John McLaren

@johnmclaren.bsky.social

2.4K followers 860 following 1.7K posts

Economist, classical music nerd, and family man.

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Economics 44%

Political science 23%

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John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · Apr 4

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)

Reposted by Anna O. Law, John McLaren, Jonathan M. Gilligan , and 6 more Anna O. Law, John McLaren, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Smith, Silvia Secchi, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, Elizabeth Stevenson, Karen L. Cox, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Becky Hammer @beckyhammer.bsky.social · 12h

Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming

Reposted by Will Jennings, John McLaren

Sean T. Collins @seantcollins.com · 12h

I'm hardly the first person to note this, but it's enormously instructive that our President and his followers saw the message "THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE" and understood it, correctly, as an attack on them

Miller @milleryoho.bsky.social · 13h

What a moment.

Shot from the stands of the Bad Bunny halftime show.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 20h

Oh, I chuckled at this. It’s my dark secret. Hehehehe.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 20h

This is inverse Animal Farm stuff.

"Thanks to the leadership of Comrade Napoleon, how excellent this water tastes!"

https://genius.com/George-orwell-animal-farm-chapter-8-annotated

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 21h

Trump in the speech where he announced his candidacy in 2016, describing Mexicans: “They’re rapists.”

Yeah, it’s pretty simple.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 22h

I usually have to do a lot of last-minute gift shopping for King-Taejong-Falling-Off-His-Horse Day but this time I got an early start! Happy KTFOHH Day!

Reposted by Rebecca Solnit, John McLaren, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 2 more Rebecca Solnit, John McLaren, Rosemary A. Joyce, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

Trump is badly losing the war over ICE, not just on the streets, but also in the culture. As Bad Bunny shows, this has become a culture war unto itself. Trump-MAGA's initial hubris has been utterly deflated.

I've got fresh data illustrating the point. 1/

(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2062...

Trump Rages at Bad Bunny—and Accidentally Exposes a Big MAGA Weakness

MAGA’s hatred of the Super Bowl halftime performer reflects a hubris about what parts of the culture are “theirs.” But those assumptions are proving more wrong every day.

newrepublic.com

Reposted by John McLaren, Duncan Bell, Christine Kooi , and 2 more John McLaren, Duncan Bell, Christine Kooi, Klaus Oschema, James A. Benn

Sam Ottewill-Soulsby @samottewillsoulsby.bsky.social · 1d

Never forget the anniversary of King Taejong falling off his horse!

Screenshot from Tumblr

User hatingongodot:

“In 1404, King Taejong fell from his horse during a hunting expedition. Embarrassed, looking to his left and right, he commanded, “Do not let the historian find out about this.” To his disappointment, the historian accompanying the hunting party included these words in the annals, in addition to a description of the king’s fall.“

LMFAOOOOOO rip to that guy

User Shitacademicswrite:

i thought maybe this was fake, but there’s even a citation!

Taejong Sillok Book 7. 5th year of King Taejong’s Reign (1404), February 8.

Reposted by Joe R. Feagin, John McLaren, Robert W. Wallace , and 1 more Joe R. Feagin, John McLaren, Robert W. Wallace, Olivier Mannoni

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

“.. This is a 37 point shift left.”

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

He’s not describing discrimination. He’s describing competition.

He’s very, very angry that people were not discriminating against the Haitians in favor of his White family.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

Wow. Increased by a factor of 20 over three years. Pretty good rate of return.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

THESASSY SIXTH.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

Even Trent would have looked at Trump’s video and said “Whoa, dude, that’s really racist!!”

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

We actually need those people. The hated “illegals” are doing essential work to keep our economy going. The reason they are here is that there is demand for their labor.

I wish we had a national politician to speak up for immigration reform to create a way for those folks to be here legally.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

Sounds right.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

Someone explain to me how denying a mainstream outlet to Nazis they they use to recruit and radicalize people every day would *make the problem worse.*

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

“I just want to make it clear that we don’t like Nazis either – we wish no one held those views… But some people do hold those and other extreme views. Given that, we don’t think that censorship (including through demonetising publications) makes the problem go away – in fact, it makes it worse.

Reposted by John McLaren

johnedwinmason @johnedwinmason.bsky.social · 1d

JD Vane's holiday at the Winter Olympics is insane on so many levels: 14 aircraft, a 100-vehicle motorcade, the contempt it shows for everyday taxpayers... (And, yes, bringing food to Italy is nuts. Eat well while you're there & smuggle cheese & olive oil home in your luggage.)

HockeyBroad @hockeybroad.bsky.social · 2d

Not only did they bring a small private army, but among the waste of taxpayer money was BRINGING A FULL PLANE OF FOOD.

To *Italy*.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

I did check to see if they mention anyone named “Katz,” and you know the answer.

It’s actually good that this issue is getting attention in the mainstream press — the more the better. But they are *very* late, and it is odd that they don’t acknowledge the work that has been done on this.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Nicholas A. Christakis, Linda J. Skitka , and 8 more Kim L. Scheppele, Nicholas A. Christakis, Linda J. Skitka, John McLaren, Eric Goldman, Aaron Sojourner, Mark Rice, Ann Bartow, Matthew Bodie, Prokla Redaktion, Nicole Guenther Discenza

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

You should read this. It is the type of detail that experts in authoritarian regimes see as telling.
In this case, state agents are offered impunity from higher ups, and the legal system is rendered inoperative as a mode of accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...

Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by John McLaren

Sally Duncan @sallyforsupervisor.bsky.social · 1d

I just spent an hour reading through various bills and trying to find news articles about them - this looks so much better 😅 but oh my goodness 👀👀👀 there are some very encouraging bills on the table.

Lyle Solla-Yates @lyle.cville.online.ap.brid.gy · 1d

I have been having difficulty keeping all of the different housing legislation being considered this year in Virginia in my head so I am very happy to find this resource https://vahousingalliance.org/legislative-tracker/ #housing #virginia #valeg #Inflation #shortage

State Legislative Trackers - Virginia Housing Alliance

Legislative Trackers

vahousingalliance.org

Reposted by John McLaren

Lyle Solla-Yates @lyle.cville.online.ap.brid.gy · 1d

State Legislative Trackers - Virginia Housing Alliance

Legislative Trackers

vahousingalliance.org

Reposted by John McLaren, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Ann Bartow

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2d

this is so funny, god bless louise lucas, Hero of the Commonwealth

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 2d

I’m guessing it’s a false alarm. There’s been no update on the Cville ICE watch site.

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 2d

A Charlottesville friend sent me this screenshot today (Friday, February 6).

Anyone hear anything like this going on?

Social media post (maybe Facebook):

Sylvia Chong
...

4h • 8:
UVA folks, I just heard rumors that ICE is on our campus monitoring dorms where students of color congregate. Is anyone else aware of this?

10 comments
• Send
Sylvia Chong
Hi all, to be clear, I cannot confirm or deny the validity of this sighting. A friend directed me here to where people are trying to keep track of these things: https://
cvilleicewatch.wordpress.com/
Cville ICE Watch
cvilleicewatch.wordpress.com

John McLaren @johnmclaren.bsky.social · 2d

That baseline is truly frightening.

Reposted by Steve Peers, John McLaren, Fabián Muniesa , and 4 more Steve Peers, John McLaren, Fabián Muniesa, Anders Nilsson, Daniel Kuehn, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Carlos Carroll

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Mamdani announces a new executive order protecting New Yorkers from "abusive immigration enforcement," including requiring ICE to have a judicial warrant to enter NYC property