Nate Ledbetter
@nhledbetter.bsky.social
ABD, Princeton, East Asian Studies. Instructor, Asian History, Rider University. Perpetually writing my dissertation (warfare in 16th C. Kyushu, Japan). He/Him/あいつ/"That Nagashino Guy." At some point I'll start posting useful stuff here. Maybe.
Pinned
Since I've got double the followers from a week ago, guess it's time for an intro thread. A post per topic I habitually post about:
I'm a PhD candidate at Princeton, very slowly working on a dissertation on 16th C. warfare in southern Japan (centered around the Shimazu family). 1/
I'm a PhD candidate at Princeton, very slowly working on a dissertation on 16th C. warfare in southern Japan (centered around the Shimazu family). 1/
"ALEXA, GIVE ME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BABY MONITORS NOT SENDING IMAGES OF LITTLE QARTYRE TO BEIJING"
HINSON: As a mom, I think about watching a baby monitor. That's a very intimate moment with your baby and to think the Chinese could be spying on your morning routine
BARTIROMO: Why are they spying on moms?
HINSON: They just want to know what Americans are up to to undermine our way of life
BARTIROMO: Why are they spying on moms?
HINSON: They just want to know what Americans are up to to undermine our way of life
November 21, 2025 at 4:48 PM
"ALEXA, GIVE ME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BABY MONITORS NOT SENDING IMAGES OF LITTLE QARTYRE TO BEIJING"
"WESTERN" civilization is a myth. A racist, shape-shifting myth.
November 21, 2025 at 4:16 PM
"WESTERN" civilization is a myth. A racist, shape-shifting myth.
That I just saw a thread arguing that Andrew Jackson was a progressive tells you all you need to know about this place sometimes.
November 21, 2025 at 3:56 PM
That I just saw a thread arguing that Andrew Jackson was a progressive tells you all you need to know about this place sometimes.
JUST PLAY TROPICO, IDIOTS
This whole story would be laughable if it wasn't so horrifying. There are 87,000 people on the island they planned to invade and conquer by themselves and they failed at all their preparation and training attempts. What a couple of losers.
Gavin and Tanner, planned and trained for nearly a year, legal documents say, in an elaborate attempt to invade a Haitian island, kill its Black men, enslave its Black women and Black children and fulfill their "rape fantasies."
www.fox4news.com/news/haitian...
www.fox4news.com/news/haitian...
November 21, 2025 at 3:49 PM
JUST PLAY TROPICO, IDIOTS
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
the word “drone” has functioned a lot like the word “AI” among the tech set, in that it’s a grotesquely over-broad and non-specific term that sounds really cool to people who don’t know better
the reason people like the word "drone" is it lets you pretend you're getting the power of a ghost bat with the autonomy of the starcraft ai at the price of an fpv
bsky.app/profile/fain...
bsky.app/profile/fain...
specifically, if I see one more article that doesn’t seem to grasp that Ukrainian FPV drone pilots are almost always on the frontline, in *extreme* danger, and are very regularly killed because their controller signals are easily detectable via electronic warfare methods
November 21, 2025 at 3:43 PM
the word “drone” has functioned a lot like the word “AI” among the tech set, in that it’s a grotesquely over-broad and non-specific term that sounds really cool to people who don’t know better
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
As someone who's spent a quarter century in Academia, I can't abide the "why bother with college when you have AI and YouTube" nonsense because THIS, this right here, is one of the most important reasons for going to college.
Thinking a lot lately about the simple fact that college allows people to spend about 15 weeks immersed in a disciplinary conversation with an expert in that field. And what a special thing that is.
November 21, 2025 at 3:21 PM
As someone who's spent a quarter century in Academia, I can't abide the "why bother with college when you have AI and YouTube" nonsense because THIS, this right here, is one of the most important reasons for going to college.
"Gavin" & "Tanner"
Gavin and Tanner, planned and trained for nearly a year, legal documents say, in an elaborate attempt to invade a Haitian island, kill its Black men, enslave its Black women and Black children and fulfill their "rape fantasies."
www.fox4news.com/news/haitian...
www.fox4news.com/news/haitian...
NTX men planned to murder men, enslave women on foreign island: Indictment
Two North Texas men have been indicted for an alleged scheme to sail to a foreign island, murder all the men, and enslave the women and children.
www.fox4news.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
"Gavin" & "Tanner"
This is at least partially because Trump and his people *like* war crimes.
Like, even more than the Cheneys and Rumsfelds, who at least tried to hide it.
