Mark Blondin
@markblondin.com
Writes Material Witness — political economy, media, and what happens to people when the numbers don't add up. Bylines: Longreads, The Humanist, HuffPost.
Lives in Vila do Conde, Portugal.
materialwitness.markblondin.com
Lives in Vila do Conde, Portugal.
materialwitness.markblondin.com
Our essay, “Still on Its Way to Cleveland,” published by Longreads, revisits that experiment in early internet culture and a time when the web felt more like a shared commons than a commercial marketplace.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Still On Its Way to Cleveland - Longreads
Nine months, 25,000 miles, one phone cord, and the kindness of strangers.
longreads.com
October 1, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Our essay, “Still on Its Way to Cleveland,” published by Longreads, revisits that experiment in early internet culture and a time when the web felt more like a shared commons than a commercial marketplace.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Reposted by Mark Blondin
Come get the facts, ask questions, and hear directly from people who know the system inside and out.
🗓️ Mon. Sep. 28 @ 10:00AM
📍 Delray Beach, FL
Sign up: TINYURL.COM/ANGIE4SOCIALSECURITY
#AngieForFlorida #SocialSecurity #DelrayBeach #PalmBeachCounty
🗓️ Mon. Sep. 28 @ 10:00AM
📍 Delray Beach, FL
Sign up: TINYURL.COM/ANGIE4SOCIALSECURITY
#AngieForFlorida #SocialSecurity #DelrayBeach #PalmBeachCounty
Social Security Town Hall with Rep. Angie Nixon and Former SSA Commissioner Martin O'Malley · Angie for Florida
You paid into Social Security with every paycheck. It's your earned benefit, and it's under attack. Join Social Security Works PAC and the Alliance for Retired Americans for a conversation with Angie…
TINYURL.COM
September 26, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Come get the facts, ask questions, and hear directly from people who know the system inside and out.
🗓️ Mon. Sep. 28 @ 10:00AM
📍 Delray Beach, FL
Sign up: TINYURL.COM/ANGIE4SOCIALSECURITY
#AngieForFlorida #SocialSecurity #DelrayBeach #PalmBeachCounty
🗓️ Mon. Sep. 28 @ 10:00AM
📍 Delray Beach, FL
Sign up: TINYURL.COM/ANGIE4SOCIALSECURITY
#AngieForFlorida #SocialSecurity #DelrayBeach #PalmBeachCounty
Reposted by Mark Blondin
CBSMiami obtained the grand jury report, and jurors concluded $10 million in taxpayer money was misappropriated as part of a “sophisticated scheme to fund political activities.” Ashley Moody knew about the plan and authorized the settlement.
#AngieForFlorida #HopeFlorida
#AngieForFlorida #HopeFlorida
September 26, 2026 at 12:00 PM
CBSMiami obtained the grand jury report, and jurors concluded $10 million in taxpayer money was misappropriated as part of a “sophisticated scheme to fund political activities.” Ashley Moody knew about the plan and authorized the settlement.
#AngieForFlorida #HopeFlorida
#AngieForFlorida #HopeFlorida
The Petoskey News-Review's editorial board wrote this on October 7, 1996. They saw the potential.
September 25, 2026 at 8:45 AM
The Petoskey News-Review's editorial board wrote this on October 7, 1996. They saw the potential.
Petoskey New-Review editorial on Oct 7. 1996.
Read the full story at Longreads.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Read the full story at Longreads.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
September 24, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Petoskey New-Review editorial on Oct 7. 1996.
Read the full story at Longreads.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Read the full story at Longreads.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
In 2012 we rented a beach house in Crucita, Ecuador. Within weeks the beach in front of it was a sardine-processing plant. Open-air sheds, no refrigeration, crews standing in water at high tide, children working.
The cleaned fish went to canneries 40 miles up the coast.
The cleaned fish went to canneries 40 miles up the coast.
September 24, 2026 at 4:13 PM
In 2012 we rented a beach house in Crucita, Ecuador. Within weeks the beach in front of it was a sardine-processing plant. Open-air sheds, no refrigeration, crews standing in water at high tide, children working.
The cleaned fish went to canneries 40 miles up the coast.
The cleaned fish went to canneries 40 miles up the coast.
In 1997 we found a call for abstracts, got accepted, and presented our road trip to 400 educators at a U.S. Department of Education conference in Chicago.
We thought we were describing the future of education. We were describing a year that couldn't happen now. longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
We thought we were describing the future of education. We were describing a year that couldn't happen now. longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Still On Its Way to Cleveland - Longreads
Nine months, 25,000 miles, one phone cord, and the kindness of strangers.
longreads.com
September 24, 2026 at 7:57 AM
In 1997 we found a call for abstracts, got accepted, and presented our road trip to 400 educators at a U.S. Department of Education conference in Chicago.
