Steve Olson
@steveolson.bsky.social
Humble ad guy. potato influencer. whiskey & cephalopod obsessed. expat minnesotan. Novice wine drinker and bonsai... uh... keeper?
Sportsball: Vikings, Tottenham, Bath Rugby.
Sportsball: Vikings, Tottenham, Bath Rugby.
Pinned
Steve Olson
@steveolson.bsky.social
· Jan 10
Damn, "Hurricane Season" was dark.. A perfect book to kick off the 2025 Reading Season. I did struggle with how to feel about it, but reading @jcljules.bsky.social's 2020 review citing Marlon James' quote about the need to risk "pornography" in describing the impacts of violence helped. #booksky
And, Lucy pulls the football out from under Charlie Brown once again.
UPDATE: The Senate votes 53-47 to shoot down the Baldwin amendment to extend ACA funds for 1 year. A party-line vote with every Republican rejecting it.
An important vote in this series: Tammy Baldwin’s proposal to extend ACA expiring funds for 1 year. It’s structured as a motion to table (i.e. scrap it from the amendment tree). But it’ll show the appetite (or lack thereof) in the Senate to address this issue.
November 11, 2025 at 4:55 PM
And, Lucy pulls the football out from under Charlie Brown once again.
The good Doctor, @lollardfish.bsky.social is correct.
A great message would simply be, "The GOP doesn't care if millions lose their health care and the government is shut down... so given the choice, we compromised to only have ONE of those two horrific outcomes instead of both."
A great message would simply be, "The GOP doesn't care if millions lose their health care and the government is shut down... so given the choice, we compromised to only have ONE of those two horrific outcomes instead of both."
Many liberals say they wish that Democrats had continued the shutdown until ACA subsidies were extended. But Hustis McQuail-Park, who DJs at a listening bar in Fort Greene and identifies as a progressive, says that such confrontational tactics leave him deeply uneasy.
November 11, 2025 at 4:54 PM
The good Doctor, @lollardfish.bsky.social is correct.
A great message would simply be, "The GOP doesn't care if millions lose their health care and the government is shut down... so given the choice, we compromised to only have ONE of those two horrific outcomes instead of both."
A great message would simply be, "The GOP doesn't care if millions lose their health care and the government is shut down... so given the choice, we compromised to only have ONE of those two horrific outcomes instead of both."
One of the underrated reasons humanities education is so important is that you can learn in High School that this kind of sycophantic crap is exactly the kind of authoritarian shit every two-bit dictator has done from Caesar to Orban.
And why it’s so dangerous.
And why it’s so dangerous.
Pirro: "Mr President, there is in this room a group of people who love you, who believe in you, and who are so proud to be in this Oval Office and to be part of this amazing day because you have changed the course of America."
November 11, 2025 at 3:54 PM
One of the underrated reasons humanities education is so important is that you can learn in High School that this kind of sycophantic crap is exactly the kind of authoritarian shit every two-bit dictator has done from Caesar to Orban.
And why it’s so dangerous.
And why it’s so dangerous.
They just don’t even care enough to pretend they’re “restoring balance” instead of just turning everything into naked partisan drek.
“I’ve been hearing that standards will be eliminated or severely cut back. Bari has told people that she wants to get rid of standards and is shocked that they have so much power. She also asked openly, ‘What’s the point of standards?’” one CBS source said.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Bari Weiss wants to take down ‘too much power’ CBS News Standards unit: sources
EXCLUSIVE: Internal rumblings within the newsroom come after the S&P head resigned and the network disbanded its vaunted Race and Culture unit.
www.independent.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 3:48 PM
They just don’t even care enough to pretend they’re “restoring balance” instead of just turning everything into naked partisan drek.
Reposted by Steve Olson
The difference, though, is that the economy now under Trump is getting worse, inflation is increasing, job growth is happening, etc. The puzzle about Biden was that the economy was actually good & everyone thought it was terrible:
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
November 11, 2025 at 3:46 PM
The difference, though, is that the economy now under Trump is getting worse, inflation is increasing, job growth is happening, etc. The puzzle about Biden was that the economy was actually good & everyone thought it was terrible:
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Reposted by Steve Olson
instead of saying this was good strategy, maybe senate dems should say: "the republicans were going to kill people by starving them to death, and because we aren't monsters, we decided to let this fight go. We'll keep fighting. Stop electing monsters."
November 11, 2025 at 1:42 PM
instead of saying this was good strategy, maybe senate dems should say: "the republicans were going to kill people by starving them to death, and because we aren't monsters, we decided to let this fight go. We'll keep fighting. Stop electing monsters."
Seems like if we're going to get all bent out of shape over the "crisis among young men" this may be a good place to start.
“The consequences extend beyond lost money. Hazardous gambling is correlated with increased rates of anxiety and depression, and young men who engage in it are more likely to slide into a full-blown gambling addiction. Boys who frequently gamble miss more classes, perform worse in school”
The rise of sports betting is a growing public health crisis
Sports betting is more addictive than ever, and millions of young Americans are paying the price.
www.statnews.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Seems like if we're going to get all bent out of shape over the "crisis among young men" this may be a good place to start.
At some point familiarity with @dril.bsky.social's oeuvre is going to become as fundamental to understanding American discourse as reading Shakespeare's.
John Woo: ‘Someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my film is dying.’
