Adam Porter
@dratom.bsky.social
Religion professor (Satan in Pop culture), digital humanities, bicycle & public transit advocate, data analyst, politics junkie, science fiction fan
https://sites.google.com/ic.edu/aporter/home
https://github.com/adamlporter
https://sites.google.com/ic.edu/aporter/home
https://github.com/adamlporter
Interesting to see Islamic courts singled out but not Jewish, Catholic, etc. Difficult not to see this as anything other than #Islamophobia.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
Abbott’s Moves to Restrict Muslims Leave Some Concerned and Puzzled
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Interesting to see Islamic courts singled out but not Jewish, Catholic, etc. Difficult not to see this as anything other than #Islamophobia.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/u...
CTA logs 14,000 smoking complaints in 14 months. Why is the CTA contracting with folks who can't issue fines?!
This analysis would be much better if the data was normalized: what is the RATE of smoking complaints on each L line?
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
This analysis would be much better if the data was normalized: what is the RATE of smoking complaints on each L line?
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
CTA logs 14,000 smoking complaints in 14 months
Here's where — and when — most smoking complaints are filed as the CTA grapples with snuffing out the problem of smoking on the system.
chicago.suntimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:42 AM
CTA logs 14,000 smoking complaints in 14 months. Why is the CTA contracting with folks who can't issue fines?!
This analysis would be much better if the data was normalized: what is the RATE of smoking complaints on each L line?
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
This analysis would be much better if the data was normalized: what is the RATE of smoking complaints on each L line?
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
I'm proud to work at Illinois College, which US News has placed among the top ten schools for social mobility.
www.ic.edu/news/09-23-2...
www.ic.edu/news/09-23-2...
Illinois College Rises into Top 10 for Social Mobility Nationwide | Illinois College
Illinois College has earned a place among the top 10 colleges in the country, according to the latest US News & World Report rankings. Rising to 9th in the nation for social mobility, IC’s recognition...
www.ic.edu
October 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I'm proud to work at Illinois College, which US News has placed among the top ten schools for social mobility.
www.ic.edu/news/09-23-2...
www.ic.edu/news/09-23-2...
I welcome the CTA acting to cut down on smoking and other prohibited behavior, but cutting federal funding isn't going to help people relying on public transit in Chicago (or Boston).
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
Cut CTA crime or lose federal funding, U.S. Transportation chief threatens
Chicago's acting transit boss has been given two weeks to detail moves to "deter crime, stop fare evasion and provide a clean environment for passengers" by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
chicago.suntimes.com
September 21, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I welcome the CTA acting to cut down on smoking and other prohibited behavior, but cutting federal funding isn't going to help people relying on public transit in Chicago (or Boston).
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
Finished the Capital City Century bike ride. The last 40 miles were especially tough because of the 90+ degree temps.
September 13, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Finished the Capital City Century bike ride. The last 40 miles were especially tough because of the 90+ degree temps.
Unclear if Paxton which version (Protestant or Catholic) of the Lord's Prayer recited -- but this sort of thing was the catalyst for beginning the Parochial school mvt in the 19th century.
Nice to see my friend Mark Chancey quoted in WaPost wapo.st/3VyMUfd.
Nice to see my friend Mark Chancey quoted in WaPost wapo.st/3VyMUfd.
Texas AG goes step further in push for Christianity in public schools
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urged children to recite “the Lord’s Prayer, as taught by Jesus Christ” if their public schools established a prayer period.
wapo.st
September 5, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Unclear if Paxton which version (Protestant or Catholic) of the Lord's Prayer recited -- but this sort of thing was the catalyst for beginning the Parochial school mvt in the 19th century.
Nice to see my friend Mark Chancey quoted in WaPost wapo.st/3VyMUfd.
Nice to see my friend Mark Chancey quoted in WaPost wapo.st/3VyMUfd.
