Connor Stedman
@connorstedman.bsky.social
Land, ag, climate, systems thinking, history. A Holocene, if you can keep it.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
He has broken his allegiance to the United States of America, defiled the Republic for which our flag stands, treated his political opponents as a different nation, killed and supplanted God, relentlessly divided us, and I don't think the "liberty and justice for all" line requires my comment.
November 11, 2025 at 1:51 AM
He has broken his allegiance to the United States of America, defiled the Republic for which our flag stands, treated his political opponents as a different nation, killed and supplanted God, relentlessly divided us, and I don't think the "liberty and justice for all" line requires my comment.
The sheer scale of California ag is just mind boggling. It produces, by itself, 3/4ths of the country’s fruits and nuts, almost half of all its vegetables, *and* it’s the #1 dairy producing state.
California alone produces a third of all the food America eats. So this is a lie.
But let’s break down the food produced by the red states:
Guess what percent is harvested by people from Latin America?
But let’s break down the food produced by the red states:
Guess what percent is harvested by people from Latin America?
November 11, 2025 at 1:36 AM
The sheer scale of California ag is just mind boggling. It produces, by itself, 3/4ths of the country’s fruits and nuts, almost half of all its vegetables, *and* it’s the #1 dairy producing state.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
November 10, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by Connor Stedman
The most powerful question a journalist could ask of the rich and powerful is "what do you mean by that?" with the tenacity of a kid asking "why?"
Which is why they don't.
Which is why they don't.
July 16, 2025 at 8:34 AM
The most powerful question a journalist could ask of the rich and powerful is "what do you mean by that?" with the tenacity of a kid asking "why?"
Which is why they don't.
Which is why they don't.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
I am once again saying that we saw what wall to wall, panic coverage of a crisis looked like after the Biden debate and there’s no reason Trump isn’t getting that kind of coverage except for class solidarity.
So the oldest person ever to become president keeps falling asleep in his office during public events and there’s no big public discussion on how this is a coverup or how republicans are lying to us about how this government is running?
November 9, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I am once again saying that we saw what wall to wall, panic coverage of a crisis looked like after the Biden debate and there’s no reason Trump isn’t getting that kind of coverage except for class solidarity.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
Went back to the history of the Sicilian Mafia to illustrate something obvious but worth stating explicitly: The Trump administration behaves like an organized crime syndicate running a protection racket, not a representative government www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
November 8, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Went back to the history of the Sicilian Mafia to illustrate something obvious but worth stating explicitly: The Trump administration behaves like an organized crime syndicate running a protection racket, not a representative government www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Connor Stedman
It's actually not swindling to tell people what they want to hear if you actually intend on doing those things. Swindling would be something like, just for example, announcing a fake Hyperloop system solely to kill California's high speed rail initiative.
November 8, 2025 at 11:57 AM
It's actually not swindling to tell people what they want to hear if you actually intend on doing those things. Swindling would be something like, just for example, announcing a fake Hyperloop system solely to kill California's high speed rail initiative.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
ryan is right. people HATE hearing this. but it is just a matter of simple incentives. if you want a more representative legislature — and if you want a legislature more resistant to corruption — then you need to jack up the salaries. serving as mayor of NYC should net you a cool 500K *at least*
people hate hearing this but it's 100% true, creating a huge pay gap between political leaders, their staffs, and other elites is a recipe for corruption. of course the flip side of that is taxes on the rich should be jacked way the hell up
The Mayor of New York only makes $260k. I bet there are police that make more than that in NY with overtime.
We need to pay elected leaders more money and stop pretending it's some sort of calling. They're managing hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and millions of people's lives.
We need to pay elected leaders more money and stop pretending it's some sort of calling. They're managing hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and millions of people's lives.
November 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
ryan is right. people HATE hearing this. but it is just a matter of simple incentives. if you want a more representative legislature — and if you want a legislature more resistant to corruption — then you need to jack up the salaries. serving as mayor of NYC should net you a cool 500K *at least*
Reposted by Connor Stedman
high salaries and robust public funding for elections
November 7, 2025 at 3:44 PM
high salaries and robust public funding for elections
Reposted by Connor Stedman
people hate hearing this but it's 100% true, creating a huge pay gap between political leaders, their staffs, and other elites is a recipe for corruption. of course the flip side of that is taxes on the rich should be jacked way the hell up
The Mayor of New York only makes $260k. I bet there are police that make more than that in NY with overtime.
