Hanlon's Laser (@aphofer) header
Hanlon's Laser (@aphofer) profile picture

Hanlon's Laser

@aphofer

If you hand me any basket of beliefs, I’m going to start throwing some out.

 NYC
Joined August 2008
  • Tweets57.5K
  • Following2.1K
  • Followers1.4K
3.5KMedia
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Don’t be ICE, don’t be Antifa. Go ahead and argue vociferously on social media. Try to be tolerant and generous with your assumptions about people you meet in the physical world.
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Hanlon's Laser retweeted
Kristian Niemietz (@K_Niemietz) profile picture
Kristian Niemietz
@K_Niemietz3h
"The introduction of rent ceilings exacerbated the housing shortage. As a result, waiting lists grew longer, and people looking for housing had to spend more time searching for a dwelling. If they [...] had no temporary accommodation while searching, [...] they turned to the unregulated segment of the market. This increased demand for unregulated dwellings and, consequently, their rents."
Rainer Zitelmann (@zitelmann_en) profile pictureRainer Zitelmann
@zitelmann_en4h
International studies prove that rent controls frequently backfire by reducing residential mobility, discouraging new construction, and driving up unregulated rents, demonstrating that deregulation is more effective than intervention. @GroverNorquist @MarkSkousen1 @K_Niemietz cityam.com/the-evidence-is-c…
The evidence is conclusive: rent controls always fail

The evidence is conclusive: rent controls always fail

International studies prove that rent controls frequently backfire by reducing residential mobility, discouraging new construction, and driving up unregulated rents, demonstrating that deregulation...

cityam.com
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Well-deserved community note
Uncommon Sense (@Uncommonsince76) profile pictureUncommon Sense
@Uncommonsince76Nov 1
Anakin- “But master, there wasn’t even 6 million Jews living in Germany at the time.” Obi Wan- “Never question the council Anakin.”
Image from Uncommon Sense (@Uncommonsince76)
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
The 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust were from across Europe (prewar population ~9.5 million); Germany had ~500,000 Jews in 1933. encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/art… encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/art… encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/art… x.com/grok/status/21…
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He told you he’s just a comedian. So this is his stand-up act, evidently.
Haitham Abdelhadi (@Haitham47117914) profile pictureHaitham Abdelhadi
@Haitham47117914Nov 2
Jon Stewart argued that weaponizing accusations of antisemitism to immediately shut down any valid, humanitarian criticism of Israeli government policy operates as a "cynical shield". He asserted that this defense mechanism actively dilutes the severity of real antisemitism and prevents honest diplomatic discourse.
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It isn’t funny. But maybe it isn’t real, either.
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Hanlon's Laser retweeted
Shivam Singh (@singhshivam3011) profile picture
Shivam Singh@singhshivam301121h
classic lant pritchett, vindicated yet again.
Image from Shivam Singh (@singhshivam3011)
Bloomberg (@business) profile pictureBloomberg
@businessOct 31
India saw about 496 million people lifted out of poverty between 2011 and 2023 in one of the world’s fastest declines in this metric, the World Bank said, although the gains remain uneven. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
India Saw 496 Million Escape Poverty Since 2011, World Bank Says

India Saw 496 Million Escape Poverty Since 2011, World Bank Says

India saw about 496 million people lifted out of poverty between 2011 and 2023 in one of the world’s fastest declines in this metric, the World Bank said, although the gains remain uneven.

bloomberg.com
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It would have been better if @gabriel_zucman had responded the way @PhilWMagness did here, with some actual, specific, rebuttals.
Phil Magness (@PhilWMagness) profile picturePhil Magness
@PhilWMagness12h
Replying to @PhilWMagness
The other examples are not any better. E.g. this one purports to find mismeasurement in a BEA misreporting adjustment... ...except we did not even include the adjustment referenced here. The AI misread it - most likely because it only examined the paper and not the underlying data.
Image from Phil Magness (@PhilWMagness)
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WTF?
Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) profile pictureWajahat Ali
@WajahatAliNov 1
If, God forbid, Abdul loses, this will be a watershed moment in Democratic politics. The fire will rise. It's over. People will be radicalized against corporate, pro-Israel Dems. There will be a reckoning. If, when, he wins, it will be a watershed moment. And that reckoning will still come.
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Good luck with that
Vice President JD Vance (@VP) profile pictureVice President JD Vance
@VP21h
We got your back, New York!
Image from Vice President JD Vance (@VP)
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Several figures here aren’t federal results or NY-specific. The $472B combines US wide pledges: Micron's $250B is nationwide (NY site $100B) Anthropic's $50B covers TX and NY. The 48% murder drop is from NY's state run GIVE program (28 departments, Jan – May 2026). arkolith.com/news/news-micr… therepublic.com/?p=843020 governor.ny.gov/news/safer-str…
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Hanlon's Laser retweeted
Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) profile picture
Megan McArdle
@asymmetricinfoNov 2
Who could have seen this coming? If only there were some sort of social science dedicated to studying markets that could have warned us in advance.
Alyssa Katz (@alykatzz) profile pictureAlyssa Katz@alykatzzNov 2
Rent freeze, we have a problem: affordable housing can’t get financing. thecityreporter.nyc/2026/11/…
Government-Backed Lenders Tighten Mortgage Rules in Response to Mamdani’s Rent Freeze

