I use alternate history and fake maps to talk about real history. Hosted by Matt Mitrovich (he/him). Proud Chicagoan. Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/thealternatehistorian Email: ahwupdate at gmail dot com
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If Trump died in office, 'The Death of Stalin' would be so relevant: "The support of Trump’s children would be critical for conveying legitimacy....Immediately following Trump’s death, Vance et al. will be desperate to win the public backing of the Trump children, especially Ivanka and Don Jr."
Talking about "bombing the train tracks to Auschwitz" is one of the clearest markers there is of an unserious charlatan.
Can you IMAGINE how much more embarrassing this is if he's not sleeping with her.
The country is being informally ruled by a woman who once handcuffed herself to the door of Twitter HQ in a way that allowed everyone to walk right past her through the other door.
Here’s what the files Republicans just “released” look like. Who’s to say Trump’s name isn’t behind those black boxes? Release the full files and bring justice to the women and children survivors.
I'm suddenly remembering that when Texas had those horrible floods that took the lives of many young girls, Illinois sent aid. The people of Illinois stepped up to help Texas. I know I shouldn't expect much, but maybe Texas should remember that.
Folks look at you like you’re crazy when you say we’re in the midst of the worst Article I constitutional crisis in 🇺🇸 history, & well, 👇
One of the many shames of American history is how much of French culture and the American Metis were driven out of the Midwest.
Acadians in the 17th century: "Well at least in Louisiana we are safe from all those English bastards." Acadians after 1803: "God damn it."
Basically what happened to Maryland's Catholics.
PRO TIP: Even if someone comes into the room, do not hit pause while watching a documentary about Roy Cohn, unless you want to jumpscare yourself
Get ready #chicago Save and share this image. It will be helpful when the #iceraids begin
I have a sinking feeling an absolutely horrific precedent was just set for xenophobic governments all over the world
“‘There were many, many adults around [Epstein’s] properties that may not have participated but very clearly knew what was going on,’ Jones said. ‘And they’re not saying anything, and why are they still not saying anything and speaking up on our behalf?’”
People not caring about this during trump 1, then not noticing when it stopped under biden drives me up the fucking wall
Would be nice if this was our "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?" moment.
Pritzker: When did we become a country where it's okay for the president to insist on national television that a state should call him to beg for anything, especially something we don't want? Have we truly lost all sense of sanity in this nation that we treat this as normal?
Cool, cool
Pritzker: "I refuse to pretend that any of this is normal ... I refuse to fall into the pundit trap that demands we sacrifice vital constitutional rights if it's being done in the fake guise of fighting crime."
January 6th: Tribune Editorial Board adds Illinois Policy Institute’s Hilary Gowens to their ranks September 2nd: Tribune Editorial Board ignoring the least deadly Labor Day weekend since 2017 in favor of providing cover for a federal occupation
Sweet home, Chicago.
One can hope.
the thing is that by getting out in front of this instead of waiting for it to happen Pritzker might actually short circuit the whole thing. Texas is already issuing denials.
In the coming days, we expect to see what's playing out in LA and DC happen in Chicago. These efforts are not about fighting crime or making communities safer. This is about Donald Trump testing his power and producing political drama to cover up his own corruption.
"Be loud for America."
"I wish Chicago was safe like it was under the Daleys."
this is the first time a major Democratic elected has actually told his supporters what they can do in the face of this as far as I can tell
When asked by reporters, Pritzker declines to reveal his source for this information, saying they are "patriotic Americans" who are speaking without authorization.
From a a source in the Texas governor's office: "I'm not sure where the Governor got his information but it is not accurate." @wttw.bsky.social
A bold move given recent protests and the size/weight of a Portillo's Italian Beef
"Tacking right" is a great way to get your base to hate you as much as your opponents do. The only way to win is to create an alternative consensus
Oh, and if you're shaming people for speculating that he's dead or sick, get a grip. That's just the centrist in you, and you should kill that part dead. Speculate! Joke about it! Point out that he's weak and pathetic! He's going to die someday.