We need to pay elected leaders more money and stop pretending it's some sort of calling. They're managing hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and millions of people's lives.
We need to pay elected leaders more money and stop pretending it's some sort of calling. They're managing hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and millions of people's lives.
November 7, 2025 at 3:24 PM
people hate hearing this but it's 100% true, creating a huge pay gap between political leaders, their staffs, and other elites is a recipe for corruption. of course the flip side of that is taxes on the rich should be jacked way the hell up
Reposted by Connor Stedman
New, on Heat Death! Come for a bit of deep-cut Asher Lore! Stay for nature writer Marin Scotten's excellent dive into suburbia, the history of forest conservation, and the long — and increasingly futile — war against fire!
The Suburbs Sprawl on a Grave of Wildfire
A crusade against nature made American development possible — and doomed.
heat-death.ghost.io
November 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
New, on Heat Death! Come for a bit of deep-cut Asher Lore! Stay for nature writer Marin Scotten's excellent dive into suburbia, the history of forest conservation, and the long — and increasingly futile — war against fire!
Reposted by Connor Stedman
When deception’s more profitable than honesty, users lose.
Internal documents suggest that Meta earns $3.5B(!) every 6 mo. from scam ads, revealing a deeper systemic problem: the economic incentive to tolerate “higher legal risk” content still outweighs any penalty. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Internal documents suggest that Meta earns $3.5B(!) every 6 mo. from scam ads, revealing a deeper systemic problem: the economic incentive to tolerate “higher legal risk” content still outweighs any penalty. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, and it internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day, company documents show.
www.reuters.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:14 AM
When deception’s more profitable than honesty, users lose.
Internal documents suggest that Meta earns $3.5B(!) every 6 mo. from scam ads, revealing a deeper systemic problem: the economic incentive to tolerate “higher legal risk” content still outweighs any penalty. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Internal documents suggest that Meta earns $3.5B(!) every 6 mo. from scam ads, revealing a deeper systemic problem: the economic incentive to tolerate “higher legal risk” content still outweighs any penalty. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Connor Stedman
The focus of green messaging on consumers in the West misses the point that for long-term projects where return on investment is calculated over decades, green more than makes up for any higher initial cost.
This is why large developers need little convincing compared to individual households.
This is why large developers need little convincing compared to individual households.
The US is the world's largest oil and gas producer. Yet, "China is now making more money from exporting green technology than America makes from exporting fossil fuels."
China’s clean-energy revolution will reshape markets and politics
The world’s biggest manufacturer now has an interest in the world decarbonising
www.economist.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:38 AM
The focus of green messaging on consumers in the West misses the point that for long-term projects where return on investment is calculated over decades, green more than makes up for any higher initial cost.
This is why large developers need little convincing compared to individual households.
This is why large developers need little convincing compared to individual households.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
The story is that global emissions are GROWING and concentrations are at levels the planet has not seen in 3 million years, but since Paris governments have promised to do a lot of mitigation in the future.
THAT is the story.
THAT is the story.
November 7, 2025 at 11:29 AM
The story is that global emissions are GROWING and concentrations are at levels the planet has not seen in 3 million years, but since Paris governments have promised to do a lot of mitigation in the future.
THAT is the story.
THAT is the story.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
A cool trend I’m seeing among leftish fitness influencers: talking about having been on SNAP/WIC as children as a way of discussing how important these programs are.
November 6, 2025 at 8:02 PM
A cool trend I’m seeing among leftish fitness influencers: talking about having been on SNAP/WIC as children as a way of discussing how important these programs are.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
HAPPENING NOW: Judge McConnell is sharply rebuking the Trump administration for what he said was defying his order to make full SNAP payments by Nov. 5. He has ordered USDA to make the *full* payment to states by tomorrow.
November 6, 2025 at 8:53 PM
HAPPENING NOW: Judge McConnell is sharply rebuking the Trump administration for what he said was defying his order to make full SNAP payments by Nov. 5. He has ordered USDA to make the *full* payment to states by tomorrow.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
There’s a weird tendency in the discourse to treat attacking Trump as evading “real” issues working-class voters care about. But I looked at ads from the winning campaigns: They attacked Trump *and* they addressed material concerns. Because this is *his* economy! 3/
newrepublic.com/article/2027...
newrepublic.com/article/2027...
