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Tom Coale

@tomcoale.bsky.social
296 followers 81 following 34 posts

I post about #housing, #MDHousing, #MDPolitics, #Orioles, #Ravens and random pop culture.

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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
This is so cool! Thanks for creating this @ericsaul.bsky.social! go.bsky.app/VK96euu
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
This is good and you should read it.
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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
I see your TACO and raise you STAR: Some Things Aren’t Reversible
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Just joined the Maryland Now podcast to talk about Maryland’s housing shortage—and why it’s still so hard to build the homes we need. Great conversation on barriers and real reforms. #MDPolitics #Housing baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/ever...
baltimorefishbowl.com
Baltimore Fishbowl | Maryland Now podcast explores solutions to the state's housing crisis
Housing shapes affordability, economic mobility, school enrollment, transportation, and the long‑term competitiveness of Marlyand. The state's housing shortage is already driving residents away, strai...
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Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
“ICE isn’t the Gestapo. The Gestapo was…” (proceeds to describe qualities that apply to what ICE is currently doing)
From Senator Chris McDaniel: “Lately, some folks have taken to calling ICE “the Gestapo.”  It sounds fierce.  It feels righteous.  But it isn’t true, and it isn’t harmless.

The Gestapo was a secret police force.  No warrants.  No courts.  No lawyers.  And no appeals.  People vanished in the night, not because they broke the law, but because the law no longer meant anything.  The knock on the door was the sentence.

ICE isn’t that.  Not even close.

ICE is a public agency enforcing laws passed by elected officials.  Its agents file reports.  They seek warrants.  They lose cases.  Judges stop them.  Lawyers challenge them.  Some detainees go home.  That’s not tyranny.  That’s bureaucracy, for better and worse.

You can hate immigration policy.  You can argue enforcement is too harsh, too sloppy, or too broad.  You can work to have the law changed if you wish.  That’s a republic doing what it’s supposed to do.  

But when you call ordinary law enforcement “the Gestapo,” you cheapen real evil.  You turn history into a slogan and suffering into a metaphor.  And once every badge is tyranny, no tyranny is left to recognize.

In Mississippi, I was raised to believe words should earn their weight.  This one hasn't yet.  It throws around the language of dictatorship while living under a system where courts still rule, lawyers still argue, and the government still loses.

That difference matters.

Because the day enforcement becomes secret, unchecked, and answerable to no one, we won’t need to borrow names from history.  We’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with.

