David J. Snyder
@fractalpast9.bsky.social
Historian, writer, editor. Author of "American Power in the Netherlands" (Bloomsbury, 2026). I blog about US empire, history, and culture at fractalpast.com. Working on a biography of Pittsburgh's Daisy Lampkin.
For editing inquiries: www.fractalpast.com.
For editing inquiries: www.fractalpast.com.
just introduced the teenager in the house to this banger a few days ago . . .
November 26, 2025 at 5:12 AM
just introduced the teenager in the house to this banger a few days ago . . .
Exactly right. As always, the firewalls must be Congress the courts, and the demos. Of course no one in military should follow an illegal order, but it's asking A Lot for your avg junior officer or enlisted to be able to identify an unjust or illegal order.
November 26, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Exactly right. As always, the firewalls must be Congress the courts, and the demos. Of course no one in military should follow an illegal order, but it's asking A Lot for your avg junior officer or enlisted to be able to identify an unjust or illegal order.
Exactly one Chaplin and one Keaton in the entire list, neither of which represent the best work by either of them.
November 25, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Exactly one Chaplin and one Keaton in the entire list, neither of which represent the best work by either of them.
UI Press | Robbie Lieberman | "My Song Is My Weapon" share.google/dtBFDtggjpk7...
UI Press | Robbie Lieberman | "My Song Is My Weapon"UI Press | University of Illinois
share.google
November 25, 2025 at 4:16 AM
UI Press | Robbie Lieberman | "My Song Is My Weapon" share.google/dtBFDtggjpk7...
"Too big to fail," did I hear someone say?
Or is that LBJ: just one more escalation will get us over the top . . .
Or is that LBJ: just one more escalation will get us over the top . . .
November 25, 2025 at 12:26 AM
"Too big to fail," did I hear someone say?
Or is that LBJ: just one more escalation will get us over the top . . .
Or is that LBJ: just one more escalation will get us over the top . . .
Very few could ever serve a face card like Ella Raines . . .
November 24, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Very few could ever serve a face card like Ella Raines . . .
. . . if you're keeping score . . .
November 24, 2025 at 6:57 PM
. . . if you're keeping score . . .
Dutch police actions in Indonesia, especially the 2d one . . .
November 24, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Dutch police actions in Indonesia, especially the 2d one . . .
One of my most favorite films. I wrote up a little blog post a while ago, on the depiction of gender in The Big Sleep, that may interest some: www.fractalpast.com/blog/the-big...
The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep is an outlier in the world of film noir . Like most good noir , there are Dark and Sinister goings-on, to include embezzlement, infidelity, gambling, and murder. It’s got it...
www.fractalpast.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:23 AM
One of my most favorite films. I wrote up a little blog post a while ago, on the depiction of gender in The Big Sleep, that may interest some: www.fractalpast.com/blog/the-big...
Apart from the general and obvious batshit insanity, it never ceases to amaze me just how mobile these jackasses believe labor to be. Absolutely zero concept of the human. "Hey, capital is infinitely mobile, so labor must be too!"
November 24, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Apart from the general and obvious batshit insanity, it never ceases to amaze me just how mobile these jackasses believe labor to be. Absolutely zero concept of the human. "Hey, capital is infinitely mobile, so labor must be too!"
"From Tinker to Evers to Chance,
the line was F.P.A.s.
But lifting a later lance,
I honor the double plays--
the catches, the pivots, the throws--
from Bowa to Trillo to Rose."
--Charles Lee, c. 1980
(Noted Philadelphia critic and Phillies fan, and my grandfather.)
the line was F.P.A.s.
But lifting a later lance,
I honor the double plays--
the catches, the pivots, the throws--
from Bowa to Trillo to Rose."
--Charles Lee, c. 1980
(Noted Philadelphia critic and Phillies fan, and my grandfather.)
November 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
"From Tinker to Evers to Chance,
the line was F.P.A.s.
But lifting a later lance,
I honor the double plays--
the catches, the pivots, the throws--
from Bowa to Trillo to Rose."
--Charles Lee, c. 1980
(Noted Philadelphia critic and Phillies fan, and my grandfather.)
the line was F.P.A.s.
But lifting a later lance,
I honor the double plays--
the catches, the pivots, the throws--
from Bowa to Trillo to Rose."
--Charles Lee, c. 1980
(Noted Philadelphia critic and Phillies fan, and my grandfather.)
National Council of Negro Women
Delta Sigma Theta
Links
Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church (local)
Camp Achievement (local)
What have I left out?
Delta Sigma Theta
Links
Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church (local)
Camp Achievement (local)
What have I left out?