We thought we were describing the future of education. We were describing a year that couldn't happen now. longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
We thought we were describing the future of education. We were describing a year that couldn't happen now. longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
We asked the staff at the JFK Presidential Library if we could park the motorhome in their lot overnight. They said yes, then locked the gate behind us for the night.
Nobody had a policy for that. Someone had a key and decided yes.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Nobody had a policy for that. Someone had a key and decided yes.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Still On Its Way to Cleveland - Longreads
Nine months, 25,000 miles, one phone cord, and the kindness of strangers.
longreads.com
September 23, 2026 at 2:44 PM
We asked the staff at the JFK Presidential Library if we could park the motorhome in their lot overnight. They said yes, then locked the gate behind us for the night.
Nobody had a policy for that. Someone had a key and decided yes.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Nobody had a policy for that. Someone had a key and decided yes.
longreads.com/2026/09/22/f...
Buddy, our golden retriever, was not part of the original plan. He got his own web page anyway.
blondins.com/family/buddy/
blondins.com/family/buddy/
September 22, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Buddy, our golden retriever, was not part of the original plan. He got his own web page anyway.
blondins.com/family/buddy/
blondins.com/family/buddy/
October 4, 1996. We left Boyne City, Michigan, in a 34-foot motorhome with three kids, a golden retriever, and a desktop computer bolted to the floor. Five miles later it died.
Betsy and I wrote about the next nine months for @longreads.
Betsy and I wrote about the next nine months for @longreads.
Still On Its Way to Cleveland - Longreads
Nine months, 25,000 miles, one phone cord, and the kindness of strangers.
longreads.com
September 22, 2026 at 10:12 AM
October 4, 1996. We left Boyne City, Michigan, in a 34-foot motorhome with three kids, a golden retriever, and a desktop computer bolted to the floor. Five miles later it died.
Betsy and I wrote about the next nine months for @longreads.
Betsy and I wrote about the next nine months for @longreads.
Gibraltar, 2011. A Barbary ape climbed through the car window, took the fruit salad out of my wife's hands, gave her a glare, and left the way he came. I was outside the car, taking a photograph. The photograph is blurry.
open.substack.com/pub/mindelo/...
open.substack.com/pub/mindelo/...
Woman Brutalized by Barbary Ape
(Husband Watched)
open.substack.com
September 18, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Gibraltar, 2011. A Barbary ape climbed through the car window, took the fruit salad out of my wife's hands, gave her a glare, and left the way he came. I was outside the car, taking a photograph. The photograph is blurry.
open.substack.com/pub/mindelo/...
open.substack.com/pub/mindelo/...
"Six years after COVID ripped this nation apart, we still don’t know what the truth is...To be sure, in 1,100 pages, there are medical sections as well. But it’s the self-love that makes the biggest impression...He’s rich. He’s certainly famous...loves it."
He knows.
eu.freep.com/story/sports...
He knows.
eu.freep.com/story/sports...
Mitch Albom: Fauci hearing shows what's changed and what we don't know
Six years after COVID ripped this nation apart, we still don’t know what the truth is. Fauci's diary doesn't help.
eu.freep.com
August 2, 2026 at 7:11 PM
"Six years after COVID ripped this nation apart, we still don’t know what the truth is...To be sure, in 1,100 pages, there are medical sections as well. But it’s the self-love that makes the biggest impression...He’s rich. He’s certainly famous...loves it."
He knows.
eu.freep.com/story/sports...
He knows.
eu.freep.com/story/sports...
I was a manager at Coca-Cola until 1995. I sat through the diversity training.
Four years after I left, the company settled the largest race discrimination case in US history. The court-ordered remedy was more training.
Where DEI actually came from: materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/a-fraud-th...
Four years after I left, the company settled the largest race discrimination case in US history. The court-ordered remedy was more training.
Where DEI actually came from: materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/a-fraud-th...
July 30, 2026 at 6:14 PM
I was a manager at Coca-Cola until 1995. I sat through the diversity training.
Four years after I left, the company settled the largest race discrimination case in US history. The court-ordered remedy was more training.
Where DEI actually came from: materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/a-fraud-th...
Four years after I left, the company settled the largest race discrimination case in US history. The court-ordered remedy was more training.
Where DEI actually came from: materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/a-fraud-th...
Most Democrats can read that poll. Check the demographics.
July 29, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Most Democrats can read that poll. Check the demographics.
Let's be clear. Lindsey Graham was a horrible human being.
July 29, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Let's be clear. Lindsey Graham was a horrible human being.
Breaking Points interview with Kshama Sawant just dropped. Sawant is crazy smart. Her explanation of why her strategy differs from DSA is clear. Kshama Sawant is an American politician, economist, and socialist. She served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMcz...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMcz...
Kshama Sawant: My Independent Socialist Campaign Will Defeat Adam Smith
YouTube video by Breaking Points
www.youtube.com
July 27, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Breaking Points interview with Kshama Sawant just dropped. Sawant is crazy smart. Her explanation of why her strategy differs from DSA is clear. Kshama Sawant is an American politician, economist, and socialist. She served on the Seattle City Council from 2014 to 2024
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMcz...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMcz...