Like, even more than the Cheneys and Rumsfelds, who at least tried to hide it.
All the rape, torture, and murder will be brushed under the carpet, a great lesson for any future war criminals.
November 21, 2025 at 2:52 PM
This is at least partially because Trump and his people *like* war crimes.
Like, even more than the Cheneys and Rumsfelds, who at least tried to hide it.
Like, even more than the Cheneys and Rumsfelds, who at least tried to hide it.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
the Harvard Crimson called Epstein a “child sex offender” while the Chronicle of Higher Ed called him a “disgraced financier” and that pretty much sums up where we are with higher ed journalism
November 20, 2025 at 3:29 AM
the Harvard Crimson called Epstein a “child sex offender” while the Chronicle of Higher Ed called him a “disgraced financier” and that pretty much sums up where we are with higher ed journalism
*types joke*
**remembers what site this is**
***deletes joke***
**remembers what site this is**
***deletes joke***
November 21, 2025 at 6:44 AM
*types joke*
**remembers what site this is**
***deletes joke***
**remembers what site this is**
***deletes joke***
The Aristocrats!
November 21, 2025 at 4:44 AM
The Aristocrats!
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
It’s fun to think about the surgeon who will botch your surgery 20 years from now and what he’s doing at this moment. He just ran all his homework through ChatGPT. He just read that article about vaccines and autism at the CDC website. He just watched an Instagram video about the moon landing hoax.
November 21, 2025 at 4:27 AM
It’s fun to think about the surgeon who will botch your surgery 20 years from now and what he’s doing at this moment. He just ran all his homework through ChatGPT. He just read that article about vaccines and autism at the CDC website. He just watched an Instagram video about the moon landing hoax.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
It's only fantasy when it's from Europe, and everything else is just sparkling mythology
November 21, 2025 at 2:22 AM
It's only fantasy when it's from Europe, and everything else is just sparkling mythology
Mine is called Ledbettered
Mine is called Unlettered.
my worstselling memoir is also called Unfettered
November 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Mine is called Ledbettered
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Military ethicist here. I used to be Associate Chair of Leadership, Ethics, and Law at USNA. We consistently taught our midshipmen that they should refuse to obey illegal orders. The Uniform Code of Military Justice makes this obligation clear. “I was just following orders” is not an excuse, period.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Military ethicist here. I used to be Associate Chair of Leadership, Ethics, and Law at USNA. We consistently taught our midshipmen that they should refuse to obey illegal orders. The Uniform Code of Military Justice makes this obligation clear. “I was just following orders” is not an excuse, period.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Just when I'd thought I'd encountered the funniest of historical British names, I discover this guy.
November 20, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Just when I'd thought I'd encountered the funniest of historical British names, I discover this guy.
Yes, yes, 48F's (China FAOs)
We know you're special and different and don't function like the rest of us.
We know you're special and different and don't function like the rest of us.
Avoiding nonsense like this is literally why FAOs exist.
And yet.
But what would I know about *that*
And yet.
But what would I know about *that*
Not all Koreans are happy w/ this framing. Below, the Hankyoreh newspaper warns against seeing S. Korea as "a military stronghold within a striking distance of China."
"For Brunson, such musings may read like an original 'strategic suggestion.' But for Koreans, they are a matter of life and death."
"For Brunson, such musings may read like an original 'strategic suggestion.' But for Koreans, they are a matter of life and death."
November 20, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Yes, yes, 48F's (China FAOs)
We know you're special and different and don't function like the rest of us.
We know you're special and different and don't function like the rest of us.
Am I punchy this morning since I woke up with 2 low blood sugar alarms from Kid2 in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep?
Reader, it is so surmised.
Reader, it is so surmised.
November 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Am I punchy this morning since I woke up with 2 low blood sugar alarms from Kid2 in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep?
Reader, it is so surmised.
Reader, it is so surmised.
Avoiding nonsense like this is literally why FAOs exist.
And yet.
But what would I know about *that*
And yet.
But what would I know about *that*
Not all Koreans are happy w/ this framing. Below, the Hankyoreh newspaper warns against seeing S. Korea as "a military stronghold within a striking distance of China."
"For Brunson, such musings may read like an original 'strategic suggestion.' But for Koreans, they are a matter of life and death."
"For Brunson, such musings may read like an original 'strategic suggestion.' But for Koreans, they are a matter of life and death."
