John Halloran
@profhalloran.bsky.social
By day: Professoring; social work/social policy/complex systems; PhD/JD. By night: Food/drinks; burritos; vapid entertainment; sport. 24/7: Unencumbered by reputation; epistemic humility; tepid legality; personal account.
Antiques Roadshow has sent me to Wikipedia to understand what a bass violin is … and then into the rabbit hole of esoteric instruments in the violin and viol families.
January 6, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Antiques Roadshow has sent me to Wikipedia to understand what a bass violin is … and then into the rabbit hole of esoteric instruments in the violin and viol families.
Reposted by John Halloran
Hearing a lot of people say “well 50 in Hobbit years is basically 25 in human years” and don’t, don’t make excuses for them. Society has made enough.
January 6, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Hearing a lot of people say “well 50 in Hobbit years is basically 25 in human years” and don’t, don’t make excuses for them. Society has made enough.
Cassandra is increasingly relatable.
BREAKING: CDC announces an unprecedented overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule, a significant shift that recommends fewer shots for all kids.
CDC overhauls childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark in unprecedented move
The new U.S. guidelines recommend all children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 previously on the schedule.
nbcnews.to
January 5, 2026 at 10:14 PM
Cassandra is increasingly relatable.
I, for one, would eat a McOffCuts and enjoy it.
Class-action lawsuit claims McDonald’s McRib doesn’t actually contain rib meat >>>
https://www.29news.com/2026/01/05/class-action-lawsuit-claims-mcdonalds-mcrib-doesnt-actually-contain-rib-meat/
https://www.29news.com/2026/01/05/class-action-lawsuit-claims-mcdonalds-mcrib-doesnt-actually-contain-rib-meat/
January 5, 2026 at 7:25 PM
I, for one, would eat a McOffCuts and enjoy it.
I continue to simply not understand why we aren't getting market snapback here.
Sure, I get that there's an element of LINE GO UP; EVERYONE GET RICH that is propelling the thing (especially among retail folks). But there are fundamentals someplace, right? RIGHT? And this level of instability...
Sure, I get that there's an element of LINE GO UP; EVERYONE GET RICH that is propelling the thing (especially among retail folks). But there are fundamentals someplace, right? RIGHT? And this level of instability...
Guess I didn't need to worry about a potential post-Venezuela market freakout undermining the premise of my recent newsletter. Markets continue to look unperturbed by Trump's assault on rule of law
January 5, 2026 at 4:09 PM
I continue to simply not understand why we aren't getting market snapback here.
Sure, I get that there's an element of LINE GO UP; EVERYONE GET RICH that is propelling the thing (especially among retail folks). But there are fundamentals someplace, right? RIGHT? And this level of instability...
Sure, I get that there's an element of LINE GO UP; EVERYONE GET RICH that is propelling the thing (especially among retail folks). But there are fundamentals someplace, right? RIGHT? And this level of instability...
Reposted by John Halloran
The Trump administration's key changes have been a) to add more burdens to SSA clients, increasing frictions and b) to expect that SSA clients will be able to manage those burdens via online processes without help. Recipe for failure.
January 5, 2026 at 3:29 PM
The Trump administration's key changes have been a) to add more burdens to SSA clients, increasing frictions and b) to expect that SSA clients will be able to manage those burdens via online processes without help. Recipe for failure.
Consequentialist thinking is one of the things that’s going to doom us.
Fetterman on Fox & Friends on Trump's Venezuela coup: "I don't know why we can't just acknowledge that it's been a good thing what happened ... I think we should really appreciate exactly what happened here."
January 5, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Consequentialist thinking is one of the things that’s going to doom us.
Even curved for baseline Trump Administration bonkersness, this is particularly bonkers.
January 5, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Even curved for baseline Trump Administration bonkersness, this is particularly bonkers.
Dunno, man, when a law enforcement operation kills 80 folks, well, it seems like a bunch of people should be held to account for that.
January 4, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Dunno, man, when a law enforcement operation kills 80 folks, well, it seems like a bunch of people should be held to account for that.
This is the kind of stuff that should OBVIOUSLY give lie to the whole voter ID debate.
the latest example of ICE claiming a previously recognized government ID (issued by its own agency no less) is no longer valid
DHS says REAL ID, which DHS certifies, is too unreliable to confirm U.S. citizenship
It's the punch line to a bad joke that started 20 years ago when Congress passed the REAL ID Act.
reason.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:00 PM
This is the kind of stuff that should OBVIOUSLY give lie to the whole voter ID debate.
The fact that I’m still reading David Frum’s name in a major publication in 2025 reveals just how deeply we’ve failed to hold the architects of our various policy debacles to account.
Some people are just impervious to any lessons history or common sense can offer us.
January 4, 2026 at 3:28 PM
The fact that I’m still reading David Frum’s name in a major publication in 2025 reveals just how deeply we’ve failed to hold the architects of our various policy debacles to account.
Reposted by John Halloran
I am struggling with what might be a generational experience. The gulf war was pretty politically formative for me. It’s not history so much as memory this time.
It is destabilizing to see almost the exact same gameplan but this time without the guardrails that at the time I took for granted.
