David Rotenstein
@davidrotenstein.bsky.social
Writer. Folklorist. Historian. https://blog.historian4hire.net/about/ | History is my hustle. Also @covertnky.bsky.social
Drinking did it!
November 23, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Drinking did it!
Is it a coincidence that the same part of Georgia that gave us Marjorie Taylor Greene also gave the world Howard Finster?
November 23, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Is it a coincidence that the same part of Georgia that gave us Marjorie Taylor Greene also gave the world Howard Finster?
You know it's gonna be a strange day when it begins by searching for information on the exchange rate for Greek drachmas in 1920.
November 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM
You know it's gonna be a strange day when it begins by searching for information on the exchange rate for Greek drachmas in 1920.
Reposted by David Rotenstein
Did you know that in 1950, Covington had the most (legal, sort of) slot machines in all of Kentucky? Starting in the 1940s, the IRS required gamblers to buy licenses for coin-operated vending machines that paid cash prizes or tokens redeemable for cash. Covington had more than Newport!
November 23, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Did you know that in 1950, Covington had the most (legal, sort of) slot machines in all of Kentucky? Starting in the 1940s, the IRS required gamblers to buy licenses for coin-operated vending machines that paid cash prizes or tokens redeemable for cash. Covington had more than Newport!
Reposted by David Rotenstein
Alexander Williams, the person behind the first Black owned and operated ballpark, was in an unmarked grave for decades in Highwood Cemetery. No more. Thanks to the Josh Gibson Fndtn and donors, he now has a headstone.
November 22, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Alexander Williams, the person behind the first Black owned and operated ballpark, was in an unmarked grave for decades in Highwood Cemetery. No more. Thanks to the Josh Gibson Fndtn and donors, he now has a headstone.
The Grizzly Bear Dance craze created a huge scandal in Pittsburgh during 1912. Was because it originated in Black dance halls or was it because it was really the "hoochie koochie danced by the man and woman together." This illustration is from a St. Louis newspaper published in 1911.
November 22, 2025 at 1:32 PM
The Grizzly Bear Dance craze created a huge scandal in Pittsburgh during 1912. Was because it originated in Black dance halls or was it because it was really the "hoochie koochie danced by the man and woman together." This illustration is from a St. Louis newspaper published in 1911.
Folklore in the supermarket cold case!
November 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Folklore in the supermarket cold case!
Reposted by David Rotenstein
Reposted by David Rotenstein
This is a genuine problem/ challenge.
Turning off intrusive AI features, from Gmail, also turns off useful anti-spam and related features.
(Sort of like Trump using the govt shutdown as excuse to end all SNAP benefits. Google didn't have to do this.)
Turning off intrusive AI features, from Gmail, also turns off useful anti-spam and related features.
(Sort of like Trump using the govt shutdown as excuse to end all SNAP benefits. Google didn't have to do this.)
Opting out of your Google emails being used to train their AI also happens to remove spam filtering. This seems designed to punish users who opt out
Google has started automatically opting you in to let it read your stuff to train AI. You need to turn this off in SEVERAL places in your settings (not just for Gmail), if you want to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/20...
November 21, 2025 at 9:46 PM
This is a genuine problem/ challenge.
Turning off intrusive AI features, from Gmail, also turns off useful anti-spam and related features.
(Sort of like Trump using the govt shutdown as excuse to end all SNAP benefits. Google didn't have to do this.)
Turning off intrusive AI features, from Gmail, also turns off useful anti-spam and related features.
(Sort of like Trump using the govt shutdown as excuse to end all SNAP benefits. Google didn't have to do this.)
Reposted by David Rotenstein
i know we've all laughed about the worm and the affair but this is a profoundly dangerous person who should be expelled from the government.
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 7:43 PM
i know we've all laughed about the worm and the affair but this is a profoundly dangerous person who should be expelled from the government.
Headline writing is an art: “Neighbors boiling over new lobster pound.”
Neighbours boiling over new lobster pound in Tantallon area
By @philmoscovitch.bsky.social
By @philmoscovitch.bsky.social
Neighbours boiling over new lobster pound in Tantallon area - Halifax Examiner
NovaShell previously operated a lobster pound in a rented facility in Mount Uniacke. The owner said move to St. Margarets Bay is meant to provide "another access point for the local fishermen, to brin...
www.halifaxexaminer.ca
November 21, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Headline writing is an art: “Neighbors boiling over new lobster pound.”
Reporters who work for a billionaire investigate billionaires. Right.
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Reporters who work for a billionaire investigate billionaires. Right.
Reposted by David Rotenstein
This is quite something
“Embarrassed” Trump Attorney Wants to Investigate DOJ for Incompetence newrepublic.com/post/203502/... via @newrepublic.com
“Embarrassed” Trump Attorney Wants to Investigate DOJ for Incompetence newrepublic.com/post/203502/... via @newrepublic.com
“Embarrassed” Trump Attorney Wants to Investigate DOJ for Incompetence
Todd Blanche is worried that unforced errors could affect two massive cases.
newrepublic.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:02 PM
This is quite something
“Embarrassed” Trump Attorney Wants to Investigate DOJ for Incompetence newrepublic.com/post/203502/... via @newrepublic.com
“Embarrassed” Trump Attorney Wants to Investigate DOJ for Incompetence newrepublic.com/post/203502/... via @newrepublic.com
Reposted by David Rotenstein
one of the underrated factors for the rise in scamming across U.S. society is the death of local media.