So cool this is just how things are now
Matty is describing the type of leftist who thinks calling someone a "liberal" is an insult. And they didn't come to Bsky because it's full of liberals.
I'm not joking when I say you're much more likely to find this kind of person on Twitter than Bluesky.
I'm kind of baffled by this. I feel like I only encounter Clinton/ Harris voters on Bluesky? I feel like that's it's whole thing? Is there some Khmer Rouge subcommunity I'm not aware of?
I actually agree with folks who say that even talking about lower birth rates as a problem are conceding things to right wing patriarchy It's literally not society's business to promote having children, and it isn't something we need to encourage.
Well, he just fucking said it outright. Let’s see if our media betters can pass the “Dude, he literally, explicitly said it outright today in front of your cameras,” challenge.
Someone gets shot in a city where millions of people live and it requires military occupation. Children get shot in a school and its a big old shrug.
lol he's going to jail.
Lol motherfucker just said he was pulling space force from Colorado to extort them to change their election laws.
7th Cir. holds that Illinois' ban on carrying firearms on public transportation fits within our nation's history and tradition of firearm regulation—specifically, the centuries-old practice of limiting firearms in sensitive and crowded, confined places. media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opin...
starmer is doing all the anti-immigrant and anti-trans "popularism" stuff the centrists are demanding US dems do and this is the predictable result:
Reassuring message from the president's website
The actual proposition of the MattY/Nate Silver nexus on X is that the Democratic Party should feature handsome men offering free money & good vibes, & hide anyone else who might piss off bigoted low-info voters (& who happen to piss them off too).
Concern over low birth rates was what the theocracy in Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale used to come to power.
These people are insane lmao
More than 85 scientists say that a recent U.S. Department of Energy report is full of errors and misrepresents climate science.
lol it’s 100% him being trotted out to prove that he’s alive huh. we did it team.
I mean it would be funny if they felt the need to make this a live event in order to shut Bluesky up.
Oh. That's it? OK fine then I guess not sure why this needed so much build up.
I think this was a plot point in The Dark Knight Strikes Back.
This is insanely ahistorical. The Department of Defense was an all new creation in 1947, specially to bring together the disparate armed services. The “Department of War” was really just the army. I hate how stupid Trump’s most performative actions are.
He was telling people to physically assault trans people
#BREAKING: Judge Breyer has held that the Trump admin. *violated* the Posse Comitatus Act in its military deployments in and around Los Angeles, and has enjoined further use of those troops for law enforcement tasks. The order is stayed through 12 PDT on 9/12: georgetown.app.box.com/file/1973361...
So current speculation regarding Trump's announcement that I've seen: -Renaming Department of Defense to War. -We're bombing/invading Venezuela. -He's going to occupy Chicago. -He's resigning.
It's funny how the alleged peace candidate would rename it the Department of War.
at no point did we defund the police. it's important when we talk about defunding the police to note it never actually happened. would it work? we don't know! but merely phrasing the idea succinctly incited a reactionary backlash that put fascists in charge of all 3 branches of government. curious!
NEW: Belgium has decided to recognize Palestine as well take multiple measures against Israel, including -The ban of all settler goods from being imported -Sanctions on Smotrich and Ben Gvir -Restrictions on imports from Israeli businesses -No consular services to Israelis in the oPt
I'm glad we're making jokes about this because I'm sure the truth will be shit.
If Ike could forestall the cold war, and the post WWII Red Scare never takes hold, and you don't have someone pulling the strings on Soviet policy that is abjectly opposed to cooperating with the US, you probably can avoid the cold war, if not from happening, from dominating global politics. 2/2
This is an interesting idea. Both leaders being inspired by their friendship to tamp down on the hawks in both their nations would be something. Although man you likely get an earlier and harder Sino-Soviet split.
This must have been how Pandora felt.
How can it be a fetish thing though? Didn't he have all his kids through IVF? He doesn't even get to enjoy it!
honestly think this is as much a fetish thing for elon as much as it is a racist thing
Probably, but I hoped not to have another Iraq War in my lifetime. Especially with so many people who were once strongly opposed to that war suddenly working overtime to make everything Trump does seem good and normal.
