Patrick Burrows
@lpburrows.bsky.social
Religious studies prof at Berea College | Theology, ethics, queer studies, Dolly Parton | North Carolinian | GDTBATH, YNWA | he/him
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
As Ta-Nehisi Coates said last month:
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
Breaking News: Cornell University reached an agreement with the Trump administration that would restore hundreds of millions in funding to the university. It's expected to pay a $30 million fine to the government and to invest $30 million in agriculture and farming programs.
Cornell Reaches Deal with Trump Administration to Restore Research Funds
The Ivy League university had warned of layoffs after the Trump administration stripped it of funds this year. The cuts were among the deepest in higher education.
nyti.ms
November 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM
As Ta-Nehisi Coates said last month:
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
“.. it’s either one of two things: either you’re cowards or you’re with him. And if you’re with him, you never believed in the things you were talking about to begin with.”
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
As a reminder, when Biden announced student loan forgiveness—based upon a statute passed by Congress which explicitly said the President could do exactly that—Douthat called it "semi-Caesarist" because it was done "without consulting Congress."
October 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
As a reminder, when Biden announced student loan forgiveness—based upon a statute passed by Congress which explicitly said the President could do exactly that—Douthat called it "semi-Caesarist" because it was done "without consulting Congress."
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
Tell me a scenario in which Trump accepts that his completed ballroom is being used by a Democrat or a Republican he hates. This is, literally, a monument to permanence. It’s not the action of someone planning to leave.
October 23, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Tell me a scenario in which Trump accepts that his completed ballroom is being used by a Democrat or a Republican he hates. This is, literally, a monument to permanence. It’s not the action of someone planning to leave.
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
Did anything unprecedented & important happen in America yesterday? 🤷♂️🤦♂️
October 19, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Did anything unprecedented & important happen in America yesterday? 🤷♂️🤦♂️
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
white reactionaries disenfranchising black voters to secure political power? that’s a jim crow. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
The Supreme Court Case That Could Hand the House to Republicans
www.nytimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:24 PM
white reactionaries disenfranchising black voters to secure political power? that’s a jim crow. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
Leo XIV comes out swinging hard in his first Apostolic Letter, esp §§80-81, insisting on the centrality of social movements and structural change and not JP2’s restrictions of liberation theology to individual dimensions. Vatican 2 and Medellín are back.
www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te of the Holy Father Leo XIV on Love for the Poor (4 October 2025)
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION DILEXI TE OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV TO ALL CHRISTIANS ON LOVE FOR THE POOR [ Multimedia ] _____________________
www.vatican.va
October 10, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Leo XIV comes out swinging hard in his first Apostolic Letter, esp §§80-81, insisting on the centrality of social movements and structural change and not JP2’s restrictions of liberation theology to individual dimensions. Vatican 2 and Medellín are back.
www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
www.vatican.va/content/leo-...
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
Another reporter fired JUST FOR ACCURATELY REPORTING WHAT CHARLIE KIRK SAID.
They want that guy elevated to sainthood not because of what he did but DESPITE it.
This shit is as fixed as wrestling.
They want that guy elevated to sainthood not because of what he did but DESPITE it.
This shit is as fixed as wrestling.
![My only direct reference to Kirk was one post— his own words on record.
[tweet]
Karen Attiah •@karenattiah.bsky.social • 4d
"Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a white person's slot"
-Charlie Kirk
607
≥ 5.1K
• 14K
[end tweet]
My commentary received thoughtful engagement across platforms, support, and virtually no public backlash.
And yet, the Post accused my measured Bluesky posts of being "unacceptable", "gross misconduct" and of endangering the physical safety of colleagues - charges without evidence, which I reject completely as false.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:aq6ucuguuc67yqwu4x4eipro/bafkreicxt436ylyryvuzbxsv27ednzakaatc3srzzpuy75kmuek5a4dyfq@jpeg)
September 15, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Another reporter fired JUST FOR ACCURATELY REPORTING WHAT CHARLIE KIRK SAID.
They want that guy elevated to sainthood not because of what he did but DESPITE it.
This shit is as fixed as wrestling.
They want that guy elevated to sainthood not because of what he did but DESPITE it.
This shit is as fixed as wrestling.
This semester in my religion, gender, and sexuality class, I decided to mostly teach things published in the last 10yrs, including lots of stuff I haven’t gotten to really read.
First up is Muslims on the Margins by @katrinadalythompson.com. And goodness, what a lovely way to begin.
First up is Muslims on the Margins by @katrinadalythompson.com. And goodness, what a lovely way to begin.
