Brian Kelly
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briankellyrh.bsky.social
Brian Kelly
@briankellyrh.bsky.social

History, geography, and politics…but trying to create a little more distance from the latter in order to dream it all up again.

Mets, Steelers, Tottenham. Cats, obviously.

Poughkeepsie, New York.

Brian Kelly is an American historian and a lecturer in US history, teaching at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland. His work is concerned mainly with labor and race in the American South, although much of his most recent scholarship focuses on the formative struggles around slave emancipation during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era that followed. .. more

Political science 27%
Sociology 23%
Pinned
Profile pic: Ogallala, Nebraska.
Banner: Dolly Sods Wilderness, West Virginia.
Trying to keep us all tied together.

Reposted by Brian Kelly

In major upset, the New Jersey Democrats have flipped a seat in #LD25, a Trump+1 district in Morris County.

Despite no major help from the state Democrats, Marisa Sweeney will become the first Democrat to represent this district in over 30 years.
One thing I'm seeing over and over again is that leftward-shifts aren't only being driven by places with sky-high turnout; places with lower turnout also shifted left around the same amount, implying a decent amount of voters changing their minds

Reposted by Brian Kelly

Don't fire workers if you want them to vote for you:
Mike Johnson: "What happened last night is blue states and blue cities voted blue. We all saw that coming. And no one should read too much into last night's election results."
New awareness campaign

As a past winner, I highly recommend your participation (I can't do gluten anymore so I'm out of the running)!
It's the most delicious time of the year: The Downballot's annual election prediction contest—aka the babka contest—is back!

Enter to prove your prognostication prowess *and* for the chance to win amazing prizes from our sponsor, Green's Babka!

Good luck, one and all!
Enter The Downballot's 2025 prediction contest, sponsored by GreensBabka.com!
To the victors go the spoils!
www.the-downballot.com
The only truly devestating interview you could do with Trump is a series of factual questions asked by someone with no affect: “How does a bill become a law?” “Name three countries where American troops are stationed.” “Will you be raising tariffs on Wakanda?”
In a major victory, a court ruled the Trump administration must use emergency funds to provide food stamps to Americans.
 
No one should choose between paying bills and buying groceries.
 
We'll continue our lawsuit to fight for our families and the services they deserve.
On further reflection, handing operation of our Universities over to a professional administrative class with no personal investment in the educational mission of the university or the creation and maintenance of knowledge might have been somewhat in error.

Reposted by Brian Kelly

It's the most delicious time of the year: The Downballot's annual election prediction contest—aka the babka contest—is back!

Enter to prove your prognostication prowess *and* for the chance to win amazing prizes from our sponsor, Green's Babka!

Good luck, one and all!
Enter The Downballot's 2025 prediction contest, sponsored by GreensBabka.com!
To the victors go the spoils!
www.the-downballot.com

Reposted by Brian Kelly

'The brilliance of Pulp was always to embrace the darkness of sex, the ooze and the horror, the guilt and the shame, the power and submission...'

Many Happy Returns to #Pulp’s Different Class, which turns 30 today!

buff.ly/w09aeU0

Reposted by Brian Kelly

When I explain that boycotting an election over an issue has never once forced a politician to embrace that issue, I'm not "scolding people to vote." I'm explaining reality.

Feel free to sit on your ass! Just don't pretend that your lazy apathy is somehow going to advance your agenda.
BREAKING: Both Satmar factions decide not to endorse a candidate for mayor and decry the vicious campaign against Mamdani that paints him as hostile to Jews.

In letters to their community members, the Satmar leadership calls the attacks against Mamdani false and dangerous.

Reposted by Brian Kelly

This is Idaho 💙
This is what democracy looks like. #NoKings

Reposted by Brian Kelly

1860 vs 2025
"Who cares?" says the president about a day of peaceful NO KINGS protest in approximately 2,500 cities, towns, villages all over the United States, and in many other parts of the world.
Hell yes, Pittsburgh. Love Yinz. No Kings.

Reposted by Brian Kelly

What do Patriots do when those in power abandon our founding principles?

We STAND UP, we SPEAK OUT, and we FIGHT BACK.

Couldn’t be more proud of our Gardiner community — can’t wait to see more Hudson Valley Patriots at events throughout the day 🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
AI fans always seem puzzled why some people have a revulsion to AI and one issue is the people in charge of AI are repulsive
Exclusive: OpenAI is planning to release a new version of its Sora video generator, which creates videos featuring copyrighted material unless copyright holders opt out of having their work appear.
OpenAI’s New Sora Video Generator to Require Copyright Holders to Opt Out
Executives at the startup notified talent agencies and studios over the last week.
on.wsj.com
A guy on tik tok onside kicks into random things

Reposted by Brian Kelly

"The lack of affordable housing and available jobs is contributing to broader economic immobility."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
An absolute clown show.

Avoiding chaos like this is one of the many reasons a for *not* having EOs be the normal method of legislating or regulating. You really want more careful review than “Steve Miller doodled it on a napkin and Trump signed it with a sharpie.”

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Trump administration tries to tamp down panic for high-skill visa holders after last-minute overhaul
The president announced Friday that H-1B visas will now come with a $100,000 annual fee, but a U.S. official said it will only apply to new visa applicants.
www.politico.com
Disney has lost nearly $4 Billion in three days from combined stock price collapse and cancelled subscriptions.
As corrupt and appalling as the ouster of this career prosecutor for refusing to prosecute Trump's enemies truly is, I strongly encourage folks to also understand this as evidence that Trump's authoritarian designs are facing serious institutional resistance:
A disorienting moment: Trump is consolidating autocratic power in areas where there's an easy path to do so. But in other areas he's facing deep institutional resistance and people are refusing to abandon the rule of law. Here he's weak and failing.

Thoughts on that:
newrepublic.com/article/2006...
This may explain why there’s an aggressive response to people who merely post Kirk’s own words. It threatens the existence of the alternate Kirk - the motivational speaker that had been marketed to young kids and white Christian groups through selective quotation & clips.

Reposted by Brian Kelly

This is why you don't hire podcast hosts to lead the FBI. Complete amateur hour over there and it could lead to a murderer getting away.