The Danger Imperative was selected as a Finalist for the Hamilton Book Awards at UT Austin! Humbled to be selected alongside other finalists and the grand prize winner that explored vital topics cutting across free speech, politics, academic freedom, climate change, and more. Onward 🚀

When folks lie for fame & fortune- it hurts them & everyone who wants to believe in them &/or what they stand for. He was impressive & legit, but lied anyway- it's a character flaw, IMHO. I saw it over a decade ago when it mattered but he did not care to speak up www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

Tim Kennedy vs. the Truth

The popular manosphere influencer has built a career on his reputation as an MMA fighter and a Green Beret. But can we believe everything he says?

texasmonthly.com

My latest in Texas Monthly: Tim Kennedy is a Green Beret, former UFC fighter, and manosphere influencer. He runs his own school in Cedar Park and, lately, has been spotted in the White House. But lawsuits and accusations of stolen valor threaten to bring it all crashing down. Gift link:

Tim Kennedy vs. the Truth

The popular manosphere influencer has built a career on his reputation as an MMA fighter and a Green Beret. But can we believe everything he says?

texasmonthly.com

Excellent profile of Tim Kennedy by @michaelsierraa.bsky.social taking apart the various falsehoods he peddles. One of the mothers of his children on why he enlisted: “I do think it was a flare of patriotic nobility. But also, it was a very convenient stage left from two young mothers and babies.”

Tim Kennedy vs. the Truth

The popular manosphere influencer has built a career on his reputation as an MMA fighter and a Green Beret. But can we believe everything he says?

texasmonthly.com

I spent the day with @michaelsierraa.bsky.social’s powerful book on police culture. Can’t wait to discuss it at @lawandsociety.bsky.social!!

👉 happy to see another thematic book review out on the slate of new books on policing (inc The Minneapolis Reckoning), this time focused on the failures of police reform by Daniel Krasnicki in SRE. cc @tonykcheng.bsky.social, @michaelsierraa.bsky.social: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

“The Justice Department has abruptly rescinded job offers made to dozens of recent law school graduates who were to be placed in entry-level positions in its antitrust, criminal, civil rights, immigration and national security divisions, and at the F.B.I.”

Grant reviews frozen. Medical trial recruitment frozen. Meetings with patient groups frozen. Hiring frozen. Jobs rescinded. All comms and travel frozen. You don't have to abolish an institution or fire everyone to cripple it.

Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring

Researchers facing “a lot of uncertainty, fear, and panic”

science.org

TASERs nor any other tech can end police brutality. Tech does not change the violent / coercive nature of policing. All tech can and will be misused and abused. I wrote about this a while back. Nothing has changed. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Mississippi Police Use Tasers Freely, and Injuries Follow

A lack of state standards leaves Mississippi police and sheriff’s departments on their own to decide when to use stun guns, and many give officers a free hand.

nytimes.com

Need a new grip of sociology on policing? I worked on these 2024 bangers: ↪️ @michellesphelps.bsky.social "The Minneapolis Reckoning" tinyurl.com/MSPMPLS ↪️ @tonykcheng.bsky.social "The Policing Machine" tinyurl.com/TCMachine ↪️ @michaelsierraa.bsky.social "The Danger Imperative" tinyurl.com/MSADanger

“Claremont—alongside other anti-immigration groups, such as FAIR, whose new ‘law enforcement advisor’ is Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, a Homan collaborator—has turned its focus to recruiting and training sheriffs to help execute its agenda.”

“You’ll be visited by three spirits.” The three spirits:

Kevin M. Kruse@kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 2y ago

“You’ll be visited by three spirits.” The three spirits:

Added more gun researchers to this starter pack who joined BlueSky. Please share and lmk if you’d like to be added! @daniel-semenza.bsky.social @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @sonalirajan.bsky.social @thetrace.org @giffords.org @everytown.bsky.social go.bsky.app/G9zEmHs

This is an incredible opporunity all. I did this in 2009 (ancient times) and met tons of my current colleagues. And friends. And launched my sociology theory career.

ASA Theory Section@asatheory.bsky.social · 2y ago

It’s that time of year again — the call for papers for the Junior Theorists Symposium is live! Submit your précis here: bit.ly/jts2025

The level of anxiety needed to make armed rideshare anything but a bad punchline is truly staggering. Armed ride-hailing app will soon be coming to these Texas cities. Here's what to know www.statesman.com/story/busine...

Armed ride-hailing app will soon be coming to these Texas cities. Here's what to know

Holsters and hospitality, that's the business model for the latest ride share app, BlackWolf, coming to Texas in 2025.

statesman.com

APD fires officer Christopher Taylor following prison sentence for fatal 2019 shooting www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

APD fires officer Christopher Taylor following prison sentence for fatal 2019 shooting

A judge on Tuesday sentenced Christopher Taylor to two years in prison for the 2019 fatal shooting of Mauris DeSilva.

statesman.com

Any recs for the/a few key texts on the ascendance of the “influencer”? Maybe how “influencing” shapes more than pop culture / brands, but also HOW politics is done, how movements (R or L) form/function?

It’s cold and windy in Philly today. Missing Austin and the homie Shiner AKA The Bubs AKA My lil Dirtbag.

Hello. I’m a criminologist working in a prosecutor’s office to increase the proportion of decisions that are informed by data and research, and evaluated. We support operations, policy/practice, transparency, research, and community. The #DATALab: information for decision-makers. Data.philadao.com

You don’t have to fire faculty to kill a department. As enrollments drop, it’s easier to justify mergers, downsizing, whatever admin speak you want to use. Don’t fool yourself into thinking this can’t happen on your campus, too. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/u...

Republicans Target Social Sciences to Curb Ideas They Don’t Like

Conservatives in Florida have moved from explosive politics to subtler tactics to uproot liberal “indoctrination” in higher education by removing subjects like sociology from core requirements.

nytimes.com

"In Texas, one university is prioritizing open debate to reset the marketplace of ideas." This is a real sentenced in the snippet below. It's a complete abdication of journalistic responsibility to present the piece in the exact way the subject would want it to be presented rather than critically.

60 Minutes@60minutes.bsky.social · 2y ago

As contempt for cancel culture and self-censorship on college campuses continues to drive a political divide across the country, Jon Wertheim reports on a new start-up university, the University of Austin. Sunday on 60 Minutes ⏱️

Latest addition to my “Fan Mail” scrapbook 📁 After some Googling, I think my man Domingo is an 80 y.o retiree outside Dallas. Friend reminded me: consider how full my life is and how empty theirs must be to spend time/energy like this. - Michael “Cara de Perro” Sierra-Arévalo, Ph.D.

How to request 'G-file' records — the once-secret Austin Police Department personnel files www.statesman.com/story/news/l...

What Starts Here Changes the World. Y’all best pay attention. www.austinchronicle.com/news/2024-11...

The Right-Wingification of UT

Texas targets liberal enemies within one of the top U.S. schools

austinchronicle.com

By August 2024, 40,000 self-proclaimed vigilante vote-fraud hunters had already challenged the rights of 852,381 voters — with a target of 2 million before the election. Did the voters decide the 2024 election, or voter suppression? Watch our movie and decide for yourself. youtu.be/P_XdtAQXnGE

Vigilantes Inc. — Full Movie

YouTube video by Greg Palast

youtu.be