Jeff Nichols
@backwardsriver.bsky.social
Chicago blueystorian, UIC ABD
jeffnicholshistory.com
jeffnicholshistory.com
Pinned
I queue up Chicago images and footage on days when I am multitasking or just burned out. If Trump has ordered tanks to roll over peaceful demonstrators in Los Angeles or anywhere else, my Chicago posts aren't some kind of passive aggressive message.
Glad this dude isn't dead yet on the off chance he could feel embarrassment for the first time in his life.
November 24, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Glad this dude isn't dead yet on the off chance he could feel embarrassment for the first time in his life.
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
The irony of these people complaining about the invented dangers of immigrants and then welcoming brain pollution from overseas hustlers.
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
November 23, 2025 at 1:46 PM
The irony of these people complaining about the invented dangers of immigrants and then welcoming brain pollution from overseas hustlers.
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
Your friendly reminder that Elon's DOGE cuts have already resulted in mass death.
Impact Dashboard - Impact Counter | Impact Counter
Visualize the human impact of funding changes for aid and support organizations.
www.impactcounter.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Your friendly reminder that Elon's DOGE cuts have already resulted in mass death.
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
Check out this 1923 transit plan commissioned by the Chicago City Council. We use to be insanely ambitious. A network like this would've supported Paris-level population densities.
It's never too late!
It's never too late!
November 21, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Check out this 1923 transit plan commissioned by the Chicago City Council. We use to be insanely ambitious. A network like this would've supported Paris-level population densities.
It's never too late!
It's never too late!
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
"Congress deliberately created two different oaths…That structure is not…trivia; it is grounded on the bedrock American civil–military relations. Ignoring it leads to the misleading assumption that everyone in uniform bears equal responsibility when confronted with an unlawful command."
What Americans Should Understand About the Military Disobeying Illegal Orders
And why it matters there are two military oaths.
www.thebulwark.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:06 PM
"Congress deliberately created two different oaths…That structure is not…trivia; it is grounded on the bedrock American civil–military relations. Ignoring it leads to the misleading assumption that everyone in uniform bears equal responsibility when confronted with an unlawful command."
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
on this day we were warned that:
Swastikas and nooses do not betoken hate
&
Reminding the military to abide by the law is punishable by death.
g’night
Swastikas and nooses do not betoken hate
&
Reminding the military to abide by the law is punishable by death.
g’night
November 21, 2025 at 5:02 AM
on this day we were warned that:
Swastikas and nooses do not betoken hate
&
Reminding the military to abide by the law is punishable by death.
g’night
Swastikas and nooses do not betoken hate
&
Reminding the military to abide by the law is punishable by death.
g’night
Chicago skyline, 1958
November 21, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Chicago skyline, 1958
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
NEW: For Rev. David Black, the pastor seen shot in the head w/pepper balls by DHS agents in a viral clip, protesting ICE is part of an old Christian tradition.
“I’m seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what’s happening at Broadview in Chicago,” he says. religionnews.com/2025/11/19/f...
“I’m seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what’s happening at Broadview in Chicago,” he says. religionnews.com/2025/11/19/f...
For the Rev. David Black, protesting ICE is part of an old Christian tradition
(RNS) — ‘I’m seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what’s happening at Broadview in Chicago,’ the Rev. David Black said.
religionnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:00 PM
NEW: For Rev. David Black, the pastor seen shot in the head w/pepper balls by DHS agents in a viral clip, protesting ICE is part of an old Christian tradition.
“I’m seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what’s happening at Broadview in Chicago,” he says. religionnews.com/2025/11/19/f...
“I’m seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what’s happening at Broadview in Chicago,” he says. religionnews.com/2025/11/19/f...
Charles Dana Gibson sketches of Buffalo Bill and members of his troop at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Charles Dana Gibson sketches of Buffalo Bill and members of his troop at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
Good job, Charlotte!
Where to next, thugs? Can you handle Harrisburg? Paducah? Gobblers Knob? GTFOH
Where to next, thugs? Can you handle Harrisburg? Paducah? Gobblers Knob? GTFOH
CBP reportedly pulling out after a week in Charlotte.
November 20, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Good job, Charlotte!
Where to next, thugs? Can you handle Harrisburg? Paducah? Gobblers Knob? GTFOH
Where to next, thugs? Can you handle Harrisburg? Paducah? Gobblers Knob? GTFOH
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
Let’s talk about sedition and treason, because the most powerful yet inadequate man in the world is having a tantrum about it, and his soulless, spineless sycophants are boosting his message.
/1
/1
November 20, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Let’s talk about sedition and treason, because the most powerful yet inadequate man in the world is having a tantrum about it, and his soulless, spineless sycophants are boosting his message.
/1
/1
Detail from a map of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and its connecting lines, 1983
November 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Detail from a map of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and its connecting lines, 1983
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
So Fargo North Dakota isn't quite at 10% Muslim population, but it's above 5%, maybe around 10% of the population is either Muslim or a first-gen immigrant from MENA/Africa. And guess what? It's fine. In fact it's pretty nice. Is Fargo North Dakota really too radical for these guys? Weak.
November 20, 2025 at 4:26 PM
So Fargo North Dakota isn't quite at 10% Muslim population, but it's above 5%, maybe around 10% of the population is either Muslim or a first-gen immigrant from MENA/Africa. And guess what? It's fine. In fact it's pretty nice. Is Fargo North Dakota really too radical for these guys? Weak.
