Jody Howard
@thegospelplow.com
Husband to @AEHowardwrites.bsky.social,
daddy to 2 boys, Episcopal priest, Asheville native, Historian, nerd. Religious but not spiritual.
daddy to 2 boys, Episcopal priest, Asheville native, Historian, nerd. Religious but not spiritual.
Co-sign.
The Constitution is very straightforward on birthright citizenship. There's no ambiguity in the language, no other plausible interpretation.
The fact that this is a public discussion at all, and that the Supreme Court is taking it up, is on its own anti-constitutional bullshit.
Read the text👇
The fact that this is a public discussion at all, and that the Supreme Court is taking it up, is on its own anti-constitutional bullshit.
Read the text👇
It starts with knowing the truth. Don’t allow yourselves to be gaslit into believing this is a real question.
December 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Co-sign.
Reposted by Jody Howard
Trump doesn’t seem to get that while he sees everything as a deal, Putin sees any deal as a sign of weakness, Andrew Ryvkin argues. “The better strategy would be to instead apply pressure and wait for Putin to make the first move”:
Putin Lives by a Code Trump Doesn’t Understand
Where Trump sees a deal, Putin sees submission.
bit.ly
December 6, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Trump doesn’t seem to get that while he sees everything as a deal, Putin sees any deal as a sign of weakness, Andrew Ryvkin argues. “The better strategy would be to instead apply pressure and wait for Putin to make the first move”:
$$$
Something that’s so striking in these emails is how…unimpressive Epstein is. He comes off as a pompous, sub-literate lech. Yes everyone is so mortifyingly solicitous of him! All fawning and flattery! Why?????
November 13, 2025 at 5:39 AM
$$$
As someone who was strongly shaped by Hauerwas, but tempered by Radner & an appreciation for aspects of Liberalism (one of my mentors wrote a somewhat niche book about John Locke being driven by the Xian doctrine of depravity), it makes me sad to see how off the rails some of these folks have gone.
people keep saying this about Vance but i still think it misreads him - even his 2020 posts critiquing Trump are primarily out of the postliberal philosophy driving him
you don't DM people about their integralism essay when integralism is a subject basically only me, @1t2ls.bsky.social, or...
you don't DM people about their integralism essay when integralism is a subject basically only me, @1t2ls.bsky.social, or...
Vance is a spineless squish who will chase whoever keeps him in power, even if it is Nick Fuentes.
It can always get worse.
It can always get worse.
November 13, 2025 at 3:43 AM
As someone who was strongly shaped by Hauerwas, but tempered by Radner & an appreciation for aspects of Liberalism (one of my mentors wrote a somewhat niche book about John Locke being driven by the Xian doctrine of depravity), it makes me sad to see how off the rails some of these folks have gone.
Their linguistic tics reveal this sleight of hand; hopefully it’s not working anymore. They discussed “criminal illegals” etc. by which they meant any immigrant who fit certain categories, legally present or not (because their ideology means they don’t view those legal means as legitimate, or those
I continue to believe that the Trump *campaign* successfully convinced quite a lot of people that mass deportations did not mean mass deportations; that it meant targeted enforcement against “the bad guys.”
The problem for the Trump *administration* is that no one believes that anymore.
The problem for the Trump *administration* is that no one believes that anymore.
November 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Their linguistic tics reveal this sleight of hand; hopefully it’s not working anymore. They discussed “criminal illegals” etc. by which they meant any immigrant who fit certain categories, legally present or not (because their ideology means they don’t view those legal means as legitimate, or those
I’m not a political scientist, but as long as people can actually vote, I feel comfortable saying this is always going to be the case when parties think a slim margin is a mandate, especially when they go extreme and, in this case, act like thugs:
November 5, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I’m not a political scientist, but as long as people can actually vote, I feel comfortable saying this is always going to be the case when parties think a slim margin is a mandate, especially when they go extreme and, in this case, act like thugs:
Props for the historical call out.
November 5, 2025 at 5:54 AM
Props for the historical call out.
Reposted by Jody Howard
Considering its extreme scarcity, its provenance, and its immaculate condition, the Lincoln Bathroom's now-destroyed #Vitrolite walls—original to the 1949-51 Truman reconstruction—were considerably more valuable than Trump's common marble-by-the-yard.