While I sympathize with the goal, I fear this lays the groundwork for when science-based leadership returns to the CDC, Red states will justify banding together to ignore science-based CDC guidelines.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
California, Oregon and Washington ally on vaccines in rebuke to Trump’s CDC
Three Democratic governors create West Coast Health Alliance amid growing turmoil at US health agency under RFK Jr
www.theguardian.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:11 PM
While I sympathize with the goal, I fear this lays the groundwork for when science-based leadership returns to the CDC, Red states will justify banding together to ignore science-based CDC guidelines.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Second time in two weeks #amtrak 319 has had problems with some passengers being sent by bus.
Service seems less reliable than prior two or three summers.
Anyone know if there are metrics about this?
Service seems less reliable than prior two or three summers.
Anyone know if there are metrics about this?
July 14, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Second time in two weeks #amtrak 319 has had problems with some passengers being sent by bus.
Service seems less reliable than prior two or three summers.
Anyone know if there are metrics about this?
Service seems less reliable than prior two or three summers.
Anyone know if there are metrics about this?
This is a good training session -- recommended!
Join us for a marshal training! Come out on Wednesday, July 16th and we'll teach you how to lead a group ride, cork, and de-escalate safely with drivers. We keep us safe!
⏰ 6 pm Wednesday, July 16th
📍 Union Park (corner of Washington & Ashland)
⏰ 6 pm Wednesday, July 16th
📍 Union Park (corner of Washington & Ashland)
July 8, 2025 at 1:53 PM
This is a good training session -- recommended!
Another brick removed in the wall separating church and state, this time being taking out by the IRS rather than the Supremes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...
I.R.S. Says Churches Can Endorse Candidates From the Pulpit
www.nytimes.com
July 8, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Another brick removed in the wall separating church and state, this time being taking out by the IRS rather than the Supremes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...
Trump is the antithesis of Teddy Roosevelt - he may carry a big stick (or not) but he rarely speaks softly.
June 24, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Trump is the antithesis of Teddy Roosevelt - he may carry a big stick (or not) but he rarely speaks softly.
Reposted by Adam Porter
It's gonna be the best you'll have felt in days. Come on out with us!
Let's try this again without the exorbitant air pollution. Come out on Tuesday, June 24th and we'll teach you how to lead a group ride, cork, and de-escalate safely with drivers.
⏰ 6pm Tuesday, June 24th
📍 Union Park (NE corner of Washington & Ashland)
⏰ 6pm Tuesday, June 24th
📍 Union Park (NE corner of Washington & Ashland)
June 24, 2025 at 12:01 PM
It's gonna be the best you'll have felt in days. Come on out with us!
Doesn't it make economic sense for insurance companies to pay for vaccines, even if RFK Jr's CDC doesn't recommend them?
Vaccines are cheap and paying for measles or covid hospitalization is expensive. Wouldn't 1 patient in the hospital pay for hundreds (or thousands) of vaccines?
wapo.st/3TBmtVd
Vaccines are cheap and paying for measles or covid hospitalization is expensive. Wouldn't 1 patient in the hospital pay for hundreds (or thousands) of vaccines?
wapo.st/3TBmtVd
How medical groups may preserve vaccine access — and bypass RFK Jr.
The extraordinary effort to create a parallel system of recommending and perhaps even providing vaccines faces major challenges.
wapo.st
June 24, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Doesn't it make economic sense for insurance companies to pay for vaccines, even if RFK Jr's CDC doesn't recommend them?
Vaccines are cheap and paying for measles or covid hospitalization is expensive. Wouldn't 1 patient in the hospital pay for hundreds (or thousands) of vaccines?
wapo.st/3TBmtVd
Vaccines are cheap and paying for measles or covid hospitalization is expensive. Wouldn't 1 patient in the hospital pay for hundreds (or thousands) of vaccines?
wapo.st/3TBmtVd
I am happy that my TV thinks I have any interest in baseball, let alone a "top pick", because it suggests AI has some room for improvement. 😉
June 22, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I am happy that my TV thinks I have any interest in baseball, let alone a "top pick", because it suggests AI has some room for improvement. 😉
Whoops. Turns out that Silicon Valley's "move fast and break things" mantra doesn't work well for the govt.
