Justin Burch
@justinburch.bsky.social
Native of the Southern Plains. Chickasaw. Trekkie. US IR and Cold War Historian. PhD Candidate UMass Amherst.
If more private companies were like Costco (refusing to back down on DEI and now suing over tariffs) we’d all be in a better place. Credit where credit is due. Proud to be a Costco member.
December 2, 2025 at 1:00 AM
If more private companies were like Costco (refusing to back down on DEI and now suing over tariffs) we’d all be in a better place. Credit where credit is due. Proud to be a Costco member.
Was the Graduate Student the instructor of record? If they were...a lot of folks failed to protect one of the most vulnerable teachers on a college campus. No Graduate Student should be "put on leave" for a mundane grade appeal. If they were just the Teaching Assistant...orders of magnitude worse.
OU has put the professor here on administrative leave:
December 1, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Was the Graduate Student the instructor of record? If they were...a lot of folks failed to protect one of the most vulnerable teachers on a college campus. No Graduate Student should be "put on leave" for a mundane grade appeal. If they were just the Teaching Assistant...orders of magnitude worse.
Reposted by Justin Burch
You're not seeing the defense and international conflict experts disagreeing because if the facts are true, it's one of the most basic things in the law of armed conflict: You cannot kill people who are "hors de combat," taken out of the game by injury or attack. This is Geneva 101 stuff.
I follower a few defense experts.
Seeing them all straight-up declare this a war crime without any him-and-hawing is uhm
Disconcerting.
Pete Hegseth must resign, as does Stephen Miller. Donald Trump should be subpoenaed before Congress to answer for HIS policy.
Seeing them all straight-up declare this a war crime without any him-and-hawing is uhm
Disconcerting.
Pete Hegseth must resign, as does Stephen Miller. Donald Trump should be subpoenaed before Congress to answer for HIS policy.
November 29, 2025 at 2:01 AM
You're not seeing the defense and international conflict experts disagreeing because if the facts are true, it's one of the most basic things in the law of armed conflict: You cannot kill people who are "hors de combat," taken out of the game by injury or attack. This is Geneva 101 stuff.
Reposted by Justin Burch
I’ll look at it in more depth later but Northwestern’s agreement seems more campus-specific than previous deals and imposes restrictions on campus conduct beyond what others ave agreed to. Northwestern seems to have surrendered autonomy to a shocking extent. www.northwestern.edu/president/do...
www.northwestern.edu
November 29, 2025 at 12:55 AM
I’ll look at it in more depth later but Northwestern’s agreement seems more campus-specific than previous deals and imposes restrictions on campus conduct beyond what others ave agreed to. Northwestern seems to have surrendered autonomy to a shocking extent. www.northwestern.edu/president/do...
Reposted by Justin Burch
This is murder. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
November 28, 2025 at 6:16 PM
This is murder. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Justin Burch
Sarah Beckstrom seems like she was a wonderful person who had a bright future ahead of her. Such a tragedy.
Sarah Beckstrom's ex-boyfriend told NBC News she dreamed of becoming an FBI special agent.
She didn't want to deploy to D.C.
"She hated it. She cried about it."
But she started visiting monuments and museums and started enjoying it.
May she rest in peace.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
She didn't want to deploy to D.C.
"She hated it. She cried about it."
But she started visiting monuments and museums and started enjoying it.
May she rest in peace.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
National Guard member killed in D.C. shooting remembered for 'heart of gold'
The slain soldier’s former boyfriend recalled her empathy and generosity. “She doesn’t even have to know you and she’ll do anything for you,” he said.
www.nbcnews.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Sarah Beckstrom seems like she was a wonderful person who had a bright future ahead of her. Such a tragedy.
Reposted by Justin Burch
“violent fantasy became an obsession, according to former Trump administration officials…“Fucking kill them all,” Trump would say. “An eye for an eye.” Other times he’d snap at his staff: “You just got to kill these people…Other countries do it all the time.” www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Textbook war crime/extrajudicial killing
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
"Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck. The Special Operations commander overseeing the Sept. 2 attack ... ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions."
Report by @alexhorton.bsky.social @ellenwapo.bsky.social o.bsky.social
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:01 PM
“violent fantasy became an obsession, according to former Trump administration officials…“Fucking kill them all,” Trump would say. “An eye for an eye.” Other times he’d snap at his staff: “You just got to kill these people…Other countries do it all the time.” www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Justin Burch
From Frederick Douglass's 1867 "Composite Nation" speech, a defense of Chinese migration to the United States at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment was intensifying.
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
November 28, 2025 at 7:01 PM
From Frederick Douglass's 1867 "Composite Nation" speech, a defense of Chinese migration to the United States at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment was intensifying.
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
Reposted by Justin Burch
What Americans Die from?
And what the media reports on...
Our World in Data ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...
And what the media reports on...
Our World in Data ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...
October 6, 2025 at 9:27 PM
What Americans Die from?
And what the media reports on...
Our World in Data ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...
And what the media reports on...
Our World in Data ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...
We have a gun problem in America. This will not be the lesson that is forced on us by those who wish to spread hate and division.
apnews.com/article/nati...
apnews.com/article/nati...
2 National Guard members shot in an ambush attack just blocks from the White House
Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the nation’s capital have been shot just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence that the mayor described as a targeted attack.
apnews.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:41 AM
We have a gun problem in America. This will not be the lesson that is forced on us by those who wish to spread hate and division.
apnews.com/article/nati...
apnews.com/article/nati...
Reposted by Justin Burch
"Next time you render your free AI-image in a couple of seconds, will you think of all the work, knowledge and skill that we HUMANS created over hundreds of years that made it possible?"
A medical illustrator had her work stolen by a famous surgeon dudebro ->
www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...
