David Rafferty
@davidrafferty.bsky.social
Roman historian in South Australia. Current project: “How Republics Die: Rome’s democratic breakdown in the 1st century BCE”. Husband and father. I’m the one who set cats and dogs against each other.
Whoever put this site (and event) together may have been well paid for it. But you can’t recover dignity you give away like that.
February 2, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Whoever put this site (and event) together may have been well paid for it. But you can’t recover dignity you give away like that.
Considering that ICE seems to be made up of the sort of man we call in Australia the “Family Court dad”, this would just be an extension of what they do for fun anyway.
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to wake up at 5 am and don 30 lbs of tactical gear you bought off amazon to sit in a chevy tahoe in the parking lot of the elementary school where you kidnapped a five year old kid to intimidate his teachers. good luck soldier
Columbia Heights (Liam's school district) cancelled school today because of a credible bomb threat at Liam's elementary and multiple ICE vehicles parking in the high school staff parking lot at 6:15am.
February 2, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Considering that ICE seems to be made up of the sort of man we call in Australia the “Family Court dad”, this would just be an extension of what they do for fun anyway.
Reposted by David Rafferty
As I'm always saying, people are hungry for good history! And AskHistorians is the community that offers you nothing but the best!
Please make it your new resolution to visit AskHistorians once a week, because we've never been this invested in overtaking another community.
February 1, 2026 at 10:57 PM
As I'm always saying, people are hungry for good history! And AskHistorians is the community that offers you nothing but the best!
Any enemy vessel picking it up on sonar turns to stone and sinks. A canny move.
General Dynamics is progressing with the development of MEDUSA: An unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that is set to equip U.S. Navy submarines with a long-range offensive mine warfare capability 🇺🇸
By @aaronmatthewil.bsky.social
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
By @aaronmatthewil.bsky.social
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
General Dynamics Testing MEDUSA Submarine Launched Mine Warfare Drone - Naval News
General Dynamics is working on MEDUSA, a new unmanned underwater offensive mining system set to be deployed on American attack boats.
www.navalnews.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Any enemy vessel picking it up on sonar turns to stone and sinks. A canny move.
Reposted by David Rafferty
This is art. Scroll through to the end.
For every retweet I will make Zuckerberg’s creep glasses 5% thicker
February 2, 2026 at 9:31 AM
This is art. Scroll through to the end.
In February 2027 Trump will send ICE to terrorise Los Angeles because he’s mad “Melania” didn’t win an Oscar.
Most documentaries have a budget in the thousands, not $75 million with a $35 million in marketing. They don’t get free hype from a president, Fox & other media. They don’t open in 1400 theaters. Fox is comparing Melania’s putrid numbers with those and calling it a success.
February 1, 2026 at 7:22 PM
In February 2027 Trump will send ICE to terrorise Los Angeles because he’s mad “Melania” didn’t win an Oscar.
Reposted by David Rafferty
Thinking about whoever said that by accepting a meal from people and then arresting them ICE agents broke a cultural taboo that was invented by, like, the first humans to set up a tent
February 1, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Thinking about whoever said that by accepting a meal from people and then arresting them ICE agents broke a cultural taboo that was invented by, like, the first humans to set up a tent
Reposted by David Rafferty
I have used @raulpachecovega.bsky.social's to teach reading and literature reviews to easily 500+ students (mostly undergrads), and I regularly get feedback that they're among the most valuable lessons in my science and teaching writing classes.
Cannot recommend enough.
Cannot recommend enough.
This, kids, is why I do what I do: knowing that my blog and my work have helped graduate students, faculty and researchers worldwide.
The rest is just icing on the cake :)
The rest is just icing on the cake :)
On that note, I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your blog advice helping me get through the difficulty of revising my first-year PhD report pre-pandemic and managing teaching and writing the past few years post-pandemic—I’ll finally be graduating this May!
February 1, 2026 at 4:47 PM
I have used @raulpachecovega.bsky.social's to teach reading and literature reviews to easily 500+ students (mostly undergrads), and I regularly get feedback that they're among the most valuable lessons in my science and teaching writing classes.
Cannot recommend enough.
Cannot recommend enough.
Reposted by David Rafferty
🧵Spotted at a Kai* Festival in Aotearoa New Zealand:
A cheerful man (30s?) resting on crutches, holds his arms out to an approaching group of people and roars: "Kia ora whānau!* So good to see you!"
