Chris McLaren
@chrismclaren.com
I do not care to listen; obloquy injures my self-esteem and I am skeptical of praise.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Goddamnit.
God fucking damnit.
God fucking damnit.
NEW: The FDA just shot down Moderna's new flu shot. From me:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
FDA declines to review Moderna application for new flu vaccine
Moderna requests meeting to discuss refusal as decision could have implications for all new and updated vaccines
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Goddamnit.
God fucking damnit.
God fucking damnit.
Me & Jim Butcher agree on this: "None of us own our children. We have a little while to hold them in trust, before we turn them over to the adults we’ve been waiting a couple of decades to meet."
People who think children are their property (even at 23??) are broken in a deep way.
People who think children are their property (even at 23??) are broken in a deep way.
A MAGA freak in Texas murdered his own daughter in cold blood after they had an argument about Trump.
A grand jury in the Dallas area then *declined to indict him*, and he has not yet faced charges.
Seems like many Texans believe a man has the right to kill his own child for disobedience.
A grand jury in the Dallas area then *declined to indict him*, and he has not yet faced charges.
Seems like many Texans believe a man has the right to kill his own child for disobedience.
British Woman shot by dad in Texas after 'arguing about Donald Trump'
Lucy Harrison, 23, was alone in a bedroom at her father's home in Texas when she was shot dead.
www.bbc.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:47 AM
Me & Jim Butcher agree on this: "None of us own our children. We have a little while to hold them in trust, before we turn them over to the adults we’ve been waiting a couple of decades to meet."
People who think children are their property (even at 23??) are broken in a deep way.
People who think children are their property (even at 23??) are broken in a deep way.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Everyone here has had to decide what they will and won’t do. Will you take someone in your house? Will you bring them groceries? Will you patrol streets with a whistle? Will you do some other kind of work, of which there are many. And how many of these types.
Friends from Minneapolis reporting to me that things are at the point where folks are being hidden in other people's houses and we are in the "again" part of "never again" which the "never" was supposed to preclude
February 11, 2026 at 12:05 AM
Everyone here has had to decide what they will and won’t do. Will you take someone in your house? Will you bring them groceries? Will you patrol streets with a whistle? Will you do some other kind of work, of which there are many. And how many of these types.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
My regular work rotation includes folk/traditional fusion musics from Siberia, Mongolia, Japan, Aotearoa, Nigeria, and Brazil, in addition to northern Europe, North America, and the Caribbean.
Music is good. It's fundamentally human.
It's up there with "Food" and "Doing it."
Music is good. It's fundamentally human.
It's up there with "Food" and "Doing it."
February 10, 2026 at 11:17 PM
My regular work rotation includes folk/traditional fusion musics from Siberia, Mongolia, Japan, Aotearoa, Nigeria, and Brazil, in addition to northern Europe, North America, and the Caribbean.
Music is good. It's fundamentally human.
It's up there with "Food" and "Doing it."
Music is good. It's fundamentally human.
It's up there with "Food" and "Doing it."
The stock market was a guessing game when it was just stocks. But it was at least a game based on how good a company was at doing something. Add in all the derivatives and financializations that the Evil Math Nerds have cooked up, and it's still a game, but w/o the goals of being good at something.
February 10, 2026 at 11:56 PM
The stock market was a guessing game when it was just stocks. But it was at least a game based on how good a company was at doing something. Add in all the derivatives and financializations that the Evil Math Nerds have cooked up, and it's still a game, but w/o the goals of being good at something.
Age verification? As a teenager I crossed the Berlin Wall for an educational trip "behind the Iron Curtain".
Age verification? I used to make calls from Chinatown pay phones shaped like little pagodas.
Age verification? I used to record music off the radio with cassette tapes.
February 10, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Age verification? As a teenager I crossed the Berlin Wall for an educational trip "behind the Iron Curtain".
Well, I guess that package in the mail settles the "what to read tonight" question. Ford always goes directly to the top of the pile.
February 10, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Well, I guess that package in the mail settles the "what to read tonight" question. Ford always goes directly to the top of the pile.
Was reading this years-old article and thinking about what novels have made me laugh the most. This might be distinct, I think, from what are the funniest ones, since laughing is about both the book and the me at the time I read them.
1/3
1/3
'I fell out of bed laughing': writers on their favourite funny book
Nina Stibbe, David Nicholls, Bridget Christie and others reveal the books that made them laugh the most
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Was reading this years-old article and thinking about what novels have made me laugh the most. This might be distinct, I think, from what are the funniest ones, since laughing is about both the book and the me at the time I read them.
1/3
1/3
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Listen to this. Not a penny more for this. Abolish and prosecute anyone who had anything to do with it.
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
February 10, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Listen to this. Not a penny more for this. Abolish and prosecute anyone who had anything to do with it.
Technically instruments of war in some countries.
This sort of thing is _what they are for_. Badass.
This sort of thing is _what they are for_. Badass.