#HistoricPreservation #20thCenturyPreservation
#HistoricPreservation #20thCenturyPreservation
October 31, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Considering its extreme scarcity, its provenance, and its immaculate condition, the Lincoln Bathroom's now-destroyed #Vitrolite walls—original to the 1949-51 Truman reconstruction—were considerably more valuable than Trump's common marble-by-the-yard.
#HistoricPreservation #20thCenturyPreservation
#HistoricPreservation #20thCenturyPreservation
Someone shared an article about Trump throwing a Great Gatsby themed party and seemed to
miss the irony of that, given the themes of the book (which I doubt Trump has ever read). It was nice to find someone pointing it out in the comments.
miss the irony of that, given the themes of the book (which I doubt Trump has ever read). It was nice to find someone pointing it out in the comments.
“They were careless people…they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
a man in a tuxedo and bow tie is standing next to a woman in a dress at a party .
ALT: a man in a tuxedo and bow tie is standing next to a woman in a dress at a party .
media.tenor.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Someone shared an article about Trump throwing a Great Gatsby themed party and seemed to
miss the irony of that, given the themes of the book (which I doubt Trump has ever read). It was nice to find someone pointing it out in the comments.
miss the irony of that, given the themes of the book (which I doubt Trump has ever read). It was nice to find someone pointing it out in the comments.
Confused why someone on a knife related YouTube channel would refer to the Bowie knife like it was a prop from the Starman music video rather than named for the famous Texan…
October 31, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Confused why someone on a knife related YouTube channel would refer to the Bowie knife like it was a prop from the Starman music video rather than named for the famous Texan…
God’s All Over the Field: My sermon for Proper 24, Year C, October 19, 2025
www.thegospelplow.com/p/gods-all-o...
www.thegospelplow.com/p/gods-all-o...
God's All Over the Field
A Sermon Preached at Trinity Parish, Clarksville, Tennessee, October 19, 2025
www.thegospelplow.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:29 PM
God’s All Over the Field: My sermon for Proper 24, Year C, October 19, 2025
www.thegospelplow.com/p/gods-all-o...
www.thegospelplow.com/p/gods-all-o...
Obviously, the hidden message is that they’re *actually* drawn to the Book of Common Prayer…
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
Many Gen-Zers “bring a new attitude to the combination of faith and politics, and many see politics as a matter of spiritual warfare,” writes Daniel K. Williams, a historian of American religion and politics.
Many Gen-Zers “bring a new attitude to the combination of faith and politics, and many see politics as a matter of spiritual warfare,” writes Daniel K. Williams, a historian of American religion and politics.
Opinion | Why So Many Gen Z-ers Are Drawn to Conservative Christianity
And what that might mean for the future of American politics.
nyti.ms
October 17, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Obviously, the hidden message is that they’re *actually* drawn to the Book of Common Prayer…
Reposted by Jody Howard
Pope Leo quotes Hannah Arendt:
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist."
www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist."
www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
Pope Leo calls for news agencies to stand as bulwark against "post-truths," lies and manipulation
Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the "ancient art of lying" and manipulation.
www.cbsnews.com
October 12, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Pope Leo quotes Hannah Arendt:
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist."
www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist."
www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...
Reposted by Jody Howard
Sometimes nowadays Watergate can feel almost quaint, but this is a good refresher on Nixon's corruption and poor character, and how Nixon wrote the playbook in many ways for Trump: www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-nixo...
Trump’s Abuses of Power Show We Didn’t Learn Much From the Nixon Era
That failure is implicit in nearly every frame of a new documentary about Katharine Graham.
www.thebulwark.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Sometimes nowadays Watergate can feel almost quaint, but this is a good refresher on Nixon's corruption and poor character, and how Nixon wrote the playbook in many ways for Trump: www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-nixo...
It's easy for me to slip into being a contrarian, so I don't always know immediately whether my sentiments are me being grouchy or if there's more behind them. One example--I think there must be other folks who think we should restore "world without end" to the contemporary language liturgies when
October 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM
It's easy for me to slip into being a contrarian, so I don't always know immediately whether my sentiments are me being grouchy or if there's more behind them. One example--I think there must be other folks who think we should restore "world without end" to the contemporary language liturgies when
Reposted by Jody Howard
This is really hard to read. And the thing that is sitting with me the most about it is that it has always legal and possible to do this for decades. The only thing preventing this from having been the norm was a sense of humanity.
