Holly Brewer
@earlymodjustice.bsky.social
Pinned
Holly Brewer
@earlymodjustice.bsky.social
· Mar 20
In The New Republic, historian Holly Brewer compares the Court's decision to Godden v. Hales, a 1686 case affirming that James II was above the law – which was only repudiated when James II was overthrown in the Glorious Revolution. newrepublic.com/article/1833...
The issue at stake in 1686 was whether the king was bound by the law.
How are we back here again?
How are we back here again?
Reposted by Holly Brewer
This Valentine's Day, we are loving this little 15th c. collection of scientific, alchemical, and medical works from Germany, mostly unattributed. It includes many marginal notes, symbols, corrections and comments in various later hands (UPenn Ms. Codex 69) #medievalsky
🔗: https://bit.ly/40s1U2a
🔗: https://bit.ly/40s1U2a
February 14, 2026 at 8:10 PM
This Valentine's Day, we are loving this little 15th c. collection of scientific, alchemical, and medical works from Germany, mostly unattributed. It includes many marginal notes, symbols, corrections and comments in various later hands (UPenn Ms. Codex 69) #medievalsky
🔗: https://bit.ly/40s1U2a
🔗: https://bit.ly/40s1U2a
Reposted by Holly Brewer
I didn’t think I’d have another one these stories again for you so soon: a 21-year-old in Ohio has been arrested for her pregnancy loss.
February 15, 2026 at 11:23 PM
I didn’t think I’d have another one these stories again for you so soon: a 21-year-old in Ohio has been arrested for her pregnancy loss.
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Losing our words is a writer’s worst nightmare. Don’t forget to backup your work.
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #5amWritersClub
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #5amWritersClub
February 15, 2026 at 3:35 PM
Losing our words is a writer’s worst nightmare. Don’t forget to backup your work.
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #5amWritersClub
#WriteSky #WritingCommunity #5amWritersClub
Reposted by Holly Brewer
A story about an AI-generated article contained fabricated, AI-generated quotes.
Ars Technica Pulls Article With AI Fabricated Quotes About AI Generated Article
A story about an AI-generated article contained fabricated, AI-generated quotes.
www.404media.co
February 15, 2026 at 8:30 PM
A story about an AI-generated article contained fabricated, AI-generated quotes.
Reposted by Holly Brewer
It is absolute and utter neglect to let this come this close to the wire just as the US has let most of its overseas broadcasting shutter.
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial
Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 8:32 PM
It is absolute and utter neglect to let this come this close to the wire just as the US has let most of its overseas broadcasting shutter.
Reposted by Holly Brewer
The Ladybird Adventures in History books by Lawrence Du Garde Peach. For many of us they sparked a love of history
February 15, 2026 at 8:31 PM
The Ladybird Adventures in History books by Lawrence Du Garde Peach. For many of us they sparked a love of history
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Excited to see Maurits den Hollander’s Court, Credit, and Capital in print with Studies in Legal History at CUP. Court, Credit, and Capital uncovers how Amsterdam’s 17th-century insolvency court transformed insolvency law—from punishment to rehabilitation 1/3
October 16, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Excited to see Maurits den Hollander’s Court, Credit, and Capital in print with Studies in Legal History at CUP. Court, Credit, and Capital uncovers how Amsterdam’s 17th-century insolvency court transformed insolvency law—from punishment to rehabilitation 1/3
Reposted by Holly Brewer
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
February 15, 2026 at 2:47 PM
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Net favorability of how Americans view
Trump: -18
Hegseth: -15
Vance: -14
Rubio: -10
RFK Jr: -4
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Trump: -18
Hegseth: -15
Vance: -14
Rubio: -10
RFK Jr: -4
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
How Americans view key members of the Trump administration
A 58% majority say they have an unfavorable view of President Donald Trump, and 40% have a favorable view.
www.pewresearch.org
February 14, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Net favorability of how Americans view
Trump: -18
Hegseth: -15
Vance: -14
Rubio: -10
RFK Jr: -4
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Trump: -18
Hegseth: -15
Vance: -14
Rubio: -10
RFK Jr: -4
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
Reposted by Holly Brewer
"documents related to American financier and convicted sex offender, the late Jeffrey Epstein and his former lover, Ghislaine Maxwell, reveal that at the age of 18, Korshunova was flown to Epstein’s Little Saint James island on his infamous private Boeing 727 aircraft, known as the Lolita Express”."
