Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
@jkshields.bsky.social
💙📚 #ReligionNerd #OA #ScholComm #Ekkies
How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks ~D. Sayers
🏳️🌈. BLM. Protect 🏳️⚧️.
Open borders. End Prisons. Eat the Rich.
How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks ~D. Sayers
🏳️🌈. BLM. Protect 🏳️⚧️.
Open borders. End Prisons. Eat the Rich.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
EXCLUSIVE: A Ukrainian dad escaped Vladimir Putin’s drone and missile attacks back home only to be grabbed by a band of laughing ICE stooges in a Walmart parking lot in Minneapolis.
Laughing ICE Goons Seize Dad Who Fled Ukraine War at Walmart
Dmytro Kulyk is facing deportation as refugees become the Trump administration’s latest target.
trib.al
February 12, 2026 at 12:13 PM
EXCLUSIVE: A Ukrainian dad escaped Vladimir Putin’s drone and missile attacks back home only to be grabbed by a band of laughing ICE stooges in a Walmart parking lot in Minneapolis.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
Imagine centering the dude with the Nazi tat who has never won an election, while ignoring Michelle Wu, the only mayor of Boston in history to run for re-election unopposed.
Kind of a feckless and inept editorial choice.
Kind of a feckless and inept editorial choice.
A base that has long made pragmatic, sober decisions appears increasingly attracted to charismatic outsiders who promise to break from the party’s failures of the last decade. They see their party’s leaders as feckless and inept.
It’s the Democratic Tea Party, with a twist. trib.al/mC5cBDA
It’s the Democratic Tea Party, with a twist. trib.al/mC5cBDA
February 13, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Imagine centering the dude with the Nazi tat who has never won an election, while ignoring Michelle Wu, the only mayor of Boston in history to run for re-election unopposed.
Kind of a feckless and inept editorial choice.
Kind of a feckless and inept editorial choice.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
“The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights.”
BREAKING: Judge Nancy Brasel, a Trump appointee, has issued a TRO in the Minnesota access-to-counsel case about treatment at Whipple.
"It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
"It appears that in planning for Operation Metro Surge, the government failed to plan for the constitutional rights of its civil detainees."
February 13, 2026 at 12:24 AM
“The Constitution does not permit the government to arrest thousands of individuals and then disregard their constitutional rights because it would be too challenging to honor those rights.”
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
I'm just going to say a thing.
What a person looks like is not reflective of their soul. Insulting the appearance of bad people who do bad things as an outcome or indication of their rotten hearts perpetuates the notion that conventional beauty = virtue, a myth that's led to untold human damage.
What a person looks like is not reflective of their soul. Insulting the appearance of bad people who do bad things as an outcome or indication of their rotten hearts perpetuates the notion that conventional beauty = virtue, a myth that's led to untold human damage.
February 12, 2026 at 11:15 PM
I'm just going to say a thing.
What a person looks like is not reflective of their soul. Insulting the appearance of bad people who do bad things as an outcome or indication of their rotten hearts perpetuates the notion that conventional beauty = virtue, a myth that's led to untold human damage.
What a person looks like is not reflective of their soul. Insulting the appearance of bad people who do bad things as an outcome or indication of their rotten hearts perpetuates the notion that conventional beauty = virtue, a myth that's led to untold human damage.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Breaking News: The Trump administration repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being, meaning that the EPA can no longer regulate them. nyti.ms/4rSszQu
February 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
I went to college for criminology and criminal justice and used to do research into law enforcement misconduct as part of my education and have been working on zines lately that through that lens - I've got a zine examining scams and how race and gender play a part I'll have out soon. Also this:
This Place is a Prison - an examination of former prisons and jails that have been transformed into something new, how we engage with those spaces and whether it is possible to do so ethically or not. $8 www.radiatorcomics.com/shop/uncateg...
February 12, 2026 at 6:33 PM
I went to college for criminology and criminal justice and used to do research into law enforcement misconduct as part of my education and have been working on zines lately that through that lens - I've got a zine examining scams and how race and gender play a part I'll have out soon. Also this:
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
My daughter made a Valentine for the occasion.
February 12, 2026 at 10:53 PM
My daughter made a Valentine for the occasion.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
If Bad Bunny can cover the history of Puerto Rico, colonialism, transatlantic slavery, hemispheric consciousness, as well as contemporary life and politics in under 14 minutes, you can do your 15- or 20-minute conference presentation with time to spare.
February 9, 2026 at 11:56 PM
If Bad Bunny can cover the history of Puerto Rico, colonialism, transatlantic slavery, hemispheric consciousness, as well as contemporary life and politics in under 14 minutes, you can do your 15- or 20-minute conference presentation with time to spare.
This is really, really sad.
I thought this was one of the best publishing interventions in book reviews in the past two decades that I have been reading academic theology and religious studies.
I thought this was one of the best publishing interventions in book reviews in the past two decades that I have been reading academic theology and religious studies.
