Yes! Happy birthday! 🎉

a default RPG Maker forest. An anime character says "Fascinating, Mr. Data. Everything in the environment appears to be made of these hard-edged squares..." Also the anime character is Jean Luc Picard

Check out this RPG Maker game about the crew from Star Trek TNG going into a holodeck sim that Data made from default RPG Maker assets

coleo_kin.itch.io/datas-advent...

Found this spectacular interactive exhibit called Thresholds by Michel de Broin at the Arsenal Contemporary Museum this weekend. Utterly giddy to walk through it again and again in what felt like a theatre set of Coup de Grâce.

With Latest Rollback, the U.S. Essentially Has No Clean-Car Rules

After a year of spectacular deregulation, “the United States will essentially have no laws on the books that enforce how efficient America’s passenger cars and trucks should be.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/c...

Maryland health officials warn providers about an upsurge in mumps cases Maryland health officials are warning about an uptick in cases of mumps.

Measles is a bellwether. Because it’s the most contagious vaccine-preventable disease, when vaccination rates drop, it’s the first to start spreading.

Now we’ve got mumps rolling up.

Expect more.

This is just the beginning of RFK Jr.’s successful infectious disease reintroduction plan.

Religious Diversity Around the World Singapore is the most religiously diverse country, and Yemen the least, as of 2020. The U.S. ranks first among nations with large populations.

🇸🇬 Singapore is the world's most religiously diverse country

31% Buddhist
20% unaffiliated
19% Christian
16% Muslim
5% Hindu
9% other religions

www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...

Countrywide natural experiment links built environment to physical activity - Nature By analysing the smartphone data of 2,112,288 participants, in particular observing and comparing the activity of the same individual in two different environments, we find that increases in the walka...

A cool natural experiment using cellphone data finds that, when people relocate to more walkable areas, they walk more and are more active. Why does this matter? Because many related studies were affected by self-selection bias, where people who like to walk might choose to live in walkable places

'God loves Gaza': US Christians gather in rare display of solidarity with Palestine The Church at the Crossroads event aims to showcase a counterweight to traditionally pro-Zionist Christian churches

'God loves Gaza': US Christians gather in rare display of solidarity with Palestine - www.middleeasteye.net/news/god-loves-gaza-us-c...

Can Trump Have His Political Opponents Killed? This Trump Judicial Nominee Won’t Say Jennifer Mascott shows that if you are a Trump loyalist who aspires to be a federal judge, there are some things you just can’t say, no matter how absurd you look in the process.

If you're a Trump judicial nominee who wants to get confirmed, it's too risky to say things like "presidents can't use the military to kill their political opponents"

Some good news for once. Kidnapped in Iraq during her PhD fieldwork by an armed faction that wanted to silence her, after 903 days in captivity Princeton researcher and rights activist Elizabeth Tsurkov has been released by the Iran-backed militia which was holding her.

Exclusive | Epstein Birthday Letter With Trump’s Signature Revealed Lawyers for Epstein’s estate have given Congress a copy of the 2003 birthday book.

Gift link for this article:

www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

The president of the United States just declared war, actual military war, not a metaphorical one, on a major American city, and one governed by his political opponents.

In any other period, this would be impeachment-worthy.

Ice obtains access to Israeli-made spyware that can hack phones and encrypted apps Trump administration contract with Paragon Solutions gives immigration agency access to one of the most powerful stealth cyberweapons

This is terrifying.

It’s all so stupid and evil, developed by the worst people for the worst reasons.

Medicare Will Require Prior Approval for Certain Procedures

What a cursed sentence (gift link)

“The A.I. companies selected to oversee the program would have a strong financial incentive to deny claims. Medicare plans to pay them a share of the savings generated from rejections.”

US withdraws from key UN human rights report, draws criticism from rights advocates The United States will not participate in a U.N. review of its human rights record, officials said, a move that rights advocates called a worrying retreat from Washington's global engagement on rights and justice issues.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer-to-peer evaluation of a country's rights record. All 193 UN member states are expected to participate, and even states like Russia and China do.

Today, the US took the unprecedented step of withdrawing from the UPR www.reuters.com/world/europe...

DNC Rejects Resolution Calling for an Arms Embargo on Israel A Democratic National Committee panel has rejected a resolution calling for an arms embargo on Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. The vote came during a DNC meeting in Minneapolis. A second resolution on Israel was initially approved but then withdrawn by ...

