Steve Campbell

On huge tax cuts for oligarchs, climate denialism, lust for oil, placating evangelical nonsense, and recklessly invading the Middle East, Trump sure has a lot in common with George W. Bush. This is why debates over continuity versus disruption are interesting.

especially basic knowledge to make sense of the world.

With Paramount and the Ellisons in the news, I'm rather shocked by the complete conservative and oligarchic takeover of our media. A lot of this has happened in the last five years. I don't think enough people realize how devastating and dire this situation has become.

Screenshot of the Trump steaks scam

This image illustrates a core feature of the Trump presidency: a scam. A [bad] product. A brand. A hard sales pitch. The ridiculous smirk and comb-over. When it's all said & done, I will insist that Americans fell for a massive scam. And I will defend that analysis to the death.

it's beyond awful and too difficult to describe. It's important to spend time analyzing the larger structural factors that enabled his rise, including social media and oligarchy. At the same time, I do believe we can't let average voters off the hook for responsibility. And many Christians.

Yeah. I like that he vetoed Taft-Hartley and it's unfortunate it still passed.

pretty crazy, right? Totally different era.

media corruption, bias, false objectivity, and malpractice. "But her emails" is a great example. Not covering climate change adequately. Emphasis on style over substance; outrage & entertainment; social media algorithms. Decline in Americans' reading. $2 billion in earned media for Trump campaign.

probably dissatisfaction with the Korean War was a big part of it.

Screenshot from an article in Bloomberg discussing the end of Gallup's polling question with Dr. Campbell revealing the more important takeaway in his post.

Only one guy on this list has never cracked 50%. It is no coincidence that professional historians and political scientists have, per multiple surveys, rated this person dead last among all 45 presidents. Those rankings were truthful, honest, objective, and evidence-based.

I think the answer is "no" for most people.

I think that's one--though not the only--reason that people believe in gawd.

Most of us don't get what we deserve. And there is no rhyme or reason to explain why; no Master Plan; no divine intervention.

* someone with alcoholic or abusive parents
* someone with a genetic predisposition toward addiction
* a Boomer who retires young just because they were a Boomer
* an utterly talentless and incompetent person who nonetheless "succeeds" by most definitions

I could go on and on.

* a child born in the Middle East who dies at age 6
* immoral people like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk having so much power
* Trump getting away with everything and always escaping jail
* a bright, talented person born with a lifelong disability
* a professor born at the wrong time

Do most people get what they deserve out of life?

It's such a fraught question with which I've been preoccupied for a long time. What does it mean to "deserve" something?

Consider the following examples:

* someone in Africa who does of malaria or starvation

I just saw your presentation for Climate Central on Youtube. You did a good job. Nicely done. Pretty shocking numbers for snowpack in Utah. The Colorado River Compact is in the news. They really need to rethink all the water that goes to alfalfa to be eaten by cows = VERY wasteful.

I remember Krugman saying in Peddling Prosperity that productivity slowed in the 1970s. This was one of the reasons we often don't think of the 1970s as especially prosperous.

The government agency in no way shape or form adds to the budget deficit and in fact, returns taxpayer money directly to the people by punishing corporate abuse. She is now running for Congress in Maryland.

CFPB Staffer Alexis Goldstein Fired for Confronting DOGE Members, Announces Run for Congress The Trump administration has fired Consumer Financial Protection Bureau program manager Alexis Goldstein for documenting a meeting a year ago between the agency and Elon Musk’s Department of Governmen...

I've known about Alexis Goldstein for years. She was unjustly fired from her job at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the brainchild of Elizabeth Warren. She witnessed and pushed back against the nefarious, likely illegal actions by DOGE. www.democracynow.org/2026/2/18/al...

Awesome! It feels great, doesn't it?

I would not say it is hard. I've had it almost seven years. Today I had to work a bit hard riding against the wind and carrying the weight of the groceries, but that's where the extra kick from the e-bike comes in handy.

* Climate is the foremost issue of our time. Trump is taking us backwards. If you want to resist Trump and his fossil fuel backers, again, this is a small act, but it's something.
* I'd be a hypocrite if I just wrote about climate change without doing anything about it.

* Structures, institutions, and policies (subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, for example) may matter more than individual choices, but individual choices are not irrelevant. They can send market signals that people demand more walkable and bike-friendly policies.

a photo of Steve Campbell and his e-bike with bike trailer attachment getting groceries

Why did I take my bike to get groceries today?
* I save gas money
* I lessen wear and tear on my car
* I get exercise
* If you don't like car culture, and so much of our infrastructure in the U.S. is car-centric, this is a small act of resistance

I was pretty devastated today, Andrew. You know how much I care about the environment. There is so much naked corruption in my government. Fossil fuel interests help get Trump elected and he rewards them with backwards policies like this. We've become an authoritarian petro state.

A list of bullet points showing Steve Campbell's thoughts about the relationship between the environment, climate change, consumption, class, and the economy.

We're desperate for many things, including an adult, honest conversation about the relationship between #theeconomy #theenvironment #climatechange and #consumption. Are you listening @gavinnewsom.bsky.social @mallorymcmorrow.bsky.social @aoc.bsky.social @petebuttigieg.bsky.social

yeah, I mean maybe it wasn't that left wing at all in the wide spectrum of journalism. Maybe its management and ownership constrained certain views or discourses. But I think in the past 1-2 years there was an overcorrection in a more RW direction since Trump, and that's devastating.

Back then you had Dana Milbank and Eugene Robinson writing opeds. They were awesome. I mean, how many times do we need to keep letting George Will and David Ignatius write vapid opeds? It was SO COOL when people actually took the time to open up a newspaper in the morning with coffee and read it.

I can't tell you how many disappointing, flawed, and uninspiring opeds I now see in the Washington Post. I remember traveling out to Washington D.C. one time and visiting my aunt. Her Chocolate Lab used to fetch the paper in the driveway every morning!

One of my big theses right now is that there pretty much is no establishment liberal media anymore. It's all been sidelined and scattered onto Substack. And its reach and influence was always exaggerated by the right.

Alright, that's a valid point and worth considering.