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blairfix.bsky.social
Blair Fix
@blairfix.bsky.social
990 followers 78 following 160 posts

Political economist. Blogger. Scientist. Editor of the Review of Capital as Power.

Support my research here: https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/membership/

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Economics 55%
Sociology 11%
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blairfix.bsky.social
Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · Oct 26
In a 2024 paper criticizing the 'billion-dollar-disasters' database, Roger Pielke Jr. published analysis that is best described as a Russian-doll of errors.

Here's my in-depth take down of his appallingly bad work.

economicsfromthetopdown.com/2025/10/26/r...
Roger Pielke Jr.’s Appallingly Bad Analysis of Billion Dollar Disasters – Economics from the Top Down
In a recent paper called Scientific integrity and U.S. “Billion Dollar Disasters”, Roger Pielke Jr. published a chart that's so bad I've devoted a whole essay to debunking it.
economicsfromthetopdown.com

Reposted by Blair Fix

davidho.bsky.social
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 9h
This is also the way to protect people from cars.
Minneapolis tells residents to stop building anti-ICE barricades, but they keep popping up
Minneapolis officials are urging residents not to block traffic as neighbors build makeshift checkpoints to slow and track federal immigration agents.
www.startribune.com

Reposted by Blair Fix

policyalternatives.ca
CCPA — Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives @policyalternatives.ca · 4d
“The more provinces that join Alberta, the greater the likelihood that it will lead to the dismantling of the Canada Health Act...This could end could end Canadian medicare as we know it.” #cdnpoli @alonghurst.bsky.social @poliscirish.bsky.social @policyalternatives.ca
thetyee.ca/Opinion/2026...
How Alberta Plans to Kill Public Health Care Across Canada | The Tyee
A new law opens the door for two-tier care that would destroy medicare.
thetyee.ca

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Wolfgang Crämer , and 14 more

radleybalko.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 5d
Floored by this story. A man wrote a pollite email to a federal prosecutor objecting to the deportation of an Afghan seeking asylum. DHS responded with an administrative warrant to get the man's info from Google, then visited his home to intimidate him.
DHS Hunts Down 67-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Who Criticized Them in Email
The Department of Homeland Security is using a little-known tool to go after its critics.
newrepublic.com

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Ben H. Ansell, Colin F. Camerer , and 17 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 8d
New from me: It is not just that the US is experiencing democratic backsliding. Authoritarianism has emerged more quickly than in other benchmark countries.

This graph from John Burn-Murdoch sums it up. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/autocracy-...
graph tracking democratic backsliding is occuring more quickly in the US than elsewhere.

Reposted by Steve Peers, Blair Fix, David Darmofal

nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 9d
Melania’s first screening in Times Square draws four people, at least three of them professional critics. www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
The wait is over. Amazon's $75 million corporate bribe, excuse me, documentary Melania has arrived in theaters, where it will surely play to the biggest audiences the Republican Party can buy. Not that they've bothered with that hotbed of liberalism known as New York City. There were just three other people present at the first opening-day showing at 42nd Street's AMC Empire Theater. And two of them were other film critics, since there were no press screenings of the doc and we were forced to pay our offerings to the first lady like everyone else.

Reposted by Dana R. Fisher, Halley E. Froehlich, Greg Linden , and 1 more

volts.wtf
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 12d
"They told us what they were going to do. They published it. They put it on a website. And when it happened, the press was surprised."

Hoo boy, everyone should bookmark this @parkermolloy.com piece & make sure everyone involved in media reads it.
This is Literally the Job
Political journalists need to stop pretending they don't know what Republicans are going to do.
www.readtpa.com

blairfix.bsky.social
Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 14d
This is a landmark. The NY Times uses the phrase 'state terror' ... to refer to the federal government.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...
Opinion | State Terror Has Arrived
www.nytimes.com

blairfix.bsky.social
Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 14d
Given the ongoing US piracy of Venezuelan oil, it seems like a good time to think about the future of US oil production.

