Sam B. (he/him)
@sbarbour.bsky.social
Community college econ instructor; music nerd
Ruben Gallegos demonstrates the dilemma of American politics is that everyone wants improvements at the individual level but also for everything else to stay the same.
Everybody wants a big-ass truck; nobody wants to live in a reality where everyone drives a big-ass truck.
Everybody wants a big-ass truck; nobody wants to live in a reality where everyone drives a big-ass truck.
November 23, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Ruben Gallegos demonstrates the dilemma of American politics is that everyone wants improvements at the individual level but also for everything else to stay the same.
Everybody wants a big-ass truck; nobody wants to live in a reality where everyone drives a big-ass truck.
Everybody wants a big-ass truck; nobody wants to live in a reality where everyone drives a big-ass truck.
I saw the original once in the late 90's at the Rockwell Museum in western Massachusetts. I remember it really stood out (in part because of its sheer size), but it's an astonishing work.
November 17, 2025 at 6:54 PM
I saw the original once in the late 90's at the Rockwell Museum in western Massachusetts. I remember it really stood out (in part because of its sheer size), but it's an astonishing work.
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
From someone on the ground STOP USING AI
October 12, 2025 at 2:36 AM
From someone on the ground STOP USING AI
I read through Weiss's ten principles that she presented as guiding journalism at CBS under her leadership and it came across as "we'll be fair and objective."
Provocative columnist Bari Weiss publicly quit the New York Times in 2020, then cofounded The Free Press as an alternative to legacy media. Here's what to know as she takes the helm of CBS News.
Who is Bari Weiss? CBS News' new editor-in-chief is a vocal critic of legacy media
Provocative columnist Bari Weiss publicly quit the New York Times in 2020, then cofounded The Free Press as an alternative to legacy media. Here's what to know as she takes the helm of CBS News.
n.pr
October 11, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I read through Weiss's ten principles that she presented as guiding journalism at CBS under her leadership and it came across as "we'll be fair and objective."
"Wealthy people funding universities, funding science, funding our future."
That's it. That's the strategy.
That's it. That's the strategy.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
Many U.S. universities embody “a culture of victimhood — a glorification of victimhood — that is ultimately bad for Western civilization and bad for the country,” May Mailman says to Ross Douthat on this episode of “Interesting Times.”
Many U.S. universities embody “a culture of victimhood — a glorification of victimhood — that is ultimately bad for Western civilization and bad for the country,” May Mailman says to Ross Douthat on this episode of “Interesting Times.”
Opinion | The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Crackdown on Academia
Ending the “culture of victimhood” on campus.
nyti.ms
September 26, 2025 at 5:17 AM
"Wealthy people funding universities, funding science, funding our future."
That's it. That's the strategy.
That's it. That's the strategy.
It dawned on me this morning that the "glorification of victimhood" that so irks conservatives is basically about the use of pathos to counteract domination - i.e., it's harder to bully people when they can call on the empathy of their peers.
September 25, 2025 at 12:43 PM
It dawned on me this morning that the "glorification of victimhood" that so irks conservatives is basically about the use of pathos to counteract domination - i.e., it's harder to bully people when they can call on the empathy of their peers.
The raspberry at the end of that song always gives me a laugh.
September 18, 2025 at 8:19 PM
The raspberry at the end of that song always gives me a laugh.
This passage from Ezra Klein's interview with Ben Shapiro seems like an exactly wrongheaded view of religion, but also a fair representation of American conservatism - it's basically "good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people."
September 17, 2025 at 4:31 AM
This passage from Ezra Klein's interview with Ben Shapiro seems like an exactly wrongheaded view of religion, but also a fair representation of American conservatism - it's basically "good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people."
I've wanted to be able to use the WS-PS model in the classroom, but have always had a hard time setting up the math. And today I finally figured out that you have to set labor productivity equal to Okun's coefficient (at least, I think that's right).
September 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
I've wanted to be able to use the WS-PS model in the classroom, but have always had a hard time setting up the math. And today I finally figured out that you have to set labor productivity equal to Okun's coefficient (at least, I think that's right).
The New Deal Order ends with a whimper, Social Security, Medicare, the NLRB, all paved over to make way for shareholders.
Interaction w government will require access through the internet, and access to services will slowly diminish - made into a labyrinth of algorithms and AI chatbots.
/4
Interaction w government will require access through the internet, and access to services will slowly diminish - made into a labyrinth of algorithms and AI chatbots.
/4
September 7, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The New Deal Order ends with a whimper, Social Security, Medicare, the NLRB, all paved over to make way for shareholders.
Interaction w government will require access through the internet, and access to services will slowly diminish - made into a labyrinth of algorithms and AI chatbots.
/4
Interaction w government will require access through the internet, and access to services will slowly diminish - made into a labyrinth of algorithms and AI chatbots.
/4
Where I see this going is towards austerity. Trump comes along and creates chaos, and then a desperate, terrified populace willingly goes along with the demolition of public goods - "yes, please, Hoover was right all along, just call off the goon squads!"
/3
/3
September 7, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Where I see this going is towards austerity. Trump comes along and creates chaos, and then a desperate, terrified populace willingly goes along with the demolition of public goods - "yes, please, Hoover was right all along, just call off the goon squads!"