Jack Duffy attaches a respirator to his bagpipes to play through tear gas. “I always play it whenever the police retreat because it's like, ‘You fucking ran while we stayed,’” he says.
The full story: lataco.com/protest-bagp...
By Julianne Le
The full story: lataco.com/protest-bagp...
By Julianne Le
February 10, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Technically instruments of war in some countries.
This sort of thing is _what they are for_. Badass.
This sort of thing is _what they are for_. Badass.
Every god-damned time.
Said it before, will say it again: "I'm not saying the concept of private equity should be made illegal, but I am saying that several of the common things PE funds do should be."
Said it before, will say it again: "I'm not saying the concept of private equity should be made illegal, but I am saying that several of the common things PE funds do should be."
February 10, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Every god-damned time.
Said it before, will say it again: "I'm not saying the concept of private equity should be made illegal, but I am saying that several of the common things PE funds do should be."
Said it before, will say it again: "I'm not saying the concept of private equity should be made illegal, but I am saying that several of the common things PE funds do should be."
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Make Art (1/4)
February 10, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Make Art (1/4)
Reposted by Chris McLaren
This is a policy choice.
The Wall Street Journal just illustrated the core argument of my book: a system rigged to reward capital over labor is one in which even full-time work no longer secures the most basic material needs.
This is the economic order that produces the "working homeless."
www.wsj.com/economy/jobs...
This is the economic order that produces the "working homeless."
www.wsj.com/economy/jobs...
February 10, 2026 at 4:31 PM
This is a policy choice.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
A thought for 2026: "If you think technology will solve your problems you don't understand technology - and you don't understand your problems."
—Laurie Anderson
—Laurie Anderson
February 10, 2026 at 5:19 PM
A thought for 2026: "If you think technology will solve your problems you don't understand technology - and you don't understand your problems."
—Laurie Anderson
—Laurie Anderson
Rage farmers don't build anything, they just tear down. They don't even build resilient community.
The sad thing with Adams is that there was a time in the 90s when DILBERT was beloved among the internet boom / software company crowd, and if he'd died then he'd be well-remembered and kindly.
The sad thing with Adams is that there was a time in the 90s when DILBERT was beloved among the internet boom / software company crowd, and if he'd died then he'd be well-remembered and kindly.
I was thinking how when Scott Adams was about to go and rightwingers were saying “you have no idea what impact it’s going to have when Scott Adams dies, he was loved by millions” and then he just died and nothing happened. These ghouls just disappear when they stop talking
Remember when Charlie Kirk got shot and the right was like "THIS IS CIVIL WAR!" and three weeks later he was completely forgotten about? That's going to be most all the rest of these assholes too
February 10, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Rage farmers don't build anything, they just tear down. They don't even build resilient community.
The sad thing with Adams is that there was a time in the 90s when DILBERT was beloved among the internet boom / software company crowd, and if he'd died then he'd be well-remembered and kindly.
The sad thing with Adams is that there was a time in the 90s when DILBERT was beloved among the internet boom / software company crowd, and if he'd died then he'd be well-remembered and kindly.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
A certain category of my fellow white people (cough MAGA/white supremacists cough) are really 100% in the cut off own nose to spite face camp.
There's a chilling case study on basically this in DYING OF WHITENESS by physician Jonathan Metzl, a book I think all white Americans should read.
There's a chilling case study on basically this in DYING OF WHITENESS by physician Jonathan Metzl, a book I think all white Americans should read.
The most common age for a Black person in the USA, is ~27 years old.
The most common age for a white person in the USA, is ~58 years old.
Old people need more healthcare.
So you would think that white people in the US would prefer policies that lead to more nurses and providers?
But no.🤷🏿♂️
The most common age for a white person in the USA, is ~58 years old.
Old people need more healthcare.
So you would think that white people in the US would prefer policies that lead to more nurses and providers?
But no.🤷🏿♂️
More immigration into the US raises the number of health care workers and saves the lives of older Americans, from David C. Grabowski, Jonathan Gruber, and Brian E. McGarry www.nber.org/papers/w34791
February 10, 2026 at 2:42 PM
A certain category of my fellow white people (cough MAGA/white supremacists cough) are really 100% in the cut off own nose to spite face camp.
There's a chilling case study on basically this in DYING OF WHITENESS by physician Jonathan Metzl, a book I think all white Americans should read.
There's a chilling case study on basically this in DYING OF WHITENESS by physician Jonathan Metzl, a book I think all white Americans should read.
Check me on this, but if they had done so much deporting of people who are, in their words, "stealing our jobs" then shouldn't the unemployment numbers look better? I.e. more people in work?
Their hate is transparent, but so is the blatant irrationality of their excuses.
Their hate is transparent, but so is the blatant irrationality of their excuses.
The real news here is Peter Navarro saying lower jobs numbers *are good* because they (supposedly) indicate fewer immigrants are working in the US. Trump-MAGA ideology values sheer numbers of removals over pretty much all else because their top priority is ethnic reengineering.
