T.J. Stiles

tj-stiles.bsky.social

16 October 2026 02:25

On October 15, 2003, the Staten Island ferry Andrew Barberi collided with a concrete service pier, which cut into the hull right at the level of passenger seating on the lower deck, on the forward part of the hull. Eleven people died. Many more were horribly injured. I was aboard when it happened.

T.J. Stiles

tj-stiles.bsky.social

02 October 2026 12:37

"What did you do Thursday night?" "I joined a dogpile on some guy on BlueSky." "Was he a fascist?" "No." "Advocate violence?" "No." "Was he racist? Mistreat animals? Steal from old people?" "No." "So why did you bother?" "He used his own word for posts on BlueSky. We can't tolerate that!"

Rob Hanna

robhanna.bsky.social

01 October 2026 03:08

Seconding this. Brooks Simpson knows ehat's up. If somebody has written a better scholarly bio on Grant I sure haven't read it. Chernow's okay. I'm a fan of the old Bruce Catton books. But Simpson is the goods.

T.J. Stiles

tj-stiles.bsky.social

01 October 2026 03:06

The new beardo speech by Pete "I'm Faking It as Hard as I Can" Hegseth led the great Alexandra Petri to make this choice observation, down below. Grant was funny. He was funniest when mocking pretension. I love to point this out. Here are a few examples. First, from my essay on his memoirs. 1/

T.J. Stiles

tj-stiles.bsky.social

27 September 2026 04:03

If Democratic members of Congress, staffers, and think tanks are not meeting to plan for the next Congress, they sure should be. Democrats will not have a veto-proof majority, no matter what. So what are their priorities? What leverage can they use to limit Trump’s power? Tough fights ahead.