A medical illustrator had her work stolen by a famous surgeon dudebro ->
www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...
November 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
"Next time you render your free AI-image in a couple of seconds, will you think of all the work, knowledge and skill that we HUMANS created over hundreds of years that made it possible?"
A medical illustrator had her work stolen by a famous surgeon dudebro ->
www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...
A medical illustrator had her work stolen by a famous surgeon dudebro ->
www.linkedin.com/posts/amanda...
PA’s are effected by this also. Terrible policy. But…is anyone surprised?
A coalition of nursing and other health care organizations are angry over a Trump administration plan that could limit access to student loans in some cases.
Trump administration plan to reduce access to some student loans angers nurses, health care groups | CNN
A coalition of nursing and other health care organizations are angry over a Trump administration plan that could limit access to student loans in some cases.
www.cnn.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:23 AM
PA’s are effected by this also. Terrible policy. But…is anyone surprised?
Reposted by Justin Burch
Still depressing that this isn’t THE story of his first year.
The numbers vary from study to study but hundreds of thousands of people have died because of Elon Musk and Marco Rubio illegally disbanding USAID — a body count on par with the first eight years of the Syrian civil war — In just seven months. It’s mass death that is simply unfathomable in scale.
USAID shutdown has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The Trump administration’s decision to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths from infectious diseases and malnutrition, accord...
hsph.harvard.edu
November 25, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Still depressing that this isn’t THE story of his first year.
“A University of Oklahoma professor of Iranian studies was detained by immigration authorities over the weekend while traveling to an academic conference in Washington, D.C.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/vahid-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/vahid-...
Iranian Studies Professor Taken Into Immigration Custody While Traveling To Academic Conference
Vahid Abedini was on his way to a Middle East Studies Association meeting when he was detained. He’s now in ICE custody.
www.huffpost.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:11 AM
“A University of Oklahoma professor of Iranian studies was detained by immigration authorities over the weekend while traveling to an academic conference in Washington, D.C.”
www.huffpost.com/entry/vahid-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/vahid-...
Reposted by Justin Burch
Amazon’s Starlink competitor is launching with ‘world’s fastest satellite internet antenna’
Amazon’s Starlink competitor is launching with ‘world’s fastest satellite internet antenna’
Gigabit satellite internet.
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Amazon’s Starlink competitor is launching with ‘world’s fastest satellite internet antenna’
Reposted by Justin Burch
The movie was internationally successful, Oldman was nominated for an Oscar that most people think he should've won, JLC really wanted them to do Smiley's People, Oldman REALLY wanted to do it, a script was written.... and they couldn't raise the money
In a just world, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) would have been only the first of many Le Carre adaptations along the same line… but we don’t live in a just world. 📽️
A ★★★★½ review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
It’s always a welcome surprise when a film trusts its audience not just to follow along with a complicated plot, but to keep up with the parts of the story that aren’t entirely there, the elements tha...
boxd.it
November 23, 2025 at 4:03 AM
The movie was internationally successful, Oldman was nominated for an Oscar that most people think he should've won, JLC really wanted them to do Smiley's People, Oldman REALLY wanted to do it, a script was written.... and they couldn't raise the money
Perhaps the greatest flounce of all time.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Plans to Resign in January“
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
“Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Plans to Resign in January“
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Plans to Resign in January
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Perhaps the greatest flounce of all time.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Plans to Resign in January“
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
“Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Plans to Resign in January“
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Reposted by Justin Burch
“ICE agents then surrounded (Superior Court Judge McBurney’s) car and demanded everyone to exit the vehicle, threatening to smash in the windows if they did not comply.”
#BREAKING: A student intern at Rhode Island Superior Court was briefly taken into custody by ICE this afternoon before a judge intervened, 12 News has learned. Story by @jusolyn.bsky.social and @timwhiteri.bsky.social: ⤵️
RI judge intervenes after ICE mistakenly detains Superior Court intern
A teenager was nearly taken into federal immigration custody in Providence Thursday afternoon before a Superior Court judge intervened, according to the Rhode Island Judiciary.
www.wpri.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:59 PM
“ICE agents then surrounded (Superior Court Judge McBurney’s) car and demanded everyone to exit the vehicle, threatening to smash in the windows if they did not comply.”
Be like the AP. Call it a tax: “The job market has been strained by the lingering effects of high interest rates and uncertainty around Trump’s erratic campaign to slap taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. But economic growth at midyear was resilient.”
apnews.com/article/jobs...
apnews.com/article/jobs...
U.S. employers added surprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, government says in delayed report
U.S. employers added a suprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, the government said, issuing a key economic report that had been delayed seven weeks by the federal government shutdown.
apnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Be like the AP. Call it a tax: “The job market has been strained by the lingering effects of high interest rates and uncertainty around Trump’s erratic campaign to slap taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. But economic growth at midyear was resilient.”
apnews.com/article/jobs...
apnews.com/article/jobs...
Reposted by Justin Burch
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
November 20, 2025 at 12:58 AM
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
Why is this news in any way an example that there might not be an AI bubble? Wouldn’t this be an example of rampant overspending on chips to run a product that will never see meaningful investment returns?
apnews.com/article/nvid...
apnews.com/article/nvid...
Nvidia earnings clear lofty hurdle set by analysts amid fears about an AI bubble
Nvidia’s sales of the computing chipsets powering the artificial intelligence craze surged beyond the lofty bar set by stock market analysts in a performance that may ease recent jitters about a Big T...
apnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Why is this news in any way an example that there might not be an AI bubble? Wouldn’t this be an example of rampant overspending on chips to run a product that will never see meaningful investment returns?
apnews.com/article/nvid...
apnews.com/article/nvid...
Reposted by Justin Burch
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...
He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...