What's funny is some guy who ran security once at a Trump rally did try to overthrow the government of Venezuela in Trump 1.
I'm sure all the principled anti-Iraq War voices of the past will quickly denounce Trump for this.
"what if we did the iraq war but under Trump for NatCon reasons"
the thing that's hilarious about people complaining on X that Bluesky is an elitist platform that normal people hate is that, very plainly, they're mad that the userbase of Bluesky rejected them
Racism?
That dragon should be a bear. Why is it so impossible to say clearly “Russia is our most acute enemy”. Why is it always China, or, even more ludicrously, Iran?
Halloween should be a day off.
#BlueSkyMonday skyscrapers over Chicago River biking along the Riverwalk August 23rd, 2025 #cycling #Chicago #reflections #StreetPhotography #UrbanGaze #UrbanScape #CityScape
People really, really, really hate the urban cosmopolitan class who are earnestly sincere about liberalism. Just on a pure interpersonal level, transcending ideology, if you're a "woke" millennial who genuinely believes in making the country better the entire intelligentsia wants to kill you.
It's actually not that bad. Watched it with the kids the other day and they were really into it.
I think about Nate Silver once every four years. He wakes up thinking about us every day. 💅💅💅
When Nate Silver continues his obsessions with the website
I see it as less of a conspiracy theory and more like coordinated shit posting, especially from people frustrated from years of Biden old stories in the media. It's like saying JD Vance fucked a couch. He didn't obviously... but it's funny to say he did.
I've never seen such a disconnect between Dem elected/staff/consultants and actual Dem voters. The latter understand what's going on. The former are awash in right-wing brainrot, hence @schatz.bsky.social blaming COVID mitigation and BLM marches for the GOP's wanton destruction of public health.
![@EsotericCD It was in this moment that many of us hanging on to a thin sliver of trust in our institutions irrevocably lost faith in them. One of the most poisonous blows to public trust in living memory - worse than the effect of the Iraq War in many ways. RFK Jr is a direct result of this. Quote Steve Guest @SteveGuest · Aug 31 Politico 5 years ago: [screenshot of article falsely claiming public health officials lied about COVID measures then abandoned them for BLM protests] Views](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ddvus7otnqtlh7fdooxm6qat/bafkreihsypwydo5rcis7mc54cwct6h33l5co477nvh7g7hs7na2fz4jl3q@jpeg "Click to view full size")
Yup. The '16 Democratic Party presidential nominee's reported choice for ... Labor Secretary. He'd splashily endorsed her, and she was thrilled. Labor Secretary. www.seattletimes.com/business/ret...
fundamentally my point is this: in the great game of geopolitics, there isn't any "simple and safe" option. *any* choice involves taking on risks that ought to terrify you. moral courage means facing this head on rather than retreating into the illusion of safety bsky.app/profile/mart...
This site has the juice as they say.
A tale as old as time.
Also a tendency for younger generations to drink less and thus not wanting to go to a place that wants to maximize your booze consumption.
lmao
well, we killed tourism and also there are two dozen competing casinos in your pocket now
Just basking once again in the wonder and glory of this one.
Everything is a recession indicator these days.
Voting Rights Vs Gun Rights: What’s More Important To Americans Which do you think is more important? About the study: brilliantmaps.com/voting-ri...
I’m glad we’re all in agreement that people pointing guns at me without being paid overtime is wrong, but I’m a little concerned that we’re not on the same page whether it’s the gun pointing part or the paid overtime part that makes it wrong.
I recently found this density map on Reddit which puts the settlement patterns in perspective—that small spike in the middle is Alice Springs, pop 25k (20% Aboriginal)
Oh if only manifesting was real.
History wiping continues
The media and the elites really do see him as a personification of the volk, and that is the problem. If he is the embodiment of the will of the volk, it doesn’t matter that he is old, or a criminal, or a rapist, or anything else.
Maybe he's alive and they just lost him.
Fair but I think there ways to be patriotic during Labor Day
