Status Updates From How Washington Actually Wor...

"[T]he reason poor countries are often very active in international organizations is that their participation (their airfare, hotel, and board) is paid for by the organization, and thus ultimately, the U.S. taxpayer." What.

Some diplomats do manage to get chummy with elected representatives, like the British intelligence officer stationed in the United States during WW1 who became “the only person, English or American, who had access at any time to the President [Woodrow Wilson]".

Makes an interesting point about being a diplomat: one can't "draw a direct link between their interests and a congressman’s constituents or reelection prospects" making it a struggle to get attention. Being a diplomat might be a frustrating experience because of this.

… "[Their] goal isn’t to exaggerate, just extrapolate: 'At this rate every child in America will be overweight by 2020.' 'If glacial melting continues to accelerate, Manhattan Island will be under 3 feet of water by 2050.'" It'd help the author's case if anyone had actually made these preposterous claims; unfortunately, no one has.

… At the same time, the book is unreasonably critical of activists: "activists and NGOs see themselves as warriors fighting in the defense of their chosen cause célèbre. They don’t fight their own fight; they fight the 'good fight.'" So do interest groups like the NRA, trade associations working to "safeguard American jobs" and software companies lobbying to "preserve privacy"! …

… While it's true that over half of all Americans own stock directly and perhaps more do through pension funds, it's not true at all that one corporation rising in value benefits everyone in the stock market, because lobbying's often a zero-sum game where the winner undercuts the loser. We may also stand to lose more as customers than gain as shareholders, eg when a steel giant lobbies tariffs into existence. …

The book is bizarrely for corporate lobbyists and against activists/NGOs. It justifies corporate lobbying by saying "As shareholders — even very small shareholders — in the nation’s corporations, everyone invested in the stock market stands to profit if a corporation takes action that helps it conduct business less expensively and more efficiently." ...

Ironically, construction of the Pentagon began on September 11, 1941— 60 years to the day before terrorists flew a plane into it.

Amazingly, a 1910 law prohibits buildings in Washington from being more than 20 feet higher than the width of the city street on which they are built.

Amazingly, a 1910 law prohibits buildings in Washington from being more than 20 feet higher than the width of the city street on which they are built. It was based on the belief that tall buildings were unsightly and could fall over, which is insane given that even at the time, other cities had much taller buildings.