Matt Ciarelli
@mattcia0075.bsky.social
Husband, Duranie, chronically-tired IT guy, PC gamer, reader, atheist, has-been novelist, M. A. in American history, pasta and wine aficionado.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Here are the Declaration of Independence’s grievances against King George III. Many apply to Trump.
Here are the Declaration of Independence’s grievances against King George III. Many apply to Trump.
It's uncanny.
www.motherjones.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Here are the Declaration of Independence’s grievances against King George III. Many apply to Trump.
The original Unreal Tournament.
November 26, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The original Unreal Tournament.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
🧵🧵
Scrolling through November 1863 newspapers looking at reactions to Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation and what’s notable is how whiny the conservative Dem papers are about how Thanksgiving proclamations should be the state prerogative and not the federal government’s
plus ça change, I guess
plus ça change, I guess
November 26, 2025 at 4:40 PM
🧵🧵
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
“Hegseth and Trump have gone after the wrong guy with Mark Kelly--Arizona Senator, decorated Navy veteran, astronaut-- and they are only further demonstrating their hostility to our Constitution and their weak leadership.“ www.americaamerica.news/p/trump-and-...
November 25, 2025 at 7:25 PM
“Hegseth and Trump have gone after the wrong guy with Mark Kelly--Arizona Senator, decorated Navy veteran, astronaut-- and they are only further demonstrating their hostility to our Constitution and their weak leadership.“ www.americaamerica.news/p/trump-and-...
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
…and then there were three!
But what an album. Duran Duran released the Notorious LP on this day in 1986.
But what an album. Duran Duran released the Notorious LP on this day in 1986.
November 24, 2025 at 10:35 PM
…and then there were three!
But what an album. Duran Duran released the Notorious LP on this day in 1986.
But what an album. Duran Duran released the Notorious LP on this day in 1986.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
‘oh, just one more thing… Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history’
November 25, 2025 at 1:43 PM
‘oh, just one more thing… Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history’
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Art. I of the Constitution gives Congress the power to make rules and regulations for the armed forces — including codes of discipline and strictures against following illegal orders. You can’t punish members of Congress for articulating those rules. Also protected by Speech and Debate Clause.
November 25, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Art. I of the Constitution gives Congress the power to make rules and regulations for the armed forces — including codes of discipline and strictures against following illegal orders. You can’t punish members of Congress for articulating those rules. Also protected by Speech and Debate Clause.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Someone needs to set up a camera so we'll know when Pete Hegseth orders this plaque removed from West Point.
Here’s the plaque at West Point with the relevant text highlighted
November 24, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Someone needs to set up a camera so we'll know when Pete Hegseth orders this plaque removed from West Point.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Does the BBC think it's improper for a speaker to state their opinion that Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history?
Because I think almost all historians would readily agree that Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history.
Because I think almost all historians would readily agree that Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history.
BBC censors a lecture removing author’s remarks on Trump that refer to him a the most openly corrupt American president.
November 25, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Does the BBC think it's improper for a speaker to state their opinion that Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history?
Because I think almost all historians would readily agree that Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history.
Because I think almost all historians would readily agree that Donald Trump is the most openly corrupt president in American history.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Mark Kelly: "I said something that was pretty simple and non-controversial, and that was that members of the military should follow the law. In response to that, Trump said I should be executed, I should be hanged ... it says a lot more about him than it says about me. I'm not going to be silenced."
November 25, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Mark Kelly: "I said something that was pretty simple and non-controversial, and that was that members of the military should follow the law. In response to that, Trump said I should be executed, I should be hanged ... it says a lot more about him than it says about me. I'm not going to be silenced."
Who just finished watching Ken Burns’ American Revolution doc last night, then immediately started a rewatch this morning? This guy.
November 25, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Who just finished watching Ken Burns’ American Revolution doc last night, then immediately started a rewatch this morning? This guy.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Hey folks:
For those who missed it, here's a link to this morning's "What the Heck Just Happened? With Heather and Joanne"
AND NO I DIDN'T GO FOR A RUN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=etZz...
For those who missed it, here's a link to this morning's "What the Heck Just Happened? With Heather and Joanne"
AND NO I DIDN'T GO FOR A RUN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=etZz...
What the Heck Just Happened? With Heather and Joanne
YouTube video by Dr. Joanne Freeman
www.youtube.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Hey folks:
For those who missed it, here's a link to this morning's "What the Heck Just Happened? With Heather and Joanne"
AND NO I DIDN'T GO FOR A RUN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=etZz...
