Chris Anderson
@midwestdude.bsky.social
Midwest prickly. Reefer mad. Chock full of mental illness (ADHD, OCD, depression, etc.) and not at all bitter about it.
Politics, Packers, computers, sci-fi... Nerd stuff.
SocDem. Not a fan of "teaching Dems a lesson" at the expense of the poor.
Politics, Packers, computers, sci-fi... Nerd stuff.
SocDem. Not a fan of "teaching Dems a lesson" at the expense of the poor.
I remember people who make a pretty good living making this point prior to the 2024 election.
"But my raise barely covers cost of living after inflation!"
I get that we need to offer these people an economic vision, but every time I see them not understand what caused inflation/the economy...
"But my raise barely covers cost of living after inflation!"
I get that we need to offer these people an economic vision, but every time I see them not understand what caused inflation/the economy...
I think a lot is explained by cognitive biases. People expect pay rises to raise their standard of living – they worked hard and earned it, it’s in their control. But inflation is something they see as externally imposed and unfair, outside their control, almost like theft. (1/2)
November 27, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I remember people who make a pretty good living making this point prior to the 2024 election.
"But my raise barely covers cost of living after inflation!"
I get that we need to offer these people an economic vision, but every time I see them not understand what caused inflation/the economy...
"But my raise barely covers cost of living after inflation!"
I get that we need to offer these people an economic vision, but every time I see them not understand what caused inflation/the economy...
This article made Matt Stoller angry.
If you don't know Matt Stoller, he's a "left" populist who hates "woke" and wants to team up with right-wing populists to do a lot of antitrust legislation to break up monopolies.
He's an example of a person who correctly...
www.wsj.com/economy/ever...
If you don't know Matt Stoller, he's a "left" populist who hates "woke" and wants to team up with right-wing populists to do a lot of antitrust legislation to break up monopolies.
He's an example of a person who correctly...
www.wsj.com/economy/ever...
Everyone Is Talking About the ‘Affordability Crisis.’ It Can’t Be Solved.
President Trump and New York Mayor-elect Mamdani both campaigned on affordability, but the issue is amorphous and poorly defined.
www.wsj.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:17 PM
This article made Matt Stoller angry.
If you don't know Matt Stoller, he's a "left" populist who hates "woke" and wants to team up with right-wing populists to do a lot of antitrust legislation to break up monopolies.
He's an example of a person who correctly...
www.wsj.com/economy/ever...
If you don't know Matt Stoller, he's a "left" populist who hates "woke" and wants to team up with right-wing populists to do a lot of antitrust legislation to break up monopolies.
He's an example of a person who correctly...
www.wsj.com/economy/ever...
"Education is the silver bullet." - (At least) One of Aaron Sorkin's characters in The West Wing, and possibly in other media
A lot of people on this site are skeptical of liberals, but even they knew this back around 2000.
The most forward-thinking part of Bernie's presidential agenda...
A lot of people on this site are skeptical of liberals, but even they knew this back around 2000.
The most forward-thinking part of Bernie's presidential agenda...
One of the many terrible consequences of making education impossibly unaffordable is that getting one for any reason other than making money isn't feasible for most people.
Also expecting people to have their whole lives mapped out before they're adults is a bad thing.
Also expecting people to have their whole lives mapped out before they're adults is a bad thing.
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 10:36 PM
"Education is the silver bullet." - (At least) One of Aaron Sorkin's characters in The West Wing, and possibly in other media
A lot of people on this site are skeptical of liberals, but even they knew this back around 2000.
The most forward-thinking part of Bernie's presidential agenda...
A lot of people on this site are skeptical of liberals, but even they knew this back around 2000.
The most forward-thinking part of Bernie's presidential agenda...
I don't think Kamala campaigning with Liz Cheney sunk her chances at the presidency. If it did, the people who didn't vote for Kamala are surely regretting it now.
I also don't think it was bad for Zohran to make an appearance at the White House.
I also don't think it was bad for Zohran to make an appearance at the White House.
November 22, 2025 at 5:27 AM
I don't think Kamala campaigning with Liz Cheney sunk her chances at the presidency. If it did, the people who didn't vote for Kamala are surely regretting it now.
I also don't think it was bad for Zohran to make an appearance at the White House.
I also don't think it was bad for Zohran to make an appearance at the White House.
Reposted by Chris Anderson
People no longer distinguish between advocating for a fact being true and advocating for a belief system or ideology, because they have spent all their time in a social environment where every ideology gets to have its own facts. Absolute intellectual poison.
