iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

October 7 is a day of grief. Some are grieving the mass loss of life in Israel that day, while others are grieving the subsequent mass loss of life in Gaza in the following days. There is no need to police the way people grieve. People are different. Just let people grieve.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

There are two types of activists: 1. Those who spend most of their time and energy criticizing other groups 2. Those who spend most of their time and energy reforming their own groups

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

I’m talking about the reasonable people on the other side of the aisle who demonstrate nuance and compassion. If you don’t think those people exist, you’re not looking hard enough. 2/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

You don’t have to blindly submit to social media echo chambers. You can choose to follow people you don’t agree with. Doing so will be good for you. I’m not talking about the extremists that get you angry every time you interact with them. Trying to dialogue with them is usually futile. 1/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

I don’t agree with Paul on many things, but I certainly respect a man who values his principles over his party. 2/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

“Even using the formulas that the supporters of the bill like, the deficit will grow by $270 billion next year... That doesn’t sound at all conservative to me, and that’s why I’m a no.“ - Rand Paul, one of three GOP Senators who voted against the Big Beautiful Bill 1/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

So far in the 21st century, in the name of fighting terrorism, the U.S. has bombed Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. But that wasn’t enough. And so today, the U.S. bombed Iran. And still we wonder why so many people around the world dislike America.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield Down by the riverside Down by the riverside Down by the riverside I'm gonna lay down my sword and shield Down by the riverside I’m gonna study war no more

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

In 1965, LBJ deployed the National Guard against the wishes of AL Gov George Wallace, in order to PROTECT anti-segregation protesters in Selma. Sixty years later, DJT deployed the National Guard against the wishes of CA Gov Gavin Newsom, in order to COUNTER anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Rep. McIver “assaulted” two federal agents, resulting in 0 injuries, 0 hospitalizations, and 0 deaths. Jan 6 insurrectionists “assaulted” hundreds of federal agents, resulting in 140 injuries, 15 hospitalizations, and 1 death. Who should be charged? Who should be pardoned? 🤷

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

“Easter was when Hope in person surprised the whole world by coming forward from the future into the present.” - N. T. Wright, Surprised By Hope

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Reposted by Larry Lin

Standing Together @standing-together.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

🧵 A MASSIVE WAVE OF ARMY REFUSAL IS HAPPENING IN ISRAEL. What does it mean? (1/8)

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Earlier this week, the White House said, “We will never waver in safeguarding the right to religious liberty, upholding the dignity of life, and protecting God in our public square.” What kind of God needs people to protect him in the public square?

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

For context, in 2023, the U.S. spent $916 billion on defense, putting us at #1 in defense spending among all countries in the world, easily outspending the #2-#10 countries combined: China, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Germany, Ukraine, France, and Japan.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

In the midst of these federal cuts, Trump just announced that we will have a record-breaking $1 trillion defense budget. In other words, Trump is not downsizing the government. He is just reallocating funds.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

The way Americans sometimes treat government employees is similar to the way church folks sometimes treat A/V volunteers. They don’t really know what these employees actually do. But they have a lot of opinions. And anytime something is not working properly, these employees are to blame.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

“Marriage requires a radical commitment to love our spouses as they are, while longing for them to become what they are not yet.” - Dan Allender and Tremper Longman, Intimate Allies

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

The majority of Americans did not vote for Trump, and they should not be held guilty for the actions of the Trump administration. And in the same vein, the majority of Gazans did not vote for Hamas, and they should not be held guilty for the actions of Hamas.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

“Hope is the belief in the probability of the possible rather than the necessity of the probable.” - Marshall Ganz

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

One of the most important habits of a church community is healthy lament. Healthy lament is not masking suffering with trite sayings, nor is it surrendering to uncontrolled despair. It is to intentionally and uncomfortably sit in the pain with God by your side.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... “I had a Canadian passport, lawyers, resources, media attention, friends, family and even politicians advocating for me. Yet, I was still detained for nearly two weeks. Imagine what this system is like for every other person in there.”

theguardian.com

I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped

I was stuck in a freezing cell without explanation despite eventually having lawyers and media attention. Yet, compared with others, I was lucky

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

One of the consequences of the globalized digital age is that all the world’s is easily accessible in devices we carry in our pockets. The human brain was not built to cope with such frequent displays of death. But the alternative is ignorance and apathy. And that destroys our souls as well.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

A full year and a half later, the true story was revealed, and the coverup was over. There were in fact no enemy soldiers at all. Only innocent civilians. And the U.S. killed at least 347–mostly women, children, and elderly men. 2/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Today is the 57-year anniversary of the My Lai massacre. On that day, U.S. soldiers were sent to attack the Viet Cong in a village in South Vietnam. Upon returning, they reported that they were victorious. 128 Viet Cong soldiers were killed in a fierce fire fight. 1/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

