Jonathan Ladd

Starting at the bottom of page 7 here. Unverified allegations in the Justice Department's Epstein files of Donald Trump abusing an underage girl. t.co/0DTWeCK5Zi

Protestant no longer serves as our "default religion." For instance, when Eisenhower wanted to run for president but didn't practice or have strong religious views, he and his advisers decided to just make him a Presbyterian. Trump's fake Presbyterianism is maybe the last vestige of this.

Religious Preferences of U.S. Adults, 1948-2025

From Gallup. Almost all the reduction in religious identification in the U.S. since the 1940s has come from fewer Protestants. People leaving the Catholic Church over generations have largely been replaced by Catholic-identifying immigrants. news.gallup.com/poll/702572/...

I still don't understand what national interest the U.S. has that would justify us being involved in any way on either side regarding Iran or any other country in the Middle East. We are net exporters of oil, and in the process of transitioning to various cheaper renewable energy sources.

Wow. I had totally forgotten that Maggie Hassan voted to confirm her after this. ballotpedia.org/Confirmation...

I continue to be gobsmacked at 1) how common this formulation is 2) how antisemitic and generally bigoted it is 3) and how for all the talk of anti-semitism this is never cited as an example even though it’s quite literally the original incarnation.

Happy Jason Tatum Day to all who celebrate!

Wow. I had totally forgotten that Maggie Hassan voted to confirm her after this. ballotpedia.org/Confirmation...

Kristi Noem incorrectly defines habeas corpus during hearing YouTube video by ABC News

Kristi Noem, back at her confirmation hearing.

My original point (expressed in satire) was that no one should assume that the politically optimal strategy for a politician running for office will simply match their personal policy preferences. You aren't even disagreeing, so I don't know what this is about.

I don't always agree with this organization. But I don't see anything to disagree with here. academicfreedom.org/wp-content/u...

I'm not really sure what broader thing you are implying. But yes, a successful candidate in Texas will probably take positions to the right of the average college professor and to the left of the average police officer (which is not a knock, I like many college profs and police officers.)

Lets set aside the unfortunate broad brush ad hominem at the beginning here. On the merits, that's what my post said! I know satire is often hard to interpret. But I was saying candidates should do what is necessary to win elections, which often will not match your personal political hobbyhorses!

I haven't said anything about this before, bc in the grand scheme of horrors this only rates as an inconvenience, but since others are experiencing it:

Just three days after CBP arrested me for filming them outside Broadview on 9/27, my TSA Pre & Global Entry were suspended—and so were my wife's.

And once the election's over, if he wins, I will say he followed exactly my advice. But if he loses, I will say he ignored my advice and has no political talent.

the conventional wisdom a year ago was that trump was untouchable on immigration and indomitable with independents and democrats shouldn't even talk about the issue

James Talarico can win the general election. He just needs to modify himself to meet all of my personal preferences and political hobbyhorses. That's the only way.

All you social media researchers need to stop publishing articles with about 50 authors, because it's using up all my bibliography space. Each cite takes up about 1/4 of a page.

Christian nationalism is not a type of Christianity; it’s a parasitic form of nationalism that infects Christianity, eats it from the inside, and creates a zombie nationalism that wears a Christian skinsuit.

Preach it, @jvl.bsky.social! www.thebulwark.com/p/the-lesson...

Exactly. Post-WW2, the U.S. has been relatively unconstrained in using airpower to rain down destruction, everything short of nuclear weapons. They have often been constrained by a reluctance to use ground troops.

Which is exactly the same constraints that the Trump admin is operating under!

I haven't seen any "frothing rage toward Talarico over his Christianity," which is probably a good indication that I've blocked the right people.

The GSS has an open-ended religious identification question. And they have long had a problem where some percentage of people just give the name of their local church!

Yes. Many people who use the terms the "wrong" way (meaning not how experts use them) are people in the religious categories themselves!

One issue in doing survey research on religion is that, relative to researchers/experts, a big percentage of the general public doesn't know what researchers consider very basic terms, like Evangelical and Protestant, for instance. Almost all terms need to be explained when possible.

The Quiet Revolution In Philanthropy Purposeful philanthropy — values-led, trust-based, focused on need — is quietly reshaping giving. And women are leading the way.

Large-scale women donors aren't expecting what their male counterparts have expected. They just give the money without strings, on the expectation that the recipient knows best how to spend it to achieve the mission and without expecting much recognition. www.forbes.com/sites/timaba...

The War Powers act doesn’t give the president 60 days of free war The 60 days of free war for the president apply only in the case of “a national emergency created by attack upon the United States."

Great article by Timothy Carney. Contrary to popular perception, the 1973 War Powers Resolution does not delegate to the president 60 days of free war. The 60-day grace period only applies if the United States is attacked.

The War Powers act doesn’t give the president 60 days of free war The 60 days of free war for the president apply only in the case of “a national emergency created by attack upon the United States."

Great article by Timothy Carney. Contrary to popular perception, the 1973 War Powers Resolution does not delegate to the president 60 days of free war. The 60-day grace period only applies if the United States is attacked.

Not back then!

1899 letter from Georgetown President J. Havens Richards.

College admissions didn't used to be so competitive. In 1899, Georgetown President J. Havens Richards urged returning students to bring a friend to increase enrollment! (from the university archives, findingaids.library.georgetown.edu/repositories...)

1899 letter from Georgetown President J. Havens Richards.

College admissions didn't used to be so competitive. In 1899, Georgetown President J. Havens Richards urged returning students to bring a friend to increase enrollment! (from the university archives, findingaids.library.georgetown.edu/repositories...)