He's asked what happened to his foot and looking abashed he laughs, saying: "My bike bit me eh." (1)
A cheerful man (30s?) resting on crutches, holds his arms out to an approaching group of people and roars: "Kia ora whānau!* So good to see you!"
He's asked what happened to his foot and looking abashed he laughs, saying: "My bike bit me eh." (1)
January 31, 2026 at 1:53 AM
🧵Spotted at a Kai* Festival in Aotearoa New Zealand:
A cheerful man (30s?) resting on crutches, holds his arms out to an approaching group of people and roars: "Kia ora whānau!* So good to see you!"
He's asked what happened to his foot and looking abashed he laughs, saying: "My bike bit me eh." (1)
A cheerful man (30s?) resting on crutches, holds his arms out to an approaching group of people and roars: "Kia ora whānau!* So good to see you!"
He's asked what happened to his foot and looking abashed he laughs, saying: "My bike bit me eh." (1)
I promise you: you THINK you know who this is about, and you’re right.
people don't know how to handle a mostly virtuous person who is also massively annoying
January 31, 2026 at 12:13 AM
I promise you: you THINK you know who this is about, and you’re right.
This is a very good point. The vast majority of evil female political figures in fiction are actually Margaret Thatcher.
Not quite the same thing but I also hate the critics that decide every evil female political figure in fiction is Hillary Clinton.
Forget the Bechtel test, why about the “this woman is a stand-in for the writers’ distaste for Hillary Clinton” test because I gotta say that trope keeps playing
January 30, 2026 at 9:31 AM
This is a very good point. The vast majority of evil female political figures in fiction are actually Margaret Thatcher.
A Hobsbawm continuator’s 2082 book:
“The Age Of Consequences: 2027-2051”
“The Age Of Consequences: 2027-2051”
January 30, 2026 at 2:56 AM
A Hobsbawm continuator’s 2082 book:
“The Age Of Consequences: 2027-2051”
“The Age Of Consequences: 2027-2051”
The Melania film is a godsend for foreign intelligence agents. The embassy staff can show ticket stubs as proof-of-bribe to Trump Administration officials while the agents can conduct clandestine meetings in empty cinemas.
friend of mine is an undocumented immigrant and has been hiding in Melania theaters bc he knows people assume no one is in there
January 30, 2026 at 12:45 AM
The Melania film is a godsend for foreign intelligence agents. The embassy staff can show ticket stubs as proof-of-bribe to Trump Administration officials while the agents can conduct clandestine meetings in empty cinemas.
Reposted by David Rafferty
just choked on my beverage
January 29, 2026 at 11:19 PM
just choked on my beverage
Reposted by David Rafferty
this is distorted by putting rent subsidies in the social housing column. Rent assistance is ALSO free public money given to landlords, who are already wealthy, by definition.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Australia spends more on tax breaks for landlords than social housing, homelessness and rent assistance combined
Exclusive: Acoss report shows property investors received $12.3bn in tax concessions in 2025, while the share of social housing dropped to a record low
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:38 PM
this is distorted by putting rent subsidies in the social housing column. Rent assistance is ALSO free public money given to landlords, who are already wealthy, by definition.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
I reckon that in, say, 1996, you’d accept as reasonable the possibility that “German chancellor in 30 years embraces Machtpolitik”.
You’d be surprised that the pro-democratic and pro-liberal forces of the world would cheer this. Cheer (with reservations).
You’d be surprised that the pro-democratic and pro-liberal forces of the world would cheer this. Cheer (with reservations).
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that Europe will not withstand a new era of rising great-power imperialism unless it embraces the logic of hard power.
Europe’s future depends on whether it can embrace hard power, says Germany’s Merz
The chancellor also joined other European leaders in condemning U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismissal of NATO sacrifices in Afghanistan.
www.politico.eu
January 29, 2026 at 11:33 AM
I reckon that in, say, 1996, you’d accept as reasonable the possibility that “German chancellor in 30 years embraces Machtpolitik”.
You’d be surprised that the pro-democratic and pro-liberal forces of the world would cheer this. Cheer (with reservations).
You’d be surprised that the pro-democratic and pro-liberal forces of the world would cheer this. Cheer (with reservations).