This is why we need structural reform. Not just a change in admin.
This is why we need structural reform. Not just a change in admin.
This passage nearly broke me.
September 30, 2025 at 12:10 PM
This is really hard to read. And the thing that is sitting with me the most about it is that it has always legal and possible to do this for decades. The only thing preventing this from having been the norm was a sense of humanity.
This is why we need structural reform. Not just a change in admin.
This is why we need structural reform. Not just a change in admin.
The sad thing is, it seems like our parties are just fine with blatant corruption becoming a norm.
would love to hear more congressional democrats say "should we win power next year we are going to treat every one of these as bribes and act accordingly" arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Trump obtains another settlement as YouTube agrees to pay $24.5 million
Alphabet settles with Trump instead of fighting lawsuit over January 6 suspension.
arstechnica.com
September 30, 2025 at 12:25 PM
The sad thing is, it seems like our parties are just fine with blatant corruption becoming a norm.
Reposted by Jody Howard
For 10s of millions of Americans, politics is just "shopping with your vote for people who will play pretend & act as if your preferred conspiracy theory is real."
The fantasy could be "immigrants are taking our jobs" or "random chemical causes all our problems"--the process is the same.
The fantasy could be "immigrants are taking our jobs" or "random chemical causes all our problems"--the process is the same.
Antivaxxers are big mad about the pending autism announcement.
September 22, 2025 at 1:02 PM
For 10s of millions of Americans, politics is just "shopping with your vote for people who will play pretend & act as if your preferred conspiracy theory is real."
The fantasy could be "immigrants are taking our jobs" or "random chemical causes all our problems"--the process is the same.
The fantasy could be "immigrants are taking our jobs" or "random chemical causes all our problems"--the process is the same.
"Arguably the most remarkable aspect of the aftermath of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination is how irrelevant its actual perpetrator was to the immediate discourse."
Something Is Very Wrong Online
The cycle of violence will continue as long as the medium doesn’t change.
duke.is
September 13, 2025 at 1:33 AM
"Arguably the most remarkable aspect of the aftermath of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination is how irrelevant its actual perpetrator was to the immediate discourse."
The fact that these examples are not brought up is an example of the ways in which certain violence is legitimized or even valorized at certain moments, & in our context usually it has been because of racial attitudes about who is a legitimate American. You all know what that’s code for.
These people genuinely know nothing of the history—white conservative state & vigilante violence has been arguably *the defining feature* of U.S. history. They apparently also know very little of the present, in which, again, the very opposite is the case.
The MSNBC commentator saying that most political violence has historically come from the left just once again showed how we suffer from failing to learn history. Lynching, pogroms, race riots, the political violence that ended Reconstruction, and against the Civil Rights Movement. Come on.
September 10, 2025 at 8:20 PM
The fact that these examples are not brought up is an example of the ways in which certain violence is legitimized or even valorized at certain moments, & in our context usually it has been because of racial attitudes about who is a legitimate American. You all know what that’s code for.
I just heard about Charlie Kirk. I was just reading an article about a defining characteristic of our political moment being the chilling willingness of otherwise “normal” folks to embrace or at least justify/explain away political violence in service to their chosen ideologies.
September 10, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I just heard about Charlie Kirk. I was just reading an article about a defining characteristic of our political moment being the chilling willingness of otherwise “normal” folks to embrace or at least justify/explain away political violence in service to their chosen ideologies.
My latest: www.thegospelplow.com/p/from-nosta...
September 7, 2025 at 9:39 PM
My latest: www.thegospelplow.com/p/from-nosta...
Occasionally I get side-tracked while writing something.. like a 500 word examination of ministry context for a DMin class that sends me on a bunny trail to try to find a way to superimpose current diocesan boundaries through a GEOJSON file on an image of a historic map of the Diocese of Tennessee.
September 7, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Occasionally I get side-tracked while writing something.. like a 500 word examination of ministry context for a DMin class that sends me on a bunny trail to try to find a way to superimpose current diocesan boundaries through a GEOJSON file on an image of a historic map of the Diocese of Tennessee.
Reposted by Jody Howard
No Donald, Chicago is not your war zone
September 7, 2025 at 1:18 AM
No Donald, Chicago is not your war zone
Good on Rand Paul.
September 7, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Good on Rand Paul.