Kazakh model committed suicide two years after visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious island - The Times Of Central Asia
Born and raised in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Ruslana Korshunova was discovered by a modelling scout at the age of 15 and quickly moved abroad to pursue her career.
timesca.com
February 15, 2026 at 1:31 PM
"documents related to American financier and convicted sex offender, the late Jeffrey Epstein and his former lover, Ghislaine Maxwell, reveal that at the age of 18, Korshunova was flown to Epstein’s Little Saint James island on his infamous private Boeing 727 aircraft, known as the Lolita Express”."
Reposted by Holly Brewer
NEW: Read this terrific piece @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social for @thenerve.news in which she unpicks Edge.org, the hugely influential 'salon' funded by Epstein & threaded through with race science & eugenics.
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...
The billionaires' eugenics project: how Epstein infiltrated Harvard, muzzled the humanities and preached master-race science
Edge - Jeffrey Epstein's favourite intellectual salon - was sold to me as a gathering of the world's finest minds, writes Virginia Heffernan. The files reveal it was something far darker: a decades-lo...
www.thenerve.news
February 15, 2026 at 11:18 AM
NEW: Read this terrific piece @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social for @thenerve.news in which she unpicks Edge.org, the hugely influential 'salon' funded by Epstein & threaded through with race science & eugenics.
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/epstein-bi...
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Noting in this NEH grants filing from the Author's Guild that Michael McDonald wasn't the only NEH staffer collaborating: Adam Wolfson also helped triage which chat-GPT flagged grants might actually be related to the garden of heroes or America 250. www.neh.gov/staff/adam-w...
February 15, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Noting in this NEH grants filing from the Author's Guild that Michael McDonald wasn't the only NEH staffer collaborating: Adam Wolfson also helped triage which chat-GPT flagged grants might actually be related to the garden of heroes or America 250. www.neh.gov/staff/adam-w...
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Reposted by Holly Brewer
I'm still SHOCKED by the obscene rise in billionaire election spending since Citizens United in the NYT piece, despite already knowing that election corruption w/ $ was profound. (Recall that BCRA fought dangerous campaign $ in *2002*)
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
February 12, 2026 at 2:26 PM
I'm still SHOCKED by the obscene rise in billionaire election spending since Citizens United in the NYT piece, despite already knowing that election corruption w/ $ was profound. (Recall that BCRA fought dangerous campaign $ in *2002*)
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
The article data didn't have a graph, so I made one to show it.
Reposted by Holly Brewer
NEW: "This was not a decision to reject the Moderna vaccine. It was a refusal even to think about approving it."
www.thebulwark.com/p/this-is-wh...
www.thebulwark.com/p/this-is-wh...
This Is What Destroying the Vaccine Market Looks Like
A shocking move by RFK Jr.’s team has the industry spooked—for good reason.
www.thebulwark.com
February 15, 2026 at 1:30 PM
NEW: "This was not a decision to reject the Moderna vaccine. It was a refusal even to think about approving it."
www.thebulwark.com/p/this-is-wh...
www.thebulwark.com/p/this-is-wh...
Reposted by Holly Brewer
How many times, in how many contexts, in how many ways am I going to have to say that this is what "AI" does— what it fundamentally *is*— before it sinks in? That all Bullshit engines do is statistically correlate training data & inputs via their weights to produce outputs you are likely to accept…
February 15, 2026 at 3:57 AM
How many times, in how many contexts, in how many ways am I going to have to say that this is what "AI" does— what it fundamentally *is*— before it sinks in? That all Bullshit engines do is statistically correlate training data & inputs via their weights to produce outputs you are likely to accept…
Reposted by Holly Brewer
I've been shouting this from the rooftops (and a podcast, and a book) since 2019.
One extremely frustrating iteration is the people who say "Yeah, that was true of the 2021 models, but not today's models".
>>
One extremely frustrating iteration is the people who say "Yeah, that was true of the 2021 models, but not today's models".
>>
How many times, in how many contexts, in how many ways am I going to have to say that this is what "AI" does— what it fundamentally *is*— before it sinks in? That all Bullshit engines do is statistically correlate training data & inputs via their weights to produce outputs you are likely to accept…
February 15, 2026 at 4:10 AM
I've been shouting this from the rooftops (and a podcast, and a book) since 2019.
One extremely frustrating iteration is the people who say "Yeah, that was true of the 2021 models, but not today's models".
>>
One extremely frustrating iteration is the people who say "Yeah, that was true of the 2021 models, but not today's models".