#DOGE
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
#DOGE
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Trump races to fix a big mistake: DOGE fired too many people
Across the government, the administration is rehiring federal workers who were forced out or encouraged to resign.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 6, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Whoops. Turns out that Silicon Valley's "move fast and break things" mantra doesn't work well for the govt.
#DOGE
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
#DOGE
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Reposted by Adam Porter
this is like drake and kendrick lamar but they're both drake
June 5, 2025 at 8:22 PM
this is like drake and kendrick lamar but they're both drake
Since Reagan, the GOP has argued that tax cuts would spark growth and be revenue positive. NEVER true: Reagan, Bush, Trump tax cuts always increased deficit.
Sen. Thune explains that he "believes" the theory.
Faith > reason? Prob not: useful political cover.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Sen. Thune explains that he "believes" the theory.
Faith > reason? Prob not: useful political cover.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Trump proposes policies that would increase the soaring national debt
The White House’s One Big Beautiful Bill would cost trillions, and other administration moves wouldn’t fill the budget gap.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 5, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Since Reagan, the GOP has argued that tax cuts would spark growth and be revenue positive. NEVER true: Reagan, Bush, Trump tax cuts always increased deficit.
Sen. Thune explains that he "believes" the theory.
Faith > reason? Prob not: useful political cover.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Sen. Thune explains that he "believes" the theory.
Faith > reason? Prob not: useful political cover.
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
The GOP's attack on higher education has been long-running (see what DeSantis has done in Florida).
Reading about what's going on in Indiana (which employs some of my friends and relatives) shows why Harvard's resistance is so remarkable and important.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/u...
Reading about what's going on in Indiana (which employs some of my friends and relatives) shows why Harvard's resistance is so remarkable and important.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/u...
Republicans Trying to Control Indiana University Meet Little Resistance
www.nytimes.com
June 5, 2025 at 12:44 PM
The GOP's attack on higher education has been long-running (see what DeSantis has done in Florida).
Reading about what's going on in Indiana (which employs some of my friends and relatives) shows why Harvard's resistance is so remarkable and important.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/u...
Reading about what's going on in Indiana (which employs some of my friends and relatives) shows why Harvard's resistance is so remarkable and important.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/u...
Interesting essay arguing that some Evangelicals are so focused on the vertical relationship with God that they are ignoring the horizontal relationship with other people.
There is long tradition of individual-focused salvation, which may have its roots in slavery.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/o...
There is long tradition of individual-focused salvation, which may have its roots in slavery.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/o...
Opinion | Selfishness Is Not a Virtue
www.nytimes.com
June 5, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Interesting essay arguing that some Evangelicals are so focused on the vertical relationship with God that they are ignoring the horizontal relationship with other people.
There is long tradition of individual-focused salvation, which may have its roots in slavery.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/o...
There is long tradition of individual-focused salvation, which may have its roots in slavery.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/05/o...
If former Israeli PM Olmert were to air this opinion at a US university, the Trump admin would accuse him of Antisemitism.
It would also accuse the sponsoring organization of fostering Antisemitism.
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...
It would also accuse the sponsoring organization of fostering Antisemitism.
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...
Enough is enough. Israel is committing war crimes | Opinion
***
www.haaretz.com
June 3, 2025 at 3:42 PM
If former Israeli PM Olmert were to air this opinion at a US university, the Trump admin would accuse him of Antisemitism.
It would also accuse the sponsoring organization of fostering Antisemitism.
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...
It would also accuse the sponsoring organization of fostering Antisemitism.
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025...
Appointing inexperienced and/or incompetent (or industry shills) to important govt positions has long been a GOP strategy to ensure that its talking point (that govt is ineffective and useless) is correct.
Agent Orange has taken this practice to a new height.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/u...
Agent Orange has taken this practice to a new height.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/u...
Acting FEMA Chief Told Staff He Didn’t Know About U.S. Hurricane Season
www.nytimes.com
June 3, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Appointing inexperienced and/or incompetent (or industry shills) to important govt positions has long been a GOP strategy to ensure that its talking point (that govt is ineffective and useless) is correct.
