Neil Harris

🎧 Listen to the sultry voices voices of @nharris.bsky.social, @sunildasgupta.bsky.social, and me on the latest @ihppod.bsky.social podcast as we discuss HOAs.

🔗 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

Amid anti-DEI push, National Park Service rewrites history of Underground Railroad Since Trump took office, the park service, an agency charged with preserving American history, has changed how its website describes key moments from slavery to Jim Crow

For years, a National Park Service webpage introduced the Underground Railroad as “the efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage.”

The effort “bridged the divides of race,” the page now says.

www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Mapped: Ukraine’s Mineral Resources Ukraine claims to hold nearly $15 trillion worth of mineral resources.

Why fighting over Ukraine? Idealogy? Or $15 trillion in minerals…

COG continued: A fix should be in place shortly (today). The survey team will ensure that there is no bias in the findings for this question once the surveys are complete.

From COG: We looked into the specific question and the survey instrument accepting the responses. We regretfully acknowledge a programming error in this question. "0" should be an acceptable response. Regrettably, we missed this in our testing.

I forwarded this over to leadership at the Transportation Planning Board at COG.

You want data? Gaithersburg gives you the data! Here are links to new reports on the city's population and housing trends.

tinyurl.com/reportdwelling
tinyurl.com/pipelineinfo...

Also, there is a viewer to see data by neighborhood here: tinyurl.com/demographyby...

www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mubfi...

How the PayPal Mafia Looks Set to Dominate the New Administration — Investopedia With Elon Musk's appointment to lead the new advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and David Sacks' role as cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence (AI) czar in the incoming Trump adm...

stocks.apple.com/A7B2vQhVhQi6...

Recently, I’ve been enjoying the Expanse series and the TV version, other entertaining series like Murderbot, Bobiverse, Expeditionary Force, Dungeonmaster Carl. Books by Scalzi, Tchaikovsky, Sanderson.

The list is long. In my youth, I devoured everything I could find by Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein. Phillip K Dick and Roger Zelazny. All the classics. I estimate 10,000+ SF books.

The price could indeed be raised. UPS and FedEx have shown that they can operate a profitable delivery service. But I doubt people are willing to spend $10 to mail a letter or pay a bill.

Everyone has a physical mailing address. There is no equivalent universal system to reach everyone by email.

Not sure I fit into a particular bucket. I’m a lifelong Democrat. You can read my policy statements on my website if you’re so inclined.

On privatization:

My city runs large public festivals. There’s no way that a private enterprise could operate these at a profit at our scale.

Privatize the Postal Service? The only way to provide daily mail is with a significant government subsidy.

Trump for Dummies, The Economist, 12/14, here is a summary for how to Trump:

1: Identify a real problem.
2. Hyperbolize the problem.
3. Promise extreme measures.
4. Count on 2 & 3 to derange opponents.
5. Scatter breadcrumbs – hint at moderation.
6. Claim you solved the problem.

Are you coming back to the Gaithersburg Book Festival?

Better link to doc: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/r4yau...

Recent tragedies on our roadways brought our community together to learn about the City of Gaithersburg’s plans to improve safety and to hear from our residents about their concerns and suggestions. What is the city doing about it already? Read about it here: tinyurl.com/gbroadwaysaf...