Reposted by David Rafferty
I saw this described as the ‘Gastonification of gen z men’ earlier and have been giggling ever since.
January 29, 2026 at 11:22 AM
I saw this described as the ‘Gastonification of gen z men’ earlier and have been giggling ever since.
Reposted by David Rafferty
i think it is important to note here that in the US, the corporate CEO has a level of dictatorial power comparable to a classical autocrat, especially in situations where they have immunized themselves to even shareholder pushback (see “voting shares” issue in FB, for example)
the entire idea of consent is hostile to his world view. the idea that women have any volition is hostile to his world view. the idea that anyone has a right to object to being depicted any particular way, which vastly disproportionately impacts women poorly? same thing
January 29, 2026 at 5:45 AM
i think it is important to note here that in the US, the corporate CEO has a level of dictatorial power comparable to a classical autocrat, especially in situations where they have immunized themselves to even shareholder pushback (see “voting shares” issue in FB, for example)
Remember the thing about solving incels by giving teenage boys a bass guitar? Do that for these guys.
Middle aged white men (and I’m 49, so I’m in the demographic) absolutely need ridiculous Dad Hobbies or they get squirrely. I think if you’re can’t prove you have a preexisting Dad Hobby or 2 by age 45, you get entered into a national hobby draft and get assigned one. It would solve so many things.
every time i see a white guy in their fifties radicalized by the twitter algorithm into racism and extremism i think about how it's a total failure of the youtube algorithm to instead radicalize him into home brewing, elaborate A/V setups, or DIY solar
January 29, 2026 at 4:02 AM
Remember the thing about solving incels by giving teenage boys a bass guitar? Do that for these guys.
Reposted by David Rafferty
It appears Polish saboteurs have attacked a border radio tower! A firm response must follow quickly!
“.. U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks on the phone while standing inside a vehicle loaded with boxes outside the Fulton County Election Hub and Operation Center after the FBI executed a search warrant there.”
@reuters.com
@reuters.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:52 AM
It appears Polish saboteurs have attacked a border radio tower! A firm response must follow quickly!
Randomly perusing @dsquareddigest.bsky.social’s blog and found this post (open.substack.com/pub/backofmi...).
The last substantive paragraph is basically Belonick’s book. And, generally, the Roman political-culture scholarship.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
The last substantive paragraph is basically Belonick’s book. And, generally, the Roman political-culture scholarship.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
January 28, 2026 at 10:08 AM
Randomly perusing @dsquareddigest.bsky.social’s blog and found this post (open.substack.com/pub/backofmi...).
The last substantive paragraph is basically Belonick’s book. And, generally, the Roman political-culture scholarship.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
The last substantive paragraph is basically Belonick’s book. And, generally, the Roman political-culture scholarship.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Terroir, in fact.
It’s only terrorism if it’s from the terror region of France, otherwise it’s known as sparking violent intent.
January 28, 2026 at 7:15 AM
Terroir, in fact.
Two responses to this good thread:
1. The basic point of Carney’s speech: in unity there is strength.
2. I don’t think the blocs are geopolitical. I think they’re ideological. Europe can coordinate and gain greater strength as the bastion of democracy. Look to Canada, to Japan, to South Korea.
1. The basic point of Carney’s speech: in unity there is strength.
2. I don’t think the blocs are geopolitical. I think they’re ideological. Europe can coordinate and gain greater strength as the bastion of democracy. Look to Canada, to Japan, to South Korea.
We're not heading back to a world in which Belgium's economy is the size of Southeast Asia.
Our option?
What we can do, is bind ourselves together, fully conscious of protecting our law and rights, and our way of life.
We're not there. 🇪🇺
Ends
Our option?
What we can do, is bind ourselves together, fully conscious of protecting our law and rights, and our way of life.
We're not there. 🇪🇺
Ends
January 27, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Two responses to this good thread:
1. The basic point of Carney’s speech: in unity there is strength.
2. I don’t think the blocs are geopolitical. I think they’re ideological. Europe can coordinate and gain greater strength as the bastion of democracy. Look to Canada, to Japan, to South Korea.
1. The basic point of Carney’s speech: in unity there is strength.
2. I don’t think the blocs are geopolitical. I think they’re ideological. Europe can coordinate and gain greater strength as the bastion of democracy. Look to Canada, to Japan, to South Korea.