November 19, 2025 at 2:32 PM
People no longer distinguish between advocating for a fact being true and advocating for a belief system or ideology, because they have spent all their time in a social environment where every ideology gets to have its own facts. Absolute intellectual poison.
Reposted by Chris Anderson
This is what social media has done to break so many of your brains. On social media, anything can be true if you want it to be true, so the distinction between normative and descriptive claims is completely collapsed. If you think Americans like suburbs, it’s assumed you WANT that to be the case.
November 19, 2025 at 2:29 PM
This is what social media has done to break so many of your brains. On social media, anything can be true if you want it to be true, so the distinction between normative and descriptive claims is completely collapsed. If you think Americans like suburbs, it’s assumed you WANT that to be the case.
I went to see Predator: Badlands, and it wasn't great. I didn't expect it to be, but nonetheless.
It's a movie that, unfortunately, gives credence to some of the more good faith criticisms of modern movies that pursue positive messaging over good filmmaking.
To that end, there's a conservative...
It's a movie that, unfortunately, gives credence to some of the more good faith criticisms of modern movies that pursue positive messaging over good filmmaking.
To that end, there's a conservative...
November 19, 2025 at 7:19 AM
I went to see Predator: Badlands, and it wasn't great. I didn't expect it to be, but nonetheless.
It's a movie that, unfortunately, gives credence to some of the more good faith criticisms of modern movies that pursue positive messaging over good filmmaking.
To that end, there's a conservative...
It's a movie that, unfortunately, gives credence to some of the more good faith criticisms of modern movies that pursue positive messaging over good filmmaking.
To that end, there's a conservative...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
When the unintended consequences of not knowing ball end up harming hundreds of thousands of people, it helps put into relief why people should know more ball.
When the unintended consequences of not knowing ball end up harming hundreds of thousands of people, it helps put into relief why people should know more ball.
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
www.newyorker.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:06 AM
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
When the unintended consequences of not knowing ball end up harming hundreds of thousands of people, it helps put into relief why people should know more ball.
When the unintended consequences of not knowing ball end up harming hundreds of thousands of people, it helps put into relief why people should know more ball.
We're nearing the one year anniversary of Luigi Mangione doing what he did.
The American healthcare is on a worse path than it was a year ago.
We do not have increased class consciousness.
The American healthcare is on a worse path than it was a year ago.
We do not have increased class consciousness.
November 17, 2025 at 11:24 PM
We're nearing the one year anniversary of Luigi Mangione doing what he did.
The American healthcare is on a worse path than it was a year ago.
We do not have increased class consciousness.
The American healthcare is on a worse path than it was a year ago.
We do not have increased class consciousness.
I think it would be funny if Biden was still doing well cognitively at the end of Trump's presidency.
November 16, 2025 at 11:15 PM
I think it would be funny if Biden was still doing well cognitively at the end of Trump's presidency.
Reposted by Chris Anderson
The internet, AI, social media, we’ve spent hundreds of billions - trillions? - building that mirror for ourselves
Without an ethos of curiosity, without a constant undercurrent of self-doubt to innoculate us, anyone among us will gaze into a mirror and think we see the world.
November 12, 2025 at 1:55 AM
The internet, AI, social media, we’ve spent hundreds of billions - trillions? - building that mirror for ourselves
I thought Frankenstein was good, but if I'm being honest, Guillermo del Toro movies usually end up feeling... flat. To me.
I see what I'm supposed to be impressed by--it's a very cool aesthetic, and he's clearly a good humanist, but his stuff kind of feels pedantic.
I see what I'm supposed to be impressed by--it's a very cool aesthetic, and he's clearly a good humanist, but his stuff kind of feels pedantic.
November 12, 2025 at 2:17 AM
I thought Frankenstein was good, but if I'm being honest, Guillermo del Toro movies usually end up feeling... flat. To me.
I see what I'm supposed to be impressed by--it's a very cool aesthetic, and he's clearly a good humanist, but his stuff kind of feels pedantic.
I see what I'm supposed to be impressed by--it's a very cool aesthetic, and he's clearly a good humanist, but his stuff kind of feels pedantic.
What seems to motivate a lot of resentments are skills gaps.
If you dig beneath right-wing propaganda, a lot of what appeals to people is promoting self-sufficiency.
Democrats need to help people close their skills gaps. Public universities need to be well funded again.
If you dig beneath right-wing propaganda, a lot of what appeals to people is promoting self-sufficiency.