>>
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Some striking arguments here from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to Pam Bondi
"You replaced real prosecutors with counterfeit stooges who robotically do the President's bidding"
"Trump orders up prosecutions like pizza.. and you deliver every time"
"You replaced real prosecutors with counterfeit stooges who robotically do the President's bidding"
"Trump orders up prosecutions like pizza.. and you deliver every time"
February 11, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Some striking arguments here from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to Pam Bondi
"You replaced real prosecutors with counterfeit stooges who robotically do the President's bidding"
"Trump orders up prosecutions like pizza.. and you deliver every time"
"You replaced real prosecutors with counterfeit stooges who robotically do the President's bidding"
"Trump orders up prosecutions like pizza.. and you deliver every time"
Reposted by Holly Brewer
My Trump-supporting cousin-in-law just texted my husband to say he encountered this Mother Jones on social media, read it, realized I wrote it, and told him to tell me I’m doing good work and to keep going.
Things are changing, y’all.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Things are changing, y’all.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
ICE deportation flights are getting longer and crueler
A private equity–owned airline profits off Trump’s migrant crackdown.
www.motherjones.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:54 PM
My Trump-supporting cousin-in-law just texted my husband to say he encountered this Mother Jones on social media, read it, realized I wrote it, and told him to tell me I’m doing good work and to keep going.
Things are changing, y’all.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Things are changing, y’all.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Of course if it’s not Anthropic it’ll be just another AI company who will gladly acquiesce, but it’ll be interesting to see how firm Anthropic’s red lines will be now. The bar is already quite low www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
February 15, 2026 at 7:49 AM
Of course if it’s not Anthropic it’ll be just another AI company who will gladly acquiesce, but it’ll be interesting to see how firm Anthropic’s red lines will be now. The bar is already quite low www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Holly Brewer
ICE using the same ruse that Ted Bundy used to kidnap people should tell you something.
CCTV footage appears to show DHS agents posing as people having car trouble in order to lure a target out of his house before arresting them. The target comes out and starts helping them before 3 vehicles surround the scene. The car "experiencing" trouble then drives off with them.
February 15, 2026 at 1:51 AM
ICE using the same ruse that Ted Bundy used to kidnap people should tell you something.
Reposted by Holly Brewer
SCOTUS effectively OK’ed third-country removals as the Trump admin is using them on the shadow docket, staying lower court orders reining them in. Further, the specific questions raised here — about refoulement — have come up before, like in this case: www.lawdork.com/p/ghana-refo...
NYT: Trump secretly deported 9 migrants despite court orders to not remove them to their home nations. So, he sent them to prison in Cameroon: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/w...
U.S. Deports Nine Migrants in Secret, Ignoring Legal Protections
www.nytimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 4:04 AM
SCOTUS effectively OK’ed third-country removals as the Trump admin is using them on the shadow docket, staying lower court orders reining them in. Further, the specific questions raised here — about refoulement — have come up before, like in this case: www.lawdork.com/p/ghana-refo...
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Reading Marco Rubio’s speech about how “western civilization” is about embracing God, rejecting the foolish ideal of cosmopolitanism, and celebrating the genius of bands like The Beatles who were founded by the guy who wrote that song about a world with no countries or the concept of heaven & hell.
February 15, 2026 at 4:03 AM
Reading Marco Rubio’s speech about how “western civilization” is about embracing God, rejecting the foolish ideal of cosmopolitanism, and celebrating the genius of bands like The Beatles who were founded by the guy who wrote that song about a world with no countries or the concept of heaven & hell.
Reposted by Holly Brewer
Even older than the Republic…
Calling the requirement for a judicial warrant before entering a person’s home one of the Democrats’ “new restrictions on federal immigration agents” crosses the line into outright falsehood. It’s in the Bill of Rights! A rule as old as the republic.
February 14, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Even older than the Republic…
Reposted by Holly Brewer
3/ Here’s a link to the Brennan Center’s July 2025 report warning about the problems with both the SAVE System and the Social Security Number database when used to purge voters from the voter rolls, as would occur under the “Save America Act”. Everyone should read it.
Homeland Security’s “SAVE” Program Exacerbates Risks to Voters
Bad data and a politicized overhaul could spread election fraud lies and disenfranchise voters.
www.brennancenter.org
February 12, 2026 at 11:08 PM
3/ Here’s a link to the Brennan Center’s July 2025 report warning about the problems with both the SAVE System and the Social Security Number database when used to purge voters from the voter rolls, as would occur under the “Save America Act”. Everyone should read it.