Thomas Tweed

The Mad King’s War Trump’s war in Iran violates the Constitution, international law, and just-war principles. It has no clear objectives and no exit strategy.

"This is the way a mad king wages war. If he wants to stop tyranny, he should start at home."

NEW — The Editors on Trump's irresponsible and childish war in Iran:
www.commonwealmagazine.org/trump-editor...

A New Approach to Studying Religion in the Lands That Became America Thomas Tweed on a new history.

For those who can’t afford my new book, here is the Introduction, thanks to Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life:
@climateconnections.bsky.social
@booksky.bsky.social
@csraac.bsky.social
@argcstanford.bsky.social

churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/a-n...

Beyond Transactional The question facing Trump-supporting Evangelicals in 2026 is whether they’ve so internalized a MAGA political identity that no amount of wrongdoing can shake it.

The question facing Trump-supporting Evangelicals in 2026 is whether they’ve so internalized a MAGA political identity that no amount of wrongdoing can shake it.

John Fea: 'Beyond Transactional'
www.commonwealmagazine.org/fea-trump-ev...

S-USIH 2026 CFP: Intellectual Historians’ Toolkits: Methods, Theories, Practices | Society for US Intellectual History Society for U.S. Intellectual History Call for Proposals The 2026 S-USIH Annual Conference will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, on November 12-14, 2026, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Mad...

📣 It’s here, it’s here! 🗃️ Click on through for the #USIH2026 CFP and join us in beautiful Madison this fall to talk toolkits, methods, & more. Please share widely! @susih.bsky.social s-usih.org/2026/02/s-us...

Circular award medallion

Just learned that Religion in the Lands That Became America was a Finalist for the PROSE Award for North American/US History. Thanks to the many folks who helped.

yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
@yalepress.bsky.social
@yalebooks.bsky.social
@booksky.bsky.social

Very kind of you to say. Thanks!

Circular award medallion

Just learned that Religion in the Lands That Became America was a Finalist for the PROSE Award for North American/US History. Thanks to the many folks who helped.

yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...
@yalepress.bsky.social
@yalebooks.bsky.social
@booksky.bsky.social

Apply for this great program! Let me know if you have any questions.
Covid cohort 4 life! @profsamperry.bsky.social @maxperrymueller.bsky.social @tazeenmali.bsky.social @emilyjohnson.bsky.social, Darrius Hills, Leslie Ribovich, Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada, Courtney Irby, Phillip Gollner

GEORGE RETES: “My name is George Retes. I was born and raised here in Ventura, California. I’m 26 years old and I am an Iraq combat veteran. I was going to work like normal. I show up. ICE is there. There’s kind of like a roadblock. I get out. I identify myself — that I’m a U.S. citizen, that I’m just trying to get to work. I’m trying to leave. I’m getting ready to leave and they surround my car, start banging on it, start shouting these contradictory orders. Even though I was giving them no reason, they still felt the need to — one agent knelt on my back and another agent knelt on my neck. And during that time, I’m just pleading with them that I couldn’t breathe. I was in isolation. I was in basically this concrete cell. I was stripped naked in like a hospital gown. And they leave the lights on 24/7. They just came out and they said that I was violent and that I assaulted agents. Why lie when it’s on video of everything that happened? Why lie?”

PBS News Hour: U.S. citizens detained by immigration agents describe how they were treated.

Watch the segment here www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMgC...

I'm clipping transcripts of the citizens speaking in this thread 1/3

Somehow, all the programs that help the majority of Americans are decried as “wasteful spending,” but the ones that help billionaires aren’t…

Funny how that works.

Buddhist monks' 15-week walk for peace ends in Washington, DC A group of Buddhist monks has finally reached Washington, D.C., after completing a 15-week trek from Texas that captivated the country.

Buddhist monks' 15-week walk for peace ends in Washington, DC

apnews.com/article/budd...

Indiana House Republicans move to align state law with Trump’s deportation push - THE INDIANA CITIZEN By Sydney Byerly The Indiana Citizen February 10, 2026 Indiana House Republicans advanced sweeping immigration legislation Tuesday that would require local governments, colleges and employers to…

Indiana House Republicans advanced sweeping immigration legislation Tuesday that would require local governments, colleges and employers to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement — cementing the state’s alignment with...

indianacitizen.org/indiana-hous...

#hoosiersky #deportation #sb76

Jemar Tisby, PhD (@jemartisby) 💯 Agree. Dr. Dochuk’s works are must-reads!

substack.com/@jemartisby/...

The Testament of Ann Lee | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice A drama-musical about one of the most vital female religious leaders in American history: Mother Ann Lee, founder of The Shakers

I loved this movie and feel it’s been overlooked.

