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Holly Brewer

@earlymodjustice.bsky.social

18K followers 4.5K following 1.6K posts

Historian http://earlymodernjustice.org/ Sample articles: https://earlymodernjustice.org/publications/ https://earlymodernjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/SlaverySovereigntyInheritableBlood.pdf Opinions my own

earlymodernjustice.org

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Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · Mar 20

The issue at stake in 1686 was whether the king was bound by the law.
How are we back here again?

Peter Sterne @petersterne.com · Jul 2

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...

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1h

JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom are doing something new and important: They understand Stephen Miller's theory of fascist power politics, and they've developed a theory on how to combat it. More Dems need to reckon with Miller's understanding of the moment.

New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule

He wants to supercharge searing civil tensions to get low-information voters to embrace their inner authoritarian. Exactly two Democrats appear to fully grasp this.

newrepublic.com

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1h

Bank of England warns of growing risk that AI bubble could burst

Possibility of ‘sharp market correction has increased’, says Bank’s financial policy committee * Business live – latest updates The Bank of England has warned there is a growing risk of a “sudden correction” in global markets as it raised concerns about soaring valuations of leading AI tech companies. Policymakers said there were also threats of a “sharp repricing of US dollar assets” if the Federal Reserve lost credibility in the eyes of global investors. It comes as Donald Trump’s continues to attack the US central bank and threaten its independence. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Sarah Posner @sarahposner.bsky.social · 1h

Pope Leo tells US bishops to address Trump's immigration crackdown

www.reuters.com/world/pope-l...

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Suzan the chalant goth @sillysyntax.bsky.social · 2h

"An English degree is a rip off" said by the people who are currently ripping everyone off. They don't want you to be literate, to understand the context, the references or the rhetoric they are using to scam you.

A rip off for THEM. If you can read, write and parse meaning, you're harder to fool.

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Henny Gesserit @nmjmredux.blacksky.app · 6h

This is only 12 miles from where my family lives. When you use AI in any form, people are affected directly

Rob Milton @therobmilton.com · 1d

- put down the damn AI.

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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · 1h

“I HATE THOSE MASKED BASTARDS” is the greatest clickbait book title ever (it’s not about what you think, although the history is highly relevant)

dan sinker @dansinker.com · 23h

Yooooooooooooooooo.

Gonna do a book.

Journalist, podcast creator, and Punk Planet founder Dan Sinker's I HATE THOSE MASKED BASTARDS!: Terror, Truth, and the Editor Who Took on the Klan, a narrative account of crusading journalist George Dale, who faced off against a powerful, ascendant Klan movement in 1920s Indiana, and who serves as a model of journalistic integrity and defiance in the face of fascism, to Eric Kerl and Katy O'Donnell at Haymarket, at auction, by David Patterson at Stuart Krichevsky Agency (NA).

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Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 1h

Exactly. This is Charles I ignoring Parliament.

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ProfKFH @profkfh.bsky.social · 1d

And join us for the virtual launch on October 30th at 6:30pm with luminaries Patricia A. Matthew, Debapriya Sarkar, Kyla Wazana Tompkins, and Jennifer Morgan!!! bcrw.barnard.edu/event/the-sw...

The Sweet Taste of Empire: Sugar, Mastery, and Pleasure in the Anglo Caribbean | Barnard Center for Research on Women

Kim Hall in conversation with Patricia A. Matthew, Debapriya Sarkar, Kyla Wazana Tompkins, and Jennifer Morgan; moderated by Tapiwa Gambura

bcrw.barnard.edu

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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 11h

They said on-line isn’t real life, and Bluesky is a niche social media site.

But here is @akalhan.bsky.social getting “Kavanaugh Stops” into the Boston Globe!

With a pic of Kav looking a little petulant too (but then when doesn’t he?).

Glad to see this is sticking to him.

Critics of Trump’s immigration crackdown are using the term ‘Kavanaugh stop.’ Here’s what it means. - The Boston Globe

The phrase, is "a window into where [the administration] can go next," some advocates say.

www.bostonglobe.com

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French Colonial Historical Society @frenchcolonial.bsky.social · 16d

Share widely!

We are now accepting paper and panel proposals for our 2026 Annual Conference in Ireland at Maynooth University taking place 25-27 June 2026!

The submission deadline is 14 November 2025, and you can read more information on our website!

frenchcolonial.org/annual-meeti...

Annual Meeting – French Colonial Historical Society

frenchcolonial.org

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Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 17h

What is parliament anyway?
Charles I.

Paul Blumenthal @paulblumenthal.bsky.social · 17h

What is Congress anyways?