After careful consideration, the American Academy of Religion has decided that Reading Religion will cease operations on May 31, 2026.
Reviews will continue through May, after which the site will become a public archive.
With gratitude.
Official Statement: buff.ly/DYwZsam
Reviews will continue through May, after which the site will become a public archive.
With gratitude.
Official Statement: buff.ly/DYwZsam
buff.ly
February 12, 2026 at 11:00 PM
This is really, really sad.
I thought this was one of the best publishing interventions in book reviews in the past two decades that I have been reading academic theology and religious studies.
I thought this was one of the best publishing interventions in book reviews in the past two decades that I have been reading academic theology and religious studies.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
IR US is for grad students and ECRs so that they can workshop a research project, practice presenting initial findings and more formally at conferences, integrate critical engagement and understand what it takes to revise and submit for publication. The best part: @drfstewart.bsky.social as a mentor
CFP IR US: The call for papers for the Implicit Religion US Conference, "Challenging Narratives" is live. #IRUS
CFP DEADLINE: 3rd April 2026
CFP: www.implicitreligion.co.uk/ir-us/implic...
CFP PDF: cdn.prod.website-files.com/616453adbf9f...
CFP DEADLINE: 3rd April 2026
CFP: www.implicitreligion.co.uk/ir-us/implic...
CFP PDF: cdn.prod.website-files.com/616453adbf9f...
February 10, 2026 at 7:13 PM
IR US is for grad students and ECRs so that they can workshop a research project, practice presenting initial findings and more formally at conferences, integrate critical engagement and understand what it takes to revise and submit for publication. The best part: @drfstewart.bsky.social as a mentor
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
OK but this is too exciting to wait on sharing: my book! It has a cover! (Coming in November from Fortress Press, pre-orders will be available sooooooon)
February 12, 2026 at 7:14 PM
OK but this is too exciting to wait on sharing: my book! It has a cover! (Coming in November from Fortress Press, pre-orders will be available sooooooon)
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
I wrote a post with three of my colleagues about the proliferation of AI slop in our library purchasing. I am immensely proud of what we wrote, and I hope it spurs on needed conversations, especially with our publishers and vendors.
I Bought Slop: A Conversation on the Accidental Purchase of AI-Generated Material - ACRLog
Editor’s note: This guest blog post is by Natasha Finnegan, Cataloging and Metadata Librarian, Nicole Kulp, Serials and Electronic Resources Librarian, Sara Wheatley, Acquisitions Specialist, and Emil...
acrlog.org
February 9, 2026 at 3:47 PM
I wrote a post with three of my colleagues about the proliferation of AI slop in our library purchasing. I am immensely proud of what we wrote, and I hope it spurs on needed conversations, especially with our publishers and vendors.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
Mozilla will allow Firefox users to entirely block current and future generative AI features on the browser after user feedback revealed many who wanted an AI-free browser experience.
New Mozilla Firefox version to allow AI features to be blocked
Mozilla will allow Firefox users to entirely block current and future generative AI features on the browser.
www.siliconrepublic.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:50 PM
Mozilla will allow Firefox users to entirely block current and future generative AI features on the browser after user feedback revealed many who wanted an AI-free browser experience.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
This makes me happy:
I used @hannahnpbowman.com's preaching resources to introduce the concept of Migration with Dignity Sunday and to talk very plainly about repentance, welcome, and care. People were so grateful that I addresed the violence head on. (I'm sure some weren't, but they didn't tell me).
Thanks, Hannah!
Thanks, Hannah!
February 8, 2026 at 10:39 PM
This makes me happy:
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
"Ahmed’s @saranahmed.bsky.social conceptualising of knowledge, or more accurately, knowingness indicates that @ its core are 2 aspects: agency and authority Whilst the subaltern often has the agency to speak, or be recognised, they lack or are denied the authority to be seen or heard (Spivak 1988)"
CFP IR UK: The call for papers for the 48th Implicit Religion Conference, "Knowingness, Agency and Authority" is live. #IR48
DEADLINE: 27th March 2026
www.implicitreligion.co.uk/ir-uk/implic...
CFP PDF: cdn.prod.website-files.com/616453adbf9f...
DEADLINE: 27th March 2026
www.implicitreligion.co.uk/ir-uk/implic...
CFP PDF: cdn.prod.website-files.com/616453adbf9f...
February 7, 2026 at 4:40 AM
"Ahmed’s @saranahmed.bsky.social conceptualising of knowledge, or more accurately, knowingness indicates that @ its core are 2 aspects: agency and authority Whilst the subaltern often has the agency to speak, or be recognised, they lack or are denied the authority to be seen or heard (Spivak 1988)"
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
The National Council for Adoption describes itself as a “leading authority about adoption,” but that’s only because its mission is to *promote* adoption. It’s best understood as the adoption industry’s main lobbying group. Its president recently resigned to take a job in Trump’s DHS. +
February 7, 2026 at 8:11 PM
The National Council for Adoption describes itself as a “leading authority about adoption,” but that’s only because its mission is to *promote* adoption. It’s best understood as the adoption industry’s main lobbying group. Its president recently resigned to take a job in Trump’s DHS. +
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
It's remarkable how little Orwell's depiction of AI in 1984 has figured in public discussions of this new scourge. As Orwell would have it, AI is only good at injuring the AI tech workers (who treat its output w/ complete contempt).
