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Victoria J Barnett

@vjbarnett.bsky.social
2.2K followers 1.5K following 2.1K posts

Renegade Bonhoeffer scholar. General editor, Bonhoeffer Works (English). I write about churches in Nazi Germany & the Holocaust. Here to discover new research, interesting books, poetry, music & occasionally the humor. www.victoriajbarnett.com

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Reposted by Victoria J Barnett
William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 10h
These people
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 17h
👍 open.substack.com/pub/lettersf...
open.substack.com
U.S. Military Archbishop Orders Catholic Troops Not to Take Part in Hegseth’s Firing Squad
Hours after meeting Pope Leo XIV, the military archbishop bound Catholic soldiers as he would on abortion. The conservative prelate has spent the year defending Catholics against the Trump-Vance Penta...
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 18h
“Not with a bang but a whimper”….
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Ned Richardson-Little @historyned.bsky.social · 18h
I have thoughts about the election of the AfD in Sachsen-Anhalt and how an election steeped in symbolism of the GDR is not actually a problem of re-litigating German reunification.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 20h
Oh no……
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Black Intellect Media @blackintellect.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Air Force Major Who Called for Trump’s Impeachment is in Solitary Confinement 24 Hrs a Day: Maj. Jason Watson has been jailed since Aug after publicly opining on the president & his administration, drawing a big legal battle. Reporting by @sgtxgram.bsky.social www.military.com/air-force-ma...
military.com
Air Force Maj. Jason Watson is in Solitary 24 Hours Daily After Publicly Calling For Trump’s Impeachment
Maj. Jason Watson has been jailed since August after publicly opining on the president and his administration, drawing a big legal battle.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
How ‘bout that.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
#poetry On this holiday when we remember what was erased and yet continues, this powerful poem by Aisa Warden: www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...
poetryfoundation.org
we acknowledge ourselves
before we bring this meeting to order we want to acknowledge ourselves, the Kaktoviġmiut yes, Siliun, this is how they are doing things nowadays          …
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
One of my favorite photos, taken around this time of year 7 years ago in northern Minnesota.
Lily pads on a lake in autumn: on the lake’s surface are a few fallen leaves and reflections of the sky and grasses.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Ruin a book by adding a word: Dithering Heights
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Spectacular, GP. Wish I were your neighbor, but reading about it all and seeing the photos is the next best thing. The good cheer, laughter, and friendship come through!
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Wow.
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Waitman Wade Beorn, PhD, FRHistS @waitmanwbeorn.com · 10/10/2026
Well done for walking away, Ruha. Speaking the truth matters. Shame on the APA for being gutless.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This essay is so, so good.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This is a great interview.
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 09/10/2026
NEW from me: The National Association of Evangelicals (along with several other religious groups) are now joining the USCCB in condemning Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth’s plans to publicly execute Nidal Malik Hasan, also saying doing so promotes a “culture of death.” religionnews.com/2026/10/09/h...
Walter Kim, president of the National
Association of Evangelicals, told RNS that while he affirms the "need for justice" regarding Hasan's crime, "at the same time, a live-streamed execution by firing squad risks turning one of the state's most solemn responsibilities into a public spectacle, promoting a culture of death, rather than a culture that upholds the dignity of every human being."
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Daniel Burke @burke13.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops calls the Defense Department's plans to publicly livestream a firing squad execution "a barbaric promotion of a culture of death" www.usccb.org/news/2026/us...
usccb.org
USCCB President Condemns Plans for Livestream of Fort Hood Shooter's Execution as ‘a Barbaric Promotion of a Culture of Death’
“In no way can Hassan’s actions be condoned but this decision is a barbaric promotion of a culture of death and must be reconsidered.”...
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Terrific essay. Your work opens up such important conversations.
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Marcus Rediker @marcusrediker.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Here is one of my favorite essays, from 2009, when I was a visiting professor at Cornell University and worked in their Prison Education Program at Auburn Prison (NY). Here is my account of that experience, originally published in CounterPunch. www.counterpunch.org/2009/09/03/i...
counterpunch.org
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A. M. Vincent @vincent.northsky.social · 09/10/2026
Apropos of nothing in particular, certainly not as a prelude to any sort of personal or professional news, this seems like a good time to remind everyone of the existence of the brilliant @jlgittinger.bsky.social 's Academic Publishing Rates Sharing spreadsheet. docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com
Academic publishing rates sharing
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Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The funny part is that there actually are French equivalents of JD Vance, but they're obscure charisma-less figures from the Vichy regime that no one in the US has ever heard of.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Yes! Reading to children (& rediscovering old and favorites through their eyes) is one of my favorite things to do.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Another (of all too many) horror story.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Insightful story this morning from @barnraiser.bsky.social : People Won’t Defend a Democracy They Haven’t Experienced barnraisingmedia.com/2026-electio...
barnraisingmedia.com
People Won’t Defend a Democracy They Haven’t Experienced
For many Americans, democracy is an abstraction. We need experience with democracy as something we actually do: a system we participate in to shape the world around us.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