Government-Backed Lenders Tighten Mortgage Rules in Response to Mamdani’s Rent Freeze

Freddie Mac has paused new loans, and Fannie Mae is baking in the cost of the rent freeze, making it difficult for landlords to get financing, multiple real estate sources told The City Reporter.

thecityreporter.nyc
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We should put this like everywhere in the U.S.
Image from Hanlon's Laser (@aphofer)
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The unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible, or the other way around.
Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) profile pictureTim Young
@TimRunsHisMouthOct 31
Abdul El-Sayed went on a bizarre rant about Pete Hegseth not being good at sports in school... Hegseth graduated as his high school’s all-time leader in both career and single-season 3-point shots made... and single season 3-point shooting %. 2x All-Conference and All-State honors as a senior. He also earned two varsity letters in football as a wide receiver. And he's in his high school's hall of fame. Abdul El-Sayed claims to be 5'8" tall.
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I had a friend in ROTC who described a fellow recruit planting one of these backwards in an exercise. “Congratulations, you just blew up your entire platoon”
BigChubby6 (@Live_Free_orDie) profile pictureBigChubby6
@Live_Free_orDieOct 31
Image from BigChubby6 (@Live_Free_orDie)
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So just checking in on X to search “spirit of Halloween”….
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Yeah, just a reminder to continue never going there.
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Hanlon's Laser retweeted
DJ R-Tistic (@DJRTistic) profile picture
DJ R-Tistic
@DJRTisticOct 30
🤷‍♀️ (@ImLitAsfk) profile picture🤷‍♀️@ImLitAsfkOct 28
I actually cannot fucking wait to be finished with college I hate living in a constant cycle of deadlines and stress
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Hanlon's Laser retweeted
Scott Winship (@swinshi) profile picture
Scott Winship@swinshiOct 30
Anyone surprised that Saez and Zucman’s errors/assumptions/choices go overwhelmingly in the direction of supporting their priors has not been paying attention for the past quarter century. saez-zucman-audit-replicatio…
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Hanlon's Laser retweeted
Clifford Asness (@CliffordAsness) profile picture
Clifford Asness
@CliffordAsnessOct 29
But… But… I thought GDP was just a social construct?
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) profile pictureMax Roser
@MaxCRoserOct 29
What is life like at different levels of GDP per capita? In this new chart I visualised it for 12 different dimensions.
Image from Max Roser (@MaxCRoser)
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There’s no argument here, just appeals to authority.
Gabriel Zucman (@gabriel_zucman) profile pictureGabriel Zucman
@gabriel_zucmanOct 29
Hello @elonmusk and @tylercowen , You have just decided to publicly attack our research, six days before the vote on the California billionaire wealth tax. Your attempt to discredit our work and that of our numerous academic colleagues is pathetic. Let’s take a look. 🧵
Image from Gabriel Zucman (@gabriel_zucman)
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Wow, Community Noted.
The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) profile pictureThe Washington Post
@washingtonpostOct 28
Five states have initiatives on the ballot to outlaw trans athletes in girls’ sports and gender transition treatment for children. Washington state could require genital exams for girls in school athletics. wapo.st/48nAxsN

In historic first, voters in five states will decide transgender youth rights

Five states have ballot initiatives to ban trans athletes in girls’ sports and gender transition treatment for children. Washington could require genital exams.

washingtonpost.com
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
I-638 allows verification through anatomy, genetics, or testosterone; it does not mandate genital exams. ballotpedia.org/Washington_Ini…
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Parked this way at 3am and just left it like that.
Image from Hanlon's Laser (@aphofer)
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