Democrats need to help people close their skills gaps. Public universities need to be well funded again.
November 11, 2025 at 6:52 AM
What seems to motivate a lot of resentments are skills gaps.
If you dig beneath right-wing propaganda, a lot of what appeals to people is promoting self-sufficiency.
Democrats need to help people close their skills gaps. Public universities need to be well funded again.
If you dig beneath right-wing propaganda, a lot of what appeals to people is promoting self-sufficiency.
Democrats need to help people close their skills gaps. Public universities need to be well funded again.
Nice to see this talked about.
"We will overthrow the corrupt Democrats!
"How?"
"You're providing cover for the Democrats!"
"We will overthrow the corrupt Democrats!
"How?"
"You're providing cover for the Democrats!"
“Rather than taking over the Democratic Party the same way the right took over the Republican Party, we should take the easier route and just start up a new party ourselves!”
I’m about to fill my pockets with stones and walk into the sea.
I’m about to fill my pockets with stones and walk into the sea.
November 10, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Nice to see this talked about.
"We will overthrow the corrupt Democrats!
"How?"
"You're providing cover for the Democrats!"
"We will overthrow the corrupt Democrats!
"How?"
"You're providing cover for the Democrats!"
Reposted by Chris Anderson
👇🎯 Your regular reminder that unfunded mandate are bad, we shouldn't have them, & the actual solution to nearly <every> problem in 🇺🇸 higher education - both real & imagined - is to...
<taps mic>
<John Facenda voice>
...Fund.
The.
Damn.
Public.
Universities.
Like.
We.
Used.
To.
Do.
<taps mic>
<John Facenda voice>
...Fund.
The.
Damn.
Public.
Universities.
Like.
We.
Used.
To.
Do.
October 21, 2024 at 3:48 PM
👇🎯 Your regular reminder that unfunded mandate are bad, we shouldn't have them, & the actual solution to nearly <every> problem in 🇺🇸 higher education - both real & imagined - is to...
<taps mic>
<John Facenda voice>
...Fund.
The.
Damn.
Public.
Universities.
Like.
We.
Used.
To.
Do.
<taps mic>
<John Facenda voice>
...Fund.
The.
Damn.
Public.
Universities.
Like.
We.
Used.
To.
Do.
Reposted by Chris Anderson
I’m not going to name names but there are a lot of tastemaker accounts who see the crowd being aggressively wrong about something and instead of saying “Yeah, that’s wrong” step in to try to find a way to say “Well here’s why it’s half right.” The imperative is to find a way to agree with the crowd
I agree that this is a social media problem, but who are these big accounts that are to blame? I always had the feeling that the problem was that there were a lot of mutually reinforcing accounts rather than a few big taste makers.
November 9, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I’m not going to name names but there are a lot of tastemaker accounts who see the crowd being aggressively wrong about something and instead of saying “Yeah, that’s wrong” step in to try to find a way to say “Well here’s why it’s half right.” The imperative is to find a way to agree with the crowd
Agree and disagree.
I think there is a lot of reactionary nostalgia on the left.
But I think part of the anger comes from consumers needing to be extra savvy to buy a quality, repairable good rather than an item posing as those things. There's a low trust consumer environment.
I think there is a lot of reactionary nostalgia on the left.
But I think part of the anger comes from consumers needing to be extra savvy to buy a quality, repairable good rather than an item posing as those things. There's a low trust consumer environment.
A large share of politics coded as “left” on this site is in fact reactionary nostalgia - an inchoate belief that times were better in the good old days and nebulous forces have taken that from us.
November 9, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Agree and disagree.
I think there is a lot of reactionary nostalgia on the left.
But I think part of the anger comes from consumers needing to be extra savvy to buy a quality, repairable good rather than an item posing as those things. There's a low trust consumer environment.
I think there is a lot of reactionary nostalgia on the left.
But I think part of the anger comes from consumers needing to be extra savvy to buy a quality, repairable good rather than an item posing as those things. There's a low trust consumer environment.
I think too many people don't understand what "accelerationism" is and why it doesn't make sense.
Just so we're on the same page, "I didn't vote for Kamala because I thought Trump winning would get us third parties faster" is accelerationism.
Just so we're on the same page, "I didn't vote for Kamala because I thought Trump winning would get us third parties faster" is accelerationism.
November 9, 2025 at 5:04 AM
I think too many people don't understand what "accelerationism" is and why it doesn't make sense.
Just so we're on the same page, "I didn't vote for Kamala because I thought Trump winning would get us third parties faster" is accelerationism.