It gets lost in the shuffle, but the Speaker of the House is someone who, by all rights, should’ve had his career ended a decade ago by a Shreveport TV news investigative team.
Fond memories of that time Mike Johnson was president of a local law school that never opened its doors, in part because it was attached to a Baptist college that was losing its accreditation, and in part because it was always a scam from the start
November 21, 2025 at 3:09 PM
one of the underrated factors for the rise in scamming across U.S. society is the death of local media.
Reposted by David Rotenstein
"Sir, did you just abuse and insult a journalist for asking a question? And did you publicly call a woman a piggie? Is this the way a U.S. President behaves?"
A reporter who so spoke loses WH credentials, maybe his job if his agency is gutless. But absent such, the entire WHPC is without honor.
A reporter who so spoke loses WH credentials, maybe his job if his agency is gutless. But absent such, the entire WHPC is without honor.
November 21, 2025 at 3:33 PM
"Sir, did you just abuse and insult a journalist for asking a question? And did you publicly call a woman a piggie? Is this the way a U.S. President behaves?"
A reporter who so spoke loses WH credentials, maybe his job if his agency is gutless. But absent such, the entire WHPC is without honor.
A reporter who so spoke loses WH credentials, maybe his job if his agency is gutless. But absent such, the entire WHPC is without honor.
Reposted by David Rotenstein
You know what media is NOT bending the knee in the Trump era? College journalists! The Harvard Crimson's brutal takedown of the lecherous ex-prez Larry Summers is just the latest example of students showing a failing 'grown-up' media how it's done
My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
College journalism exposes the rot of ‘grown-ups’ | Will Bunch Newsletter
Plus a history lesson on the real ‘Charlotte’s Web,’ and fascism,
www.inquirer.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:51 PM
You know what media is NOT bending the knee in the Trump era? College journalists! The Harvard Crimson's brutal takedown of the lecherous ex-prez Larry Summers is just the latest example of students showing a failing 'grown-up' media how it's done
My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
Wishing for forever to begin.
Trump’s control over MAGA may be slipping, Idrees Kahloon argues—and the intraparty fight over the Epstein files was only the prelude:
The GOP Is Realizing That Trump Won’t Be Around Forever
The intraparty fight over the Epstein files was only the prelude.
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Wishing for forever to begin.
There’s a resume entry for you: “Foot Soldier for the Patriarchy.”
Oh look a foot soldier for the patriarchy
Q: What did the president mean when he called a reporter "piggy"?
LEAVITT: Look, the president is very frank & honest with everyone in this room. You'll all seen it yourself. You've all experienced it yourselves. And I think it's one of the many reasons the American people reelected this president
LEAVITT: Look, the president is very frank & honest with everyone in this room. You'll all seen it yourself. You've all experienced it yourselves. And I think it's one of the many reasons the American people reelected this president
November 21, 2025 at 4:30 PM
There’s a resume entry for you: “Foot Soldier for the Patriarchy.”
Reposted by David Rotenstein
Breaking character: I am open to the idea the media's coverage of Biden's age and mental acuity was fair or perhaps not even tough enough. But the fact that it was so much tougher than the coverage of Trump's (more severe) mental decline is damning and I can't see how anyone could argue otherwise.
NYT isn’t worth reading because they are in the bag for Trump
November 21, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Breaking character: I am open to the idea the media's coverage of Biden's age and mental acuity was fair or perhaps not even tough enough. But the fact that it was so much tougher than the coverage of Trump's (more severe) mental decline is damning and I can't see how anyone could argue otherwise.
Reposted by David Rotenstein
#OTD (Nov 21) in 1928, Dutch #Schultz partner Joey #Noe dies of gunshot wounds suffered on Oct. 15.
#MafiaHistory 🗃️ #Skystorians
#MafiaHistory 🗃️ #Skystorians
November 21, 2025 at 4:19 PM
#OTD (Nov 21) in 1928, Dutch #Schultz partner Joey #Noe dies of gunshot wounds suffered on Oct. 15.
#MafiaHistory 🗃️ #Skystorians
#MafiaHistory 🗃️ #Skystorians
Reposted by David Rotenstein
"I think with true crime, it creates this thirst for punishment."
On this week’s “More To The Story,” incarcerated journalist John J. Lennon examines how our fixation on crime capitalizes on tragedy and turns it into entertainment.
On this week’s “More To The Story,” incarcerated journalist John J. Lennon examines how our fixation on crime capitalizes on tragedy and turns it into entertainment.
Why America is obsessed with true crime
On this week’s “More To The Story,” incarcerated journalist John J. Lennon examines how our fixation on crime capitalizes on tragedy and turns it into entertainment.
revealnews.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:20 PM
"I think with true crime, it creates this thirst for punishment."
On this week’s “More To The Story,” incarcerated journalist John J. Lennon examines how our fixation on crime capitalizes on tragedy and turns it into entertainment.
On this week’s “More To The Story,” incarcerated journalist John J. Lennon examines how our fixation on crime capitalizes on tragedy and turns it into entertainment.
Before a series of slumlords occupied this Covington, Kentucky, building (1980-2015) it housed a tavern with one of more than 160 slot machine licenses in the city in 1950. The slumlords and vice convergence put a nice bow on an article I just finished.
November 21, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Before a series of slumlords occupied this Covington, Kentucky, building (1980-2015) it housed a tavern with one of more than 160 slot machine licenses in the city in 1950. The slumlords and vice convergence put a nice bow on an article I just finished.
Reposted by David Rotenstein
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.