Lawsuit Against Project Connect is Anti-Austin
Plus Mid-Week Experiment!
Welcome to your always free, reader-supported mid-week edition of The Experiment where we share great things to read, cook, listen to, and watch. But even if you don’t, this bugga free. But first, a guest essay from Bill McCamley, author of the most-popular post in the history of this newsletter.
Lawsuit Against Project Connect is Anti-Austin
by Bill McCamley
In 2020, Austin voters overwhelmingly approved Project Connect, a comprehensive transit and supportive housing program designed to bring us together better. Unfortunately, a small group of people who have opposed transit in Central TX for decades have decided to partner with the Attorney General to oppose it in court, using every legal trick they can think of to delay an actual decision. This is Anti Austin for many reasons.
First, it’s anti-democratic. Project Connect passed in 2020 by an almost 2-to-1 margin, and the support hasn’t waned. Transit Forward conducted a poll of Austinites last year and found that public support has not waned even knowing the rail portion will be delivered in phases. Kirk Watson and Celia Israel, the two mayoral candidates who made the 2022 runoff with a combined 75% of the vote, both strongly supported it in their campaigns. The vast majority of the City Council champion it, as do 4 of 5 Travis County Commissioners. All of these officials are chosen by us.
It cannot be argued that Austin voters do not want Project Connect, and trying to sidestep their choice with lawsuits is not respectful of democracy.
Second, this isn’t just about trains.
Now let’s get to the Mid-Week Experiment:
Using what some see as dystopian technology to map out America’s real dystopia? Happy Juneteenth. (Axios)
Helluva piece about how things get twisted on television and what we make ourselves accept. (Jeff Pearlman)
Remember TikTok pasta? This is the best recipe because you add lemon zest and fresh basil to finish it, and it made a huge difference.
If you’ve been “sherlocked” I feel bad for you, son/I got 99 problems but Apple ain’t one (NPR)
This is a pretty smart piece on how liberals (*raises hand) catastrophize bad news about Donald Trump. (Ben Terris)
Verrrrry late to the Modern Family party. Impressed with the joke density and reliable payoffs.
Saw this weird gem with H1, my oldest. We both loved it, though I suspect it landed more squarely in his demo.
h/t to H1 for showing me Godzilla Minus One, which tells the familiar story of the pissed off lizard dinosaur through the eyes of defeated and demoralized post-war Japanese people.
h/t to Austin Klein for recommending The Talk, a YouTube series that stitches together conversations that never happened between two people.
S and I succumbed to the charms of Hit Man and Glen Powell. If you want to read Skip Hollandsworth’s Texas Monthly piece on the true story behind the Netflix movie, here’s a link.
We set up a merch table in the back where you can get T-shirts, coffee mugs, and even tote bags now. Show the world that you’re part of The Experiment.
We’ve also got a tip jar, and I promise to waste every cent you give me on having fun, because writing this newsletter for you is how I have fun.
Buy the book Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick banned from the Bullock Texas History Museum: Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of the American Myth by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and myself is out from Penguin Random House.