iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 3h

How about Attica and San Quentin?

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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 7h

Brown University’s widget shows that the energy costs of the Iran war have just passed $1,000 per household iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu

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bjkeefe @bjkeefe.bsky.social · 5h

Cold hard numbers, well-presented in a short essay. Here's a piece:

As we approach the two-year mark since Donald Trump’s second election victory, it’s a good time to do a little economic scorekeeping. Before getting into where the economy is and where it’s going, it’s worth a little reminder of where it was before the election.

This is important because Trump and the Republicans continuously spew utter nonsense about an economic disaster that only exists in their imagination. By literally every standard measure, the economy was doing extremely well just before the election. The unemployment rate was hovering near 4.0%, and nominal wages were growing at roughly a 4.0% annual rate.

Inflation had slowed sharply, with the year-over-year rate at 2.6% in October of 2024. This translated into real wage growth of close to 1.5%. Inflation was expected to continue to slow, with most projections having inflation coming in very close to the Fed’s 2.0% target by the end of 2025.

There had been a massive surge in the number of people able to work from home as a result of the pandemic, with that figure still being close to 20% by the end of 2024. These people were saving hundreds of hours a year in commuting time and thousands of dollars annually in commuting-related costs. There also had been an unprecedented explosion in factory construction, with real spending in 2024 more than double the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

Growth for the year was 2.5%, and it was expected to be above 2.0% for the near future. This story was the basis for The Economist’s famous cover story about the U.S. economy: The Envy of the World.
Trump Takes Over: The Story Darkens

Virtually without exception, the data have gotten worse under Trump. Inflation has risen; nominal wage growth has slowed. Factory construction has plummeted. The

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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 7h

El-Sayed’s response to Kennedy:

El-Sayed: “That’s rich coming from someone who wears his bed sheets out at night.”

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Jennifer Shin - WTAF @jennifershin.bsky.social · 15h

On that list, there had better be a plan to impeach and remove every sycophant and enabler, along with everyone who violated their oath—including those in the White House.

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 9h

I believe they can, if they can show its relevance

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 17h

BBC had to ask the magistrate to allow for alternative service mechanisms, which they granted. But Trump was trying to use his presidential power to win an absurd suit against a news outlet. This should be an impeachable and jailable offense.

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 17h

To do that, it needs depositions from Ivanka Trump and various other people close to the president. Trump was using the Secret Service to keep these people from being personally served with subpoenas for depositions.

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 17h

It's worth saying a bit about how pathetic this story is. Trump sues BBC for an absurd sum because he said they misrepresented what happened on January 6th. To defend itself BBC wants to show it accurately represented what happened on January 6th.

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 16h

On the plus side maybe Europe's leaders will now understand that NATO with the U.S. is dead. They should send Rutte to live in Washington permanently (better to kiss Trump's rear) and make plans for their own defense.

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 16h

This piece needs a correction. The agents didn't "act on their own," they were misprogramed. Some people at Anthropic may need to go to jail. Don't blame the AI, blame the people who program it.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 11h

Signs you’re a war criminal: You attack the court that goes after war criminals

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Eric Bottorff @torff.bsky.social · 10h

At the very least, I would hoping this creep would help make our food safer. But he can't even do that.

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Blue Dot in Red State @bluedotin.bsky.social · 12h

This is what happens when you go through school always on probation, and are passed from grade to grade because teachers don't want to see your face again.

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 16h

Because of Trump's endless whining, I heard the Nobel committee is planning to give him a participation trophy.

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experimental22.bsky.social @experimental22.bsky.social · 14h

The Trump regime has put armed, masked thugs on our streets to assault & shoot us. And we are paying for them. Please understand, they may kill you, they may kill your children.

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Jennifer Shin - WTAF @jennifershin.bsky.social · 15h

They should all be doing this because they know that he's a prolific liar and a con man with absolute bad intentions toward this country. If they don't, then they're complicit.

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 17h

Seems like the AI boys are planning for the day after a major AI catastrophe www.axios.com/2026/10/09/a... Guess the rest of us should too. How about all the AI boys go to jail?

axios.com

Scoop: AI companies plot "day after" scenarios for public revolt

Inside the AI industry's worst-case-scenario prep.

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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Thousands have taken the streets of Syracuse, NY, to make clear: Donald Trump is not welcome here!

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 16h

absolutely, and that first sentence is a crime against journalism. It assigns agency to the AI. The agency belongs with the people who programmed it, they are responsible. It is simple. The NYT should not cover for them.

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Seth Masket @smotus.bsky.social · 21h

If people did this they'd be prosecuted, right? And if people built a thing that did this... they're liable, right?

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 16h

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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Blue Cross Blue Shield is being sued as a monopoly after the state found it's been in a conspiracy to restrict access to healthcare. Corporations should not have this much power. We need money out of politics, money in our pockets, and Medicare for All.

freep.com

Michigan attorney general sues Blue Cross, alleging illegal monopoly

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in "arguably the most consequential antitrust case" of its kind.

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 23h

Troops should not be standing guard near ballot drop boxes in D.C.

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Jake Broe @realjakebroe.bsky.social · 21h

Cartoon by Michael de Adder

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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

They couldn’t paint the bottom of a pool, but we’re building on the moon. 🙄

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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

St. Clair County, you blew me away. Change is coming. It's already here.

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Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 16h

Political cartoons

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 16h

This piece needs a correction. The agents didn't "act on their own," they were misprogramed. Some people at Anthropic may need to go to jail. Don't blame the AI, blame the people who program it.

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Dean Baker @deanbaker13.bsky.social · 16h

Don't forget ending the Ukraine war on day one

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fsf2.bsky.social @fsf2.bsky.social · 22h

Infrastructure week to follow.

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Dan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 16h

Hang on what is going on here? I can't believe that there is no accounting standard for a basic question like including third party resellers, so which of the two of them is following it?