That future doesn't look good.

economicsfromthetopdown.com/2026/01/24/u...
US Oil-and-Gas Production: Signs of an Impending Bust – Economics from the Top Down
The US is in the midst of an oil boom. How long will it last?
economicsfromthetopdown.com

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Amir Attaran, Peter Stegmaier , and 4 more

joshuaeakle.com
Joshua Reed Eakle 🗽 @joshuaeakle.com · 15d
Holy crap.

This is the most damning video yet.

It shows Border Patrol agents clearly taking Alex's firearm, running it away, and THEN executed him in cold blood by emptying a clip into his face.

Murder.

Reposted by Blair Fix, Aidan O’Sullivan

thetnholler.bsky.social
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 15d
They say “where’s the gun?” — After the shots

Because they don’t realize one of them had already taken it — before the shots

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Sanford F. Schram, Michelle Everson , and 1 more

muellershewrote.com
Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 15d
ANOTHER ANGLE: the original video was deleted but I screen capped it. Here it is.

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, David R. Miller, Blair Fix

brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 15d
This is courage. Looking a masked, government fascist dead in the eye, face to face, knowing full well that your life is on the line.

If elected officials had 1/10th of Alex Pretti's resolve, we would have far fewer troubles.

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Shannon Vallor, Kim L. Scheppele , and 21 more

dimitridrekonja.bsky.social
Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS @dimitridrekonja.bsky.social · 15d
Alex from our time working together, while he was in nursing school. Later, he moved to ICU, working as a nurse to support critically ill Veterans. He had such a great attitude. We’d chat between patients about trying to get in a mountain bike ride together. Will never happen now
Alex Pretti from his early days working at the VA

Reposted by Matthew Bunn, Philip Nel, Blair Fix , and 1 more

jessicahuseman.bsky.social
Jessica Huseman @jessicahuseman.bsky.social · 16d
From a friend in Minneapolis, just now:

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Nandita Sharma, Mark D. White , and 4 more

kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 17d
Seriously, @people.com has been meeting the moment better than 90% of publications with direct reporting and crystal clear headlines.

This is a good way for the low-information voters who are usually detached from the news cycle to get turned around.
carlquintanilla.bsky.social Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 17d
What America will read this weekend while in line at the grocery checkout:

@peoplemag.bsky.social #ICE
people.com/ice-detains-...

Reposted by Blair Fix

theonion.com
The Onion @theonion.com · 17d
ICE Deems Being In Privacy Of Own Home Obstruction Of Justice https://theonion.com/ice-deems-being-in-privacy-of-own-home-obstruction-of-justice/
ICE Deems Being In Privacy Of Own Home Obstruction Of Justice

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Anna O. Law, Elizabeth Sharrow , and 25 more

thosjleeper.bsky.social
Thomas Leeper @thosjleeper.bsky.social · 17d
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.

Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.

Reposted by Richard E. Lenski, Mary Rice, Margot C. Finn , and 4 more

joshsternberg.com
Josh Sternberg @joshsternberg.com · 18d
The disconnect between management and employee on AI usage is big. At the same time, CEOs are reporting they aren't seeing any revenue growth from AI.

🤷

www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wo...
CEOs Say AI Is Making Work More Efficient. Employees Tell a Different Story.
How much time workers say the technology saves them on the job is vastly different from what executives report.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Joanna Bryson, Marc Lynch , and 80 more

davidho.bsky.social
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 19d
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.

Reposted by Henry Jones, Blair Fix

theonion.com
The Onion @theonion.com · 19d
Nation Yearns For Relative Calm Of ‘President A Giant Pedophile’ News Cycle https://theonion.com/nation-yearns-for-relative-calm-of-president-a-giant-pedophile-news-cycle/
Nation Yearns For Relative Calm Of ‘President A Giant Pedophile’ News Cycle

Reposted by Rebecca Solnit, Brendan Nyhan, Robert C. Richards , and 9 more

vermontgmg.bsky.social
Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 20d
We are watching one of the wildest things a nation-state has ever done: A superpower is committing suicide because the GOP Congress is too cowardly to stand up to the Mad King.

