It really wasn’t that hard to see what was on the horizon months ago. The administration realized that for many liberals, Palestine was their “exception.” From the regime’s perspective, Palestine was their proof of concept. This is what happens when you selectively apply your principles.

I think it's important for self-described "liberals" or "leftists" to pay more attention to the parallel reality on the Right. It's a reality where the Left "freely employs" violence and the BLM protests were a "state-sanctioned...insurrection." This is NOT fringe. americanmind.org/salvo/defend...

The sheer stupidity of our current moment matches and often exceeds its horrors

I haven't entered a Starbucks in nearly 2 years. Not once has the thought crossed my mind that I "miss" anything they offer.

Hulk Hogan really was the epitome of “live long enough to see yourself become the villain”

A while back, when this judge first crossed my radar, I couldn't help but wonder if she had an Arab background. Turns out, she does...but that's not all! She is also an alum of my undergrad alma mater @lehighu.bsky.social and--get this--a member of my graduating class!! Uhh...go Mountain Hawks?

“Basically, it’s the alsalamualaikum of New York.” W’alailumalYERRRRR

Just finished reading Empire of AI by @karenhao.bsky.social First, *HIGHLY* recommend Second, loved the shoutout in the epilogue to the work that @alexhanna.bsky.social and her colleagues at @dairinstitute.bsky.social are doing OpenAI 🤝 Neo-imperialism www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743569...

Lots packed into @adambonica.bsky.social's new On Data and Democracy post, but I haven't seen this chart getting the attention I think it deserves. US lawmakers are remarkably old, and the gap here between population age and lawmaker age is exceptional. data4democracy.substack.com/p/on-data-an...

This is a watershed moment. Everyone who benefits from higher education should be deeply concerned. Ryan was a moderate who presided over one of the more conservative institutions of higher education. He followed the law when it comes to DEI. But that wasn't enough. Trump demands absolute fealty.

You’ll *never* guess who her top donor was from 2019-2024 (3x more than the #2 donor at that)

Look…nobody is perfect #YNWA

* From my earliest years until I went off to college, I lived w/in in a 2 block radius in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn * I took the Regents Exams * I had a green and white Metrocard I may not currently live in New York, but I am most certainly OF New York. Today, I'm a bit prouder of that honor.

Part of the (ongoing, incomplete, illusory?) decolonization process

A couple years back, one of my local mosques decided to give a sermon on Islam’s position on LGBT issues every 👏🏽 single 👏🏽 week 👏🏽 in June. I’ve gone to another local mosque on Fridays over the past few months. Today’s sermon was on Juneteenth and how Islam promotes anti-racism. Refreshing. Hopeful.

Eid Mubarak, fam! #YNWA

I made a (non-disparaging, though far from complimentary) comparison between Abdel Nasser and Trump, given what I perceived to be their shared skill at spin. Let me you: Hell hath no fury like an Arab “leftist”/“anti-imperialist” scorned.

Just a reminder that at one point during the Saudi-led de facto blockade of Qatar a few years back, MBS floated the idea of digging a canal on the KSA side of the border, but leaving just enough Saudi land attached to Qatar to build a nuclear waste dump.

Highly recommend that you no longer wait to do the thing you’ve always wanted to do #YNWA

CHAMPIONE! CHAMPIONE! #YNWA

THIS IS ANFIELD #YNWA

يا ولاد الحراميه

“Captured”

Apparently woke left America and came to England

To play Devil’s advocate for the MAGA camp (which, my goodness, the LEVELS to that turn of phrase), there’s certainly reason to be skeptical of anyone who has ever called that casserole they got in Chicago a “pizza”

Student: Would China step in as hegemon in the MENA if the US pulls back? Me: Potentially, but they certainly wouldn't be as conspicuous about it. The Chinese follow the Lil Wayne school of diplomacy...real Gs move in silence...like lasagna

Huge: Jordan outlaws Muslim Brotherhood, confiscates assets and offices. Move reflects mounting fears of internal strife, as monarchy worries about possible ethnic cleansing from WB into Jordan, and militancy from Syrian where Israeli forces are present. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Bond market acting like Chuck Knoblauch trying to turn a routine double play

والقصة لسة مستمرة 👑🇪🇬 #YNWA

“We are at a moment right now where people are asking themselves why can’t the Democratic Party defend this assault on democracy . . . and I would submit to you that if you can’t draw the line at genocide, you probably can’t draw the line at democracy.” ~Ta-Nehisi Coates www.ajc.com/politics/oss...

Absolute legend

This man is the Cheddar Bob of presidents

Duo Lingo’s TikTok account is absolutely unhinged

I’m at First Watch eating Eid brunch with my fam, when an older man White guy (I’m talking straight outta central casting with the goatee and baseball cap) came by and said “Salam! Happy holiday to you all.” 😊 And then as he’s walking away…I see he’s wearing a Blackwater hoodie?? Now I’m just 😐🤔😳

Y’all know the vibes Eid Mubarak, fam!! 🌙

they want worldwide jim crow

HEY ALL YOU FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS GOING TO POMONA: Rumeysa Ozturk was a Fulbright Scholar so you should go somewhere else because they're gonna put you on a list to get snatched up.

It's hard to look at the expansion (and occasional contraction) of US Census racial/ethnic classification and not conclude that social and political considerations influence the decisions. Just one case in point: The appearance, then disappearance of "Mexican" as a distinct racial category

It’s weird seeing Katherine Maher in the headlines/crosshairs for her role at NPR…since I still more readily associate her with foreign policy tweets during the early heady days of the Arab Uprisings. Am I alone? Perhaps @sumitapahwa.bsky.social and @abuaardvark.bsky.social can relate?

I have been fortunate enough to host both of these top notch thinkers at CNU. Highly recommend going to this event if you’re in the area.

The Israeli military just executed Hossam Shabat. Deliberately. With a targeted strike on his car. Which was, needless to say, clearly marked Press. I'll say it again: First they came for the journalists. We don't know what happened after that.

In a targeted attack on his car, Israel has killed Al-Jazeera's Hossam Shabat, who was only 23 years old and was one of the last remaining journalists in Gaza. There are no words.

The President of my small public liberal arts university sent out a missive this morning. He acknowledges "shifting winds," but reaffirms CNU's commitment to becoming "the most inclusive university in Virginia." There's a lot to be said for at least being directionality correct in this moment.

The religion-politics link most often presents the former as input and the latter as output. Some of the most interesting scholarly work in this space flips the association. It is nearly impossible, for example, to imagine a “sin of empathy” discourse absent a reactionary political context.

Lots to worry about with new technology and lots going on in the world. But perhaps we can leverage the former to help us focus on what’s most important in the latter. Odd numbered night this evening 🌙 🤲🏽

I'll reluctantly admit that I see headlines like this and think that institutions have become more akin to speed bumps rather than bulwarks in the face of tyrannical power

Among the many disorienting developments in our current moment is the sense that we are living concurrently in two parallel timelines

Just about all faculty in higher ed feel this so hard right now. Morale has cratered. Leadership is either silent or loudly compliant. So disheartening; so shortsighted.