/3
/3
The Trump administration is, in many ways, just the continuation of a theme of slowly accumulated power into private hands in the US - he has cloaked himself in populism to amass power in the same way the Bush first administration did - but I think claims of the end of liberalism are premature.
/2
/2
September 7, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The Trump administration is, in many ways, just the continuation of a theme of slowly accumulated power into private hands in the US - he has cloaked himself in populism to amass power in the same way the Bush first administration did - but I think claims of the end of liberalism are premature.
/2
/2
Reading Klein this morning I had a couple of thoughts: 1) part of the problem that elected Democrats (and Klein) face is that Republicans can plausibly claim hypocrisy in response by saying that Dems are bought and paid for by private interests; and 2) I think we're missing the bigger picture.
/1
/1
September 7, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reading Klein this morning I had a couple of thoughts: 1) part of the problem that elected Democrats (and Klein) face is that Republicans can plausibly claim hypocrisy in response by saying that Dems are bought and paid for by private interests; and 2) I think we're missing the bigger picture.
/1
/1
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
New in PN: @itsafronomics.bsky.social on why Trump's attack on Lisa Cook is an attack on Black women & Black economists
"In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"
"In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"
Trump's attack on Lisa Cook is an attack on Black women
We all stand to lose if he gets away with it.
www.publicnotice.co
September 6, 2025 at 4:41 PM
New in PN: @itsafronomics.bsky.social on why Trump's attack on Lisa Cook is an attack on Black women & Black economists
"In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"
"In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"
I'm glad she's standing up for herself. Every economist in the country should stand behind her.
August 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM
I'm glad she's standing up for herself. Every economist in the country should stand behind her.
Liberty means "not a slave." You can't understand Liberty, or freedom, if you like, without understanding slavery.
in the end liberalism is the philosophy of freedom. it speaks to our deepest aspirations to chart the course of our own lives--and, i think, helps us to understand what it means to be free, *really* free animals, in a world where that is no simple thing
August 18, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Liberty means "not a slave." You can't understand Liberty, or freedom, if you like, without understanding slavery.
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
As agents patrol popular areas in the nation’s capital, many Black residents are worried about being over overpoliced.
Black D.C. Residents Say Trump’s Tactics Bring More Fear, Not Safety
As agents patrol popular areas in the nation’s capital, many Black residents are worried about being over overpoliced.
capitalbnews.org
August 14, 2025 at 10:04 PM
As agents patrol popular areas in the nation’s capital, many Black residents are worried about being over overpoliced.
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
But wait, there's more!
'Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country... mainly from China'
And ofc no one knows how "transshipment" will be defined
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
'Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country... mainly from China'
And ofc no one knows how "transshipment" will be defined
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Trump’s 40% Penalty for Tariff Dodging Missing Key Details
President Donald Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country, a punishment aimed at stopping goods main...
www.bloomberg.com
August 2, 2025 at 2:07 AM
But wait, there's more!
'Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country... mainly from China'
And ofc no one knows how "transshipment" will be defined
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
'Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country... mainly from China'
And ofc no one knows how "transshipment" will be defined
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Rahm makes a perfect candidate for 2028: he reestablishes elite liberal rule by running austerity policy and putting progressives in their place while dialing back the worst excesses of the Trump administration (which, by then, will be pretty fucking bad).
I mean, I won't vote for him either...
I mean, I won't vote for him either...
July 22, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Rahm makes a perfect candidate for 2028: he reestablishes elite liberal rule by running austerity policy and putting progressives in their place while dialing back the worst excesses of the Trump administration (which, by then, will be pretty fucking bad).
I mean, I won't vote for him either...
I mean, I won't vote for him either...
I teach economics (at a community college), often online. I give them applied problem solving assignments that I walk through in posted videos and grade for completion. Most students turn in pictures of handwritten work. Not AI proof, at least I know they're paying attention.
July 15, 2025 at 7:01 PM
I teach economics (at a community college), often online. I give them applied problem solving assignments that I walk through in posted videos and grade for completion. Most students turn in pictures of handwritten work. Not AI proof, at least I know they're paying attention.
No, MAGA wants a return to pre-1929, when California farm labor was easily exploitable non-citizens. When the Okies got out there it was a problem - white people are sympathetic characters in a way foreigners are not.
July 8, 2025 at 5:58 PM
No, MAGA wants a return to pre-1929, when California farm labor was easily exploitable non-citizens. When the Okies got out there it was a problem - white people are sympathetic characters in a way foreigners are not.
There's some good analysis here, but it does not address a key question with regards to domination: how do you overcome the desire for hierarchy enforced by violence?
Today in "@ksabeelrahman.bsky.social says what I want to say only better."
lpeproject.org/blog/anti-do...
lpeproject.org/blog/anti-do...
Anti-Domination and the Future of Progressive Administration
The Trump administration is simultaneously dismantling, weaponizing, and centralizing state capacities in order to enact a reactionary vision of administration — one which seeks to roll back efforts…
lpeproject.org
June 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
There's some good analysis here, but it does not address a key question with regards to domination: how do you overcome the desire for hierarchy enforced by violence?