John McLaren
johnmclaren.bsky.social
John McLaren
@johnmclaren.bsky.social

Economist, classical music nerd, and family man.

Economics 44%
Political science 23%
Pinned
I'm seeing a huge spike in interest in tariffs from people who normally don't work in the economics of international trade. Here are a few useful things to know about them. (1/14)

I'd say that Mao is a pretty good analogue. Amartya Sen makes a great argument that millions died during the manufactured famine of the Great Leap Forward because no-one locally wanted to send bad news to the regional party heads and no-one at the regional level wanted to send bad news to Mao.

(Heh heh heh.)

(I see what you did there.)

Very much the same thing.

The hero we need, not the hero we deserve.

Never forget his previous hall-of-fame dumb comment, on a Dyson sphere to power data centers in twenty years! These guys really are dumb.

bsky.app/profile/josh...
I had not heard until yesterday that OpenAI's Sam Altman has repeatedly said that in the next couple decades we'll be building a Dyson Sphere to surround the entire solar system and harvest the energy of the Sun for next level super intelligence. This is only slightly less absurd to

I’ve now seen this post with my own eyes but I still can’t believe it’s real.

How could he think this?

Mind you, I think we already had some excellent candidates! But Tom is of course great.

Reposted by John McLaren

Hey Cville Council, just take them all down
' Eyes off Eugene organizer Ky Fireside said the discovery supports the oversight issues that community members have been talking about for months.

“The police don't have control over these devices,” said Fireside. “The company has control over it.” '

#deflock #surveillance #alpr #flocksafety
Data shows Flock tracked Eugene vehicles weeks after the city asked it to stop
Some Flock cameras in Eugene may have been online several weeks after the city ordered them to be turned off.
www.klcc.org
Former Rep. Tom Perriello, a Virginia Democrat who won his sole term in a huge 2008 upset, unexpectedly announces campaign against GOP Rep. John McGuire. Trump carried the current version of #VA05 56-43, but it could look a lot different if Democrats convince voters to approve a new map this spring.
Tom Perriello For Congress Launch Video
YouTube video by Tom Perriello
www.youtube.com

I see what you mean, and I don’t think I would have guessed that it was Mahler. On the other hand, the tone is really not that different from the drinking song in Das Lied Von der Erde.

Reposted by John McLaren

Every House Democrat has signed a discharge petition to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

We only need a few House Republicans to join us and save health care for millions of Americans.
Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans pay for health insurance will expire in less than a month.

Households will probably face spiking insurance costs next year if a bipartisan deal can’t be reached.
Health insurance costs could spike, as bipartisan ACA deal looks less likely
With a ticking clock and no clear bipartisan path forward, extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies is becoming more challenging.
www.washingtonpost.com

Yes, I was a bit annoyed when an aide said: "Shall we put a pin in it for today, sir?"

One the other hand, I thought this was a wonderful line given to Garfield that sounded legit:

"I have been known to deprecate war, but if it comes to my door, it will find me at home."
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
Torture Techniques from CIA Black Sites Were Used at Alligator Alcatraz
Amnesty International, interviewing migrant detainees, identifies use of the confinement box. There can be no denying it is a torture prison
www.forever-wars.com

Yes, and I think it's important to get a virgin to portray Bolsonaro, because of his purity.
New from Michael Miller and me at @thejop.bsky.social: Evidence that, in most areas that were affected by the decision, the Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act in 2013 (Shelby County v Holder) increased the racial turnout gap. A thread...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Reposted by John McLaren

Excellent!

Wow. Did not know about this. Thank you. Does seem like something Katrina could do something about! 

Is this currently illegal? Or is it just not available at Costco? 

Next time!

We were on some country roads yesterday. They were really scenic in the fog!

Hey, pixelate that thing.

Reposted by John McLaren

The world watches and shakes its head in horrified disbelief.

Reposted by John McLaren

Thank you to everyone who joined me, @creighdeeds.bsky.social, and @cvilledems.bsky.social for cookies and convo. Appreciate all the input before we head to Richmond next month!

Maybe a scrawny, wrinkled turkey buzzard?

Horrible.

I look forward to the day when we all join hands and sing songs to commemorate the Dear Leaders' birthday.