Just so we're on the same page, "I didn't vote for Kamala because I thought Trump winning would get us third parties faster" is accelerationism.
Desperately want to see polling of people on social media where the questions are something like:
"If there's a global pandemic and a lot of people are temporarily unemployed, what should the president do?"
And then listing off options for what presidents of the past have actually done.
"If there's a global pandemic and a lot of people are temporarily unemployed, what should the president do?"
And then listing off options for what presidents of the past have actually done.
November 8, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Desperately want to see polling of people on social media where the questions are something like:
"If there's a global pandemic and a lot of people are temporarily unemployed, what should the president do?"
And then listing off options for what presidents of the past have actually done.
"If there's a global pandemic and a lot of people are temporarily unemployed, what should the president do?"
And then listing off options for what presidents of the past have actually done.
As the weather gets colder, damn it. Damn it damn it damn it.
November 8, 2025 at 12:20 AM
As the weather gets colder, damn it. Damn it damn it damn it.
I watched the 2020 The Stand miniseries over the past two days ~15 years after reading about 3/4 of the book while at Covance.
It suffers a common Stephen King problem--the good characters sound wooden, and the villains sound cartoonish--but if you can get over that, it's a good miniseries.
It suffers a common Stephen King problem--the good characters sound wooden, and the villains sound cartoonish--but if you can get over that, it's a good miniseries.
November 8, 2025 at 12:04 AM
I watched the 2020 The Stand miniseries over the past two days ~15 years after reading about 3/4 of the book while at Covance.
It suffers a common Stephen King problem--the good characters sound wooden, and the villains sound cartoonish--but if you can get over that, it's a good miniseries.
It suffers a common Stephen King problem--the good characters sound wooden, and the villains sound cartoonish--but if you can get over that, it's a good miniseries.
Going to be reading this, as I've been saying as nauseum that voters don't understand how inflation, recession and unemployment work/the relationship between them.
"The cost of all this success was a short, transitory burst of moderate inflation...& then the burst...stopped cold. It was over after the middle of 2022."
"I characterize 2024 as...a worldwide failure to break the misinformation system..."
All. Of. This.
In re: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
"I characterize 2024 as...a worldwide failure to break the misinformation system..."
All. Of. This.
In re: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
November 7, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Going to be reading this, as I've been saying as nauseum that voters don't understand how inflation, recession and unemployment work/the relationship between them.
If you don't know what causes inflation or recession, for the love of God, go find out before you have any more opinions about politics.
The pithiest way I can think of saying this is "Our party has let voters down. But voters have also let themselves down."
The pithiest way I can think of saying this is "Our party has let voters down. But voters have also let themselves down."
November 5, 2025 at 11:58 PM
If you don't know what causes inflation or recession, for the love of God, go find out before you have any more opinions about politics.
The pithiest way I can think of saying this is "Our party has let voters down. But voters have also let themselves down."
The pithiest way I can think of saying this is "Our party has let voters down. But voters have also let themselves down."
www.270towin.com/2026-state-p...
The most important dates for the future of the party.
If people have their eye on the ball for when they select their Democratic Party presidential candidate... Oh, man.
The most important dates for the future of the party.
If people have their eye on the ball for when they select their Democratic Party presidential candidate... Oh, man.
2026 Statewide Primary Calendar - 270toWin
Primary dates for the 2026 statewide elections. State primaries will be held for Senate, House and gubernatorial races. Link to live results on primary day.
www.270towin.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:51 PM
www.270towin.com/2026-state-p...
The most important dates for the future of the party.
If people have their eye on the ball for when they select their Democratic Party presidential candidate... Oh, man.
The most important dates for the future of the party.
If people have their eye on the ball for when they select their Democratic Party presidential candidate... Oh, man.
The interesting thing about the shutdown is that it's basically relitigating the ACA debate (again).
Republicans are trying to do the "they're enriching insurance companies" line (which is true), and people are asking Republicans why they haven't done anything to fix it.
Republicans are trying to do the "they're enriching insurance companies" line (which is true), and people are asking Republicans why they haven't done anything to fix it.
November 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM
The interesting thing about the shutdown is that it's basically relitigating the ACA debate (again).
Republicans are trying to do the "they're enriching insurance companies" line (which is true), and people are asking Republicans why they haven't done anything to fix it.
Republicans are trying to do the "they're enriching insurance companies" line (which is true), and people are asking Republicans why they haven't done anything to fix it.