November 6, 2025 at 12:42 PM
There’s a weird tendency in the discourse to treat attacking Trump as evading “real” issues working-class voters care about. But I looked at ads from the winning campaigns: They attacked Trump *and* they addressed material concerns. Because this is *his* economy! 3/
newrepublic.com/article/2027...
newrepublic.com/article/2027...
Reposted by Connor Stedman
it doesn’t get any clearer that america’s betrothal to fossil fuels is about letting energy companies pick our pockets to prop up their obsolete industry
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 1:19 PM
it doesn’t get any clearer that america’s betrothal to fossil fuels is about letting energy companies pick our pockets to prop up their obsolete industry
Reposted by Connor Stedman
Mamdani accurately links climate to affordability. Like most Democrats, he got the memo to emphasize the latter, which is how many peoples' concerns about the climate manifest. His platform includes climate, renewables, green schools, free buses, etc.
www.zohranfornyc.com/platform
www.zohranfornyc.com/platform
November 5, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Mamdani accurately links climate to affordability. Like most Democrats, he got the memo to emphasize the latter, which is how many peoples' concerns about the climate manifest. His platform includes climate, renewables, green schools, free buses, etc.
www.zohranfornyc.com/platform
www.zohranfornyc.com/platform
Reposted by Connor Stedman
School lunches get a bad rap, but they're healthier than the average packed lunch. And making them free for all amplifies academic and health benefits for low-income kids by removing stigma/shame.
So I'm glad Colorado voted to raise taxes on high-income households to make school meals free for all.
So I'm glad Colorado voted to raise taxes on high-income households to make school meals free for all.
November 6, 2025 at 11:30 AM
School lunches get a bad rap, but they're healthier than the average packed lunch. And making them free for all amplifies academic and health benefits for low-income kids by removing stigma/shame.
So I'm glad Colorado voted to raise taxes on high-income households to make school meals free for all.
So I'm glad Colorado voted to raise taxes on high-income households to make school meals free for all.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
For most of my political life, Republicans have refused to treat me and the people I love as fellow citizens, while coyly (and increasingly openly!) fantasizing about hurting or killing us. I've seen liberals exhibit a frankly astonishing degree of patience with this. That patience is running out.
November 6, 2025 at 12:05 PM
For most of my political life, Republicans have refused to treat me and the people I love as fellow citizens, while coyly (and increasingly openly!) fantasizing about hurting or killing us. I've seen liberals exhibit a frankly astonishing degree of patience with this. That patience is running out.
Thread.
If I were granted a wish to accomplish one thing in my work on global politics, it would be to convince people that it is never "all about the oil."
Unfortunately, Dick Cheney's wish to accomplish the opposite was already granted.
Unfortunately, Dick Cheney's wish to accomplish the opposite was already granted.
November 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Thread.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
Important thread on the EU as a peace project, and how dangerous it is to dismiss that aspect of it, particularly in the context of UK debates.
as we can currently see, the old prejudices can be woken up at terrifying speed. I was at a conference with a Polish colleague a year ago who told me about historic resentment and mistrust between Poles and Ukrainians. Let us not forget the Poles& the Germans. And the French &the Germans. Etc etc
November 6, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Important thread on the EU as a peace project, and how dangerous it is to dismiss that aspect of it, particularly in the context of UK debates.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
Do I know anyone on here who is teaching public high school in the U.S. right now? I have a brief and specific question.
November 5, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Do I know anyone on here who is teaching public high school in the U.S. right now? I have a brief and specific question.
Reposted by Connor Stedman
In reality this country, like the rest of the new world, was always a polyglot multiethnic society. The fact the American right are trying to ape European fascists and pretend America had the ethnic makeup of Iceland prior to the 1965 Immigration Act is deeply strange.
November 6, 2025 at 12:16 AM
In reality this country, like the rest of the new world, was always a polyglot multiethnic society. The fact the American right are trying to ape European fascists and pretend America had the ethnic makeup of Iceland prior to the 1965 Immigration Act is deeply strange.