And we’ll wish we’d kept our words honest.”
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Remember when Walking Dead killed too many main characters in brutal ways and the fan base dropped off? I feel like that's the 2025-26 NFL season.
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
I’m seeing posts from people (outside of MN) about how US citizens should carry their passports. And let me say that *inside* MN, we are calmly responding to requests with: “No, I don’t have to show you any documentation.” Because that’s how you protect everyone, regardless of immigration status.
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Now that everyone is focused on the water usage of AI to generate holiday images, may I interest you in a discussion of how golf courses are a sub-optimal land use that uses WAY too much water and would be better utilized for housing?
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Jenny Schuetz @jennyschuetz.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
ND Gov. Kelly Armstrong at @yimbytown.bsky.social : on any policy change, 20% of people will be cranky & loud against, 80% are supportive but busy living their lives & don’t speak up. Ignore the 20%. Turn off your social media. Find a compelling emotional hook to engage the silent 80%.
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
While the headline focuses on a particular element of testimony, @halliemiller.bsky.social does an excellent job throughout the piece addressing the subject of parking reform. #MDHousing www.thebanner.com/community/ho...
thebanner.com
Former Baltimore City councilman’s outburst pauses housing hearing
Proceedings at a Baltimore City Council hearing were briefly paused Thursday after a former councilman refused to cede the microphone.
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
The highlighted quote is a good example of why trying to hash out disagreements in good faith with left-NIMBY orgs is exhausting and ultimately fruitless. The lead author on this report *knows* this isn't true, and he knows it because we had a whole exchange about this in the pages of Dissent!
Highlighted quote: "Abundance advocates maintain that the solution to the issue is *solely* one of increasing supply and specifically removing public barriers to private expansion of supply."
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d. reed, crisp & juicy enjoyer 🦀🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇬🇾 @justupthepike.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
this is fantastic news for Arlington, and hopefully reassuring to Montgomery County officials, who are considering a more modest version of the zoning reforms Arlington passed in 2023
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Critics focusing on Abundance instead of Stuck and Why Nothing Works allows them to step around the premise that: 1) things weren't always this way; 2) housing has been more affordable when we've built more of it; and 3) unfettered veto-based populism makes govt do bad things.
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
We're really about to start playing peek-a-boo with hurricanes like the old timey days.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 28/04/2025
my buddy @resnikoff.bsky.social off the top rope with some actual class analysis www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
A YIMBY Theory of Power
Pro-housing advocates offer an analysis of class relations that is more sophisticated and has more explanatory power than the one held by many critics of the “abundance agenda.”
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Nick Stewart @nickforbaltimorecounty.com · 28/04/2025
Baltimore County needs leadership with fresh ideas, real experience, and the drive to get things done. We are One County. Ready for that kind of change? Let’s build it together. Join the campaign: nickforbaltimorecounty.com #NickStewart2026 #StewartForBaltCo #OneCounty
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Community meetings are like direct democracy, but only if you're free at 5:30 pm on a Tuesday.
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d. reed, crisp & juicy enjoyer 🦀🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇬🇾 @justupthepike.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
this is fantastic news! next step: the House floor. if you haven’t already, you can send your delegates a note asking them to support Housing for Jobs here ⬇️ ggwash.org/housingforjo...
ggwash.org
Support Housing for Jobs!
Today, people who serve our communities - teachers, child care workers, and service and retail workers - can’t find homes they can afford in the places they serve. That’s why Greater Greater Washingto...
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Great to see Housing for Jobs move out of the House Environment and Transportation committee earlier today! Thank you sub-committee chair Delegate @robbynlewis46th.bsky.social and E&T chair Delegate @mkorman.bsky.social an for your work on this bill! #MDHousing
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
I love any chance to talk housing policy with @jemillerbalt.bsky.social. @govwesmoore.bsky.social and the #Maryland legislature have taken big swings to address the #Housing Crisis this session and many of those efforts are well on their way to final passage. open.spotify.com/episode/1q7Z...
open.spotify.com
Has Progress on Affordable Housing Stalled
Maryland Capital with Jayne Miller · Episode
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Hey...what?
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
“Giving people a subsidy for a good whose supply is choked is like building a ladder to try to reach an elevator that is racing upward.” - @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social & @dkthomp.bsky.social, #Abundance
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
I never expected "we should build more of the things we need" to be a controversial take. #Abundance
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
"Taking pleasure in the suffering of others will get us nowhere...You will only root for the spread of Measles in the Trump +35 district until it reaches the Harris +10 district, and maybe one day reaches you in your bright blue state." bad-faith-times.ghost.io/the-leopards...
bad-faith-times.ghost.io
The Leopards Are Getting Fat
It's fun to pretend elected leaders in charge of a nation of 350 million people can handpick who suffers and who does not.
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
@yappelbaum.bsky.social's new book Stuck answers some of these questions. The answer is normally racism wrapped in classism.
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Exciting new polling from @ggwash.org showing strong support for the tenets of @govwesmoore.bsky.social's Housing for Jobs Act. 60% of Marylanders believe allowing more homes will help create jobs, increase customers for local businesses and make homes more affordable. ggwash.org/files/H4Jpol...
ggwash.org
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
