If you want to know if we're in an autocracy... experts define it as not being able to speak out without fear of being attacked (by the gov't). This is a US SENATOR forcibly removed from a press conference. www.cnn.com/2025/06/12/p...

So POTUS reposted a conspiracy 'theory' that Biden was killed in 2020 and replaced by clones and robots. Why on earth would we (and I'm not taking responsibility for this or Jewish space lasers) give a robot an old man shuffle and stutter.

PepsiCo's new sustainability goals are a mixed bag...but not a retreat at all. Plenty of good news also. My longer thoughts here... www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew...

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddle masses... As long as they can jump high, run fast, and solve some puzzles quickly. www.huffpost.com/entry/reacti...

The MAGA-led policy choices are really something. More cavities for all! www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/h...

I had such a good time on this podcast. Richard is a top notch interviewer. We had a great conversation.

The 'big' deal with China will drop tariffs from 145% to 30%. The markets jumped. Ok, but imagine if there were no tariffs and they announced a 30% tariff across the board on China. The markets would have hated it. So you do something insane, drop back to just stupid, and you're a hero?

Comparative advantage or greed. Tomato Tomahto.

Anyone have any ideas for the logic behind the administration gutting investment and grants to health and cancer research. I can come up with some logic for their cruel cuts to aid ('pull yourself up by your bootstraps you leeches'!) but do they not realize that they get cancer also?

Trump says people can just buy 2 dolls instead of 30. Who knew he was such a committed anti-consumption de-growther.

When Vets who had federal jobs, or farmers who sold to china, find themselves in the streets asking for change, at least they won't have to deal with the penny or drink thru paper straws. So, win-win?

There are no "real" Americans. There are no tiers of citizenship. The children who were just deported -- first-generation Americans -- have the same rights as the rural farmer whose ancestors came on the Mayflower

Pete Buttiegieg is by far the best communicator in the Dem party -- and maybe the best I've ever seen. If you missed this, it's basically how Dems should always message what their priorities are and how they make people's lives better. www.youtube.com/shorts/veb4z...

Thanks so much for the shout out. Glad you liked it...

We're at the rubicon. We're crossing into autocracy right now... www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew...

What a shocker. He pulls back on a bunch of tariffs last minute and the market surges. I'm sure there was zero insider trading from him and his team. It's almost like it's one big grift.

So, I guess everything we buy from China will cost twice as much in a day or two? It's a good thing that we don't buy much from them. Phew.

These arguments are deeply mirrored in the corp sustainability world. We just have to speak their language and we'll make real progress. In this reactionary time against DEI and climate action, I keep hearing we're 'back to the business case', as if we ever had a single nanosecond of break from it.

The important thing about the tariffs is that this administration is locking people up without due process and shipping them to a torture prison in another country.

I like to think I have a strong sense of empathy -- in the literal sense of putting myself in others' mental spaces, even if I'm disgusted. Yet I'm struggling to 'get' some of the Trump/Musk admin's actions. What is the purpose behind, say, trying to destroy a seed vault? Signed, Stumped

The layoffs in the government continue at an unreal pace. At some point, the small government obsessed people will realize that federal jobs are, you know, jobs...filled by real people who spend money in the economy. Layoffs of this scale are great if you want a recession.

A Trump voter fired from her gov't job said this: "Nobody that I've talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives" There's the problem. She didn't talk to ANY of the 70 million of us that knew. bsky.app/profile/andrewwinston.bsky.social

Imagine feeling this way. Wait...that would require some skill for understanding how others might see the world. I can't remember the word... www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/p...

So many people voted for 47 because of a vague 'he'll do better on the 'economy'' feeling. Or he'll help with the price of eggs. He talked about these tariffs a lot -- he ran on them in part. Why is anyone surprised?

Imagine you're one of the richest people in history. You could give everyone on earth water infrastructure without noticing a dent in your piles of money. Instead, you get excited about cutting programs that hand out anti-malarial nets, or taking away social security payments for the elderly.