November 10, 2025 at 11:47 PM
At some point familiarity with @dril.bsky.social's oeuvre is going to become as fundamental to understanding American discourse as reading Shakespeare's.
Reposted by Steve Olson
Costco is a really popular subject for business-success case studies but I feel like business guys kinda lose interest when the upshot of the study is like "just operate with scrupulous integrity in all facets and levels of your business for four decades" and not some easy-to-fix gimmick
“You can’t say people are our most important product and then treat them like shit.” - Jim Sinegal, co-founder of Costco
April 20, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Costco is a really popular subject for business-success case studies but I feel like business guys kinda lose interest when the upshot of the study is like "just operate with scrupulous integrity in all facets and levels of your business for four decades" and not some easy-to-fix gimmick
INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK 2: Air Traffic Boogaloo!
TRUMP: US TO LAUNCH NEW AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM WITHIN 2–3 WEEKS
November 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK 2: Air Traffic Boogaloo!
Reposted by Steve Olson
this is literally never not accurate
November 10, 2025 at 6:32 PM
this is literally never not accurate
Ok, I am embarrassed to say that, while I've been familiar with Joyce Carol Oates for decades, i've for some reason (mainly that I don't read enough fiction) never read any JCO. Given the large body of work, any recs?
November 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Ok, I am embarrassed to say that, while I've been familiar with Joyce Carol Oates for decades, i've for some reason (mainly that I don't read enough fiction) never read any JCO. Given the large body of work, any recs?
“Notebooks full of ideas, Binders full of women” would be a heckuva pop country song chorus.
Mike Johnson on the Republican healthcare plan: "We've got notebooks full of ideas."
November 10, 2025 at 9:24 PM
“Notebooks full of ideas, Binders full of women” would be a heckuva pop country song chorus.
Reposted by Steve Olson
What a great few weeks it’s been for people once pardoned by Trump.
@nytimes.com @nbcnews.com @npr.org @politico.com
@nytimes.com @nbcnews.com @npr.org @politico.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:39 PM
What a great few weeks it’s been for people once pardoned by Trump.
@nytimes.com @nbcnews.com @npr.org @politico.com
@nytimes.com @nbcnews.com @npr.org @politico.com
Reposted by Steve Olson
The thing about caving on the shutdown is that it immediately emboldens the GOP on every other issue. www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Republicans take a big swing on labor reform
Senate HELP Committee Republicans unveiled a slate of bills aimed at raising the bar for filing grievances with the National Labor Relations Board.
www.politico.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:19 PM
The thing about caving on the shutdown is that it immediately emboldens the GOP on every other issue. www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Steve Olson
Reposted by Steve Olson
November 10, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Reposted by Steve Olson
We are going to need a slew of Reconstruction-like constitutional amendments including drastic reform of presidential pardons.
Trump’s pardon attorney Ed Martin claims Trump is pardoning his Georgia co-defendants and other “alternate electors.”
Note: Trump’s Georgia co-defendants are charged under state law. The president can’t pardon people for state crimes.
Note: Trump’s Georgia co-defendants are charged under state law. The president can’t pardon people for state crimes.
November 10, 2025 at 5:42 AM
We are going to need a slew of Reconstruction-like constitutional amendments including drastic reform of presidential pardons.
Reposted by Steve Olson
The reason Dems are losing the endgame is that, from the best I can tell as an outsider following the news, they never had a strategy to win the endgame
November 10, 2025 at 2:16 AM
The reason Dems are losing the endgame is that, from the best I can tell as an outsider following the news, they never had a strategy to win the endgame
Reposted by Steve Olson
Government is shut down. Chaos in airports. 42 million going hungry. 24 million face skyrocketing healthcare costs. Economy in turmoil. And the president of the United States is in the Fox broadcast booth calling plays for a football game.
November 9, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Government is shut down. Chaos in airports. 42 million going hungry. 24 million face skyrocketing healthcare costs. Economy in turmoil. And the president of the United States is in the Fox broadcast booth calling plays for a football game.
Joe lieberman bucked the Dems and tanked a public option, John McCain heroically bucked the GOP to save Obamacare… which of these two votes looks better these days?!
Caving on a deal that doesn’t fix health care is, and always has been, a giant betrayal of the American people.
Hold the line. Save health care. I’m a NO on anything that doesn’t extend ACA subsidies.
Hold the line. Save health care. I’m a NO on anything that doesn’t extend ACA subsidies.
November 9, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Joe lieberman bucked the Dems and tanked a public option, John McCain heroically bucked the GOP to save Obamacare… which of these two votes looks better these days?!
my brothers in christ, you failed to convict a ham sandwich earlier this week. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/u...
Trump Loyalists Push ‘Grand Conspiracy’ as New Subpoenas Land
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:55 PM
my brothers in christ, you failed to convict a ham sandwich earlier this week. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/09/u...
Is it just me, or is JJ kinda the opposite of Captain Kirk? When the Vikings need 3, he throws for 25 (and gets the ball tipped) instead of when we need 7 and Kirk throws for 3. I prefer the JJ version… but still. #SKOL
November 9, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Is it just me, or is JJ kinda the opposite of Captain Kirk? When the Vikings need 3, he throws for 25 (and gets the ball tipped) instead of when we need 7 and Kirk throws for 3. I prefer the JJ version… but still. #SKOL