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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16h

Inflation isn't the only metric by which we should evaluate an economy. Yet it was in voters' minds. That reflects Dems' ineptitude and RW billionaires taking over media b/c they wanted Trump back to get their tax cuts.

A LIE sold effectively overpowers a FACT that is never sold to the public.

Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16h

Voters generally gave Trump high marks for the economy pre-COVID. While COVID wasn't his fault, he still bungled the response and more people died. Responding to crises is part of how we evaluate presidents.

Meanwhile, Biden got blamed for inflation that was only bad for 1.5 years.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 17h

So many things absolutely horrify me.

Annual growth rate in GDP per capita under Trump (pre-COVID): 1.7%
Annual growth rate in GDP per capita under Biden: 3%

Under Biden, we heard endlessly about the price of eggs and gas. That's RW media manipulation and Dems not selling accomplishments.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 7d

it's terrible how much the fossil fuel industry was able to manipulate the discourse. They made it about politics, identity, and culture when it should have been about basic science. We're 20 years behind.

Ah, but don't worry, AI will fix everything.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 13d

Haha, I do sympathize with and get Cait's irritation. It's kind of sad how all of our attention spans are now shot. I say this as someone who often preaches to my students about the perils of social media and distraction, and who has read War and Peace before!

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 14d

3. We've delayed for 20 years because the fossil fuel industry was so powerful and wanted extra profits.

4. China has contributed maybe 18% to all emissions. The U.S. has contributed 24%. China has 4x our population and they're building solar panels and EVs a lot faster than we are.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 14d

2. Think how many plants and animals evolved for thousands or millions of years being used to relatively stable temps. It is only human arrogance to assume our own convenience is more important than plant and animal life.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 14d

My thoughts:
1. An average increase of 0.5 degrees warming every 10-15 years? For all the times that deniers or minimizers accuse us of being "alarmists," this data is alarming indeed. Something is really wrong if average temperatures are increasing that quickly. The planet is large.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 15d

They'll only leave under one condition: dragged kicking and screaming. There's a reason that the gerontocracy and "Ok, Boomer" meme took off.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 15d

And millions see the Handmaid's Tale as utopia. And I've known or read about plenty of Boomers or Silent Generation folks who adamantly refuse to retire from politics, academia, or media, hiding behind the [often disingenuous] charge of ageism to maintain their grip on political and economic power.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 15d

Since I know and like plenty of Boomers, just as I know and like plenty of Christians, and since I like maintaining positive relations, I worry sometimes that if I'm too honest in what I really think, I might offend them. Then I think, no, the Kim Davises of the world actually do exist.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

I'd appoint @leahlitman.bsky.social , @kateshaw.bsky.social , @profmmurray.bsky.social , and @dahlialithwick.bsky.social to the Court. They'd take their seats and ask their colleagues, why do you have this view of the Constitution? They'd ask Ginny Thomas, why do you have these crazy beliefs?

Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

bsky.app/profile/stev...

Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

My dream that would never come true in a million years. I'd sit down with John Roberts, ACB, Clarence, Dahlia Lithwick, Ian Millhiser, and Scalito. I'd ask the justices, look what you've done? Our politicians are bought off and only listen to money. Do you really think money is speech?

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

I think your lawlessness needs to be reined in. You're out of the control and worse than the Lochner Court or Court of Stephen Johnson Field. I'm putting 18-year terms on you, a code of ethics, and adding 4 liberal justices to the Court. Deal with it.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

Do you realize your majority is semi-legitimate at best? That you've enabled an autocrat through your decisions? That, as Ezra Klein recently said, you've given *extraordinary deference* to an administration that never should have come to power in the first place?

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

Do you think everyone should have automatic weapons? That women should be oppressed by restrictive conservative Catholicism? Do you realize that no reputable historian respects originalism for a whole bunch of reasons? I'd hold their feet to the fire.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

My dream that would never come true in a million years. I'd sit down with John Roberts, ACB, Clarence, Dahlia Lithwick, Ian Millhiser, and Scalito. I'd ask the justices, look what you've done? Our politicians are bought off and only listen to money. Do you really think money is speech?

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

it absolutely kills me that Biden didn't pursue Court expansion (not packing) during the first six months of his presidency. The Court is awash in cash. Its majority is semi-legitimate at best. This Court's power MUST be broken.

Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 16d

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202... Makes me mad. I don't think the wealthy alone should be able to power the economy. I think they have too much wealth.

The wealthiest are boosting the economy, as consumer spending rises again

Wealthy Americans are driving the US economy with increased consumer spending and income growth

www.washingtonpost.com

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 17d

It is an attempt to paint Russian interference in the 2016 election as a "Democrat hoax;" to hand-wave it away ("Russia, Russia, Russia!") as if nothing happened. This is not how any serious person treats the evidence. But this type of magical thinking is now the norm on the political right.

Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 17d

There are lots of ways to see the Comey indictment. Revenge by a petty, feeble man is one. The most alarming interpretation holds that it is evidence of how Republicans create their own reality.

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 18d

"Stocks reach record highs on AI optimism."

Do you know how often I've seen a headline like this lately? What exactly is this optimism? How is AI going to make our lives better? I could maybe see some advancements in science and medicine, but beyond that?

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 20d

It's only been about a month so far this semester! Seems like it's been longer. I've been working hard and grading. Hope everyone else's semester is going well! :)

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 27d

I object to this. We can always have reasonable debates about evidence and interpretation, but this seems like an effort to *erase* the past--something that should be beyond the pale. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars

The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”

www.washingtonpost.com

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Steve Campbell @stevecampbell.bsky.social · 27d

tough to see how far it's fallen in a short time.

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