Dan Holt
@danielsholt.bsky.social
Historian of one half of the legislative branch. All opinions are mine alone, of course.
In grad school a friend was the subject of a NY Times trend piece simply because the reporter was his friend and was like "hey, what is something that you do that I can write about?" I think about this often.
Jessica Shortall@jessicashortall.bsky.social · 4w agoThis woman has been the subject of three NYT pieces in 2025-26
Four years ago, a coordinated right-wing smear campaign condemned Monticello for "going woke." Bridget Gillespie was working there at the time, and she gives this revelatory inside account of the harassment staff endured and ultimately how the institution buckled. Amazing piece.
What Broke Monticello - The American Prospect
How a right-wing smear campaign tried to silence the reality of Thomas Jefferson’s life, and in some ways succeeded.
prospect.org
One of the most incredible things I have ever worked on: Recently discovered documents, written by John Dickinson in 1775, that reveal his secret and previously unknown efforts to prevent the American Revolution. Now featured in the New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/u...
A Founder’s Previously Unknown Attempt to Avert the Revolutionary War
nytimes.com
To mark 40 years of the Senate on C-SPAN, a blog post on the winding path to televised gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Senate.
U.S. Senate: Lights! Camera! Action! The Senate Televised
Lights! Camera! Action! The Senate Televised
senate.gov
Which side is captive to "radical gender ideology" again?
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2mo agoStephen Miller: "All I can say about Talarico is Texas is not going to elect an individual- I can't call him a man, who knows what gender he is- but they're not going to elect an individual, an entity, who's said the thing he loves most are trans children. He's a bizarre, totally unelectable human."
I watched a lot of Knicks games with my dad growing up...he took me to the Garden to see the Knicks of Ewing, Starks, Oakley. He would have thoroughly enjoyed this championship.
Not to downplay the current situation, but Mao Zedong would like a word.
Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · 2mo agoFor all the talk of genocide elsewhere, this is going to end up as the largest scale mass killing event in modern history. A crime against humanity & the rule of law of almost unimaginable proportions for which Musk must be marched in chains to the courthouse & then to jail for the rest of his life.
The CSPAN reporter does not realize she is currently live on Youtube and it is cracking me up.
Trump Name Removal from Kennedy Center
YouTube video by C-SPAN
youtube.com
Ok, here's a quick readers' guide: 1) "that's how foundational technologies evolve"; electricity is a technology with practical application, while Bitcoin is a ledger entry created by a computer system; it's essentially an accounting device hard wired to a digital ecosystem continued below. . . .
The New Rules of Bitcoin
YouTube video by Atlantic Re:think
youtube.com
June 2 will mark 40 years of television coverage of the Senate. To mark the occasion CSPAN has put together a collection of memorable moments from the Senate floor. www.c-spantest.org/senate-timel...
Senate History Highlights
Notable moments from Senate history captured on C-SPAN2
c-spantest.org
One more time, I wrote about Google’s plan to kill off its own search function. www.sfgate.com/tech/article...
Google hates you
"The repercussions of Google's pivot to AI will be vast and horrid."
sfgate.com
I just posted the bill text, hearings, witness statements, etc for the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee for FY 2027, will go back eventually to 2013. Usually on GitHub but trying something new americalabs.org/legislative-... #congress
Legislative Branch Appropriations Documents
A complete collection of congressional records of the appropriations process for the Legislative Branch Subcommittee beginning with FY2027
americalabs.org
I think it's about time that we include Mark Hamill's performance in Guys and Dolls as Star Wars canon.
Don't forget about the Mammoth Loaf of 1804. www.history.com/this-day-in-...
President Jefferson presented with a “mammoth loaf” of bread | March 26, 1804 | HISTORY
On March 26, 1804, President Thomas Jefferson attends a public party at the Senate and leads a diverse crowd in consu...
history.com
Jim Wald@citizenwald.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe American "mammoth cheese" was not nearly as large (a mere 1235 vs 7000 lbs) but historically more significant: July 20, 1801 Berkshire Town Sends Giant Cheese Ball to Washington www.massmoments.org/moment-detai... www.monticello.org/encyclopedia... founders.archives.gov/documents/Je...
Does anyone know what these 8 wars are that Trump thinks/claims he stopped?
George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸@gtconway.bsky.social · 4mo agoHow some on this site thinks an impeachment works and will block you for suggesting otherwise.
Animal House-Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga!
YouTube video by russlander227
youtu.be
The logical end point of journalism as stenography. "There are people who think a thing..." becomes "news."
Kevin Elliott@kjephd.bsky.social · 4mo agoThe New York Times rolling up its sleeves to do the hard work of normalizing the idea that women should not have the right to vote.
The official replays in this tournament really grinds some of these games to a halt. They have to speed this stuff up.
Middle age guy watching NCAA tournament: "that's a foul," "that's a travel," "terrible no call," "another travel"....
Bartender and sales clerk for an automotive supply company. Grandmothers were garment worker and secretary at a university.
Sarah Archer@sarcher.bsky.social · 5mo agoWhether or not you’re running for Congress and trying to seem rugged (and you probably should run, because, look who’s out there) what did your grandpas do for a living?
Once upon a time, today was important. On the old congressional calendar, lame ducks, and the fallibility of the Founders. open.substack.com/pub/mattglas...
Once upon a time, today was important
My go-to piece of evidence for the fallibility of the Founders
open.substack.com
Does the bronze medal winner in hockey always skip the medal ceremony?
Chris Collinsworth barely able to suppress his contempt for this game.