That’s very cool!
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 07/10/2026
Via @kathrynpost.bsky.social: “I don’t have words,” (Martín Alonso Soto Hernandez, who helped organize a hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall) said in Spanish, holding his wife and children… “Thank you so much for everything. I always, always stayed in prayer.” religionnews.com/2026/10/07/i...
religionnews.com
Immigrant who helped set off Delaney Hall hunger strike released from ICE custody
ELIZABETH, New Jersey (RNS) — 'I don’t have words,' Martín Alonso Soto Hernandez said in Spanish while holding his wife and two children. 'Thank you so much for everything. I always, always stayed in ...
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Very simple, very profound.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Another film that I watched recently that just blew me away is David Lynch’s The Straight Story.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Isn’t it a great film?
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Tim Longman 🏳️‍🌈 @timlongman.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
This is an important report on how ICE and Border Patrol are violating the civil rights of both immigrants and US citizens. The American public should be so much more outraged about this than we seem to be. We should be denouncing this abuse of power loudly and unequivocally.
projects.propublica.org
More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica
The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This country’s going to need an exorcism.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
And it can’t happen fast enough.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This looks like a fascinating new book!
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 06/10/2026
my friend @juddlegum.bsky.social has put together a cool new tool that allows you to photograph political mail and immediately learn who paid for it. Check it out here:
paidforby.info
Who paid for this?
Find out who really paid for political mailers and TV ads.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I think about this a lot …https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/06/pinochet-chile-trump-midterms?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
theguardian.com
I witnessed the Pinochet regime’s fall. It offers hope – and a warning – for the US | Ariel Dorfman
November’s midterms bring parallels with a moment in October 1988. But Pinochet’s exit wasn’t the end of his influence
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Kathleen Kelly @kathleenkellymusic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Do we who practice these professions get any say in what defines “return?” The number of kids taught and encouraged by choir directors and acting teachers, or congregants moved and buoyed by church musicians? personal lives made rich? Or is it all just money and the easiest, laziest measures??
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 05/10/2026
Oh: Looks like there's now a *third* lawsuit against the Trump administration demanding increased access for clergy to immigrant detainees. But this one has a *Catholic archdiocese* onboard. That's a big deal: Catholics are involved in ongoing cases in Illinois and Minnesota, not not the dioceses.
reuters.com
Catholic diocese sues US government seeking clergy access to detainees
The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a lawsuit against the federal government on ‌Monday, alleging that detainees at an immigration detention facility in Missouri are being deprived of their right to speak privately with priests or receive sacraments like communion and confession.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
She is a very soulful-looking dog…
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"L'état, c'est moi." www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump Shows His Contempt for Us. Again. (Gift Article)
This is ‘what authoritarian governments do to promote their leaders.’
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
good grief.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
What do they think they’re getting paid for (oh, right, they’re getting much more money for just going along with it). What a cesspool our Congress has become…
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
OMG.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
#poetry “October Arriving”. Haunting poem by Charles Simic: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42959/...
poetryfoundation.org
October Arriving
Nevertheless, unable to decide He retraces his steps Several times and finds himself On a huge blank wall That has no window.
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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 03/10/2026
Relatedly: if you’re refusing to use AI for religious reasons, I want to hear from you. There are multiple ways to reach me via the link in my bio, or you can hit me up on Signal: jackmjenkins.60
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Shaily Patel @vox-magica.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
periodic reminder that uchicago press will give you a free ebook every month and most of them are pretty interesting, including this month’s.
press.uchicago.edu
New free ebook every month from the University of Chicago Press ebook
Get a new free ebook every month from the University of Chicago Press. We publish over 5000 ebook editions.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
October is my favorite beach season!
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Last year not a single refugee fleeing religious persecution was admitted to the US.
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Victoria J Barnett @vjbarnett.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
interesting! now I'm going to start watching all the animals in my life...
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Cian McCarthy @arealmofwonder.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Always a delight to read... • Mary Oliver •
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Sam Rasnake @samrasnake.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Jane Kenyon, “Portrait of a Figure Near Water”
Rebuked, she turned and ran
uphill to the barn. Anger, the inner   
arsonist, held a match to her brain.   
She observed her life: against her will   
it survived the unwavering flame.

The barn was empty of animals.   
Only a swallow tilted
near the beams, and bats
hung from the rafters
the roof sagged between.

Her breath became steady
where, years past, the farmer cooled   
the big tin amphoræ of milk.
The stone trough was still
filled with water: she watched it   
and received its calm.

So it is when we retreat in anger:   
we think we burn alone
and there is no balm.
Then water enters, though it makes   
no sound.
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