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Graverobbert Paulett

@robertpaulett.bsky.social

3.8K followers 890 following 2.2K posts

Historian of early America and bits of Britain. Apostate southerner. Yells about maps, St. Louis, and higher ed.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · Nov 9

Quick intro for new followers: I teach broadly in the histories of early modern North America and the world. I study the visual and material underpinnings of imperial political systems in 18th-century Britain/North America. In general, the weirder the argument, the happier I am.

On the left, a formal portrait of a man standing in silk and fur robes. On the right an outline map of England demonstrating a resemblance between the two images.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 6h

And yes, they’re horrible but also, god, they’re just such utter weenies.

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 6h

Wait, the fascists call each other “bundle of sticks” as an insult? Because, some news…

Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · 9h

The Republicans, whose fascistic embrace of racism and Hitler worship was exposed, are not taking it well. At all.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 11h

“No manager who does not promptly tell his players to do more for the gamblers, will ever manage professional baseball again.”

Screenshot of Kennesaw Mountain Landis from the movie “Eight Men Out”

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 11h

Can’t wait for the Happy Madison remake of “Eight Men Out.”

Matt Ford @mford.bsky.social · 15h

Padres manager Mike Shildt said he retired in part because of death threats from sports bettors:

Mike Shildt says decision to retire was his own, but Padres questions remain

www.nytimes.com

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 16h

Maybe servers want walkable neighborhoods, too? Go to a ball game once in awhile?

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

Okay, good job today everyone, some notes:

1) “Dunking on Columbus” Day is still a kind of Columbus Day

2) Focusing on indigenous peoples’ victimization is still mostly centering colonizers.

So let’s brush up, hit the books, be ready to focus on some new stuff in the coming year.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

Tecumseh on any of his missions crossing 100 years of violence and war to stitch together an enduring alliance of people who didn’t like each other all that much.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

God yes.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

Top of mind for me is the seven Cherokee headmen crossing that same unknown Atlantic to negotiate directly with the British king because they knew he was their only true peer.

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

Tired of talking about CC on Indigenous Peoples Day.

Hit me instead with your episodes from indigenous history that are way more impressive than 1492.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

Because, let’s be honest, leading a 90-person expedition through four months of dangerous conditions and uncertain geography was just, like, your average Haudenosonee war party.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

Tired of talking about CC on Indigenous Peoples Day.

Hit me instead with your episodes from indigenous history that are way more impressive than 1492.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

Also a reminder that the answer to “evil or incompetent?” is usually “yes.”

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

Navigation aside, dude was also just a world-class incompetent knob who allowed the slaughter of innocents because he couldn’t manage something as basic as payroll. No wonder certain types want to honor his memory.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 1d

I applaud its faithfulness to the original.

Laura Martínez 🥑 @miblogestublog.bsky.social · 1d

Metaphor alert 🚨 apnews.com/video/replic...

Replica of Columbus’ Santa Maria sinks off Mexico coast

A replica of Christopher Columbus’ Santa Maria sank off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, the company that owns the vessel said Friday.

apnews.com

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 2d

Equivalent to 133% of my university’s entire state appropriation from last fiscal year.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 2d

the more things change, the more they stay the same in college football (coaches being showered in cash for not working)

Firings so far this season by Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn State, UAB, UCLA and Virginia Tech have those schools committed to buyouts totaling $93.9 million, subject to mitigation and offset, but not including amounts that also will be owed to assistant coaches

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 2d

The 90s swing band thing was totally downstream of whatever this movie did to our brains.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2d

watching the warren beatty DICK TRACEY movie and it is insane? legitimately wild to me that it was a hit?

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 2d

Also cheerfully refers to himself as a colonizer so not super reflective about those themes either.

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 2d

Funny, just watched it the other night without realizing this. Might be one of the quintessential Obama-era films. All faith in humanity, multiracial progress, and indomitable scientific optimism and I do miss those.

Jason Herbert @herberthistory.bsky.social · 7d

This week Historians At The Movies talks about space travel. Join us on Netflix this Sunday, October 12 at 8pm eastern for THE MARTIAN.

Keep #HATM hiring by sharing and we’ll see you soon.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah, you win, not even gonna play after hearing that.

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 2d

Chicken-and-egg, too. If the crashes hadn’t dissolved necessary institutional support (jobs, but also travel funds, symposium funds, etc.) these fields all could have grown and developed. All we got instead was 100s of (great!) monographs and nowhere to put them.

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 3d

And no accident that this is also exactly how the VC model works.

Blake Emerson @blakeprof.bsky.social · 3d

One of the under-observed parts of the last several years is the switch where wealthy donors claims directive authority over university policy. So they think Trump’s efforts of undermine academic freedom promote their own control. It’s a symptom of oligarchy, and how oligarchy gives way to Tyranny.

Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 10d

The Times' coverage of Rowan's role has been remarkable. It is sad to me that after forcing his alma mater, Penn, to oust a really good president for incredibly poor reasons, Rowan's megalomanical next thought was "maybe the federal government should do this everywhere" and they're actually trying.

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 4d

Not all of us, no! I’m sitting here with no pickles on my burger also wishing for human liberation. But I’ve seen some turn that fear of an unpleasant experience into something uglier.

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 4d

Never thought about the picky eater to fascist pipeline but it makes a lot of sense.

onion person @junlper.beer · 4d

setting aside the fact that they just don’t know what jokes are, this gives a big insight into the mind of white nationalists. they are deeply paranoid about the idea of being percieved as anything other than Epic Stoics

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Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 4d

Theoretically possible though.

www.britishmuseum.org/collection/o...

print; satirical print | British Museum

A fantastic theatre scene, showing stage, orchestra, and two boxes on each side of the stage. On the stage the fall of Amsterdam is represented by a number of frogs (burghers) who hasten obsequiously ...

www.britishmuseum.org

Graverobbert Paulett @robertpaulett.bsky.social · 5d

This does tend to happen when fever-dream market bubbles burst, yes, but I’m guessing that’s not what Andreesen means.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 6d

ANDREESSEN: Even if AI ends up destroying all the jobs, “the result would be hyper-deflation of prices, which is the thing that people miss. .. Things that today cost a lot of money will all of a sudden be cheap or free.”

@fortune.com
fortune.com/2025/10/08/b...