Jack Fryar
LightNews LightNews
banner
ilmjack.bsky.social
Jack Fryar
@ilmjack.bsky.social
1.1K followers 3.5K following 63 posts
Historian/teacher in Wilmington NC. Author or editor of more than 30 books of NC and Cape Fear history. I’m a colonial historian by preference, but I love it all! USMC vet.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Jack Fryar
joshrgreenberg.bsky.social
It is Eli Whitney's birthday, so it is the perfect time to read Ariel Ron's recent piece in Commonplace about how Whitney single-handedly invented the cotton gin, interchangeable parts, and started the Civil War . . except for that none of that happened. 🗃️

commonplace.online/article/how-...
How Eli Whitney Single-handedly Started the Civil War . . . and Why That’s Not True - Commonplace
The real Whitney story is less grand than the legend, but more interesting and, ultimately, more edifying.
commonplace.online
December 9, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
joshrgreenberg.bsky.social
It is Joel Chandler Harris's birthday. His Uncle Remus stories appeared in book form beginning in 1881. Commonplace ran an interesting piece by Nathaniel Windon in 2017 on the way old age functions in the characters of Uncle Remus and Uncle Tom. Check it out:🗃️

commonplace.online/article/a-ta...
A Tale of Two Uncles: The Old Age of Uncle Tom and Uncle Remus - Commonplace
Why does Uncle Tom grow old?
commonplace.online
December 9, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
stwajda.bsky.social
"Strong floor, no ceiling" misses. Now, as the "People's House" is being destroyed, politically & physically, why not employ visual US history to restore the "federal pillars" of the "national edifice": the Constitution? "The foundation good - it may yet be SAVED."🗃️

@hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social
Image in the Massachusetts Centinel, August 2, 1788, copied from the Library of Congress: Third in a series of prints published over several months showing columns, each labeled after a state, being placed upright by a hand extending from a cloud. The first print, published January 16, 1788, labeled "United they stand - divided fall" shows the Massachusetts column being added to those of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. In the June 11th 1788 issue, the print, labeled "Redeunt Saturnia Regna" shows the Maryland and South Carolina columns in place and the Virginia column being put into position, with the New Hampshire column reclining on the right. On August 2nd 1788 the final print appeared, the New Hampshire column has been placed ahead of the Virginia column, the New York column is in place, and the hand is placing the North Carolina column into position; to the right is a crumbling Rhode Island column next to the notation, "The foundation good - it may yet be SAVED."
November 30, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
rauchway.bsky.social
🗃️
November 25, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
phdrachel.bsky.social
For tonight’s evening crowd 🗃️
November 25, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
BREAKING: After the Seventh Circuit (three GOP appointees) issued a stay Wednesday of the preliminary injunction in the Chicago protesters/press case, concluding that Judge Ellis's order is "overbroad," Judge Ellis (Obama apptee) issues a 233-page opinion explaining her preliminary injunction.
United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit Chicago, Illinois 60604 November 19, 2025 Before MICHAEL B. BRENNAN, Chief Judge FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge MICHAEL Y. SCUDDER, Circuit Judge No. 25-3023 CHICAGO HEADLINE CLUB, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. KRISTI L. NOEM, et al., Defendants-Appellants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 1:25-cv-12173 Sara L. Ellis, Judge. Seventh Circuit Defendants are likely to succeed on the merits. The preliminary injunction entered by the district court is overbroad. In no uncertain terms, the district court's order enjoins an expansive range of defendants, including the President of the United States, the entire Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, and anyone acting in concert with them. The practical effect is to enjoin all law enforcement officers within the Executive Branch. Further, the order requires the enjoined parties to submit for judicial review all current and future internal guidance, policies, and directives regarding efforts to implement the order — a mandate impermissibly infringing on principles of separation of powers on this record. Finally, the district court's order is too prescriptive. For example, it enumerates and proscribes the use of scores of riot control weapons and other devices in a way that resembles a federal regulation. We also have reservations about Article III standing. Open questions remain whether plaintiffs have shown that the past harm they allegedly faced is likely to imminently happen to them in the future. City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 105-06 (1983). A fear that such harm will recur is insufficient, on its own, to show standing for injunctive relief. Id. at 107 n.8. And we are aware of public reporting suggesting that the enhanced immigration enforcement initiative may have lessened or ceased, which could affect both the justiciability of this case and the propriety of injunctive relief. Additionally, defendants face irreparable harm. Trump v. CASA, Inc., 606 U.S. 831, 860-61 (2025). And the balance of equities does not counsel against awarding defendants interim relief, especially given the overbreadth of the preliminary injunction. Id. District Court On October 9, 2025, the Court granted Plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order ("TRO"), enjoining Defendants from taking certain actions that would violate Plaintiffs' First and Fourth Amendment rights. Docs. 42, 43, 44. On October 17, 2025, the Court modified the TRO, requiring all federal agents conducting immigration enforcement operations who are equipped and trained with body-worn cameras ("BWCs") to activate them when engaged in enforcement activity, unless exempted by CBP, ICE, or DHS policy. Doc. 66 9 3. The Court held a preliminary injunction hearing on November 5 and 6, 2025. On November 6, 2025, the Court orally issued its ruling and entered a preliminary injunction order, indicating that a written opinion would follow explaining the Court's ruling and providing supporting evidentiary and case citations. Docs. 250, 251, 256. The Court now sets forth its ruling in more detail below.3
November 20, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
jfallows.bsky.social
I imagine everyone of dreaded Boomer era has similar story:
-My uncle fought in Battle of Bulge, vs Nazis
-My future father-in-law was in submarine, vs Nazis
-My dad was in training as Navy doctor, to fight Nazis

Now MAGA/Trump/Hegseth: "Who are we to judge?"

