missing votes, because the numbers weren’t in his favor.
This is what he expects of the BLS commissioner too: “find” missing jobs. He will try to appoint someone who does this bidding, unless GOP senators miraculously grow spines

@JDVance on X: The gerrymander in California is outrageous. Of their 52 congressional districts, 9 of them are Republican. That means 17 percent of their delegation is Republican when Republicans regularly win 40 percent of the vote in that state. How can this possibly be allowed?

JD Vance is suddenly opposed to gerrymandering. Someone tell Greg Abbott.

Huh. Should we expect to see an effect on auto inventories at some point?

But soon we’ll get those sweet sweet rebates.

Definitely wouldn’t encourage firms to raise prices though.

I don't think it was a major contributor but, "most firms are not strict price-takers/have some pricing power and some took advantage of ambiguity caused by a general increase in price level to raise their own prices in ways consumers would not ordinarily accept/eat," seems totally reasonable.

79 people shot in Gaza over the weekend: There is no excuse for starving people and then opening fire on civilians desperately lining up for food. None.

Congress must not give Netanyahu another penny of unconditional military aid.

What’s the problem?

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die - AFP, July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with one freelance writer, three photographers, and six freelance videographers in the Gaza Strip since the departure of its staff journalists in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones reporting what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to see them die. One of them, Bashar, has worked for AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then as a freelance photographer, and since 2024 as the main photographer. On Saturday, July 19, he managed to post a message on Facebook: "I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can no longer work."

Bashar, 30, works and lives in conditions equal to those of all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another as Israeli bombardments dictate. For over a year, he has lived in absolute destitution and works at enormous risk to his life. Hygiene is a major problem for him, with periods of severe intestinal illness. Bashar has been living in the ruins of his Gaza City home since February with his mother, his four siblings, and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any amenities or comforts, except for a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that his older brother had "fallen from hunger." Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, there is nothing to buy, or only at exorbitant prices. The banking system has disappeared, and those who exchange money between online bank accounts and cash charge a commission of nearly 40%.

AFP no longer has the means to have a vehicle, let alone the fuel to allow its journalists to travel for their reports. Traveling by car is tantamount to running the risk of being a target for the Israeli air force. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. Ahlam, for her part, survives in the south of the enclave. And she is determined to "bear witness" for as long as possible. "Every time I leave the tent to cover an event, conduct an interview, or document a story, I don't know if I'll come back alive." The biggest problem, she confirms, is the lack of food and water. We see their situation worsening. They are young, and their strength is failing them. Most no longer have the physical ability to travel the enclave to do their job. Their heartbreaking pleas for help are now daily.

Over the past few days, we have understood from their brief messages that their lives no longer depend on much and that their courage, devoted for many months to informing the whole world, will not help them survive. We risk learning of their deaths at any moment, and it's unbearable. This Sunday, Bashar wrote: "For the first time, I feel defeated." Later that day, he told one of us that he thanked him "for explaining what we live daily between death and hunger." "I wish Mr. Macron could help me get out of this hell." Ahlam is still standing. "I try to continue practicing my profession, to carry the voice of the people, to document the truth in the face of all attempts to silence it. Here, resistance is not a choice: it's a necessity." Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us remembers seeing a colleagues die of starvation.

“Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us remembers seeing our colleagues die of starvation.”

The AFP news release has been released in French. Below is an English translation via Google translate.

"If you look at page 1 of the tariff handbook, it says: Don't tariff inputs. It's the simplest way to make it harder—more expensive—for Americans to do business. Any factory around the world can get the steel, copper, and aluminum it needs without paying a 50% upcharge, except an American factory."

Andry Hernández Romero, the innocent make-up artist imprisoned without trial for 4 months in El Salvador by the Trump admin, is FREE.

He was wrongfully accused of being a gang member because of his “mom” and “dad” tattoos, and illegally sent to El Salvador without due process.

Fed's Waller wants July 25 basis point rate cut amid rising risks: "I see the hard and soft data on economic activity and the labor market as consistent: The economy is still growing, but its momentum has slowed significantly, and the risks to the FOMC’s employment mandate have increased."

Waller is probably right, again.

gonna go check out the land use regulations in Martha's vineyard. I wonder if Obama's been going to the local zoning board to advocate to allow 5 story single stair apartment buildings. Don't remember any of those in Edgartown, but I haven't been there in 25 years

Missouri’s governor signs repeal of state’s guaranteed paid sick leave law Business groups had lobbied hard for law’s repeal, but voters could have a chance to reinstate it next year

This passed 57% - 42% on the ballot last year, so of course the Republican governor and Legislature in Missouri repealed it. And to top it off, they eliminated capital gains taxes too. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

In Texas flood response, FEMA slowed by Noem’s cost controls | CNN Politics As monstrous floodwaters surged across central Texas late last week, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency leapt into action, preparing to deploy critical search and rescue teams and li...

“In the past, FEMA would have swiftly staged these teams…
But officials realized they needed Noem’s approval before sending additional assets. Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until more than 72 hours after the flooding began.”

www.cnn.com/2025/07/09/p...

Why carmakers need to bring back buttons Asian companies lead a reversal from touchscreen-dominated dashboards

on.ft.com/44Cfgto Why carmakers need to bring back buttons

A thousand times this.

Gee

is there a story behind the high government number?

Opinion | Paramount betrays ‘60 Minutes’ and the rest of us Parent company caves to baseless suit by Donald Trump.

Paramount betrays ‘60 Minutes’ and the rest of us www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

A visualization from the video showing a few apartments in a neighborhood of mostly single family detached houses.

A later version of the visualization which slowly shows a few apartment buildings getting added then suddenly all at once it’s full of identical apartment buildings. Unironically based.

That escalated quickly.

I also wonder whether cuts will even affect the long end and mortgage rates.

If things do deteriorate, I think this and the acceleration in continued claims will have been the first signs.

the Senate's small-state ultra-bias is never more maddening than when one senator uses it to get benefits for her 740,000 constituents while openly acknowledging the bill she's supporting will harm the nation's 339 million other residents.

Looking forward to Bari Weiss's scathing column about this.

Building more apartments makes rent go down.

Estimated Budgetary Effects of an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Relative to the Budget Enforcement Baseline for Consideration in the Senate As posted on the website of the Senate Committee on the Budget on June 27, 2025

New version of the BBB bill, which Hawley supports, would cause 11.8M more Americans to become uninsured, per CBO estimates.

That’s up from “only” 10.9M for the House bill, which Hawley had previously objected to. www.cbo.gov/publication/...

Unbelievable. Latest update from the nonpartisan budget office says the Senate Republican bill now cuts nearly $1 TRILLION from Medicaid.