David Golding
@davidgolding.bsky.social
Historian, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. American religious history, Mormonism, missions and missionaries, transnational networks
This nearly perfectly describes what I’ve struggled to articulate this past decade
The GOP has basically become a right wing entertainment/media operation focused on churning out non-stop propaganda, with a vestigial unit with nondescript offices hidden offsite that formulates and tries to pass legislation. It’s a political party in the same way WWF is a sports league.
January 20, 2026 at 6:33 PM
This nearly perfectly describes what I’ve struggled to articulate this past decade
And this is why the mass information echochamber is so maddeningly unreal and fake
ive seen more articles this week about how the phrase “abolish ice” could hurt dems in the midterms than ive seen articles about how paramilitary death squads terrorizing cities will hurt republicans in the midterms
January 14, 2026 at 5:38 PM
And this is why the mass information echochamber is so maddeningly unreal and fake
Isaiah 5:20: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and [Renee] Good evil.”
January 9, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Isaiah 5:20: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and [Renee] Good evil.”
Reposted by David Golding
The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.
January 7, 2026 at 8:26 PM
The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.
Reposted by David Golding
Millions of Americans watched a middle-aged US citizen get shot in the face and killed by an ICE officer today. That's a level of national trauma that deserves a more respectful response from this administration than falsely claiming she's a domestic terrorist. We have lost our moral compass.
January 7, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Millions of Americans watched a middle-aged US citizen get shot in the face and killed by an ICE officer today. That's a level of national trauma that deserves a more respectful response from this administration than falsely claiming she's a domestic terrorist. We have lost our moral compass.
Reposted by David Golding
Who will be the first member of Congress to introduce legislation named after Renee Good that abolishes DHS?
January 7, 2026 at 10:56 PM
Who will be the first member of Congress to introduce legislation named after Renee Good that abolishes DHS?
Reposted by David Golding
Guy on CNN just now cited Maduro's election loss and subsequent refusal to cede power as a justification for removing him.
Irony's time of death, 6 Jan 2021.
Irony's time of death, 6 Jan 2021.
January 3, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Guy on CNN just now cited Maduro's election loss and subsequent refusal to cede power as a justification for removing him.
Irony's time of death, 6 Jan 2021.
Irony's time of death, 6 Jan 2021.
Reposted by David Golding
I’ve seen a million media stories about how sad Republican voters in CA are about losing their Republican representatives.
But I don’t think I’ve seen a single one talking about Demoratic voters in Texas, or North Carolina, or Missouri losing their representatives.
But I don’t think I’ve seen a single one talking about Demoratic voters in Texas, or North Carolina, or Missouri losing their representatives.
December 30, 2025 at 4:29 AM
I’ve seen a million media stories about how sad Republican voters in CA are about losing their Republican representatives.
But I don’t think I’ve seen a single one talking about Demoratic voters in Texas, or North Carolina, or Missouri losing their representatives.
But I don’t think I’ve seen a single one talking about Demoratic voters in Texas, or North Carolina, or Missouri losing their representatives.
Reposted by David Golding
College is not vocational school. Being college-educated should mean more than "trained to do a job." There is joy in living a full intellectual life. If you don't want that, vocational programs are available for a fraction of the cost
If you are providing me with an education that is low utility in the world then it’s a disservice. My composition class spent four weeks on poetry. I’m sorry, but that only would’ve been useful if I wanted to be a poet. I don’t need to know iambic pentameter in order to be a victim advocate.
December 18, 2025 at 9:45 PM
College is not vocational school. Being college-educated should mean more than "trained to do a job." There is joy in living a full intellectual life. If you don't want that, vocational programs are available for a fraction of the cost
In an MHA presentation about Fanny W. Custer, I described but didn’t explain my pronunciation of “Alger.” Here are my receipts.
(Let’s not use the name “Fanny Alger” to serve as a shibboleth of technical vs. amateur understanding of this woman and her life story.)
davidgolding.com/pronouncing-...
(Let’s not use the name “Fanny Alger” to serve as a shibboleth of technical vs. amateur understanding of this woman and her life story.)
davidgolding.com/pronouncing-...
Pronouncing “Fanny Alger”
Barring the discovery of a stronger direct source indicating an alternative, historians should not need a signal pronunciation to serve as a shibboleth for technical versus amateur understanding of he...
davidgolding.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:41 PM
In an MHA presentation about Fanny W. Custer, I described but didn’t explain my pronunciation of “Alger.” Here are my receipts.
(Let’s not use the name “Fanny Alger” to serve as a shibboleth of technical vs. amateur understanding of this woman and her life story.)
davidgolding.com/pronouncing-...
(Let’s not use the name “Fanny Alger” to serve as a shibboleth of technical vs. amateur understanding of this woman and her life story.)
davidgolding.com/pronouncing-...
Totally redesigned my personal website, top to bottom. First complete update in over a decade. (Fingers crossed I didn’t miss anything!)
davidgolding.com
davidgolding.com
David Golding
Historian of Mormonism and Missions
davidgolding.com
December 14, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Totally redesigned my personal website, top to bottom. First complete update in over a decade. (Fingers crossed I didn’t miss anything!)
davidgolding.com
davidgolding.com
Reposted by David Golding
Trump threatened Indiana Republicans that if they didn't do what he wanted, he'd block all federal funds to their state but they ignored his threats and told him to pound sand.
Take notes, college presidents.
Take notes, college presidents.