Perhaps the US views the Korean Peninsula as a military stronghold within striking distance of China. But Americans would do well to remember that the peninsula is also the cherished home of more than 50 million allied citizens.
english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...
english.hani.co.kr/arti/english...
November 20, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Avoiding nonsense like this is literally why FAOs exist.
And yet.
But what would I know about *that*
And yet.
But what would I know about *that*
Good thing they used the passive voice, otherwise we might be forced to think about the fact that this didn't just happen. We might be forced to reckon with the fact that someone DID this, and IS DOING this.
"A Chinese immigrant was found dead in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, with his hands and feet tied behind him, an attorney has alleged."
www.newsweek.com/ice-detainee...
www.newsweek.com/ice-detainee...
Man detained by ICE found dead, hanging with hands and feet tied—attorney
The Chinese national died in Pennsylvania in August, but his family's requests for answers from DHS have gone unmet.
www.newsweek.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Good thing they used the passive voice, otherwise we might be forced to think about the fact that this didn't just happen. We might be forced to reckon with the fact that someone DID this, and IS DOING this.
THIS THREAD, INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS
(preferably not with a bayonet)
This is the good stuff.
(preferably not with a bayonet)
This is the good stuff.
Tonight on Ken Burns's American Revolution, Rick Atkinson is going is going to tell you:
"Muskets are mostly inaccurate beyond 80 yards...so a lot of the killing is done with the bayonet... this is really eyeball to eyeball."
The trouble is, this just isn't true. 🧵1/16
"Muskets are mostly inaccurate beyond 80 yards...so a lot of the killing is done with the bayonet... this is really eyeball to eyeball."
The trouble is, this just isn't true. 🧵1/16
November 19, 2025 at 12:46 AM
THIS THREAD, INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS
(preferably not with a bayonet)
This is the good stuff.
(preferably not with a bayonet)
This is the good stuff.
Reposted by Nate Ledbetter
Watching this video gives you a pretty good feeling of what it's like to be a NCO in the military. A parade of younger people making you ask yourself if the next generation completely lacks the ability to read written instructions or if you're just old and out of touch.
November 19, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Watching this video gives you a pretty good feeling of what it's like to be a NCO in the military. A parade of younger people making you ask yourself if the next generation completely lacks the ability to read written instructions or if you're just old and out of touch.
School shooter? Nope, not going to enter the school, too dangerous, gonna stand outside in our tactical gear, twiddling our thumbs, waiting to figure out what to do.
School with Hispanic children in it? STRAP IT UP BOYS, IT'S GO TIME
School with Hispanic children in it? STRAP IT UP BOYS, IT'S GO TIME
Over 20,000 students stayed home from school Monday in Charlotte amid ICE raids, representing 15% of enrollment
The district is nearly one-third Hispanic, per WBTV
www.wbtv.com/2025/11/18/n...
The district is nearly one-third Hispanic, per WBTV
www.wbtv.com/2025/11/18/n...
Nearly 21,000 Charlotte-Mecklenburg students absent from school on Monday, officials say
Officials did not make it clear if the absences were connected to the on-going immigration operation in the city.
www.wbtv.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:06 PM
School shooter? Nope, not going to enter the school, too dangerous, gonna stand outside in our tactical gear, twiddling our thumbs, waiting to figure out what to do.
School with Hispanic children in it? STRAP IT UP BOYS, IT'S GO TIME
School with Hispanic children in it? STRAP IT UP BOYS, IT'S GO TIME
"Have you ever seen a Mongol, or a representation of one?"
"Oh yeah, a million times. I gotcha boss. One picture of Mongol warriors, coming right up."
"Oh yeah, a million times. I gotcha boss. One picture of Mongol warriors, coming right up."
Doing a google image search for "mongols" as I'm putting together slides for tomorrow's lecture and came across whatever this AI monstrosity is supposed to be and everything is awful and I hate it.
November 18, 2025 at 10:55 PM
"Have you ever seen a Mongol, or a representation of one?"
"Oh yeah, a million times. I gotcha boss. One picture of Mongol warriors, coming right up."
"Oh yeah, a million times. I gotcha boss. One picture of Mongol warriors, coming right up."
Doing a google image search for "mongols" as I'm putting together slides for tomorrow's lecture and came across whatever this AI monstrosity is supposed to be and everything is awful and I hate it.
November 18, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Doing a google image search for "mongols" as I'm putting together slides for tomorrow's lecture and came across whatever this AI monstrosity is supposed to be and everything is awful and I hate it.