November 22, 2025 at 10:17 PM
National Council of Negro Women
Delta Sigma Theta
Links
Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church (local)
Camp Achievement (local)
What have I left out?
Delta Sigma Theta
Links
Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church (local)
Camp Achievement (local)
What have I left out?
2/2
Colored Women’s Fourth Liberty Loan Committee (local)
Negro Women's Clubs of Pennsylvania
Western PA Republican Party
Pittsburgh Courier (vice president)
Natl. Assoc. of Colored Women's Clubs
Urban League (local)
The Loendi Club (local)
NAACP (multiple) . . .
Colored Women’s Fourth Liberty Loan Committee (local)
Negro Women's Clubs of Pennsylvania
Western PA Republican Party
Pittsburgh Courier (vice president)
Natl. Assoc. of Colored Women's Clubs
Urban League (local)
The Loendi Club (local)
NAACP (multiple) . . .
November 22, 2025 at 10:17 PM
2/2
Colored Women’s Fourth Liberty Loan Committee (local)
Negro Women's Clubs of Pennsylvania
Western PA Republican Party
Pittsburgh Courier (vice president)
Natl. Assoc. of Colored Women's Clubs
Urban League (local)
The Loendi Club (local)
NAACP (multiple) . . .
Colored Women’s Fourth Liberty Loan Committee (local)
Negro Women's Clubs of Pennsylvania
Western PA Republican Party
Pittsburgh Courier (vice president)
Natl. Assoc. of Colored Women's Clubs
Urban League (local)
The Loendi Club (local)
NAACP (multiple) . . .
promote the general [sic] Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves [sic] and our [sic] Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
It's never been about you or me, it's always been about us [sic.]
It's never been about you or me, it's always been about us [sic.]
November 21, 2025 at 7:42 PM
promote the general [sic] Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves [sic] and our [sic] Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
It's never been about you or me, it's always been about us [sic.]
It's never been about you or me, it's always been about us [sic.]
True enough, and it's not even socialism they're after. They're trying to outlaw, or at least render as unpopular, concepts such as public goods, the common good, the general welfare, indeed the very idea of community itself.
November 21, 2025 at 7:39 PM
True enough, and it's not even socialism they're after. They're trying to outlaw, or at least render as unpopular, concepts such as public goods, the common good, the general welfare, indeed the very idea of community itself.
Fantastic book: uncpress.org/978080785581...
Manifest Destiny's Underworld
This fascinating study sheds new light on antebellum America’s notorious “filibusters” — the freebooters and adventurers who organized or participate...
uncpress.org
November 21, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Fantastic book: uncpress.org/978080785581...
It's certainly not the final word, but for those whose understanding of modern socialism is thin, here is a link to an excerpt from my forthcoming book on the post-WWII evolution of Dutch socialism. It may be helpful: www.fractalpast.com/blog/a-brief...
Book excerpt: A Brief History of Postwar Dutch Socialism
Socialism has been much in the American news of late. The historical and political abuse heaped on the word has been in no way reduced by its prevalence. One day I aim to write a primer on the...
www.fractalpast.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:06 PM
It's certainly not the final word, but for those whose understanding of modern socialism is thin, here is a link to an excerpt from my forthcoming book on the post-WWII evolution of Dutch socialism. It may be helpful: www.fractalpast.com/blog/a-brief...
2/2
too many other organizations to count made her a giant in her day, though I fear she is largely forgotten now. I'll have much more to say about Lampkin in the coming year as the research unfolds. DMs are open for anyone with info on Lampkin, or agents wanting to get in on the ground floor!
too many other organizations to count made her a giant in her day, though I fear she is largely forgotten now. I'll have much more to say about Lampkin in the coming year as the research unfolds. DMs are open for anyone with info on Lampkin, or agents wanting to get in on the ground floor!
November 20, 2025 at 3:39 AM
2/2
too many other organizations to count made her a giant in her day, though I fear she is largely forgotten now. I'll have much more to say about Lampkin in the coming year as the research unfolds. DMs are open for anyone with info on Lampkin, or agents wanting to get in on the ground floor!
too many other organizations to count made her a giant in her day, though I fear she is largely forgotten now. I'll have much more to say about Lampkin in the coming year as the research unfolds. DMs are open for anyone with info on Lampkin, or agents wanting to get in on the ground floor!
Everything by Ian Toll (maritime history) and www.amazon.com/Indianapolis...
Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man
Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man [Vincent, Lynn, Vladic, Sara] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Indianapolis: The True Story of the Worst Sea Disaster in U.S. Naval History and the Fifty-Year Fight to Exonerate an Innocent Man
www.amazon.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Everything by Ian Toll (maritime history) and www.amazon.com/Indianapolis...