Carolyn E Holmes
@carolyneholmes.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Tennessee. African Politics, Nationalism, and Democracy. Also quilting. Lots of quilting.
Pinned
New quilt! All made of home-dyed cyanotypes, with plants I collected.
It’s been about 2 years in the making, and I’m so pleased with how it’s coming out.
It’s been about 2 years in the making, and I’m so pleased with how it’s coming out.
I think this is going to look cool, guys.
February 8, 2026 at 2:16 AM
I think this is going to look cool, guys.
I am particularly pleased to welcome back the elephant.
February 7, 2026 at 10:59 PM
I am particularly pleased to welcome back the elephant.
I just re-assembled my favorite “art wall” in our house. It had been in boxes for months while we were doing repairs on the house.
It is bringing me *such* joy.
It is bringing me *such* joy.
February 7, 2026 at 10:10 PM
I just re-assembled my favorite “art wall” in our house. It had been in boxes for months while we were doing repairs on the house.
It is bringing me *such* joy.
It is bringing me *such* joy.
Maybe it’s that everyone realized that the only use cases for crypto was “crimes”?
Nah. That’s not it.
Nah. That’s not it.
shot: A New Crypto Winter Is Here and Even the Biggest Bulls Aren't Certain Why
gift link
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
gift link
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...
A New Crypto Winter Is Here and Even the Biggest Bulls Aren’t Certain Why
Some of crypto’s biggest champions can’t put their finger on what went wrong.
www.wsj.com
February 7, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Maybe it’s that everyone realized that the only use cases for crypto was “crimes”?
Nah. That’s not it.
Nah. That’s not it.
Guys. I’m starting to think that Birtherism was actually a bit racist.
Hashtag-brave hashtag-progressive.
Hashtag-brave hashtag-progressive.
February 7, 2026 at 3:29 AM
Guys. I’m starting to think that Birtherism was actually a bit racist.
Hashtag-brave hashtag-progressive.
Hashtag-brave hashtag-progressive.
Has USPS been running *extremely* slow lately?
February 6, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Has USPS been running *extremely* slow lately?
I have fallen off of my Diet Coke hiatus so dang hard.
All my resolve…*poof*
All my resolve…*poof*
February 4, 2026 at 8:56 PM
I have fallen off of my Diet Coke hiatus so dang hard.
All my resolve…*poof*
All my resolve…*poof*
Cutting up all the blues and stripes in linens and wovens from our clothing discard bin and scraps to make the softest quilt ever
February 4, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Cutting up all the blues and stripes in linens and wovens from our clothing discard bin and scraps to make the softest quilt ever
Scholars of hate groups will often point out that what these groups talk about, primarily, is not hating outsiders. They talk about love and care for insiders.
They don't think they are the bad guys.
And I think it's really important to understand that.**
**Not for sympathy, but for tactics.
They don't think they are the bad guys.
And I think it's really important to understand that.**
**Not for sympathy, but for tactics.
Q: Pope Leo cited Matthew 25:35 to critique Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda. How would you respond to Pope Leo in scripture?
MIKE JOHNSON: Sovereign borders are biblical and right and just. It's not because we hate the people on the outside. It's because we love the people on the inside.
MIKE JOHNSON: Sovereign borders are biblical and right and just. It's not because we hate the people on the outside. It's because we love the people on the inside.
February 4, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Scholars of hate groups will often point out that what these groups talk about, primarily, is not hating outsiders. They talk about love and care for insiders.
They don't think they are the bad guys.
And I think it's really important to understand that.**
**Not for sympathy, but for tactics.
They don't think they are the bad guys.
And I think it's really important to understand that.**
**Not for sympathy, but for tactics.
The bread says “mnah mnah.”
And the people say “do do do do do.”
And the people say “do do do do do.”
February 4, 2026 at 1:30 AM
The bread says “mnah mnah.”
And the people say “do do do do do.”
And the people say “do do do do do.”
School was just canceled again for tomorrow.
It is 42 degrees and raining.
My children have become feral.
I stand alone at the gate.
It is 42 degrees and raining.
My children have become feral.
I stand alone at the gate.
It is a good thing that both my children have basic literacy at this point, since they are apparently never going back to school because it snowed at one point in the last calendar year in this state.
February 3, 2026 at 10:51 PM
School was just canceled again for tomorrow.
It is 42 degrees and raining.
My children have become feral.
I stand alone at the gate.
It is 42 degrees and raining.
My children have become feral.
I stand alone at the gate.
It is a good thing that both my children have basic literacy at this point, since they are apparently never going back to school because it snowed at one point in the last calendar year in this state.
February 3, 2026 at 5:58 PM
It is a good thing that both my children have basic literacy at this point, since they are apparently never going back to school because it snowed at one point in the last calendar year in this state.