September 5, 2025 at 4:14 PM
This semester in my religion, gender, and sexuality class, I decided to mostly teach things published in the last 10yrs, including lots of stuff I haven’t gotten to really read.
First up is Muslims on the Margins by @katrinadalythompson.com. And goodness, what a lovely way to begin.
First up is Muslims on the Margins by @katrinadalythompson.com. And goodness, what a lovely way to begin.
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
R.E.M. “pushed the boundaries” of alternative rock
Herbie Hancock “pushed the boundaries” of jazz
Trump & RFK Jr. are “destroying public health & will be responsible for killing people”
What is journalism, anyway? 🤷♂️🤦♂️
Herbie Hancock “pushed the boundaries” of jazz
Trump & RFK Jr. are “destroying public health & will be responsible for killing people”
What is journalism, anyway? 🤷♂️🤦♂️
You spelled ENDANGERING wrong, @nytimes.com.
“Pushing the boundaries” is a *positive* frame implying unconventional innovations. There are no innovations here. Just medieval anti-science populist attacks on some of best methods of truth seeking we have.
“Pushing the boundaries” is a *positive* frame implying unconventional innovations. There are no innovations here. Just medieval anti-science populist attacks on some of best methods of truth seeking we have.
August 30, 2025 at 2:49 PM
R.E.M. “pushed the boundaries” of alternative rock
Herbie Hancock “pushed the boundaries” of jazz
Trump & RFK Jr. are “destroying public health & will be responsible for killing people”
What is journalism, anyway? 🤷♂️🤦♂️
Herbie Hancock “pushed the boundaries” of jazz
Trump & RFK Jr. are “destroying public health & will be responsible for killing people”
What is journalism, anyway? 🤷♂️🤦♂️
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
"this product is good because it's like having a pocket full of PhDs" just suggests to me you've never actually been in a room with a bunch of experts on a topic.
You think you're going to come away with a quick, simple, easy-to-digest summary of their expertise? Think again.
You think you're going to come away with a quick, simple, easy-to-digest summary of their expertise? Think again.
August 7, 2025 at 8:30 PM
"this product is good because it's like having a pocket full of PhDs" just suggests to me you've never actually been in a room with a bunch of experts on a topic.
You think you're going to come away with a quick, simple, easy-to-digest summary of their expertise? Think again.
You think you're going to come away with a quick, simple, easy-to-digest summary of their expertise? Think again.
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
This is why Charlottesville melted down its Lee statue. If the statue is removed and simply put in storage, it remains what @artcrimeprof.bsky.social calls “America’s strategic racism reserve.”
Here is Pete Hegseth's tweet announcing the return of the Confederate monument to Arlington National Cemetery. The plan is to restore it and reinstall in 2027.
It's important to point out that this monument was never referred to as a "Reconciliation Monument."
It's important to point out that this monument was never referred to as a "Reconciliation Monument."
August 6, 2025 at 2:20 PM
This is why Charlottesville melted down its Lee statue. If the statue is removed and simply put in storage, it remains what @artcrimeprof.bsky.social calls “America’s strategic racism reserve.”
Nothing like the last week of summer before turning to semester prep to compel furious writing on that summer project that has slipped away for the last two months.
(Why am I like this? Why do I always do this?)
(Why am I like this? Why do I always do this?)
August 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Nothing like the last week of summer before turning to semester prep to compel furious writing on that summer project that has slipped away for the last two months.
(Why am I like this? Why do I always do this?)
(Why am I like this? Why do I always do this?)
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
👇🎯 A lot of folks don't seem to understand that 90+% of our authoritarian problem is the total failure of Article I of the Constitution, not Article III.
Our country has some problems that, taking the law at face value and refusing to engage in chicanery, require constitutional amendments to fix. But this is absolutely not one of them.
August 3, 2025 at 10:14 PM
👇🎯 A lot of folks don't seem to understand that 90+% of our authoritarian problem is the total failure of Article I of the Constitution, not Article III.
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
the republican party hates public goods and wants to force feed you and your family slop produced by its billionaire allies
"WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 1, 2025) – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today that it will begin an orderly wind-down of its operations"
cpb.org/pressroom/Co...
cpb.org/pressroom/Co...
August 1, 2025 at 5:09 PM
the republican party hates public goods and wants to force feed you and your family slop produced by its billionaire allies
Still the most arresting piece of art I have ever seen.
Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977)
“Judith and Holofernes” (2012)
Oil on linen, 120 x 90 in.
North Carolina Museum of Art
Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977)
“Judith and Holofernes” (2012)
Oil on linen, 120 x 90 in.