I'm less worried about climate action stopping than I probably should be. But clean tech is basically cheaper, and money drives everything. This administration will make it harder to, say, get an EV and charge it. But the world will move on with the energy transition. Investors will still engage.

Target is facing a backlash from customers over its retreat on DEI. This was predictable, and avoidable. See my post on @linkedin.com www.linkedin.com/posts/andrew...

In all the horrible news, this piece got its 5 seconds, but it's worth focusing on... VP Vance met with the (effectively) neo-nazi party in Germany, the one that other German won’t even talk to. And he scolded Europeans to their face for not talking to them. www.politico.com/news/2025/02...

Yes, the woke virus of 'food safety', or 'air traffic control' He's really on to something.

Things are changing so fast, for the worse, that Dems should start running ads saying "Are you better off than you were 4 weeks ago?"

It's a firehose of awful right now. But some things are worth fighting. This seemingly silly story of punishing @apnews.com for using "Gulf of Mexico" is one. All media should boycott until freedom of the press is restored. I won't hold my breath. www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

The only thing they'll accomplish by slowing EV adoption in the US is to ensure that the US falls way, way behind the rest of the world.

If you eliminate millions of jobs and the pay that goes along with it, it doesn't do good things to the economy. I wonder if anyone has told the MAGA team that federal employees have, you know, jobs.

Ettu, Google? You don't actually have to comply with everything he wants. In fact, it would be really helpful if you stood up for some core values. www.huffpost.com/entry/google...

China, logically, strikes back with tariffs. We're lucky we don't buy much from China...

My latest in MIT SMR (@mitsloan.bsky.social) on what Trump admin means for corporate sustainability and some ideas on how to handle it. Wrote it a few weeks ago, saying 'hey, maybe you should plan for things like tariffs'. sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what...

The orange one said 'we're the only country in the world that does birthright citizenship. it's ridiculous'. Except for the 34 countries that do it, including Canada and a lot of the Western Hemisphere. The lying is like breathing. worldpopulationreview.com/country-rank...

The Fraternal Order of Police was not happy with the Jan.6 pardons and said this. "When perpetrators of crimes, especially serious crimes, are not held fully accountable, it sends a dangerous message..." They endorsed Trump, now a convicted felon, in 2024. And in 2016 and 2020. #face-eating

JP Morgan Chase CEO Dimon says about inflation, "get over it" How lucky that some inflationary effects are just fine and dandy for HIM. He's probably not buying his own eggs. www.cnn.com/2025/01/22/e...

For the historians out there like... @kevinmkruse.bsky.social I can't imagine much more dangerous for a President to do than pardon everyone (as in 1500 people) that perpetrates violence in his name. Any historic precedents that are even close?

Trump already saying we're out of the Paris climate accord. Day 1. It's going to be a long 4 years. But at least there's no uncertainty on that front -- the rest of the world can go on without the U.S. #silverlining?

But I've heard so many times that tackling climate change will 'destroy the economy' or be too expensive -- still hearing it in cabinet hearings from, checks notes, the incoming head of the EPA.

NYC Congestion pricing has worked very well so far. Speeds in major tunnels up 20 to 90%. We need some wins, so this is good to see. Some more thoughts here... www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Repeal of Inflation Reduction Act would raise consumer energy costs $500/year, per @rhodiumgroup.bsky.social Repeal of tech-neutral ITC & PTC alone would raise electricity bills 10%/year, per @auroraenergy.bsky.social Aurora: auroraer.com/media/reform... Rhodium: rhg.com/research/tru...

The orange one and his allies are talking about withholding funds from LA until they get things they want, or just because... Is there much lower and vile than kicking people when they're down and need help? www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/...

I'd love to see a shift from 'how democrats should...' to 'how the media should...' Why is it entirely the responsibility of one party to highlight corruption of the other?

Welcome to BlueSky @thinkers50.com!

This headline just popped up from NYT (i'm not clicking on it). "Meta moves to end fact-checking program ahead of Trump term" Nice. What bravery.

VP Harris performed a routine act today of certifying the election... Without people storming the capitol.