December 12, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Trump threatened Indiana Republicans that if they didn't do what he wanted, he'd block all federal funds to their state but they ignored his threats and told him to pound sand.
Take notes, college presidents.
Take notes, college presidents.
Hegseth watches Clear and Present Danger thinking Harrison Ford is the bad guy and Henry Czerny is the hero
December 1, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Hegseth watches Clear and Present Danger thinking Harrison Ford is the bad guy and Henry Czerny is the hero
Reposted by David Golding
It'd be great if they did this when it didn't personally involve their own families, but baby steps I guess.
A top Republican in Indiana, whose daughter has Down Syndrome, just announced he will be voting to block Trump’s gerrymandering after Trump used the R-word to insult people yesterday.
November 28, 2025 at 9:34 PM
It'd be great if they did this when it didn't personally involve their own families, but baby steps I guess.
I'm building an Obsidian plugin that provides a canvas for long form writing. The idea is to have a distraction-free writing interface geared toward writers, not "hacking" a way for Markdown to provide a typographically aesthetic environment.
github.com/davidgolding...
github.com/davidgolding...
GitHub - davidgolding/obsidian-colophon: Enhanced long form writing in Obsidian
Enhanced long form writing in Obsidian. Contribute to davidgolding/obsidian-colophon development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I'm building an Obsidian plugin that provides a canvas for long form writing. The idea is to have a distraction-free writing interface geared toward writers, not "hacking" a way for Markdown to provide a typographically aesthetic environment.
github.com/davidgolding...
github.com/davidgolding...
I haven’t used Google search in a solid year and haven’t missed it
"Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea" -- @davelevitan.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I haven’t used Google search in a solid year and haven’t missed it
Reposted by David Golding
Call me an effete liberal snob but I like that Mayor Wu can do this. I like having a mayor who has a developed inner life, who doesn’t give the impression of being hollowed of everything but ambition.
November 23, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Call me an effete liberal snob but I like that Mayor Wu can do this. I like having a mayor who has a developed inner life, who doesn’t give the impression of being hollowed of everything but ambition.
Reposted by David Golding
With every passing day, America needs a bigger third reconstruction.
November 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
With every passing day, America needs a bigger third reconstruction.
Absolutely. Dodgertown should put on the pressure: no ICE raids, no national guard in our cities, no White House visit
Dodgers, do not go to the White House.
Fans, demand this.
Enjoy the moment, but we have to come together as a community to make this World Series victory a symbol of Los Angeles joy and resistance, not collaboration and betrayal.
Fans, demand this.
Enjoy the moment, but we have to come together as a community to make this World Series victory a symbol of Los Angeles joy and resistance, not collaboration and betrayal.
a baseball player for the dodgers is standing in the dugout looking at the camera .
ALT: a baseball player for the dodgers is standing in the dugout looking at the camera .
media.tenor.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Absolutely. Dodgertown should put on the pressure: no ICE raids, no national guard in our cities, no White House visit
What an epic World Series. Ended basically in the early innings of game 9. Such great teams facing off, heroes all the way around. The trophy comes back to LA!
November 2, 2025 at 4:47 AM
What an epic World Series. Ended basically in the early innings of game 9. Such great teams facing off, heroes all the way around. The trophy comes back to LA!
LET FREEMAN RING
October 28, 2025 at 4:13 PM
LET FREEMAN RING
My own college football ranking system:
davidgolding.com/rankings
It's based on measuring teams' record of performance, capability, and basically sorting out the field on a philosophy of present superiority, not head-to-head prediction or blue-blood bias.
davidgolding.com/rankings
It's based on measuring teams' record of performance, capability, and basically sorting out the field on a philosophy of present superiority, not head-to-head prediction or blue-blood bias.
College Football Rankings - Logical Strength Rating
davidgolding.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:34 PM
My own college football ranking system:
davidgolding.com/rankings
It's based on measuring teams' record of performance, capability, and basically sorting out the field on a philosophy of present superiority, not head-to-head prediction or blue-blood bias.
davidgolding.com/rankings
It's based on measuring teams' record of performance, capability, and basically sorting out the field on a philosophy of present superiority, not head-to-head prediction or blue-blood bias.
Reposted by David Golding
Why do all the cries for making the United States “great” again come from people who also advocate and support an undemocratic president and seem very much okay with the idea of an authoritarian “king?”
The single most UNAMERICAN thing you can do is be pro-authoritarian and pro-monarch.
The single most UNAMERICAN thing you can do is be pro-authoritarian and pro-monarch.
October 20, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Why do all the cries for making the United States “great” again come from people who also advocate and support an undemocratic president and seem very much okay with the idea of an authoritarian “king?”
The single most UNAMERICAN thing you can do is be pro-authoritarian and pro-monarch.
The single most UNAMERICAN thing you can do is be pro-authoritarian and pro-monarch.
A phenomenon exacerbated by social media algorithms and engagement-bait media. Public perception gets warped by the blatant suppression of newsworthiness
Those with sharp eyes might detect a subtle difference in NYT play last month of an event in one city, w 100,000+ attendees, versus play this morning of some 2500+ events w many millions of attendees, in all 50 states.
See if you can spot it! /s
Then you can find today's story on p A23
See if you can spot it! /s
Then you can find today's story on p A23
October 19, 2025 at 5:49 PM
A phenomenon exacerbated by social media algorithms and engagement-bait media. Public perception gets warped by the blatant suppression of newsworthiness