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
remember this "case" began with DHS press person claiming that multiple vehicles had ambushed and cornered CBP agents in a scene reminiscent of Baghdad 2007
BREAKING: Federal prosecutors have dismissed all charges against two Chicagoans, including a woman shot by federal agents, who were accused of ramming a vehicle driven by Border Patrol agents on Oct. 4, court records show.
Background, for @wttw.bsky.social: news.wttw.com/2025/10/05/2...
Background, for @wttw.bsky.social: news.wttw.com/2025/10/05/2...
2 Chicagoans, Including Woman Shot by Federal Agents, Charged with Ramming Border Patrol Vehicle
Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, are facing felony charges of “forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer,” federal prosecutors announc...
news.wttw.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:59 PM
remember this "case" began with DHS press person claiming that multiple vehicles had ambushed and cornered CBP agents in a scene reminiscent of Baghdad 2007
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
On one hand, yes, obviously this is/should be a massive story.
On the other, I understand news orgs’ dilemma: News is NEW and while this is an escalation in rhetoric, it’s one of degree, not kind, so it may not count as “new”—at least not to readers, whose attention these orgs need to survive.
On the other, I understand news orgs’ dilemma: News is NEW and while this is an escalation in rhetoric, it’s one of degree, not kind, so it may not count as “new”—at least not to readers, whose attention these orgs need to survive.
NEW: Just the President calling for the execution of his political opponents.
Watch absolutely zero front pages cover this tomorrow.
Watch absolutely zero front pages cover this tomorrow.
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 PM
On one hand, yes, obviously this is/should be a massive story.
On the other, I understand news orgs’ dilemma: News is NEW and while this is an escalation in rhetoric, it’s one of degree, not kind, so it may not count as “new”—at least not to readers, whose attention these orgs need to survive.
On the other, I understand news orgs’ dilemma: News is NEW and while this is an escalation in rhetoric, it’s one of degree, not kind, so it may not count as “new”—at least not to readers, whose attention these orgs need to survive.
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
I think there's a decent chance that the Pope visits Chicago during this presidency and while there asks to see Broadview and I wonder how that plays out.
November 20, 2025 at 12:09 AM
I think there's a decent chance that the Pope visits Chicago during this presidency and while there asks to see Broadview and I wonder how that plays out.
Santa Fe California Limited ad with a Hopi model, Chicago 1912
November 19, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Santa Fe California Limited ad with a Hopi model, Chicago 1912
I'm always a sucker for goofily-drawn bear. New York, 1912
November 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
I'm always a sucker for goofily-drawn bear. New York, 1912
Hazy Chicago skyline, Mather Tower under construction, c. 1927
November 18, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Hazy Chicago skyline, Mather Tower under construction, c. 1927
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
One of the best cross-examinations I've heard started with: "Sir, can you describe what you're apologizing for?"
That seems appropriate here.
That seems appropriate here.
Larry Summers tells @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
he’s stepping back from all public commitments in light of his messages with Epstein, saying he is “deeply ashamed” and hopes “to rebuild trust and repair relationships.”
He will continue teaching.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
he’s stepping back from all public commitments in light of his messages with Epstein, saying he is “deeply ashamed” and hopes “to rebuild trust and repair relationships.”
He will continue teaching.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 18, 2025 at 4:36 AM
One of the best cross-examinations I've heard started with: "Sir, can you describe what you're apologizing for?"
That seems appropriate here.
That seems appropriate here.
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
Seriously, what is wrong with these people?
November 16, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Seriously, what is wrong with these people?
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
Dressed up like you’re in patrol in Fallujah, passing some retired banker from Myers Park out to pick up birdseed.
November 16, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Dressed up like you’re in patrol in Fallujah, passing some retired banker from Myers Park out to pick up birdseed.
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
A foreign country bribed the president with a bar of gold.
Where are my Originalists at?
Where are my Originalists at?
"It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it." said one administration official.
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How the Swiss convinced Trump to drop tariffs with gifts of a Rolex desk clock and a 1 kg gold bar.
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
How to lobby Trump with Swiss precision: gifts, gold and gab
How the Swiss broke a diplomatic logjam on tariffs by arriving with tributes fit for a king.
www.axios.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM
A foreign country bribed the president with a bar of gold.
Where are my Originalists at?
Where are my Originalists at?
Archbishop John Cody tells the FBI that he is worried about the civil rights activities of his younger priests, Chicago 1966
November 15, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Archbishop John Cody tells the FBI that he is worried about the civil rights activities of his younger priests, Chicago 1966
Reposted by Jeff Nichols
Serious credit to protestors consistently going to ICE's Broadview detention center—including members of the clergy, candidates for office such as Kat Abughazaleh, and other people putting themselves on the line—to keep drawing public attention, while also stretching the regime's limited resources.
Happening now: clergy protest ICE detention center in Chicago.
“Why are you still here? Greg Bovino already left.”
“It’s an internment camp…no medicine…toilets don’t work”
“Why are you still here? Greg Bovino already left.”
“It’s an internment camp…no medicine…toilets don’t work”
November 14, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Serious credit to protestors consistently going to ICE's Broadview detention center—including members of the clergy, candidates for office such as Kat Abughazaleh, and other people putting themselves on the line—to keep drawing public attention, while also stretching the regime's limited resources.