Evan retweeted
Gabriel Zucman @gabriel_zucman has now for the third time criticized our research on California’s proposed billionaire tax, claiming we have provided “no answer” to his criticisms.
xitter.cf/gabriel_zucman/status/…
We have actually already responded twice on this platform, but let’s address his arguments once more in detail, with the hope that third time’s the charm. 1/14
This Hoover Institution study, which has fueled the deluge of ads (more than $200 million spent by billionaires so far) to defeat the California billionaire tax, is spectacularly misleading.
Let me explain its crucial flaw. 🧵
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Zucman argues that the tax will raise his projected revenue because billionaires who leave CA after 1/1/26 will be taxed anyway.
At least $542B of net worth (Page, Brin, Thiel) departed the state by 12/31/25.
The entire thread is a misleading denial of this fact.
ft.com/content/d66976…
nytimes.com/2026/04/27/us/…
forbes.com/sites/forbeswe…
Grocery stores will be raided, streets will be deserted, and everyone will lock themselves inside their homes. Are you and your family prepared for GTA VI?
Evan retweeted
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency reviewed nine of the nation’s largest banks and found all nine had policies that required, encouraged, or influenced staff to deny or limit service based on customers’ political or religious beliefs or lawful business activity.
Debanking people for their political beliefs is a threat to every American’s liberty.
Major banks closed accounts of MAGA, pro-life and other conservative groups disfavored by Biden admin: bombshell report trib.al/Ttt6eY9
Evan retweeted
liz warren: we’re gonna stop the mayonnaise company from buying a hot sauce company
elon musk:
Tucker says Jews are against Sharia law because it bans usury lmao
Comically third world take
Tucker Carlson is apparently out there saying I want to kill Christians because of the Noahide laws or something. This is psychotic. But I’d expect nothing less from an addled nicotine salesman who spends all of his time rallying for Islamists like Abdul El-Sayed and Zohran Mamdani while making excuses for Hitler. Tucker wants conservatives to lose. It’s that simple.
Evan retweeted
In Ann Arbor, there is a classic cigar shop called Maison Edwards - it is a beautiful wood paneled store, founded in the 1960s, with a giant American flag hanging over the shelves. It is an incredible third space, where cool dudes of all ages have gathered to converse and talk over a cigar or pipe. I actually owe my closest friendship to time spent in that store on Friday afternoons.
Now, the owner has been forced to disallow smoking in his establishment, erasing the primary reason customers go there. Too many complaints from neighboring businesses - even though no cigar smoke escaped the shop - are going to destroy this magnificent hangout place. Another space where dudes can be dudes, destroyed.
Evan retweeted
The Pirate Wires view on local politics:
read it, share it, save the city: a san francisco voter guide for people who aren't insane piratewires.com/p/a-san-fran…
Evan retweeted
if you're living in california, it's very important that you vote against the state's abolition of private property this november. excerpt from our california voter guide for people who aren't insane:
Prop 40 // One-Time Wealth Tax for State-Funded Healthcare, Education, and Food Assistance Programs Initiative
No. Well, it’s time to talk about the “wealth tax.” Look, we’re not going to mince words here, if this thing passes it will be the end of our state. The “wealth tax” is our AI apocalypse. This is our Doom.
We’ve been writing about this thing for a year now. A very, very, very long story short: the state’s largest healthcare union wants to launch a new kind of tax, which we have never before seen in the history of this country, which would assess the total net worth of all billionaires in the state, and then seize five percent.
This is not an income tax. This is not a tax on an opt-in purchase of a finite resource (land) used to service that purchase with public resources. This is an inescapable, unavoidable seizing of property unlike anything we have ever seen.
Vote no. Vote no as if your life depended on it. This is not a simple matter of disagreement. If you meet someone in the real world supporting this, they are a bad person. Please tell them.
Evan retweeted
Abdulrahman Alfozan, the OpenAI engineer arrested and charged with bugging a company conference room, admitted on an Arabic podcast released last month, uncovered by Pirate Wires, that Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s remarks at a Silicon Valley event inspired his decision to work in the United States.
Describing the 2016 event at which the Prince spoke, Alfozan says:
“My fellow graduates and I were debating: Should we go back [to Saudi Arabia] now, or work abroad for a few years first? That meeting with Prince Mohammed helped resolve this dilemma [...] the best place to build technical expertise is to work somewhere renowned — somewhere with world-class talent — learn from them, and then bring that expertise back to Saudi Arabia.”
Alfozan continues: “You learn from the source, then bring that expertise and knowledge back home, God willing.”
Pirate Wires translated the podcast from Arabic to English. More details from @EvanMilenko:
In a podcast interview, arrested OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan said remarks made by Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a 2016 event in Silicon Valley inspired him to stay and work in the American tech sector rather than return to Saudi Arabia.
In the interview, uncovered by Pirate Wires, Alfozan told the host: “You learn from the source, then bring that expertise and knowledge back home, God willing.”
piratewires.com/p/arrested-o…
Evan retweeted
read it, share it, save the city: a san francisco voter guide for people who aren't insane piratewires.com/p/a-san-fran…
Evan retweeted
I just finished a wide ranging discussion with Professor Lenn E Goodman @VanderbiltU on Maimonides, Kabbalah, and @centerstudy_ and will be transcribing and publishing it soon.