For those who missed it, here's a link to this morning's "What the Heck Just Happened? With Heather and Joanne"
AND NO I DIDN'T GO FOR A RUN
www.youtube.com/watch?v=etZz...
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
I don’t need an HDTV I need an ADHDTV that knows when I break eye contact to play on my phone and has a button that skips my show right back to that point
November 22, 2025 at 8:51 PM
I don’t need an HDTV I need an ADHDTV that knows when I break eye contact to play on my phone and has a button that skips my show right back to that point
They almost have me sold on this, as I contemplate replacing my 6-year-old gaming laptop, but I don’t think 16GB of RAM or 8GB of VRAM will be enough for the long term. Those are the bare minimum requirements now.
November 22, 2025 at 2:25 PM
They almost have me sold on this, as I contemplate replacing my 6-year-old gaming laptop, but I don’t think 16GB of RAM or 8GB of VRAM will be enough for the long term. Those are the bare minimum requirements now.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Burns' six-part documentary uses voiceover, reenactors and drone footage to tell the story of America's founding. And it reminds viewers that the quest for a more perfect union is far from over.
Ken Burns' 'American Revolution' will make you think differently about U.S. history
Burns' six-part documentary uses voiceover, reenactors and drone footage to tell the story of America's founding. And it reminds viewers that the quest for a more perfect union is far from over.
n.pr
November 22, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Burns' six-part documentary uses voiceover, reenactors and drone footage to tell the story of America's founding. And it reminds viewers that the quest for a more perfect union is far from over.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
They are so funny. Our neighbors are being stuffed into unmarked vans, and they’re all like let’s vote against a term we probably can’t define instead.
The House of Representatives voted 285–98 in favor of a resolution condemning socialism.
86 Dems joined Republicans in supporting the measure, incl. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
86 Dems joined Republicans in supporting the measure, incl. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
November 21, 2025 at 7:35 PM
They are so funny. Our neighbors are being stuffed into unmarked vans, and they’re all like let’s vote against a term we probably can’t define instead.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Imagine the kind of person you have to be to be specifically excluded from Dick Cheney's funeral.
November 20, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Imagine the kind of person you have to be to be specifically excluded from Dick Cheney's funeral.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
November 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Before the midterms of 1866, President Andrew Johnson called his congressional opponents traitors and said they should be hanged.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Voters were so profoundly moved by his words... that they gave his opponents a supermajority in Congress, and the nation got the Fourteenth Amendment.
Overall, I am really enjoying Ken Burns’ Revolutionary War doc. So far the biggest surprises for me are that Bernard Bailyn and Gordon Wood, both of whom I studied in grad school 25+ years ago, are still alive.
November 19, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Overall, I am really enjoying Ken Burns’ Revolutionary War doc. So far the biggest surprises for me are that Bernard Bailyn and Gordon Wood, both of whom I studied in grad school 25+ years ago, are still alive.
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
A really insightful review of "The American Revolution." Enjoy! Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/a...
What ‘The American Revolution’ Says About Our Cultural Battles
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:36 PM
A really insightful review of "The American Revolution." Enjoy! Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/a...
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
November 18, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by Matt Ciarelli
“In a sane world: A former president who lied about voter fraud and incited a deadly insurrection to stay in power after losing an election would not be able to run for public office ever again…any public office, including the highest office in the land.”
www.americaamerica.news/p/in-a-sane-...
www.americaamerica.news/p/in-a-sane-...
In a Sane World (Take Five)
A picture of a presidency that would make sense—in 25 thoughts
www.americaamerica.news
November 15, 2025 at 2:24 PM
“In a sane world: A former president who lied about voter fraud and incited a deadly insurrection to stay in power after losing an election would not be able to run for public office ever again…any public office, including the highest office in the land.”
www.americaamerica.news/p/in-a-sane-...
www.americaamerica.news/p/in-a-sane-...
Ken, I like most of your work, flawed though some of it might be. But this claim is going way too far.
In his latest project, Ken Burns turns his lens to the American Revolution — an event he has called the most significant since the birth of Christ. n.pr/47GH56x
Ken Burns shares 3 thoughts on upcoming 'American Revolution' series
In his latest project, Ken Burns turns his lens to the American Revolution — an event he has called the most significant since the birth of Christ.
n.pr
November 14, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Ken, I like most of your work, flawed though some of it might be. But this claim is going way too far.