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
localhistoryhub.bsky.social
The Curriculum & Assessment Review, led by @beckyfrancis.bsky.social, is out - and it has potential implications for how schools think about history in the primary curriculum.

A short thread on what it might means for local history and teacher collaboration 👇
November 10, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
interfluidity.com
if you think networks like the Epstein emails expose — not the pedophilia, the networks of incestuous careerism — if you think they are a thing of the past, think about Olivia Nuzzi and Bari Weiss. 1/
dov.bsky.social Amroth Truther 🇺🇦🇱🇹🇵🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @dov.bsky.social · Nov 15
I'm sorry but genuinely how is the American media glamourising Olivia Nuzzi sleeping with a source
November 15, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
miriamposner.com
When I think about how exquisitely careful NEH staff were to be fair, impartial, and rigorous, and how much work people put into grants so small they’re pocket change…I just want to scream.
Fired Scholars and Big Grants to Favored Projects: Inside Trump’s N.E.H.
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
Looks like we’re going to war with Venezuela to distract from the Epstein files.
November 14, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
mikeblack114.bsky.social
Good news is nobody actually reads the NSS, not even the people that have written it

But yeah a thing I've said a couple times now is people outside govt don't appreciate how much trumpist shit has infected relatively anodyne stuff that usually wouldn't be partisanized
November 14, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
brendannyhan.bsky.social
When historians look back at this era, they will read things like this and wonder how it all happened. A legal opinion comparing extrajudicial killings to police exceeding speed limits. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/u...
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
radleybalko.bsky.social
In the last week, we’ve seen federal officials threaten or scheme to arrest a governor, federal judges, and a former president.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Nov 13
Bovino: "We're ratcheting operations up in Chicago. That's a very corrupt system in Chicago. Whether it's those elected leaders like Pritzker or those out of control judges, Chicago needs some attention. You're gonna see some very dynamic operations."
November 14, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
missriss.bsky.social
Starting to understand why all the right wing and billionaire chuds are so obsessed with eugenics and living forever.
They're evil ages them so fast and so poorly.

I swear not being a shit person is way cheaper, FFS
geauxgabrielle.bsky.social Gabrielle A. Perry, MPH @geauxgabrielle.bsky.social · Nov 14
This is Bill Pulte, who is the mastermind behind the 50 year mortgages Trump is introducing to shackle Americans in debt forever.

His family owns Pulte Home Group.

He is also, apparently, 37 years old.
Bill Pulte in a navy suit, white shirt, and blue striped tie
November 14, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
chrismurphyct.bsky.social
So Trump has been mortgage price fixing to hurt consumers. Cherry on the cake this week!!
November 14, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
robwdavis.bsky.social
NEW: 2020 footage said to be in 2025. A neighbor who keeps reappearing in the same clip, said to be on different days & months. A broadcast from elsewhere suggested as Portland.

How Fox News misled its viewership -- which may have included the president.

www.propublica.org/article/port...
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence wa...
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
katmabu.bsky.social
I have been charged in a federal indictment sought by the Department of Justice.

This political prosecution is an attack on all of our First Amendment rights. I’m not backing down, and we’re going to win.
October 29, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
meidastouch.com
Yes, this is a real post made by the Department of Homeland Security.

None of this is normal.
October 29, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
nytimes.com
At a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi avoided answering pointed questions by repeatedly laying into her questioners and casting her responses as a defense of the Trump administration.
Pressed on Justice Dept. Politicization, Bondi Goes on Attack
At a Senate committee hearing, the attorney general avoided answering pointed queries by repeatedly laying into her questioners and casting her responses as a defense of the Trump administration.
nyti.ms
October 7, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
strandjunker.com
You can joke about Pam Bondi’s ridiculous unprofessionalism all you want, but I’m deeply shocked by it: She acts as if she fears absolutely no consequences, convinced that there will be no more political power transfers. — This should shake everyone to their core.
October 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
roghair.bsky.social
So on point
October 5, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
strandjunker.com
They’re not acting like they’re in a four-year term.

They’re acting like they’re in an everlasting dictatorship.

Are we all clear on this?
October 5, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
drpauldorfman.bsky.social
September 20, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Reposted by Jack Fryar
katmabu.bsky.social
Today, the UN officially designated Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide.

As a party to the Genocide Convention, the U.S. has a legal obligation to obey our own laws, stop weapons sales to Israel, and demand a permanent ceasefire.

End the genocide. Ceasefire now.
257. The Commission recommends that all Member States: (a) Employ all means reasonably available to them to prevent the commission of genocide in the Gaza Strip; (b) Cease the transfer of arms and other equipment or items, including jet fuel, to the State of Israel or third States where there is reason to suspect their use in military operations that have involved or could involve the commission of genocide; (c) Ensure individuals and corporations in their territories and within their jurisdiction are not involved in the commission of genocide, aiding and assisting the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide and investigate and prosecute those who may be implicated in these crimes under international law; (d) Facilitate the investigations and domestic proceedings and take action (including imposing sanctions) against the State of Israel and against individuals or corporations that are involved in or facilitating the commission of genocide or incitement to commit genocide; (e) Cooperate with the investigation of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. 258. The Commission recommends that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court: (a) Examine, within its continuing investigation in the Situation in the State of Palestine, the crime of genocide for amendment to existing arrest warrants and addition to future application for arrest warrants; (b) Examine the involvement of officials mentioned in this report for inclusion as those most responsible for international crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory.
September 16, 2025 at 1:34 PM