40 Comments
User's avatar
dysphemistic treadmill's avatar

All this liberal do-gooding, and you never worry about perverse consequences.

Case in point: you know why the homeless have to deal with so much hate?

It's because of you.

All you liberals with your signs saying, "hate has no home here."

When you deprived hate of a home; where did you expect it to wind up?

Expand full comment
Matthew Yglesias's avatar

And yet I’m here in Downtown LA where there are zero yard signs and a far greater density of homeless people than I’ve seen anywhere else

Expand full comment
ConnieDee's avatar

In my neighborhood, few in "the flats" have yard signs. They're all up on the hill in front of the giant homes, visually far away from our campers. But at the very, very top someone has this sign:

"In this house we believe that simplistic platitudes, trite tautologies, and semantically overloaded aphorisms are poor substitutes for respectful and rational discussions about complex issues"

(BTW - the worst case is always Wherever You Are. Forget about downtown LA and just ask the redditors on r/PortlandOR.)

Expand full comment
KetamineCal's avatar

We don't believe in thoughts and prayers. We believe in yard signs because, if God is watching, he can read faster than he can listen.

Expand full comment
dysphemistic treadmill's avatar

"We don't believe in thoughts and prayers...."

I'm waiting for the indigenous land acknowledgement that says, "we acknowledge that our business/museum/non-profit is located on the sacred land of the aboriginal peoples. And beyond paying lip-service in this acknowledgement, we don't intend to do a damn thing about it."

It would be barbaric and unfeeling. But slightly more honest than the current acknowledgements are.

Expand full comment
KetamineCal's avatar

Even better is if business/museum/non-profit earned rights to make a land acknowledgement by covering rent/mortgage payments for Indigenous people. Nothing wrong with virtue signaling if it's being paid for. Like B corp for the non-profit sector. Regardless of their primary mission, we'd know at least something is being done.

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Dec 26, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
KetamineCal's avatar

If only you had a "Sir, this is a Wendy's" card available for such a moment.

Edit: Also, them ordering from Amazon is their role in White Supremacy. I don't have to explain it because it's up to them to comprehend, as the sign says.

Expand full comment
ConnieDee's avatar

Wow, never saw that one. It would be understandable and even tolerable in the context of one of our gentrifying neighborhoods (mine just see-saws back and forth between rich city founders and hippies/hipsters. The housing stock ensures a general mix of both. Only now is it finally displaying some racial diversity.)

Expand full comment
dysphemistic treadmill's avatar

"And yet I’m here in Downtown LA where there are zero yard signs...."

But have the people of LA opened their homes for the holidays in order to welcome in hate?

Expand full comment
srynerson's avatar

Somewhere on Twitter, there's an anime catgirl avatar account with a dozen emojis in their screenname posting this unironically.

Expand full comment
dysphemistic treadmill's avatar

"an anime catgirl avatar account ... posting this unironically."

(I'm a little worried that maybe MY read it unironically? Or maybe he's just seeing my bit and raising me?)

Expand full comment
avalancheGenesis's avatar

Now I understand why people get so emotional about housing issues. All those feels have nowhere else to go.

Expand full comment
dysphemistic treadmill's avatar

"Now I understand why people get so emotional about housing issues...."

Most hinges are found in houses.

So, when you get unhoused, you get unhinged, too.

Expand full comment
Michael Sullivan's avatar

Merry Christmas to all!

Expand full comment
Tom Maguire's avatar

Big Congrats to Kate and the hard working but neither slow nor boring team there.

I suspect I'm not the only one who is eager to finally check that "Do A Good Deed" box and nail my 2023 New Years Resolutions by year end.

Expand full comment
srynerson's avatar

Great work, Slow Boring community, and Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! (And I was surprised by the dollar value of today's Tradle subject. I thought it would be a larger population country.)

#Tradle #658 3/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Expand full comment
Cascadian's avatar

🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥

🟥🟥🟥🟩🟥🟥🟥

🟥🟥🟩🟩🟩🟥🟥

🟥🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟥

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

🟥🟥🟥🟫🟥🟥🟥

🟥🟥🟥🟫🟥🟥🟥

Expand full comment
Sharty's avatar

This is a very good comment. I don't recognize this username--don't be a stranger!

Expand full comment
Matthew Yglesias's avatar

Same

#Tradle #658 3/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Expand full comment
Arthur H's avatar

#Tradle #658 1/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Medical instrument manufacturing seems to be a recurring theme for reasonably well run developing economies.

Expand full comment
Jean's avatar

#Tradle #658 3/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Expand full comment
David R.'s avatar

Id say I’m on a roll but actually I’m getting lucky as shit: I read a piece on medical tourism from the US to points south last week.

#Tradle #658 1/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Expand full comment
Sharty's avatar

Heck yeah, I'll take it.

#Tradle #658 2/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Merry Christmas, all.

Expand full comment
Russell's avatar

#Tradle #658 1/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Expand full comment
UK's avatar

#Tradle #659 4/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Expand full comment
John E's avatar

For the second time only:

#Tradle #658 1/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Expand full comment
Sean O.'s avatar

#Tradle #658 2/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

https://oec.world/en/tradle

Expand full comment
Jonah A's avatar

#Tradle #658 X/6

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟨

https://oec.world/en/tradle

I’m so bad at geography :(

At this point I’m great at pinpointing the region, but then it quickly becomes “which countries can I remember from this area?”

Expand full comment
Andrew's avatar

Where did all the Christmas decor penguins come from? Is there like an inter polar guest worker program?

Expand full comment
srynerson's avatar

Christmas penguins (and especially showing penguins and polar bears hanging around) makes my eyes bleed with barely contained rage . . . .

Expand full comment
KetamineCal's avatar

Most importantly, Matt has been making the case for GiveDirectly 365 days/year and not just on Giving Tuesday. SB has sought to 1) convince people that a better world is possible and 2) share evidence-based ways to bring it into existence.

I'd consider this a board well bored and in the best spirit of the season.

Expand full comment
David R.'s avatar

Merry Christmas everyone!

Expand full comment
JCW's avatar

Go us!

Merry Christmas, everybody, and a Happy New Year!

Expand full comment
Michael's avatar

Why the massive increase from 2022 to 2023?

Expand full comment
Matthew Yglesias's avatar

Because of Slow Boring readers!

Expand full comment
phil's avatar

Wonderful news. Thanks for organizing this, SB team, and thanks to everyone who participated.

Expand full comment
Oh! Tyler's avatar

Might as well sum the 28th and the 29th in the last chart for what looks like an even bigger lead! Good job at this slow boring, everyone

Expand full comment
Dave Peticolas's avatar

Amazing :)

Expand full comment
Nick Magrino's avatar

Merry Christmas! I will be checking back in on that Rwandan village on Google Streetview in the future.

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Dec 25, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
dysphemistic treadmill's avatar

"...condemned to constantly do again what has been done before ad infinitum.”

Merry Christmas, Graham!

And I love the sentiment. Our time on earth is so short -- a few years for a human, a few million for humanity -- that we must never lose our sense of its preciousness.

Expand full comment