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jsonder.bsky.social
Father of two, fictionist, political junkie, chess/poker/pool/Scrabble enthusiast, Pelicans fanatic
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I think even those of us who thought college players should get paid never dreamed this nightmare that the NCAA has become under NIL.

Joe Rogan really sat up there with a straight face and said he endorsed Trump because Tim Walz lied. We saw the gradual radicalization and brainwashing of a very public figure as it happened. Fascinating and heartbreaking.

Today's a really good day for my "Democrats get held to the standards of heroes, Republicans to the standards of villains" theory, huh?

Republicans spend most of their TV time holding Democrats accountable for a self-imposed ethical standard when they fail to meet it. Reps do not self-impose an ethical standard, which is why Reps can slam Dems for doing the exact same things that Reps do. It’s the dumbest game that Dems allow.

I’m wrapping up a four-year bachelor’s degree from a state university, and I had exactly two instructors the entire time whose politics were clear. The “colleges are left-wing indoctrination” narrative is threatening our country’s intellectual health and needs to be countered.

I would be really interested to see a prototype of this hypothetical facts-only news network that everyone seems to think is both possible and sorely needed. Of course, the real motive is to present “alternative facts” when the facts favor one side or the other. Balance does not mean objectivity.

What percentage of Americans would you guess can give even a rudimentary summary of what’s happening in the Middle East at any given time? 10%? 5%? 2%? (I’m shamefully in the majority here.) (Unless something really pops off, then we’ll all know within 30 minutes.)

The concept of individual voter fraud - that someone not allowed to vote walks in and votes - makes no sense. The risk-reward ratio (felony/deportation for 1 vote out of millions) is worse than any other crime. No remotely rational person would do it. How do they convince people it’s a problem?

With that said, Trump is going to be right about some things, even if only by pure accident. Don’t get distracted trying to hammer little details most people don’t care about. Focus on the things we *know* are wrong and resonate with the people we lost in 2024.

Further evidence Trump is a cult figure: ascribing his cabinet picks to 4D chess or some genius plan is his followers shaping him into their image of a perfect leader. It’s not even gaslighting, because they don’t know the truth. Their minds have made this their truth.

Incredible analogy 😂

Before Trump’s first term, I thought presidents were the busiest people on earth and make tons of high-leverage decisions every day. Trump convinced me they’re as busy as they want to be and can literally delegate their entire day-to-day and just watch TV if they want to.

Very easy to see how moving from a couple hours a day of scrolling Twitter to a couple hours a day of scrolling Bluesky could literally improve health outcomes for people. I always laughed at the concept of “doomscrolling.” Now I’m understanding it and how many people are impacted.

Watching people detox from years of abuse on Twitter/X is hilarious and fascinating. It’s like people don’t know how to act when the person challenging them is reasonable and civil.

I haven’t looked forward to a political book more than @davidpakman.bsky.social’s “The Echo Machine” in a long time. Always love David’s analysis and his willingness to engage with reasonable and unreasonable voices from all over the political spectrum. #echomachine2025