Steve Sampson
@stevesampson.bsky.social
Finder of better words. Encourager of smart philanthropy. Lover of dogs and drums. Mostly says "Funny!" or "Not Funny!" on this particular platform. https://betterwordpartners.com
More of this, please.
Smart: The Atlantic plans to offer every public high school in the U.S. free digital access to its journalism. www.axios.com/newsletters/...
Axios Media Trends - 🏫 Exclusive: The Atlantic to offer free access to all U.S. public schools
www.axios.com
September 17, 2025 at 2:51 PM
More of this, please.
Reposted by Steve Sampson
I wrote about Trumpian culture, the Liver King, scams, frauds, corruption—and the new structural economic and political incentives that have caused us to enter a new era of inequality dominated by hucksters, which I call: The Grifted Age. www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-grifte...
The Grifted Age
Move over Gilded Age. In the 21st century, hucksters and swindlers are exploiting mass stupidity and conspiratorial thinking—and getting filthy rich in the process. Why is this happening?
www.forkingpaths.co
August 29, 2025 at 12:36 PM
I wrote about Trumpian culture, the Liver King, scams, frauds, corruption—and the new structural economic and political incentives that have caused us to enter a new era of inequality dominated by hucksters, which I call: The Grifted Age. www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-grifte...
This is sickening on so many levels. The willingness to lie and the staggering incompetence are really just the tip of the iceberg.
The Atlantic has now published the Signal texts with attack plans in response to administration denials.
I worked at the Pentagon.
If information like this is not classified, nothing is.
If Hegseth is claiming he declassified this information, he should be shown the door for having done so.
I worked at the Pentagon.
If information like this is not classified, nothing is.
If Hegseth is claiming he declassified this information, he should be shown the door for having done so.
March 26, 2025 at 2:23 PM
This is sickening on so many levels. The willingness to lie and the staggering incompetence are really just the tip of the iceberg.
Agreed. And something similar goes for people responding to "that's immoral" with "well, what do you expect?" We should all expect (and receive) basic morality from our fellow humans. We can't stop expecting (and receiving) it now or we're giving up the game.
Emphasizing again that anyone who responds to "that's illegal" with some variant of "lol all law is meaningless you're a sucker for thinking that matters" is actively doing PR for Trump and helping him.
Nihilism about the law is the best way to make sure that the rule of law dies a quicker death.
Nihilism about the law is the best way to make sure that the rule of law dies a quicker death.
February 27, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Agreed. And something similar goes for people responding to "that's immoral" with "well, what do you expect?" We should all expect (and receive) basic morality from our fellow humans. We can't stop expecting (and receiving) it now or we're giving up the game.
The algorithms are attention-sucking vampires.
1/14 Our current constitutional crisis cannot be solved by voting Democrat or by removing president from office- this is a problem that will persist until we fix our information infrastructure.
Please hear me out.
Please hear me out.
February 26, 2025 at 6:07 PM
The algorithms are attention-sucking vampires.
Reposted by Steve Sampson
Last week, Elon Musk's staff illegally breached the U.S. Treasury payment system and gained access to millions of Americans' personal data.
We're calling out Elon Musk to put on his big boy pants and answer some questions from the Oversight Committee.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv-...
We're calling out Elon Musk to put on his big boy pants and answer some questions from the Oversight Committee.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv-...
Crockett Calls Out COWARD Musk
YouTube video by Rep. Jasmine Crockett
www.youtube.com
February 5, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Last week, Elon Musk's staff illegally breached the U.S. Treasury payment system and gained access to millions of Americans' personal data.
We're calling out Elon Musk to put on his big boy pants and answer some questions from the Oversight Committee.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv-...
We're calling out Elon Musk to put on his big boy pants and answer some questions from the Oversight Committee.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv-...
Reposted by Steve Sampson
Same was true in Poland
Convo with my friend from Hungary tonight who left after Orban’s election.
She said “your head will spin with all the wild stuff they try to pull, new things every day, but don’t take your eyes off the money. It’s all about the money, and what they’re stealing, and for whom.”