This is one of the wildest moments in all of geopolitics ever.
noelreports.com NOELREPORTS @noelreports.com · 20d
Footage shows Danish troops arriving in Greenland as part of a new military deployment. Among the personnel who landed on the island is Major General Peter H. Boysen, Chief of the Danish Army Command. #Greenland

Reposted by Blair Fix

kjephd.bsky.social
Kevin Elliott @kjephd.bsky.social · 21d
Reminds me of one of my favorite memes:
Five panel meme arranged vertically. The first shows a grey haired mustachioed man saying "socialism never works." The next panel has a younger man wearing a hat saying, "Norway is socialist and they're doing great." The third panel has the mustachioed man apparently yelling, "They're not socialist they're capitalist countries with strong welfare policies." The third panel shows the hatted man throwing a chair and apparently yelling, "then let's adopt those policies!" The final panel has the mustachioed man yelling back, "No, that's socialism."

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Ben H. Ansell, Peter Thorne , and 34 more

john-abernathy.bsky.social
John Abernathy @john-abernathy.bsky.social · 22d
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.

Reposted by John Horgan, John McLaren, David H. Kaye , and 19 more

Reposted by Gavin A. Schmidt, Leo Lucassen, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 10 more

normcharlatan.bsky.social
Norm Charlatan @normcharlatan.bsky.social · 23d
I don’t think people quite understand that the occupation by ICE in the Twin Cities has more or less erased non-white people from public life. They cannot safely exist in any space accessible to the public and moving between private places leaves folks vulnerable to kidnapping by armed masked goons.

Reposted by Blair Fix

kreay.bsky.social
Karen Reay @kreay.bsky.social · 24d
Public funds belong in public schools. Sign the Petition in Red Deer!

sign.abfundspublicschools.ca?og=USR4863_1...
Alberta Funds Public Schools
A Citizen Initiative petitioning the Government of Alberta to improve its Public Education funding model.
sign.abfundspublicschools.ca

Reposted by Jonathan Hopkin, Michael D. McDonald, Blair Fix

factpostnews.bsky.social
FactPost @factpostnews.bsky.social · 24d
21-year-old activist injured by ICE:

I will be blind for life. I have fractures in my skull that they can't fix. They pulled a piece of plastic the size of a nickel out of my eye. I had shards of metal, glass, and plastic behind my eye and in my skull. They said it was a miracle I survived.

blairfix.bsky.social
Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 24d
When I get sick of politics (which is all the time these days), I read about cosmology. In my view, we're now experiencing a slow-burning revolution in our understanding of the cosmos. It's exhilarating to watch. My outsider take:

economicsfromthetopdown.com/2026/01/15/a...
An Unfolding Scientific Revolution in Cosmology – Economics from the Top Down
I take a break from political economy and discuss what I see as the unfolding revolution in our understanding of the universe.
economicsfromthetopdown.com

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Rebecca Solnit, Steve Peers , and 13 more

ryanhatesthis.bsky.social
Ryan Broderick @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social · 24d
Trump says a lot of deranged shit, but, per this Reuters article — and the threats of invoking the Insurrection Act in Minnesota this morning — he is very clearly exploring how to cancel the midterms.
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...

Reposted by Steve Peers, Michael D. McDonald, Blair Fix , and 1 more

pacantifa.is
Pacific Antifascist Research Collective @pacantifa.is · 24d
ICE agents fled from the crowd and left behind their CONOPS battle plan for Minneapolis, including agent's names, hotel rooms, phone numbers, boxes of license plates, and tac radio frequencies.
fransport or inuniration Targete. MERCADO MEDIA 1 Make sure you have you PIV card and access tas buen granted. it you don't you wi need to go through the guard shack entrance. Once you eross over the tight rai tracks you wilt take the immediate tett into the s south entrance. (See Black line) 3. Youwill opproach an access point where you will need to scan your PIv card. Gate should open. (See Black Arrow) 4. Drive to the most northwester tot and drive between the bulldings. You will sue garage entrances on both sides. (See black line) 5. The garage buitding on the teft will be the bultding the sally port is located in. (See red circte), 6. Last garage door on the teft wilt be the sally port. (See black line inside red crcle.). There will be another access point at that door. Scan you PIV card to get access or Once outside the sally port, agents can call the ERO command post 612-843-8701/612-843- 8708) to gain access to the sally port. Hours 0800 to 1500.