DNC Rejects Resolution Calling for an Arms Embargo on Israel

Remembering today when pro-GOP media erupted with outrage over Kamala Harris' warning that Trump had plans to militarize the national guard and deploy them on the streets of US cities. Indeed, he had such plans. And now he's implementing them.

Passage from They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 "You see," my colleague went on, "one doesn't see exactly where or how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting some-how. You don't want to act, or even talk, alone; you don't want to 'go out of your way to make trouble.' Why not?-Well, you are not in the habit of doing it. And it is not just fear, fear of standing alone, that restrains you; it is also genuine uncertainty. "Uncertainty is a very important factor, and, instead of decreasing as time goes on, it grows. Outside, in the streets, in the general community, 'everyone' is happy. One hears no protest, and certainly sees none. You know, in France or Italy there would be slogans against the government painted on walls and fences; in Germany, outside the great cities, perhaps, there is not even this. In the university community, in your own community, you speak privately to your colleagues, some of whom certainly feel as you do; but what do they say? They say, 'It's not so bad' or 'You're seeing things' or 'You're an alarmist.'

A passage from They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45.

This feels too familiar these days.

I joined several of my fellow Syrian journalists in a solidarity vigil to condemn the killing of Palestinian journalists who lost their lives as a result of Israeli airstrikes.

Chicago skyline

Many #SociologyOfReligion conversations and more happening around the theme 'Religion and Resilience' this weekend at the ASR Annual Conference in Chicago. Check out the program ⬇️
@ntammerman.bsky.social @ruthbraunstein.bsky.social @gerardomarti.bsky.social
sociologyofreligion.org/annual-meeti...

@ndsociology.bsky.social is hiring an Endowed Chair in Demography at the Full level! Building ND Pop Analytics: populationanalytics.nd.edu. Check out the ad here: apply.interfolio.com/171683 Share widely!

Probably not making it to ASA, but excited to be presenting for the Chicago Congregations Project at ASR next week. See some of y’all there!

DePaulUniversity Logo

Job opportunity ➡️ The Department of Religious Studies at @depauluniversity.bsky.social invites applicants for a (tenure-track) position, Assistant Professor rank. Specialization: Contemporary Islam in the Americas. Apply by October 1, 2025. apply.interfolio.com/169330

#Syria: there were demonstrations today in #Suwayda prov., amid accusations by some the Gov' blockades the area.

Authorities replied humanitarian corridors are fully operational w/ regular arrival of supplies & that pro-Hijri monopolize the aid.

176K displaced & a solution remains a long way off.

"Nearly 25 million naturalized citizens live in the U.S., and we are accustomed to extra scrutiny...But I had never doubted that my U.S. citizenship was permanent, and that I was guaranteed the same rights of speech, assembly, and due process as natural-born Americans. Now I’m not so sure."

He Came to the U.S. to Support His Sick Child. He Was Detained. Then He Disappeared. Like most of the more than 230 Venezuelan men deported to a Salvadoran prison, José Manuel Ramos Bastidas had followed U.S. immigration rules. Then Trump rewrote them.

NEW: Of the 230+ Venezuelans deported to El Salvador:
• Almost half had immigration cases that were not yet decided
• More than 60 had pending asylum claims, some just days away from final hearings

These men had followed U.S. immigration procedures. Then Trump changed the rules.

The right wing bullshit machine is going to try to find ways to divert blame from their toxic policies onto others. The left can’t assume that people who supported Trump/GOP, who are now impacted by these policies, will see through the BS, esp. when they are motivated by partisan identity not to.

When asked which country is the most important ally to their own, many people around the world name the United States. This is the most common response in 12 of the 24 non-U.S. countries included in a new Pew Research Center survey. It is tied for the top response in three additional countries. But others say the U.S. is their nation’s greatest threat. This is the most common response in six countries and tied for top in two others. In neighboring Canada and Mexico, as well as in Argentina, Brazil and Kenya, the U.S. is the top response on both the ally and threat questions.

Most people in Mexico and Canada say the United States is their country's greatest threat
www.pewresearch.org/global/2025/...

Americans: Thom Tillis, of all people, came out as against the bill because of calls. this might be your last chance to convince your Senator - call today. I know it's a Saturday!