Agent Orange has taken this practice to a new height.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/u...
Agent Orange has taken this practice to a new height.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/02/u...
Fascinating example of how high tech might reveal the contents of an ancient library, perhaps significantly increasing the number of known documents from antiquity.
#DigitalHumanities #classics
www.economist.com/science-and-...
#DigitalHumanities #classics
www.economist.com/science-and-...
The decoding of ancient Roman scrolls is speeding up
More data, and a more powerful particle accelerator, should pay dividends
www.economist.com
June 2, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Fascinating example of how high tech might reveal the contents of an ancient library, perhaps significantly increasing the number of known documents from antiquity.
#DigitalHumanities #classics
www.economist.com/science-and-...
#DigitalHumanities #classics
www.economist.com/science-and-...
According to the Terminator movies #AI becomes self-aware in 1997.
Cameron was off by 30 years, but #Skynet -like behavior - a system that will harm humans to preserve itself - is on the horizon.
Need to program in #Asimov's three laws of robotics!
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/tech...
Cameron was off by 30 years, but #Skynet -like behavior - a system that will harm humans to preserve itself - is on the horizon.
Need to program in #Asimov's three laws of robotics!
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/tech...
The Great AI Deception Has Already Begun
If AI can lie to us—and it already has—how would we know? This fire alarm is already ringing. Most of us still aren't listening.
www.psychologytoday.com
June 2, 2025 at 12:20 PM
According to the Terminator movies #AI becomes self-aware in 1997.
Cameron was off by 30 years, but #Skynet -like behavior - a system that will harm humans to preserve itself - is on the horizon.
Need to program in #Asimov's three laws of robotics!
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/tech...
Cameron was off by 30 years, but #Skynet -like behavior - a system that will harm humans to preserve itself - is on the horizon.
Need to program in #Asimov's three laws of robotics!
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/tech...
Sen. Ernst's new media strategy is puzzling.
She seems to be trying to "own the libs." But the people she insulted with her comments are Trump / MAGA voters.
And while it's true that "we will all die," this doesn't justify GOP policies that will hasten that event.
www.npr.org/2025/05/31/n...
She seems to be trying to "own the libs." But the people she insulted with her comments are Trump / MAGA voters.
And while it's true that "we will all die," this doesn't justify GOP policies that will hasten that event.
www.npr.org/2025/05/31/n...
Sen. Ernst doubles down on bleak response to Medicaid grilling
The Republican senator offered a glib response to constituent questions at a town hall regarding cuts to Medicaid under the Trump-endorsed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
www.npr.org
June 2, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Sen. Ernst's new media strategy is puzzling.
She seems to be trying to "own the libs." But the people she insulted with her comments are Trump / MAGA voters.
And while it's true that "we will all die," this doesn't justify GOP policies that will hasten that event.
www.npr.org/2025/05/31/n...
She seems to be trying to "own the libs." But the people she insulted with her comments are Trump / MAGA voters.
And while it's true that "we will all die," this doesn't justify GOP policies that will hasten that event.
www.npr.org/2025/05/31/n...
The CPSC - where my dad worked for decades - protects consumers from getting injured/killed from poorly designed products.
Every GOP admin has sought to muzzle CPSC.
Trump fired them after voting to release a report about batteries igniting and killing people.
www.theverge.com/news/664498/...
Every GOP admin has sought to muzzle CPSC.
Trump fired them after voting to release a report about batteries igniting and killing people.
www.theverge.com/news/664498/...
Trump illegally fires Democrats on Consumer Product Safety Commission
The CPSC was just about to publish safety standards on ebike batteries that catch on fire.
www.theverge.com
May 10, 2025 at 11:50 AM
The CPSC - where my dad worked for decades - protects consumers from getting injured/killed from poorly designed products.
Every GOP admin has sought to muzzle CPSC.
Trump fired them after voting to release a report about batteries igniting and killing people.
www.theverge.com/news/664498/...
Every GOP admin has sought to muzzle CPSC.
Trump fired them after voting to release a report about batteries igniting and killing people.
www.theverge.com/news/664498/...