Peter Navarro: "The jobs report comes out tomorrow. We have to revise our expectations down significantly for what a monthly job number should look like ... Wall Street has to adjust for the fact that we're deporting millions of illegals out of the job market."
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Check me on this, but if they had done so much deporting of people who are, in their words, "stealing our jobs" then shouldn't the unemployment numbers look better? I.e. more people in work?
Their hate is transparent, but so is the blatant irrationality of their excuses.
Their hate is transparent, but so is the blatant irrationality of their excuses.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Also, you will no longer be permitted to wear Roots sweatshirts. Tragically Hip CDs will become contraband. The maple syrup reserve will be transported to Beijing. And you will have to buy your milk *in cartons*
Trump, in the middle of his latest unhinged Truth Social screed, claims that if Canada makes a trade deal with China, "the first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup."
February 10, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Also, you will no longer be permitted to wear Roots sweatshirts. Tragically Hip CDs will become contraband. The maple syrup reserve will be transported to Beijing. And you will have to buy your milk *in cartons*
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Erin: Claire, help us with something. Is Erika Kirk fit, so?
Claire: I can't really tell, I'm not sure I've been gay long enough to tell with Americans. I'm real sorry.
James (fake casually): She's, she's alright
Michelle: You're embarrassing yourself, which I don't care about, and me, which I do
Claire: I can't really tell, I'm not sure I've been gay long enough to tell with Americans. I'm real sorry.
James (fake casually): She's, she's alright
Michelle: You're embarrassing yourself, which I don't care about, and me, which I do
American conservative Erika Kirk is expected to visit Northern Ireland as part of a tour to recruit young people to Turning Point, the organisation founded by her murdered husband.
Widow of murdered US activist Charlie Kirk to recruit students on NI visit
Ex-DUP MP Ian Paisley backing plan to launch branch of Christian-right group Turning Point here
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
February 10, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Erin: Claire, help us with something. Is Erika Kirk fit, so?
Claire: I can't really tell, I'm not sure I've been gay long enough to tell with Americans. I'm real sorry.
James (fake casually): She's, she's alright
Michelle: You're embarrassing yourself, which I don't care about, and me, which I do
Claire: I can't really tell, I'm not sure I've been gay long enough to tell with Americans. I'm real sorry.
James (fake casually): She's, she's alright
Michelle: You're embarrassing yourself, which I don't care about, and me, which I do
Reposted by Chris McLaren
In the future we're gonna look back at online gambling and prediction markets in the same way we look now at cigarettes on airplanes and lead-based paint
www.wsj.com/business/med...
www.wsj.com/business/med...
February 10, 2026 at 2:38 AM
In the future we're gonna look back at online gambling and prediction markets in the same way we look now at cigarettes on airplanes and lead-based paint
www.wsj.com/business/med...
www.wsj.com/business/med...
Reposted by Chris McLaren
"On matters cogitational I'm mean and mode and medium
Master of small talk of flavours trite and rich with tedium
On Quetelet's account I'm pure garden variety
An exemplary instance of neurotypicality"
Master of small talk of flavours trite and rich with tedium
On Quetelet's account I'm pure garden variety
An exemplary instance of neurotypicality"
‘I am the very model of a modern neurotypical’ - is this anything?
February 10, 2026 at 2:07 PM
"On matters cogitational I'm mean and mode and medium
Master of small talk of flavours trite and rich with tedium
On Quetelet's account I'm pure garden variety
An exemplary instance of neurotypicality"
Master of small talk of flavours trite and rich with tedium
On Quetelet's account I'm pure garden variety
An exemplary instance of neurotypicality"
NGL, there's a 7-year-old inside my head (how old I was when I saw Empire in the theatre) right now running around making light saber noises.
February 10, 2026 at 1:45 PM
NGL, there's a 7-year-old inside my head (how old I was when I saw Empire in the theatre) right now running around making light saber noises.
TFW when you see a character actor on TV, who you've seen in 1000 things, and thinking "I haven't seen that guy in a while"... and then when you look it up they've been dead for multiple decades.
Anyway, pour one out for Jack Elam, who added a unique flavour to everything he was in.
Anyway, pour one out for Jack Elam, who added a unique flavour to everything he was in.
February 10, 2026 at 2:17 AM
TFW when you see a character actor on TV, who you've seen in 1000 things, and thinking "I haven't seen that guy in a while"... and then when you look it up they've been dead for multiple decades.
Anyway, pour one out for Jack Elam, who added a unique flavour to everything he was in.
Anyway, pour one out for Jack Elam, who added a unique flavour to everything he was in.
Surely I can fire up this Runequest Warlords game I just bought and mess with it just over lunch, without affecting my productivity for the rest of the day. Surely.
February 9, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Surely I can fire up this Runequest Warlords game I just bought and mess with it just over lunch, without affecting my productivity for the rest of the day. Surely.
Reposted by Chris McLaren
Yeah I piqued in high school. I was like “oh that looks interesting” and then I was like “tell me more about that”
February 9, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Yeah I piqued in high school. I was like “oh that looks interesting” and then I was like “tell me more about that”