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Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 21, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Seth Kaplan's "Fragile Neighborhoods". Heard him interview on a couple of my podcast subscriptions: Stacking Benjamins and Strong Towns. Surprisingly easy to breeze through the first 50 pages where he makes his case. But it's only easy because it's either referencing a whole bunch of stuff I've already heard before or telling stories I'm inclined to believe. For instance, Trump's support in the 2016 primaries being heaviest among the disconnected and disaffected, and the unsourced claim that most money America spends on foreign aid doesn't end up where it's supposed to go.

This would probably be a much different experience if I were to take the time to backtrace all of his citations. I am not that sort of man these days. But I am noting that I feel like he's saying things I should look deeper into, because something is probably being smuggled.

But that was Part 1. Part 2 ought to set the stage for where to work in neighborhoods, and Part 3 plans to tackle the how.