George Pearkes @peark.es · 17h

Well that's not how appropriations work at all

*WHITE HOUSE TO TRANSFER TARIFF REVENUE TO FUND WIC: LEAVITT

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Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 17h

Here’s the 1663 charter of the Royal Adventurers into Africa, which was even then informally called the Royal African company. First incarnation.
Charles II gave it legal title to all English claims in Africa.
@slavery-law-power.bsky.social

slaverylawpower.org/chapters/res...

1663 Royal Adventurers from England into Africa Charter

1663 Royal Adventurers from England into Africa Charter Introduction The Company of Royal Adventurers of England Trading into Africa (CRA), was an English corporation empowered to conduct overseas tra...

slaverylawpower.org

Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 17h

Charles II incorporated that legal claim to those forts (from the secret part of the marriage treaty), into the 1663 charter for the Royal African company (in its first iteration as Royal Adventures into Africa). Then the English attacked the “Dutch-occupied” Portuguese/African forts.

Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 19h

The treaty also vastly expanded England’s territorial claims to India (Bombay) and to Africa — it gave Charles II legal title to castles that the Dutch “illegally” occupied there, according to the Portuguese king (and enabled England’s & RAC’s greater involvement in the slave trade).
See note 22:

earlymodernjustice.org

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Medieval and Early Modern Orients (MEMOs) @memorients.bsky.social · 2d

Today's MEMOries archived blog post from guest contributor L.H. Roper (@roperlou.bsky.social) takes a look at Tangier and the problems it posed for the English crown:

memorients.com/articles/tan...

Tangier: Morocco and the Limits of Empire in the Reign of Charles II | MEMOs

Perhaps counterintuitively in imperial terms, Tangier’s prospects suffered from its unique institutional position.

memorients.com

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 22h

The GOP theory of the shutdown is if they hurt America even more than they're already doing the Democrats will rescue Republicans from themselves.

My suggestion to Democrats is to not do that.
(My suggestion to Republicans is to follow the Constitution and stop hurting the country. But they won't.)

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 22h

Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 1d

“.. On closer inspection, however, it turned out that the image was not a photograph of a real event in Portland, but instead a fabrication created by combining two photographs of scenes that unfolded in South America nearly a decade apart ..”

@theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

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Zachary Schrag @zacharyschrag.bsky.social · 1d

“Forcing knowledge to pass through a political filter is a tactic adopted by the Soviet Union and other authoritarian states.”

American Council of Learned Societies @acls1919.bsky.social · 1d

ACLS has released a statement regarding the White House “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”: bit.ly/3IviMig

We call for the immediate rejection of the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”...No institution that is committed to the free pursuit of knowledge should submit to the degradation of autonomy and academic freedom contained in it. -ACLS Statement Regarding White House “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

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American Council of Learned Societies @acls1919.bsky.social · 1d

ACLS has released a statement regarding the White House “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”: bit.ly/3IviMig

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The Editorial Board @editorialboard.bsky.social · 1d

1. On Friday, the president changed his mind. He decided that he is not going to break the law by withholding $187 million in federal funding for an intelligence and counterterrorism initiative in New York City.

And you *should be grateful*.

“I am pleased to advise that I reversed the cuts made to Homeland Security and Counterterrorism for New York City …” he said. “It was my Honor to do so. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

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Lisa Tozzi @lisatozzi.bsky.social · 1d

I remember joining the NYT as a web news editor in 2000 and being constantly reminded over my 13 years there that I had not done the “stations of the cross” of working as a reporter on metro and national and fore… whew. Good night and good luck!

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

crazy that one of the most storied institutions in american journalism is going to be run by two people with basically no experience to do it

Exclusive | CBS News taps Adam Rubenstein — once ostracized at NY Times for liking Chick-fil-A — as new deputy editor

Sources expect Rubenstein will effectively run the Free Press now that Weiss will be busy steering the editorial direction of shows like “60 Minutes,” “Face The Nation” and …

nypost.com

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Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · 2d

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David Noll @david.noll.org · 10d

Ladies and gentlemen, the meritocracy

Ms. Halligan, who took over on Monday after her predecessor quit rather than prosecute James B. Comey with what he believed was insufficient evidence, had a little trouble with the first two tasks. At one point, she entered the wrong courtroom. When she found the right one, she stood on the wrong side of the judge, then appeared confused about the paperwork she just had signed.

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Katie Phang @katiephang.bsky.social · 2d

Immergut explains that her reasoning and analysis from her first TRO issued yesterday still apply here. There have been no changes in Portland's conditions that justify Trump sending in NG from any state, including from within (as in from Oregon itself).

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Katie Phang @katiephang.bsky.social · 2d

She was VERY unhappy. She flat out asked the lawyer for the Trump Administration: "You are an officer of the Court, and my order [from yesterday] dealt with conditions in Portland, so are you trying to circumvent my order?"

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