In the most recent UMBC poll conducted by Maryland's top vibe-checker @mileahkromer.bsky.social, 63% of respondents identified the cost and availability of #housing as a "high priority". This outperformed taxes, economic growth, environment and transportation. marylandmatters.org/wp-content/u...
marylandmatters.org
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
I want my children to grow up in a world where, as adults, they can have coffee at 3 pm and go to sleep at 9 pm.
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Old and busted: Social Media Consultant New hotness: AI Consultant
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
I'm adding @yappelbaum.bsky.social's new book Stuck to the list of books I recommend for those seeking to understand the #housing crisis. Rest of list (unranked): @jerusalem.bsky.social On Housing @shanedphillips.bsky.social The Affordable City @conordougherty.bsky.social Golden Gates
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
One day, hopefully soon, we will stop re-sharing the President's trolling social media posts that are intended to incite us.
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Aaron Ross Powell @aaronrosspowell.com · 11/02/2025
A fundamental story of the last decade is that a lot of basically incompetent people got fed up by competent people telling them they were wrong, constructed a more welcoming alternative ecosystem of competency cosplayers, and then somehow turned the whole government over to them.
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Pamela Wood @pwoodreporter.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Maryland lawmakers are likely to be fine-tuning next year’s state budget all the way into the final days of the General Assembly session in April. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-pow...
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
I love this idea.
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Government has a "get stuff done" problem. A system of checks and due diligence that was intended to reinforce faith in government has instead created a cultural of cynicism around any attempt to solve the problems of regular people. #Housing www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | Why the government built only 58 EV charging stations in three years
The EV fiasco should be a jolt to progressives’ senses.
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I Hate Politics Podcast @ihppod.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
New episode. @tomcoale.bsky.social @georgemasonu.bsky.social t.ly/gaveq Music by 7 Door Sedan linktr.ee/ihppod @sunildasgupta.bsky.social
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
I'm excited about the YIMBY Act in Congress, but what about funding organizations to hold local govt accountable for the Fair Housing laws that already exist? My friend Sam Jacobson wrote about this last February, which was boosted by @mattyglesias.bsky.social in his column fas.org/publication/...
fas.org
Expand the Fair Housing Initiatives Program to Enforce Federal and State Housing Supply and Affordability Laws - Federation of American Scientists
Congress and HUD should expand the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) to fund external enforcement organizations.
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Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Definitely some wisdom to this. But also Democrats would in fact do better if progressives intellectuals, funders, and activists behaved consistently as if they knew this.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 22/11/2024
Bateman running the WA Senate housing committee is extremely positive news. Check out her appearance on Volts! www.volts.wtf/p/washington...
volts.wtf
Washington state Democrats are tackling the housing crisis
Several historic housing bills passed the Washington state legislature this year, including one that would legalize "missing middle" housing on every lot in the state. I chat with Rep. Jessica Bateman...
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
"Kamala Harris should have gone on Joe Rogan" is the new "Shaka, when the walls fell".
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Eric Kober @erickober.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Such a mystery. Project A is heavily subsidized, all-affordable housing and gets built. Project B is not subsidized but is still required by NYC zoning to provide 25 percent of its units at way-below-market rents. Why might Project B not be financially feasible? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Two Affordable Housing Buildings Were Planned. Only One Went Up. What Happened?
New York City is dealing with its worst housing shortage in decades. The diverging fates of two developments offer a window into the crisis.
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Is there a Polymarket for "Kid Rock is going to be in charge of ATF"?
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
I had the opportunity to join Jayne Miller's new podcast, Maryland Capital, to discuss Salim Furth's and my paper on the permitting of new housing. I appreciate that Jayne has already dedicated two shows to housing production. She gets it! #MDHousing open.spotify.com/episode/50As...
open.spotify.com
How to Increase Affordable Housing
Maryland Capital · Episode
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Emily Hamilton @ebwhamilton.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Dispiriting maps on the decline of housing affordability from 2000 to 2019. From Supply Skepticism Revisited by Been, Ellen, & O'Regan: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
I think this is absolutely true, but the question is “Why are they so angry?” America is prosperous, life is by any historical standard very good, and yet our politics is defined by rage and resentment. What is pouring so much anger into the public mind?
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d. reed, crisp & juicy enjoyer 🦀🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇬🇾 @justupthepike.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
public meetings rarely look like the public and Montgomery County is no different. over the past few weeks @jonrobinson2.bsky.social and I have analyzed who came out to "listening sessions" on a big zoning proposal this fall and you can see our findings here ⬇️ ggwash.org/view/97613/c...
ggwash.org
Montgomery County was listening, but mostly heard from Chevy Chase
We looked at who signed up for Montgomery County’s “listening sessions” on a housing proposal and one-third of them came from a single zip code. As many people from zip code 20815, which includes Chev...
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Tom Coale @tomcoale.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
This recent piece by @jerusalem.bsky.social offers a more self-interested reason for blue state lawmakers to allow more homes and make their states more affordable places to live: the Electoral College. #Housing #AffordableHousing #YIMBY www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
theatlantic.com
The Democrats Are Committing Partycide
In the future, even winning the former “Blue Wall” states won’t be enough for the party’s presidential nominees.
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