In March, New Zealand released its Phase 2 official COVID-19 report. It wasn't flattering. The MSM buried the story.
The contrast to 2020-21, is stark. Then it was a sustained chorus around this: “one of the best health outcomes in the world”
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/the-model-...
The contrast to 2020-21, is stark. Then it was a sustained chorus around this: “one of the best health outcomes in the world”
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/the-model-...
The Model That Journalism Built.
How the COVID consensus machine enshrined New Zealand's pandemic response, suppressed the dissent, and went quiet when the facts arrived.
materialwitness.markblondin.com
July 27, 2026 at 5:15 PM
In March, New Zealand released its Phase 2 official COVID-19 report. It wasn't flattering. The MSM buried the story.
The contrast to 2020-21, is stark. Then it was a sustained chorus around this: “one of the best health outcomes in the world”
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/the-model-...
The contrast to 2020-21, is stark. Then it was a sustained chorus around this: “one of the best health outcomes in the world”
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/the-model-...
Portugal decriminalized every drug known to pharmacology in 2001. This is the story of a grown man weighing a trip across an international border to a cannabis club named after a Catholic prayer.
"Portugal Decriminalized Drugs, But I Can’t Buy a Gummy"
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/portugal-d...
"Portugal Decriminalized Drugs, But I Can’t Buy a Gummy"
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/portugal-d...
Portugal Decriminalized Drugs, But I Can’t Buy a Gummy
Let’s get the headline out of the way.
materialwitness.markblondin.com
July 18, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Portugal decriminalized every drug known to pharmacology in 2001. This is the story of a grown man weighing a trip across an international border to a cannabis club named after a Catholic prayer.
"Portugal Decriminalized Drugs, But I Can’t Buy a Gummy"
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/portugal-d...
"Portugal Decriminalized Drugs, But I Can’t Buy a Gummy"
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/portugal-d...
King, Tubman, Keller, Parks, Juneteenth. Each made a material demand while it was still dangerous to make it. Each got replaced by a fable — the dream, the legend, the miracle, the tired seamstress, the ice cream.
New essay: materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/once-you-s...
New essay: materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/once-you-s...
Once You See It
A pattern in five parts, from a Memphis balcony to a Walmart freezer aisle.
materialwitness.markblondin.com
July 17, 2026 at 3:13 PM
King, Tubman, Keller, Parks, Juneteenth. Each made a material demand while it was still dangerous to make it. Each got replaced by a fable — the dream, the legend, the miracle, the tired seamstress, the ice cream.
New essay: materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/once-you-s...
New essay: materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/once-you-s...
Church Committee, Gore/Liberman, Graham/McCain, Iraq, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, Libya, Honduras (2009), Ukraine, Iran.
Wealth inequality, for-profit health care, mass incarceration, neoliberalism, 2008 Bailout,...
Let's not dwell on Trump. It's a systemic problem.
Wealth inequality, for-profit health care, mass incarceration, neoliberalism, 2008 Bailout,...
Let's not dwell on Trump. It's a systemic problem.
July 17, 2026 at 4:50 AM
Church Committee, Gore/Liberman, Graham/McCain, Iraq, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, Libya, Honduras (2009), Ukraine, Iran.
Wealth inequality, for-profit health care, mass incarceration, neoliberalism, 2008 Bailout,...
Let's not dwell on Trump. It's a systemic problem.
Wealth inequality, for-profit health care, mass incarceration, neoliberalism, 2008 Bailout,...
Let's not dwell on Trump. It's a systemic problem.
Nixon started the "War on Drugs" in 1971. By 2023, total cost was ~ $1 trillion. The Global Commission on Drug Policy and the UN high commissioner for human rights, declared it a failure. The "War" created mass incarceration, targeting Black and Hispanic communities. Criminals thrived.
#Predictable
#Predictable
July 16, 2026 at 4:46 PM
Nixon started the "War on Drugs" in 1971. By 2023, total cost was ~ $1 trillion. The Global Commission on Drug Policy and the UN high commissioner for human rights, declared it a failure. The "War" created mass incarceration, targeting Black and Hispanic communities. Criminals thrived.
#Predictable
#Predictable
New home for Material Witness. The throughline: the penalty for being right before permission — how a sanctioned account gets manufactured, dissenters get marginalized, and the consensus quietly unwinds with no reckoning.
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/portugal-d...
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/portugal-d...
Portugal Decriminalized Drugs, But I Can’t Buy a Gummy
Let’s get the headline out of the way.
materialwitness.markblondin.com
July 15, 2026 at 5:01 AM
New home for Material Witness. The throughline: the penalty for being right before permission — how a sanctioned account gets manufactured, dissenters get marginalized, and the consensus quietly unwinds with no reckoning.
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/portugal-d...
materialwitness.markblondin.com/p/portugal-d...