This is genuinely unbelievable. These antitrust goobers don't seem to realize that I have a telephone. This whole pathetic, pissy thread is about how I'm lying about my conversation with the real estate analyst Lance Lambert and misrepresenting him in my article. So, guess what I just did? Called Lance, of course! He told me again that he agrees with all of my major points and reiterated over and over that he's "pushing back" on the strongest claims of the antitrust left. Some notes from our call: 1. I read him the quotes from my article again in their full context. He signed off on everything. We went over it three times. He agrees with my language. He agrees with my position. "I stand by what I told you." That's a direct quote. 2. I asked him again, for clarification: Do you think homebuilders are a “cartel,” as Matt Stoller has claimed? He said no. 3. I asked again: Do you believe, as Basel Musharbash has claimed, that homebuilders are an “oligopoly"? He said no. 4. I asked him if he thinks that the biggest homebuilders are withholding supply or playing a key role in driving up prices. He said absolutely not. 5. This is a direct quote: "I hope you both communicate my view that I don't think the big builders are bad actors, or even that they have the power to be the bad actors." We're done here.

They'll come for the Luis Quintero quotes next. Good thing I recorded that conversation with his permission, and I have the transcript.