October 29, 2025 at 2:46 PM
It's remarkable how little Orwell's depiction of AI in 1984 has figured in public discussions of this new scourge. As Orwell would have it, AI is only good at injuring the AI tech workers (who treat its output w/ complete contempt).
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
@theonion.com is so worth the subscription for this
January 31, 2026 at 2:40 PM
@theonion.com is so worth the subscription for this
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
A new bill in the NY state legislature would require news orgs to label any content “substantially composed, authored, or created" with generative AI. It would also require that humans review that content before publication. More details @niemanlab.org. www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/a-ne...
A new bill in New York would require disclaimers on AI-generated news content
A new bill in the New York state legislature would require news organizations to label AI-generated material and mandate that humans review any such content before publication. On Monday, Senator Patr...
www.niemanlab.org
February 5, 2026 at 10:10 PM
A new bill in the NY state legislature would require news orgs to label any content “substantially composed, authored, or created" with generative AI. It would also require that humans review that content before publication. More details @niemanlab.org. www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/a-ne...
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
Maura Healey is now the only Democratic governor in the whole country with a 287(g) agreement. It is shameful that she insists on collaborating with a rogue, fascist agency.
NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.
Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.
Virginia’s New Governor Ends ICE Program. Local Contracts Remain, For Now. - Bolts
Abigail Spanberger left the 287(g) program, which empowered state law enforcement to detain immigrants. Will Democrats also bar local police and sheriffs from the program?
boltsmag.org
February 4, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Maura Healey is now the only Democratic governor in the whole country with a 287(g) agreement. It is shameful that she insists on collaborating with a rogue, fascist agency.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
AWS generates an estimated 50-70% of Amazon’s income according to most sources, which I feel compelled to remind people trying to organize an Amazon retail boycott meant for Bezos. We have to think more critically about how we apply pressure to corporate powers.
February 4, 2026 at 6:45 PM
AWS generates an estimated 50-70% of Amazon’s income according to most sources, which I feel compelled to remind people trying to organize an Amazon retail boycott meant for Bezos. We have to think more critically about how we apply pressure to corporate powers.
Reposted by Dr. “Better a Duck” Shields (she/they)
Over the next year, I’ll be transitioning into the role of editor-in-chief for the journal Biblical Interpretation. So a reminder to all you who work on biblical and adjacent materials to consider submitting. brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Over the next year, I’ll be transitioning into the role of editor-in-chief for the journal Biblical Interpretation. So a reminder to all you who work on biblical and adjacent materials to consider submitting. brill.com/view/journal...
I understand the impulse, but this is either clearly false (see fascist political variations of Hindutva and Buddhist nationalist movements like 969) or a narrowly semantic definition of fascism which makes it uninteresting.
February 4, 2026 at 3:34 PM
I understand the impulse, but this is either clearly false (see fascist political variations of Hindutva and Buddhist nationalist movements like 969) or a narrowly semantic definition of fascism which makes it uninteresting.
So I am pro my small farmer,... (so many great producers in Berkshire county, I love local food even if our season is too damn short)
and viral outbreaks in livestock *are* concerning
but if the BigAg/processed food companies are feeling pressure to cut prices IT A'BOUT TIME.
and viral outbreaks in livestock *are* concerning
but if the BigAg/processed food companies are feeling pressure to cut prices IT A'BOUT TIME.
February 4, 2026 at 2:30 PM
So I am pro my small farmer,... (so many great producers in Berkshire county, I love local food even if our season is too damn short)
and viral outbreaks in livestock *are* concerning
but if the BigAg/processed food companies are feeling pressure to cut prices IT A'BOUT TIME.
and viral outbreaks in livestock *are* concerning
but if the BigAg/processed food companies are feeling pressure to cut prices IT A'BOUT TIME.
Barely even worth commenting on because that requires taking notice. Actually I may be swearing off reading political/social commentary by men except @jamellebouie.net
Newsom would be a terrible choice, but you don't have to find agreement with Stephens or Nate Silver *in any way* to think so
Newsom would be a terrible choice, but you don't have to find agreement with Stephens or Nate Silver *in any way* to think so
February 4, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Barely even worth commenting on because that requires taking notice. Actually I may be swearing off reading political/social commentary by men except @jamellebouie.net
Newsom would be a terrible choice, but you don't have to find agreement with Stephens or Nate Silver *in any way* to think so
Newsom would be a terrible choice, but you don't have to find agreement with Stephens or Nate Silver *in any way* to think so