Ben Wetzler
@voteben.nyc
2025 candidate for NYC Council. Fmr East Side Democratic District Leader. Public servant. Views do not reflect those of my employer. www.voteben.nyc
Yeah this is basically where I'm at. ROTJ retroactively hurts Empire by providing it with an unsatisfying ending. Star Wars doesn't have that problem since the ending stands on its own.
November 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Yeah this is basically where I'm at. ROTJ retroactively hurts Empire by providing it with an unsatisfying ending. Star Wars doesn't have that problem since the ending stands on its own.
Ehh I think an underrated factor here is that Trump knows all his closest supporters are weirdos and liked talking to a popular kid.
November 22, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Ehh I think an underrated factor here is that Trump knows all his closest supporters are weirdos and liked talking to a popular kid.
Reposted by Ben Wetzler
i think this is basically right, trump’s vision for america is an extractive multi-commodity export economy. a deliberate resource curse that requires minimal labor inputs and can be controlled via as few nodes as possible. bsky.app/profile/mugr...
It's literally why America has two two parties it does, one party represents natural resource extraction, high volume low margin low skill management and investments, the other represents high margin highly educated skilled work and investment vehicles.
November 21, 2025 at 4:41 PM
i think this is basically right, trump’s vision for america is an extractive multi-commodity export economy. a deliberate resource curse that requires minimal labor inputs and can be controlled via as few nodes as possible. bsky.app/profile/mugr...
Or, even more grim, half the population chooses to believe it's real and half chooses to believe it's not, and nothing you do can change their minds.
November 19, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Or, even more grim, half the population chooses to believe it's real and half chooses to believe it's not, and nothing you do can change their minds.
You gotta assume that the conflating of rent regulated and subsidized ("we pay") is intentional at this point.
November 18, 2025 at 10:23 PM
You gotta assume that the conflating of rent regulated and subsidized ("we pay") is intentional at this point.
Every once in a while I think about an alt-history in which the 17th amendment is more like the UK 1911 Reform Act (the Senate is still appointed by states, but can't block bills passed by the House).
The 1911 reform happened because the king threatened to create new lords. No real US analog.
The 1911 reform happened because the king threatened to create new lords. No real US analog.
November 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Every once in a while I think about an alt-history in which the 17th amendment is more like the UK 1911 Reform Act (the Senate is still appointed by states, but can't block bills passed by the House).
The 1911 reform happened because the king threatened to create new lords. No real US analog.
The 1911 reform happened because the king threatened to create new lords. No real US analog.
When CNN called the 2020 election for Biden you could hear the cheering in my neighborhoods for blocks.
November 13, 2025 at 1:23 AM
When CNN called the 2020 election for Biden you could hear the cheering in my neighborhoods for blocks.
Federalist No. 74 specifically deals with this issue- what if the president sympathizes with an insurrection. Hamilton argues that it may be necessary to pardon traitors in high stakes ceasefire negotiations. That's obviously irrelevant now, as Jan. 6 was >4 years ago.
guides.loc.gov/federalist-p...
guides.loc.gov/federalist-p...
November 10, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Federalist No. 74 specifically deals with this issue- what if the president sympathizes with an insurrection. Hamilton argues that it may be necessary to pardon traitors in high stakes ceasefire negotiations. That's obviously irrelevant now, as Jan. 6 was >4 years ago.
guides.loc.gov/federalist-p...
guides.loc.gov/federalist-p...
Reposted by Ben Wetzler
trump wants to place urban america under occupation not because american cities are dangerous crime ridden slums but because theyre not.
November 9, 2025 at 3:40 PM
trump wants to place urban america under occupation not because american cities are dangerous crime ridden slums but because theyre not.
Trump's old enough that it could be purely nostalgia.
November 9, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Trump's old enough that it could be purely nostalgia.
The average American sells their home after 7 years. Even assuming you could get the same rate on a 50 year loan as you can currently get on a 30 year, you'd own a little less than 3% of the equity.
November 9, 2025 at 3:14 AM
The average American sells their home after 7 years. Even assuming you could get the same rate on a 50 year loan as you can currently get on a 30 year, you'd own a little less than 3% of the equity.
If you buy your home at 30 years old with a 50 year mortgage you are basically guaranteed to be on Social Security by the time you own >half the equity.
November 9, 2025 at 2:56 AM
If you buy your home at 30 years old with a 50 year mortgage you are basically guaranteed to be on Social Security by the time you own >half the equity.
She's talking about ballot measures that all passed overwhelmingly. It's an attitude about housing and city planning that is rapidly dying in NYC.
November 7, 2025 at 10:30 PM
She's talking about ballot measures that all passed overwhelmingly. It's an attitude about housing and city planning that is rapidly dying in NYC.