Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
@williamsonjf.bsky.social
Teacher of APUSH, AP World, AP Euro. Historian of German public mourning and holidays. Special interest in histories of memory, military, religion. Passionate for history education. He/him. Views expressed my own.
The Liar in Winter
(Ok changing two letters)
(Ok changing two letters)
The Umpire Strikes Back.
(A film about Baseball)
(A film about Baseball)
Change a letter, ruin a film:
From Desk till Dawn
(it's now about vampires with no work/life balance)
From Desk till Dawn
(it's now about vampires with no work/life balance)
January 26, 2026 at 12:32 AM
The Liar in Winter
(Ok changing two letters)
(Ok changing two letters)
The Umpire Strikes Back.
(A film about Baseball)
(A film about Baseball)
Change a letter, ruin a film:
From Desk till Dawn
(it's now about vampires with no work/life balance)
From Desk till Dawn
(it's now about vampires with no work/life balance)
Change a letter, ruin a film:
Pandora's Lox
(It's now a comedy about a struggling deli)
Pandora's Lox
(It's now a comedy about a struggling deli)
January 26, 2026 at 12:29 AM
The Umpire Strikes Back.
(A film about Baseball)
(A film about Baseball)
Am noticing lots of ads on Facebook urging me to watch The Hunger Games and I’m not sure Zuck and Bezos understand what targeted ads and algorithms can do to fan the flames.
January 25, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Am noticing lots of ads on Facebook urging me to watch The Hunger Games and I’m not sure Zuck and Bezos understand what targeted ads and algorithms can do to fan the flames.
Let’s hope that, when the actual Neo-Nazis in actual Germany (Bavaria, ffs!) say ICE are doing it correctly, then we know ICE are cooked!
Die Masken fallen
(the masks fall off)
Germany’s far-right AfD party wants to emulate U.S. ICE tactics
(the masks fall off)
Germany’s far-right AfD party wants to emulate U.S. ICE tactics
Und die AfD hätte in deutschen Städten gern, was derzeit in Minneapolis passiert: Eine Todesschwadron, die friedliche Menschen hinrichtet.
www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/bayer...
www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/bayer...
January 25, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Let’s hope that, when the actual Neo-Nazis in actual Germany (Bavaria, ffs!) say ICE are doing it correctly, then we know ICE are cooked!
One of my favorite archival findings was West German pastors in the 1960s praying that the white Americans at that time would learn how to stop being so damned racist amid the Civil Rights Movement protests and accept the idea of racial equality. Think about that for a moment.
Good. Does break my heart that what should have been an amazing celebration has collapsed under the abuses of a sociopaths and white supremacists. We could have had nice things.
A German soccer federation executive committee member says it's time to consider a World Cup boycott because of the actions of U.S. President Donald Trump.
January 25, 2026 at 5:04 PM
One of my favorite archival findings was West German pastors in the 1960s praying that the white Americans at that time would learn how to stop being so damned racist amid the Civil Rights Movement protests and accept the idea of racial equality. Think about that for a moment.
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
And no, they did not provoke abuse. They simply asserted their rights, and that was enough for white folks to lose their damn minds.
January 25, 2026 at 4:41 PM
And no, they did not provoke abuse. They simply asserted their rights, and that was enough for white folks to lose their damn minds.
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
Vance Endorsed Slashing Civil Liberties Protections During Minneapolis Visit talkingpointsmemo.com/news/vance-e...
Vance Endorsed Slashing Civil Liberties Protections During Minneapolis Visit
If you read mainstream coverage of Vice President JD Vance’s trip to...
talkingpointsmemo.com
January 25, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Vance Endorsed Slashing Civil Liberties Protections During Minneapolis Visit talkingpointsmemo.com/news/vance-e...
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
January 24, 2026 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
The original video evidence 100% contradicts the narrative being pushed about officers being in danger. By the time officers could be aware of a weapon, Pretti had already been made defenseless by multiple officers and disarmed. He was shot unarmed.
Here's a cropped still showing the handgun in the federal officers hand immediately after he turns to quickly walk away. After pulling up the man's coat and retrieving the gun, the agent turns. 1.5 seconds BEFORE the first shot rings out.
January 24, 2026 at 6:49 PM
The original video evidence 100% contradicts the narrative being pushed about officers being in danger. By the time officers could be aware of a weapon, Pretti had already been made defenseless by multiple officers and disarmed. He was shot unarmed.
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
The people who built their entire identities around worrying about jackbooted government thugs shooting people in the streets are weirdly silent now that jackbooted government thugs are shooting people in the streets.
January 24, 2026 at 5:50 PM
The people who built their entire identities around worrying about jackbooted government thugs shooting people in the streets are weirdly silent now that jackbooted government thugs are shooting people in the streets.
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
This random online comment from 2018 remains one of the last half-century's most important works of political commentary. crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/l...
