Peter Henne

I feel more busy as a Full than I did as Associate. When do I get to be one of these deadwood Profs I keep hearing about?

#academicsky

I engaged with pro-Trump evangelicals in his first time (I'm a liberal Episcopalian). There were Biblical attempts to justify ("King David acted sinfully") but they were a stretch.

I searched for "vandalism abortion clinic" to find examples for class (I teach such fun subjects) and these were the top Google results. That's weird, right?

that 20+% gap between whether they think he acts ethically and whether they support him is a big takeaway.

Thoughts from kids:
10 year olds: Dad do you think [dog] knows she's a dog?

7 year old: What if we're all AI, and the things that we think are AI are actually people?

as I mentioned before I've redone my Terrorism&CT course to look more at right-wing terrorism. I'm currently making the new lectures on contemporary issues. Not that anything in this course is "fun" but this is especially dark stuff to work on right now

very sad to see the Washington Post cuts. When I moved to DC after college in 2005 I excitedly got a print subscription, I'd read it on the bus to work. It made me feel like this strange new city was home. It deserved better, esp. from someone w/ more money than he could ever spend.

I keep forgetting it even exists. Glad I didn't need it for promotion.

I have a paper that's been under review w/ a journal for 2 years. Gone through 2 rounds of R&R. Sits for months before the status even updates to "out for review." Contacted the editors and heard nothing. I'm considering pulling it and just posting it as a working paper on Researcgate
#academicsky

I came up with what I thought was a novel term to study a topic I'm writing on, then while perusing the literature found it already existed. I guess that actually works out for me, as now I don't need to justify and defend my terminology.

#academicsky

two students were waiting outside my office for office hours. One introduced himself to the other, said he liked his contributions to class discussions, and they chatted a bit. Made me happy.

#academicsky

vehicular attack on important Jewish site in NYC. Don't have a lot of details but hard not to see this as an antisemitic attack

seen via @powerofacademe.bsky.social

my Uni is on top of a hill overlooking Burlington, so on snowy days like today it can be a little scary getting there. But at the end of the day all I have to do is put my car into D and coast all the way home

#academicsky

A prayer from the Church of England for Holocaust Memorial Day

www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-w...

but if we're ever going to get out of this, we need to provide people some grace. I'm reading Tutu's No Future without Forgiveness, and it provides a useful guide. Don't let people pretend nothing happened, but if they express remorse we need to be able to move forward.

Renee Goode and the limits of false terrorism charges On 7 January, US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents opened fire on Renee Goode, killing her. To be honest, I wanted to write a post on just how sad and terrifying this murder was. Ho…

I hate that this post is relevant again. The Trump Admin is trying to cast another protester they've murdered as a terrorist; it isn't working.

www.duckofminerva.com/2026/01/rene...

MSP airport. Clergy risking risking arrest and a huge gathering of protesters. The song is, “Down to the River to Pray.”

As someone who spent his career cataloguing religious freedom abuses, harassing people of faith for acting on their beliefs is religious repression.

Proud to be part of a church that is participating in this, and I'd ask everyone to pray for everyone, including some clergy I know, who are acting out their faith to oppose ICE's tyranny.

www.audacy.com/wccoradio/ne...

I was banned from the sub for a game franchise I love, but you can still see the posts. So I keep going to comment, but then get the reminder that I've been banned from participating. It's painful.

to paraphrase the former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA, if it's not love it's not God. The way fellow Christians twist themselves to justify things like this should tell them they're wrong.

I love it when people are very confidently incorrect

Minneapolis clergy exposed to pepper spray after rushing to scene of deadly ICE shooting "There was a request for clergy to show up" at the scene, said one Minneapolis minister. "I was out the door."

I think disrupting a church service to protest ICE is wrong, morally and strategically. But take outrage over this with a grain of salt: ICE has been roughing up pastors who are part of the protests in MN to little outrage.

www.ncronline.org/news/minneap...

The Trump Administration placed restrictions on FEMA aid to a Kentucky church, requiring cooperation with enforcement efforts. This is a blatant violation of religious freedom, and one I hope religious freedom advocates will speak out on.

I once went to Ben&Jerry's (I live in their birthplace) and wanted to order the flavor "Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz," but I told them I wouldn't say that name. I don't understand how Rubio can with a straight face advance a "Donroe Doctrine"

I was complaining about unproductive meetings at my church, and my wife contrasted them w/ work meetings where people actually make necessary decisions (she works in the private sector). Thinking of academic meetings, I laughed.

#academicsky

I'm trying to finish Stranger Things S.4 and I just can't do it. I think it's the finale. I can't remember what's happening anymore, because the season has been so long, and everyone is giving long boring speeches. I don't think I'll make it to season 5.

When I play Civ IV (I never moved on past that one), occasionally another player has a city near mine, and I just want to take it so my border looks better. It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that logic is now driving our foreign policy.

A New Direction in Vatican Diplomacy? | ARC: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera Pope Leo XIV’s recent statement in response to the U.S. military intervention in Venezuela likely left both its supporters and opponents unsatisfied. Pope Leo called for the “good of the beloved Venez...

I wrote a piece for Arc Magazine on Pope Leo's approach to international relations, and how he is following a more consensus-based approach to peacebuilding than Francis.

arcmag.org/a-new-direct...

Syrian security forces enter Aleppo neighborhood after clashes with Kurdish fighters - The Boston Globe Syrian security forces have deployed in Aleppo after intense clashes with Kurdish fighters.

I know there's a lot going on now, but it's worth paying attention to this. Some have been cautiously optimistic about Syria's new government. I've been pessimistic. And these hostilities make me even more so.

www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/10/w...