I know what I know I’ll sing what I said We come and we go That’s a thing that I keep In the back of my head

My monthly post to say I am still searching for lecturing roles & post-docs. Open to research collaborations and voluntary academic work. Times are tough out there but I’d appreciate any leads. 🏹

The Trump Admin has all the cleverness and toughness of a bad guy on Police Squad! What I can't understand is why more institutions aren't at least as smart as Frank Drebin.

I don't take the Avignon-Pentagon story all that seriously. I don't think it tells us much we didn't know. Street thugs in govt were probing for weakness, trying to find out if the Holy See can be muscled as in a protection racket. You can see how far that got them with Pierre.

Look. Trump is deranged, but he is not the idiot people make him out to be. He sees the world in terms of leverage and pressure. He is the schoolyard bully who understands what "uncle" means and why you need to be the one to say it. In Iran he couldn't find leverage. He cornered himself, which...

What if the United States had a Congress?

So. Tacos for dinner?

I've had to say this in class. There is only one person in the US with executive power, and the American ppl have the solemn duty to determine who will be the person who has that vast power. Blame the voters. Trump is only doing what we (as a group) told him he could do. That's how it works.

History's judgment may be more harsh if a civilization dies tonight, and there is no statute of limitations for war crimes under 18 USC 2441.

The military need not obey an order to end a civilization by striking civilian infrastructure at mass scale. The order would be illegal (18 USC 2441). If the order is obeyed the last bulwark is gone. If the order is not obeyed we will be in an unprecedented crisis anyway. TACO is the best hope.

It's impossible to exaggerate how broken our constitutional system is. Actually, the system is fine. Everything we need is there and can work. We lack ppl in Congress & Cabinet to use those mechanisms. Most important, we lack voters who see past party ID and grasp their own civic duty.

2024 postscript: The two parties were not the same, actually.

I am grateful to Abp Broglio for this. But also— language matters. When was any abortion ever "likely not justified?" Unjust war means deaths of innocents, grave moral evil. We never hedge so much abt medical or sexual questions, which also have nuances. Inconsistency of language tells a story.

Buying a billboard in Tehran that says "You're winning, I'm desperate" would be more subtle.

Gregory Sievers, American (1951- ), The Theater, oil, 36 x 24 in, private collection

Maybe it's just the show I've been watching, but this fills me with incredible dread about the future of humanity.

I tell ya boys this life is hard and cruel. youtu.be/J-tyAK_3W2Y?...

The Vatican could and should buy the White Sox, yes.

Simply luminous. Caesar’s Time and Wonder | Commonweal Magazine share.google/Owt8Ffo85Gb4...

No notes, 2026. No notes.

Just a note of caution for this weekend's celebrations. We have reasons to worry about how new (and old) Catholics are being formed. religionnews.com/2026/04/03/a...

My God My God O why have you abandoned me?

How long would it take Bishop Barron to come at me if I was filmed applauding after a political leader's problems were compared to the Psassion and Death of Jesus?

JD Vance's upcoming book on his conversion to Catholicism uses a Methodist church on the cover.

Huh, so international law is a thing. And this administration apparently has thoughts about illegal attacks on boats in particular.

The United States of America is not your small family business. Please consult the Oath of Office. You said it aloud in public twice. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Richard J. Leon — one of the famously liberal George W Bush judges.

A few pointed thoughts I am grateful for the chance to offer at @flashesinsight.bsky.social. flashesinsight.com/2026/03/31/c...

Happy Birthday to Tracy Chapman.

8 million No Kings protesters Zero police officers beaten Zero police officers killed Zero feces smeared on walls.

The tragic irony of the last few years is that, had the USG given Ukraine only a fraction of the weapons that they have expended against Iran in a few weeks (Patriots, Tomahawks, etc), Ukraine would have won, oil prices would not be skyrocketing and the US would be more secure.

I'll have an essay on integralism and Chrsitian nationalism in this volume appearing in June. www.routledge.com/Understandin...

So are the headlines saying the Democrats won this round, or nah? Cause they did. Funding for TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard, no funding for ICE. That’s the deal Dems have been offering over & over. Republicans caved.

Fintan O'Toole for @nybooks.com. Boom

The brainworm contagion reaches across the aisle. Don't get rid of Big Pharma. Regulate them. Don't defund the police. Regulate them. Instititions contain institutions. Slogans do nothing. The regulatory state works *if* we hold elected officials to it. In other words, it always depends on us.

Of Beauty Queens and Bishops: An Essay about International Religious Liberty in the 21st Century

🧵 1/x - Listening to an @npr.org Morning Edition story where Iranians spoke abt tolerating this war with hope the regime will topple reminded me of 1989 and how, while there is no End of History, the underlying Hegelian insight into a basic human desire for freedom holds. We weren't wrong in...

Once again, it’s important to remember that the stock market long ago ceased to be linked to a rational valuation of the companies listed and is just a mood ring for rich people.

Deploying ICE to airports to harrass travelers hardly diminishes my resolve to oppose DHS funding until ICE is reformed, restructured, restored to a law enforcement agency. This is what a thwarted, desperate tyrant does. So keep the pressure on Trump, it is working.

NORTH JERSEY! Coming up on Good Friday, there will be a pilgrimage to Delaney Hall (the ICE detention center in Newark) to call attention to the state violence of mass detention and incarceration of immigrants.

Idiocy. The assumption that I've spent my working years spending freely, not saving for retirement because I had a choice, simply is indefensibly false. Don't take my word for it. Look at real personal income since the 80's. Madness. Lies heaped on lies. share.google/yc8JizFgruA0...

I will be offering my course on public theology this June on an intensive 1.5 credit basis. Also available by audit for ~$450. Available by Zoom to everywhere. Be in touch if interested. ctusonis.jenzabarcloud.com/gensect2.cfm...

1/ I've taught/referenced three democracy indexes/reports over the years- from Freedom House, the V-Dem Institute, and The Economist Intelligence Unit. V-Dem just came out with its 2026 report. Like most measures of the health of democracy, it's not good news. www.v-dem.net/documents/75...

I spoke with Cincinnati Abp Robert Casey about the archdiocesan synod he has called. This is an important development in the most important story abt the Catholic Church. religionnews.com/2026/03/18/w...

And send zepole!!

But when there’s a know-it-all in the Oval with not a shred of self-awareness, no shame and is as corrupt as the ocean is deep, lessons aren’t for learning. Only for mocking. #SheShed #IranWar

May the ghosts that howled Round the house at night Never keep you from your sleep May they all sleep tight Down in hell tonight Or wherever they may be

We are stuck in a dumb war of choice. Gas is up 23% in 3 weeks. The TSA is broken and soon air travel will be. The economy is headed for recession. Healthcare costs are way up. ICE menaces people in our streets. All this propped up by the partisan delusions of a committed 30% of us. It's amazing.