She said “your head will spin with all the wild stuff they try to pull, new things every day, but don’t take your eyes off the money. It’s all about the money, and what they’re stealing, and for whom.”
February 4, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Same was true in Poland
We've seen enough democratic backsliding already, methinks.
In a race for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court, the losing candidate is trying to have more than 60,000 valid votes thrown out. Scholars who study collapsing democracies characterize the efforts as a dramatic escalation of democratic backsliding.
In North Carolina, an Attempt to Overturn a State Supreme Court Election
The losing candidate for a seat on the high court is trying to have more than 60,000 valid votes thrown out.
www.brennancenter.org
February 3, 2025 at 4:44 PM
We've seen enough democratic backsliding already, methinks.
What Bert said ...
Well done for making it to the end of January.
Stop whatever you're doing and read a book to reward yourself.
If you don't have a book, then buy one from an indie bookshop, that way you'll be making TWO people happy.
Stop whatever you're doing and read a book to reward yourself.
If you don't have a book, then buy one from an indie bookshop, that way you'll be making TWO people happy.
January 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
What Bert said ...
The big grift is on, baby.
It's on and on and on.
It's on and on and on.
Before environmental regulations we had polluted rivers catching on fire and cities turning on streetlights in the afternoon because the smog was so thick
“It’s all a con job” Trump on environmental regulations
January 25, 2025 at 6:06 AM
The big grift is on, baby.
It's on and on and on.
It's on and on and on.
Yup ... the big grift is on, baby!
The same people having a temper tantrum over DEI just confirmed the least qualified Secretary of Defense in US history because Trump liked him on TV.
January 25, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Yup ... the big grift is on, baby!
Yup .. the big grift is on, baby!
Firing independent watchdogs is straight out of the authoritarian playbook. Removes another obstacle to corruption and abuse of power www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Trump fires at least 12 independent inspectors general, Washington Post reports
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration fired the independent inspectors general of at least 12 major federal agencies late on Friday, the Washington Post reported.
www.reuters.com
January 25, 2025 at 5:55 AM
Yup .. the big grift is on, baby!
Reposted by Steve Sampson
As immigrant communities face attacks, philanthropy can help.
Inside Philanthropy shares strategies for funders to stand with vulnerable populations.
📖 Read more: www.insidephilanthropy.com/ho...
#Philanthropy #ImmigrantRights #SocialImpact #Advocacy #CommunitySupport
Inside Philanthropy shares strategies for funders to stand with vulnerable populations.
📖 Read more: www.insidephilanthropy.com/ho...
#Philanthropy #ImmigrantRights #SocialImpact #Advocacy #CommunitySupport
Ways to respond to Trump’s anti-immigrant policies | Inside Philanthropy
Learn more with IP about how philanthropy can help vulnerable immigrant and refugee populations as the Trump administration targets them.
www.insidephilanthropy.com
January 23, 2025 at 11:13 PM
As immigrant communities face attacks, philanthropy can help.
Inside Philanthropy shares strategies for funders to stand with vulnerable populations.
📖 Read more: www.insidephilanthropy.com/ho...
#Philanthropy #ImmigrantRights #SocialImpact #Advocacy #CommunitySupport
Inside Philanthropy shares strategies for funders to stand with vulnerable populations.
📖 Read more: www.insidephilanthropy.com/ho...
#Philanthropy #ImmigrantRights #SocialImpact #Advocacy #CommunitySupport
How our online lives shape our lives in community (or lack thereof)
open.substack.com/pub/connecti...
open.substack.com/pub/connecti...
How our online lives shape our lives in community (or lack thereof)
A Q&A with Soren Duggan on the media-community feedback loop, the individualistic online lives of men, and making “progress” against these forces
open.substack.com
January 16, 2025 at 8:26 PM
How our online lives shape our lives in community (or lack thereof)
open.substack.com/pub/connecti...
open.substack.com/pub/connecti...