North Carolina Museum of Art
July 31, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Still the most arresting piece of art I have ever seen.
Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977)
“Judith and Holofernes” (2012)
Oil on linen, 120 x 90 in.
North Carolina Museum of Art
Kehinde Wiley (American, b. 1977)
“Judith and Holofernes” (2012)
Oil on linen, 120 x 90 in.
North Carolina Museum of Art
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
The “deal” that Brown made with the Trump admin is much more extreme than is being reported. It includes government oversight of course evaluations and no barrier to government interference in faculty hiring.
Read it for yourself here:
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
Read it for yourself here:
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
www.brown.edu
July 30, 2025 at 11:46 PM
The “deal” that Brown made with the Trump admin is much more extreme than is being reported. It includes government oversight of course evaluations and no barrier to government interference in faculty hiring.
Read it for yourself here:
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
Read it for yourself here:
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
Excuse my language but what fucking business is it of the united states government whether Brown undertakes this kind of medical care for parents and their kids who fully consent to it and desire it? Insanity! Pure discrimination in an agreement trollingly cloaked in preventing discrimination.
July 30, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Excuse my language but what fucking business is it of the united states government whether Brown undertakes this kind of medical care for parents and their kids who fully consent to it and desire it? Insanity! Pure discrimination in an agreement trollingly cloaked in preventing discrimination.
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
A giant double standard around free speech and academic freedom happening around Palestine right now.
"the publishers had demanded that the articles be submitted to a legal review late into the process."
"the publishers had demanded that the articles be submitted to a legal review late into the process."
Exclusive: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication.
My latest.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
My latest.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Revealed: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication
As Harvard’s feud with Trump escalated, so did tensions over an ‘education and Palestine’ issue of a prestigious journal. Scholars blame the ‘Palestine exception’ to academic freedom
www.theguardian.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:27 PM
A giant double standard around free speech and academic freedom happening around Palestine right now.
"the publishers had demanded that the articles be submitted to a legal review late into the process."
"the publishers had demanded that the articles be submitted to a legal review late into the process."
Today marks 20 years since I came out for the first time, in quick succession, to myself, to God, and to the world. I have come to feel ambivalent about the required coming out plot line in queer lives, but this is still a significant day.
July 21, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Today marks 20 years since I came out for the first time, in quick succession, to myself, to God, and to the world. I have come to feel ambivalent about the required coming out plot line in queer lives, but this is still a significant day.
To wit, I have written almost 1000 words since the walk-inspired breakthrough.
Never underestimate the power of going on a walk and talking to yourself out loud (and avoiding the stares of neighbors) to work out a writing problem.
July 17, 2025 at 2:49 PM
To wit, I have written almost 1000 words since the walk-inspired breakthrough.
“It’s not that traditional liberal learning is out of step with student demand. Instead, it’s out of step with the priorities, values and desires of a powerful board of trustees with no apparent commitment to liberal education, and an administrative class that won’t fight for the liberal arts.”
Opinion | Students Want the Liberal Arts. Administrators, Not So Much.
www.nytimes.com
July 17, 2025 at 12:19 PM
“It’s not that traditional liberal learning is out of step with student demand. Instead, it’s out of step with the priorities, values and desires of a powerful board of trustees with no apparent commitment to liberal education, and an administrative class that won’t fight for the liberal arts.”
The delight of discovering that @zotero.org has finally added @chicagomanual.bsky.social 18th ed. Place of publication: begone! (Though I feel very mixed about not using 3 em-dashes for repeated authors in the bibliography. Looks wrong to see the repetition.)
July 16, 2025 at 10:43 PM
The delight of discovering that @zotero.org has finally added @chicagomanual.bsky.social 18th ed. Place of publication: begone! (Though I feel very mixed about not using 3 em-dashes for repeated authors in the bibliography. Looks wrong to see the repetition.)
Never underestimate the power of going on a walk and talking to yourself out loud (and avoiding the stares of neighbors) to work out a writing problem.
July 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Never underestimate the power of going on a walk and talking to yourself out loud (and avoiding the stares of neighbors) to work out a writing problem.
Reposted by Patrick Burrows
This is from an actual Republican Congressman, from the party that is also locking kids in cages in a concentration camp in Florida, hoping they try to escape and get eaten by alligators.
This is today's Republican Party.
This is today's Republican Party.
July 3, 2025 at 8:29 PM
This is from an actual Republican Congressman, from the party that is also locking kids in cages in a concentration camp in Florida, hoping they try to escape and get eaten by alligators.
This is today's Republican Party.
This is today's Republican Party.