There is still much rending of garments over congestion pricing interruptus, though at this point obviously the big question is, “What does Garrison Keillor” think about all this?
Well, here’s what he has to say on the subject of congestion pricing:
It’s certainly as astute an analysis as I’ve seen anywhere.
Meanwhile, others are taking the governor’s suspension of congestion pricing as a call to arms and are encouraging “civil disobedience:”
No doubt I’d feel just as strongly if I lived in a place directly affected by this policy such as…Redwood City, CA?
I note she identifies as a “YIMBY.” If you’re unfamiliar with urbanist slang, here’s a little cheat sheet:
NIMBY: A pejorative acronym meaning “Not In My Backyard,” which refers to uptight people who oppose development, street redesigns, etc. and think bike lanes represent the end of civilization. NIMBYs preface every statement by telling you how many years they’ve lived in the neighborhood and that they pay taxes.
YIMBY: A smug acronym meaning “Yes In My Backyard” for people who define themselves in direct opposition to NIMBYs and love density and think the entire world should be one giant moderately-sized European city. Ironically, while wanting stuff in their backyards, most YIMBYs hate backyards and think they represent the end of civilization.
Basically, these are the main categories, but now that we’re in the age of social media and there are no residency requirements when it comes to giving your opinion on how others should live their lives I think we need another one:
YIYBY: An acronym meaning “Yes In Your Backyard” for people who live in wealthy low-density areas yet fetishize densely populated urban areas. They’d totally live in those overpriced urban hellholes too, if only it weren’t for reasons.
Speaking of running afoul of the law, Laurens ten Dam and Thomas Dekker were apparently the victims of rampant and unbridled homophobia prior to Unbound Gravel and spent the night in an Oklahoma jail:
Their crime? Spraying each other with water bottles in a “gay” fashion:
Here’s a somewhat drier account of this wet-hot story:
Okay, so they needed to change their clothes after a training ride but their usual spot blew away in a tornado–a likely story:
So instead they just get naked and start pouring water over each other in the parking lot:
This lands them in jail for “inappropriate behavior in public spaces:”
Now, I’m not a lawyer, but here’s a bit of free legal advice: if you’re caught naked in a parking lot behind a car door being doused with cold water, don’t tell the arresting officers you “just wanted to freshen up for the Mexican,” unless you want a prostitution charge on top of everything else.
And yes, perhaps one day we’ll all be free to frolic and bathe naked in parking lots from coast to coast, but until then, best to just get changed inside the car and use wet wipes.
Finally, Earl Blumenauer wants to bring back domestic bike manufacturing:
Will Congress pass The Domestic Bicycle Production Act?
I don’t know, but I read “10-year tariff suspension on component imports” as “10-year tariff on suspension component imports” and got so excited I had to douse myself with cold water.
Fortunately I didn’t do it while naked in a parking lot.