The true joy I felt when I found out that my 3rd grader still sees School House Rock at school…
a cartoon drawing of a group of people with the word ho on the bottom
ALT: a cartoon drawing of a group of people with the word ho on the bottom
media.tenor.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:11 PM
The true joy I felt when I found out that my 3rd grader still sees School House Rock at school…
Someone explain to me why you can open an airport after a storm, but not a school.
I'd love to understand that.
I'd love to understand that.
February 2, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Someone explain to me why you can open an airport after a storm, but not a school.
I'd love to understand that.
I'd love to understand that.
I took apart a VCR this weekend to save a family home video.
10/10. Fully recommend. A truly joyous experience.
10/10. Fully recommend. A truly joyous experience.
February 2, 2026 at 2:22 PM
I took apart a VCR this weekend to save a family home video.
10/10. Fully recommend. A truly joyous experience.
10/10. Fully recommend. A truly joyous experience.
Once again, shouting from the rooftops that @christinafattore.bsky.social called the political activation of feminized spaces (*especially* Romancelandia) years ago, and she’s basically to greatest.
You should read her work. Always.
You should read her work. Always.
I mostly just stay off Twitter altogether but after double checking that the Walter Hudson post was still up I ran across this and just had to share so the Romancelandians who bought hand warmers could hear about the PROFESSIONAL GRADE LOGISTICS.
January 28, 2026 at 8:25 PM
Once again, shouting from the rooftops that @christinafattore.bsky.social called the political activation of feminized spaces (*especially* Romancelandia) years ago, and she’s basically to greatest.
You should read her work. Always.
You should read her work. Always.
Reposted by Carolyn E Holmes
Remember when he demolished the East Wing?
January 27, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Remember when he demolished the East Wing?
""We’re going to have to live with our discomfort in making other people uncomfortable,” Ingrid Rasmussen, the lead pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church...told me.""
So say we all.
So say we all.
This is a really incredible piece. Share it widely 🎁https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/minneapolis-uprising/685755/?gift=C-rzmQ8PsUHt15odxTKJDn7xrpPNxSpotkNz_P27oI0
Welcome to the American Winter
In the frozen streets of Minneapolis, something profound is happening.
www.theatlantic.com
January 26, 2026 at 8:51 PM
""We’re going to have to live with our discomfort in making other people uncomfortable,” Ingrid Rasmussen, the lead pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church...told me.""
So say we all.
So say we all.
I mean who among us...?
...oh...
...wait...
...none of us?
Right. None of us.
...oh...
...wait...
...none of us?
Right. None of us.
January 26, 2026 at 7:45 PM
I mean who among us...?
...oh...
...wait...
...none of us?
Right. None of us.
...oh...
...wait...
...none of us?
Right. None of us.
Reposted by Carolyn E Holmes
But "sicko fan" is actually better
Now I want to know which CNN reporter or producer doesn't know the word "sycophant."
January 26, 2026 at 7:33 PM
But "sicko fan" is actually better
Reporting from the scenes of the winter-storm-palooza:
Zoom teaching is as bad as you remember.
Zoom teaching is as bad as you remember.
January 26, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Reporting from the scenes of the winter-storm-palooza:
Zoom teaching is as bad as you remember.
Zoom teaching is as bad as you remember.
Prof Lazarus seems to have way more faith in the predictive/prescriptive aspects of our discipline than I do…
…but the point stands.
…but the point stands.
Twice this week when meeting a new person I've gotten an excited "Wow, it must be an exciting time to be a political scientist!" and both times I've answered "Not really. That's like telling someone it's an exciting to be a surgeon when there's a 63 car pileup on the highway."
January 26, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Prof Lazarus seems to have way more faith in the predictive/prescriptive aspects of our discipline than I do…
…but the point stands.
…but the point stands.
So like…are we all moving to Illinois and Minnesota?
Let me know when and how.
Let me know when and how.
January 25, 2026 at 1:12 AM
So like…are we all moving to Illinois and Minnesota?
Let me know when and how.
Let me know when and how.
Reposted by Carolyn E Holmes
You might say to yourself "this seems like bad politics" which is almost certainly true, but the truth of the matter is that this is who they are. They cannot help themselves. It's White Nationalism and a desire for social dominance all the way to the bottom.
This is an actual post from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: Praising ICE after Alex Pretti was killed, blaming the Democratic leadership of Minnesota, and writing that ICE is greater/better than Minnesota.
He is actively demeaning the people of Minnesota just hours after Pretti was murdered.
He is actively demeaning the people of Minnesota just hours after Pretti was murdered.
January 24, 2026 at 11:24 PM
You might say to yourself "this seems like bad politics" which is almost certainly true, but the truth of the matter is that this is who they are. They cannot help themselves. It's White Nationalism and a desire for social dominance all the way to the bottom.