“I was amazed at the gritty reality with which bodies are shown: Ann in raw childbirth, for example, and Ann under torture. The thrusting and pounding of hands and feet in trance-like prayer.” www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/review...

At National Prayer Breakfast, Hegseth Says US Soldiers Gain Salvation by Dying for ‘Christian Nation’ While Trump's remarks dominate the headlines about the event, more concerning Christian Nationalist comments came a few minutes later.

Pete Hegseth suggested this morning that someone who dies fighting for the U.S. gains salvation, making it a salvific act.

Such rhetoric echoes comments that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church made about Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine or that medieval popes told crusaders.

Our investigation found 40+ cases in which federal immigration agents used chokeholds or other moves that can restrict someone’s breathing: https://propub.li/4rq51BV

We showed video clips from our reporting to Marc Brown, a law enforcement expert. This is what he said.

REMINDER: The deadline to apply for the Arvel M. Steece Research Fellowship for non-academic researchers is March 1st. Pastors, church historians, and anyone interested in Congregational history are invited to apply. Learn more at https://congregationallibrary.org/fellowships

Lilly Endowment invites organizations to submit proposals to its new Exploring Christian Practices Initiative. This opportunity aims to help individuals address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, and nourish their religious lives.

Find out more below!

More of this coming…if Amazon wants to do the right thing—or just get a PR win—announce instead a new program to help 16,000 employees find affordable housing.

Greenland Clash Risks Undermining America’s Place in World Economic Order The U.S. has long been a beacon of safety when uncertainty reigns. That is changing.

Escalating tensions over Greenland are supercharging a dynamic that was already under way: a shift in the world economic order that had put the U.S. at the center of the global economy.

My department at Princeton is hiring a full-time lecturer in Asian Religions. Deadline: February 18.

Expertise in Buddhism in East and Southeast Asia and ability to teach undergraudate courses on Chinese religions and on Great Books in Buddhism of interest.
apply.interfolio.com/180148

Handwritten index card by Martin Luther King, Jr., on 'Existentialism'

It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the USA, so here's his handwritten index card on existentialism and a little thread on why Dr. King thought Jean-Paul Sartre was wrong about freedom. 1/ ⬇️

How museums can help rebuild trust in a divided America As social divisions grow, museums provide forums for civic connection and discourse across political and cultural lines.

The rare level of confidence and trust that the public gives museums is an opportunity and a responsibility. As debates over science, history, and art intensify, museums are being called upon to do something more fundamental: to model how people might think and listen together.

Commercial Builders Are Losing Their Appetite to Build Anything but Data Centers Spending on data-center construction is expected to rise by 23% in 2026, while the building of offices, hotels and apartments is seen declining slightly.

Spending on data-center construction is expected to rise by 23% in 2026, while the building of offices, hotels and apartments is seen declining slightly. on.wsj.com/3ZgqVM2

Pentagon Places 1,500 Soldiers on Alert for Possible Minnesota Deployment, Officials Say The move comes as President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to widespread protests.

About 1,500 active-duty soldiers have been placed on alert for a potential deployment to Minnesota in response to widespread protests over immigration enforcement in the state, according to four defense officials.

Screenshot of CFP text: On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the John Carter Brown Library and the John C. Danforth Center for Religion and Politics at Washington University invite proposals for participation in a major conference to be held in Providence, Rhode Island, June 4-6, 2026, on the broad topic of religions and freedom c. 1776. "

Deadline today but please if you're interested drop us a line! Conference on Religions and Freedoms c 1776 (really, VERY broadly circa), joint @jcblibrary.bsky.social and the Danforth Center for Religion and Politics at Wash U.

TIMELY STUFF. More info and link here: jcblibrary.org/events/confe...

Newsletter - THE INDIANA CITIZEN Stay informed about the latest news from across the Hoosier state with The Indiana Citizen's free weekly newsletter. Once subscribed, you will need to confirm your email address before you will…

Civically engaged Hoosiers subscribe to The Indiana Citizen.

The latest news and insightful commentary from across the state. Delivered directly to your inbox each Friday evening.

What are you waiting for?

indianacitizen.org/newsletter/?...

#hoosiersky #christiannationalism

RMC Briefing: Religion, identity and division in Britain In our first briefing of 2026, we look at a new report which explores the reasons why faith narratives are being mobilised for causes of division in Britain

Is the politicisation of religion on the rise in Britain? Our latest briefing explores a new report from Good Faith Partnership & @hopenothate.org.uk on how faith narratives are being used for both division and the common good. Find out more and watch the full briefing:

Greenlanders, such as tour guide Casper Frank Moller, said they hoped for a diplomatic solution, ahead of the January 14 meeting in Washington between the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers and U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.