Not their public transit culture, their universal healthcare, their multi-party political system, their gun control policies, or their wind power initiatives. It’s their ban of synthetic food dyes. Of all the things we can learn from the E.U., that’s the one they picked. 2/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

For decades, American conservatives have criticized the E.U. for their progressive sensibilities. But recently, the current U.S. administration has actually platformed the E.U. as the gold standard for one specific issue. 1/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Our 4/y/o the other day, when seeing a Tesla Cybertruck: I don’t like that car. Me: How come? 4/y/o: Mommy said the guy who made that car is trying to take her job away.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Sometimes people disagree with each other because they have different backgrounds, experiences, and personalities. Other times people disagree with each other because one party is right and the other party is wrong. And it’s not always clear when it is the first scenario and when it is the second.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

I am quick to criticize my own side, and I try to give the benefit of the doubt to my opponent. Because my goal is often to seek reform and understanding. Consequentially, people on my own side are often quick to assume that I am on the opposing side. 2/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

We live in a world where people are quick to defend their own side and quick to criticize their opponent’s side. Because their goal is often to beat the other side. I strive to do the opposite. 1/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

One country voted against all three resolutions. Take a wild guess which one. It’s none other than the world’s great beacon of hope and city on a hill. The United States. 2/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Last week, the UN voted overwhelmingly to create three international days: - International Day of Judicial Well-being (July 25), passed 160-1 - International Day of Peaceful Coexistence (Jan 28), passed 162-3 - International Day of Hope (July 12), passed 161-1 1/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

I can’t speak for all protests, but from my experience, the narrative that these college campus protests were discriminatory toward Jewish students simply was not true. 2/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

I went to a few protests for Gaza at Johns Hopkins University last year, and I would estimate that at least a quarter of those protesting were Jewish themselves. One time, they even held a Shabbat dinner. 1/2

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

“You are at your pastoral best when you are not noticed. To keep this vocation healthy requires self-negation, getting out of the way.” - Eugene Peterson, The Pastor

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Here are the top refugee-hosting countries, as of mid-2024. 1. Iran (3.76m) 2. Turkey (3.15m) 3. Germany (2.67m) 4. Uganda (1.66m) 5. Pakistan (1.59m) 6. Chad (1.24m) 7. Russia (1.23m) 8. Ethiopia (998k) 9. Bangladesh (985k) 10. Poland (980k) The U.S. is ranked at #20. It has 435k refugees.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Trump just posted an AI video on social media of a “Trump Gaza,” which features a gigantic golden statue of himself. Christians, please reread the story of the golden statue in Daniel 3. And please rewatch the Veggie Tales episode Rack, Shack, & Benny, featuring the large bunny statue.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Here is the math. Trump has said that he would cut $2 trillion in federal spending. Simultaneously, he is pushing for tax cuts that would lower our revenue by $4.5 trillion. 2T - 4.5T = -2.5T If Trump is successful with all his initiatives, he will add $2.5 trillion to the national debt.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Several states have proposed bills mandating “Judeo-Christian” prayer or displaying the Ten Commandments in public classrooms. In short, Christians who have been set free from the burden of the law are now taking it upon themselves to lay that same burden on others.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Douglas: He's not our King. Carol: What? Don't say that. How could you say that? Don't you dare say that. Douglas: There's no such thing as a king. Carol: Don't you say that! Douglas: He's just a boy pretending to be a wolf pretending to be a king. - Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

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Reposted by Larry Lin

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

"They're putting persecuted Christian refugees in camps in the jungle" sounds like something Glenn Beck would accuse the Obama administration of doing and yet now it's a pillar of the Republican agenda.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

Today, February 19, is the 83-year anniversary of FDR’s Executive Order 9066, which allowed the U.S. Army to relocate 120,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps. About half were children. About two-thirds were U.S.-born citizens. And not a single one was found guilty of espionage or sabotage.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

“Fundamentalism, be it religious or political or psychological, is an anxiety management technique that finesses the nuances of doubt and ambiguity through rigid and simplistic belief systems.“ - James Hollis, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I think there is some legitimacy to that still. In a lot of industries, the perception is that working in the private sector is fast-paced and stressful, while the government world is slow and stable. A lot of my private sector friends easily work 50+ hours/week, whereas none of my govt friends do.

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

And she said, “Who do you want to call the shots in our country? Government officials who are accountable to their voters, or company CEOs who are only accountable to their shareholders?” I paused. And she said, “Think about that.” I’ve been thinking about that ever since. 3/3

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

She argued that the purpose of “bureaucracy” is to contain big corporations. Remove Big Government, and in its place we will see Big Tech, Big Money, Big Pharma, and Big Oil. I said, “What’s so bad about that? At least big corporations are efficient.” 2/3

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Larry Lin @larrylin.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I once believed that Big Government, with its bureaucracy and red tape, was the source of many of society’s problems. 13 years ago, a turning point occurred during a conversation I had with a certain “liberal” friend of mine—one who had the patience to give my stubborn self the time of day. 1/3

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