It is destabilizing to see almost the exact same gameplan but this time without the guardrails that at the time I took for granted.
January 3, 2026 at 11:09 PM
I am struggling with what might be a generational experience. The gulf war was pretty politically formative for me. It’s not history so much as memory this time.
It is destabilizing to see almost the exact same gameplan but this time without the guardrails that at the time I took for granted.
It is destabilizing to see almost the exact same gameplan but this time without the guardrails that at the time I took for granted.
What. the. actual. fuck.
January 3, 2026 at 4:55 PM
What. the. actual. fuck.
Reposted by John Halloran
Yes!!
It's actually really clear that Trump, in his second term, does not view his power as deriving from, and therefore limited by, the Constitution
It's actually really clear that Trump, in his second term, does not view his power as deriving from, and therefore limited by, the Constitution
Can't help but feel like this is one of the reasons why the Constitution says If a dude in office does an insurrection, don't let that motherfucker hold office again
Bc clearly they cannot be trusted with power & control over the levers of government, & they do not care about democratic constraints
Bc clearly they cannot be trusted with power & control over the levers of government, & they do not care about democratic constraints
January 3, 2026 at 4:25 PM
Yes!!
It's actually really clear that Trump, in his second term, does not view his power as deriving from, and therefore limited by, the Constitution
It's actually really clear that Trump, in his second term, does not view his power as deriving from, and therefore limited by, the Constitution
Wait. What happened? We did what?
Bonkers.
Bonkers.
January 3, 2026 at 2:08 PM
Wait. What happened? We did what?
Bonkers.
Bonkers.
How many hard boiled eggs can you eat? Professors should be able to eat *a lot* of hard boiled eggs.
How else can professors prove "merit" besides SAT scores? Wrong answers only. I'll go first: ability to do sixth-grade geometry homework (two professors in my house fail)
January 2, 2026 at 7:49 PM
How many hard boiled eggs can you eat? Professors should be able to eat *a lot* of hard boiled eggs.
Reposted by John Halloran
2026 is gonna be all about moms and dads ruining 6-7
January 2, 2026 at 2:26 PM
2026 is gonna be all about moms and dads ruining 6-7
Reposted by John Halloran
Cover reveal. It's about how & why colonies/states controlled international & domestic migration until 1888, why in the late 19th c the feds took over, & what it was like for politically disfavored groups to live under that arrangement of power. You can't understand voluntary migration history 1/
January 2, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Cover reveal. It's about how & why colonies/states controlled international & domestic migration until 1888, why in the late 19th c the feds took over, & what it was like for politically disfavored groups to live under that arrangement of power. You can't understand voluntary migration history 1/
Reposted by John Halloran
To have to remove the stage once may be regarded as misfortune. But to have to remove the stage twice looks like carelessness.
January 2, 2026 at 4:57 AM
To have to remove the stage once may be regarded as misfortune. But to have to remove the stage twice looks like carelessness.
I kinda love that they’re going to make everyone schlep back out there and take the free kick. Precisely the kind of chaos that I’m here for in 2026.
January 2, 2026 at 4:50 AM
I kinda love that they’re going to make everyone schlep back out there and take the free kick. Precisely the kind of chaos that I’m here for in 2026.
Crazy travel experience today: International flight arrived 40 minutes early. Deplaned, through immigration and customs in less than 45 minutes. 26 minute can in from ORD to our house.
January 2, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Crazy travel experience today: International flight arrived 40 minutes early. Deplaned, through immigration and customs in less than 45 minutes. 26 minute can in from ORD to our house.
Reposted by John Halloran
I'm entirely serious about this: until you internalize the view that urban America is Real America, you won't see the urgency of structural reform of an American government whose fundamental structures so disadvantage its population centers—the great engines of its prosperity, progress, & culture.
Another good practice for the New Year would be for all the non-fascists in America who want to opine about politics to really begin believing that urban America is Real America & that its denizens are The Authentic People. Get some self-respect & drop the volkish nationalist view that they're not
And I think liberals should stop taking the bait and ceding ground on immigration.
Immigration is good. Multiculturalism is good. Free trade is good. Stop being embarrassed to say so.
Immigration is good. Multiculturalism is good. Free trade is good. Stop being embarrassed to say so.
January 1, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I'm entirely serious about this: until you internalize the view that urban America is Real America, you won't see the urgency of structural reform of an American government whose fundamental structures so disadvantage its population centers—the great engines of its prosperity, progress, & culture.
Reposted by John Halloran
Earlier this year, Republicans tried to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in their 2026 budget, while proposing a 13% increase in defense spending. The Institute of Museum and Library Services just got their funding back through courts.
Boycotting Constitution Hall because the DAR won’t let Marian Anderson sing has costs. It may end opera. Is that worth it? By Megan McArdle, 1939
December 30, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Earlier this year, Republicans tried to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in their 2026 budget, while proposing a 13% increase in defense spending. The Institute of Museum and Library Services just got their funding back through courts.
Reposted by John Halloran
New York Public Library
1917
1917
December 31, 2025 at 12:11 PM
New York Public Library
1917
1917