This could happen! Think big and bold! Step 1: The Post buys Amazon ... Oh, wait ... never mind
January 16, 2025 at 6:02 PM
This could happen! Think big and bold! Step 1: The Post buys Amazon ... Oh, wait ... never mind
Reposted by Steve Sampson
You can't make this sht [sic] up ...
GOP members complaining about reduction of military standards while using a chart that misspells the word military!
January 15, 2025 at 3:21 PM
You can't make this sht [sic] up ...
What she said ...
Here’s the deal: All Americans should have the same healthcare as the welfare queens in Congress.
January 15, 2025 at 3:18 PM
What she said ...
"Just humans helping humans" is what everything should be all about, really.
As a born and raised L.A. resident I’m incredibly thankful for Canada and Mexico. No politics. No bullshit. Just humans helping humans.
January 13, 2025 at 6:13 PM
"Just humans helping humans" is what everything should be all about, really.
Not funny.
Bezos spiked the Washington Post editorial endorsing Harris, saying that the paper needed to stay neutral to maintain the trust of its readership.
Now the Washington Post editorial board is out with a piece urging Congress to rubber stamp nearly all of Trump's cabinet nominees
Now the Washington Post editorial board is out with a piece urging Congress to rubber stamp nearly all of Trump's cabinet nominees
January 13, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Not funny.
Reposted by Steve Sampson
The Philanthropisms podcast is back after a short festive break, with the 8th in our partnership series with ERNOP, where we hear from academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of practitioner-focused ERNOP research notes:
whyphilanthropymatters.com/podcast/erno...
whyphilanthropymatters.com/podcast/erno...
ERNOP: Connecting Philanthropy Academia & Practice #8 - Why Philanthropy Matters
whyphilanthropymatters.com
January 9, 2025 at 12:25 PM
The Philanthropisms podcast is back after a short festive break, with the 8th in our partnership series with ERNOP, where we hear from academics whose work is featured in the latest batch of practitioner-focused ERNOP research notes:
whyphilanthropymatters.com/podcast/erno...
whyphilanthropymatters.com/podcast/erno...
Reposted by Steve Sampson
These extraordinary photos of the LA fires have been shared widely on social media, often without crediting the photographer.
These are all the work of Ethan Swope, an LA-based photojournalist working for AP.
You can follow his remarkable reporting here👇
www.instagram.com/ethanswopeph...
These are all the work of Ethan Swope, an LA-based photojournalist working for AP.
You can follow his remarkable reporting here👇
www.instagram.com/ethanswopeph...
January 9, 2025 at 12:44 PM
These extraordinary photos of the LA fires have been shared widely on social media, often without crediting the photographer.
These are all the work of Ethan Swope, an LA-based photojournalist working for AP.
You can follow his remarkable reporting here👇
www.instagram.com/ethanswopeph...
These are all the work of Ethan Swope, an LA-based photojournalist working for AP.
You can follow his remarkable reporting here👇
www.instagram.com/ethanswopeph...
Just a quick reminder that any prolonged government shutdown will disproportionately affect poor people--potentially by meaning they can't get the food, shelter, or healthcare they need. And this is not okay.
December 19, 2024 at 2:28 PM
Just a quick reminder that any prolonged government shutdown will disproportionately affect poor people--potentially by meaning they can't get the food, shelter, or healthcare they need. And this is not okay.
Here's some of that good news you never hear about ...
"America’s crime trends in 2024 were remarkably positive w/an enormous decline in murder, a continued small but steady decline in violent crime, and a sizable decline in motor vehicle theft ..reported violent and property crime were likely amongst the lowest rates recorded since the 1960s and 1970s"
Crime in 2024: A Historic Drop in Murder with Declining Violent and Property Crime
America’s crime trends in 2024 were remarkably positive with an enormous decline in murder, a continued small but steady decline in violent crime, and a sizable decline in motor vehicle theft on the h...
jasher.substack.com
December 18, 2024 at 10:36 PM
Here's some of that good news you never hear about ...
Funny!
26 years ago today, America was introduced to Schweddy Balls. 😂😂
December 13, 2024 at 10:37 PM
Funny!