January 24, 2026 at 5:42 PM
This random online comment from 2018 remains one of the last half-century's most important works of political commentary. crookedtimber.org/2018/03/21/l...
I am horrified. As a person who grew up in a Red State, in a large media market for Right-Wing Talk Radio, the behavior of ICE is exactly what Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boortz, and others were spooking listeners about throughout the 80s and 90s and even 2000s:
January 24, 2026 at 5:26 PM
I am horrified. As a person who grew up in a Red State, in a large media market for Right-Wing Talk Radio, the behavior of ICE is exactly what Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boortz, and others were spooking listeners about throughout the 80s and 90s and even 2000s:
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
January 21, 2026 at 10:00 PM
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
Is this all IU’s band playing Star Wars and LOTR cheers? I love it!
January 20, 2026 at 3:50 AM
Is this all IU’s band playing Star Wars and LOTR cheers? I love it!
Starbucks really did a hack job on that Beatles song
January 20, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Starbucks really did a hack job on that Beatles song
It’s lame to see the CFP production using canned music for the National Anthem. This is not a political post - just venting that those band kids also work really hard and why rob them of a chance to perform on the field. Everybody knows the music or can learn a new arrangement quickly.
January 20, 2026 at 12:48 AM
It’s lame to see the CFP production using canned music for the National Anthem. This is not a political post - just venting that those band kids also work really hard and why rob them of a chance to perform on the field. Everybody knows the music or can learn a new arrangement quickly.
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
There have been confirmed reports from local organizers in Portland ME that ICE is knocking on doors claiming to be from MaineCare and “offering help“
January 18, 2026 at 12:22 AM
There have been confirmed reports from local organizers in Portland ME that ICE is knocking on doors claiming to be from MaineCare and “offering help“
Reposted by Dr. J. Franklin Williamson
WATCH: “How many people with domestic violence convictions are running around, with guns, in our cities, terrorizing people?”
Journalist @laurajedeed.bsky.social was hired as an ICE officer after a 6 minute interview, despite not having completed a background check.
Journalist @laurajedeed.bsky.social was hired as an ICE officer after a 6 minute interview, despite not having completed a background check.
January 17, 2026 at 12:10 AM
WATCH: “How many people with domestic violence convictions are running around, with guns, in our cities, terrorizing people?”
Journalist @laurajedeed.bsky.social was hired as an ICE officer after a 6 minute interview, despite not having completed a background check.
Journalist @laurajedeed.bsky.social was hired as an ICE officer after a 6 minute interview, despite not having completed a background check.
Both good choices
Tie between In My Life and Carry That Weight
Name your fav song by The Beatles.
January 14, 2026 at 1:39 AM
Both good choices
Anybody else having flashbacks to when they read _Clear and Present Danger_ back in middle school? Or at least watched the movie with Harrison Ford?
January 4, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Anybody else having flashbacks to when they read _Clear and Present Danger_ back in middle school? Or at least watched the movie with Harrison Ford?
Usually the sequel has a hard time getting out of the shadow of the original but I guess we’re all in luck that Trump vol. II (or Bush 2, vol. IV?) still has surprises in store
January 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Usually the sequel has a hard time getting out of the shadow of the original but I guess we’re all in luck that Trump vol. II (or Bush 2, vol. IV?) still has surprises in store
Sorta like getting an insanely high hospital bill from a trip to the ER: “freedom isn’t free,” so the patient (or occupied/enemy state) has to pay handsomely for the blessing of being liberated from disease or dictatorship.
Cartoon by Mike Luckovich @mluckovich.bsky.social
January 3, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Sorta like getting an insanely high hospital bill from a trip to the ER: “freedom isn’t free,” so the patient (or occupied/enemy state) has to pay handsomely for the blessing of being liberated from disease or dictatorship.
FWIW I started college as a kid who loved “traditional” military history but was lucky enough to be challenged by professors at UGA to broaden my horizons. My major professor for my honors thesis was a “war and society” guy who changed my trajectory (for the better).
December 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
FWIW I started college as a kid who loved “traditional” military history but was lucky enough to be challenged by professors at UGA to broaden my horizons. My major professor for my honors thesis was a “war and society” guy who changed my trajectory (for the better).
Not too crazy but when I was the Ev. Kirch. Archiv in Kassel, I was ordering Nachlass boxes and received one for which the embargo period had not yet expired. I asked the technician about it and he agreed that it needs to go back into the stacks. Wasn’t crucial to my project so I wasn’t too upset
I think we need a mega thread of everyone's craziest archive stories.
December 22, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Not too crazy but when I was the Ev. Kirch. Archiv in Kassel, I was ordering Nachlass boxes and received one for which the embargo period had not yet expired. I asked the technician about it and he agreed that it needs to go back into the stacks. Wasn’t crucial to my project so I wasn’t too upset