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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives

@davidrotenstein.bsky.social
2.3K followers 983 following 3.8K posts

Historian. Writer. Folklorist. | History is my hustle. Opinions here are my own.

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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Soraya Nadia McDonald @soraya.press · 5h
This is sexual violence as a form of terrorism. It is political violence and it is chilling and horrific, and AOC was absolutely right to be terrified that the goons (now pardoned) laying siege to the capital would rape her if they found her. Small changes won't fix this. FLIP THE TABLE NOW
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 2h
Do I know any people who are well connected in the Pittsburgh, PA art scene?
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 8h
The grammatical 'colon' and the anatomical 'colon' are not etymologically related. The anatomical 'colon' comes from the Greek ‘kolon’ which means “large intestine.” The grammatical 'colon' comes from the Greek ‘kōlon’ which means “limb.” Both are a means to an end.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 11h
I searched for answers to this @bsky.app error message. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did stumble across this great post!
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 12h
A system failure that’s too close to home. What happens in a confluence of mental health issues, substance use disorder, homelessness, unemployment, and food insecurity? blog.historian4hire.net/2026/10/07/s...
blog.historian4hire.net
A system failure that’s too close to home
Sometimes work hits a little too close to home. Over the past six months I’ve been investigating vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated housing issues in Pittsburgh. While immersed in that repor…
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Jon Dell Isola @medievaljon.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Cool deep dive into Zotero's origins
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
"Sorry about your dead kid. Hey, you want to see my fancy party room? Look at that gold! Lotta gold. I got a new helicopter, too! Do you feel better now about sacrificing your child on my altar? Worth it, right? Look at that gold."
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Brandon Friedman @brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Lafayette Square isn't "a historic protest site." It's a fucking park. And it's packed on nice days. Calling it a protest site is White House framing. They're closing a popular public park to create a presidential palace Saddam Hussein would love.
nytimes.com
Inside Trump's Plan to Fence Off a Historic Protest Site (Gift Article)
The president’s proposal to enclose a park in Washington could alter how the space has been used for generations.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Remember, playing leapfrog with a unicorn can be hazardous to your health.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We were in DC a few weeks ago and it was truly heartbreaking to see this space closed off and the public excluded. Inside Trump’s Plan to Fence Off a Historic Protest Site www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Inside Trump's Plan to Fence Off a Historic Protest Site
The president’s proposal to enclose a park in Washington could alter how the space has been used for generations.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Pete Hegseth gave a speech in front of a backdrop that almost perfectly matches Nazi imagery. Meanwhile, Trump calls opponents “vermin” who he will “root out,” and says the blood of our country is being poisoned. We are far past left vs right. Our choice is democracy or fascism.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
If you’re a woman, the question of whether you survive your childbearing years really isn’t that abstract, and it’s disturbing that a man would think that
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
John Fugelsang @johnfugelsang.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
John Kennedy is a literal Rhodes Scholar who then ran for office as a Republican & now talks like a man named Earl who steals chickens.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Is brunch in his crosshairs if this staple is renamed “American bacon?”
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Not sure how I landed on this ancient bookmark, but okay. Happy Friday. "Dude you HAVE no Quran!" youtu.be/4HX5-ulcdXc?...
youtu.be
Dude You Have No Quran AUTOTUNE REMIX
YouTube video by Bart Baker
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Homestead's steel mill occupies a special place in American industrial & labor history. I wrote about the site's trajectory from ruins & brownfield to suburban-style shopping district for @pghcitypaper.com. 🗃️ www.pghcitypaper.com/news-2/histo...
pghcitypaper.com
25 years ago, The Waterfront reimagined a Homestead brownfield site
The mixed-use development was a neighborhood, then a steel mill. New housing could be a sign of what's next.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Access to court records in Kentucky sucks. The technology is there to make basic records available, like a basic docket summary. But no, all the press & general public can get is case number, parties, and calendar information (not even past hearing dates, only upcoming ones).
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
We walk passed buildings that leak ghosts. We are window watched. We are scratched with shadows. A psychic toll is paid for our navigations in headache, in a pressing into the back of the neck. This is our phantom reality. – #DAKilroy #Ghosts
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Jamie Schler @lifesafeast.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
#Paris
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Religious Scholars Met with this Church with a Face. What They Saw Stunned Them.
A church in Tampa Bay, FL, that, from the right angle, looks like a face, maybe of a chicken?
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Jacqueline Antonovich @jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
When the top historic hotel in the nation declares itself an AI-free zone. 😘
mcall.com
An iconic Lehigh Valley hotel declares itself an AI-free zone
The hotel announced Wednesday morning that it is implementing a plan to avoid the use of artificial intelligence and bot-based customer service.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The new ‘‘Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026’’ is something. It proposes to gut environmental protections created over the past 65 years and redefine public engagement to public notification. www.energy.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
energy.senate.gov
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I just noticed JSTOR has a new, automatically enabled "AI Research Tool" that I quickly toggled to "off."
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Prof. Anthea Butler @antheabutler.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Folks, I'm here to tell you that holy wars often end badly. This is no exception.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
There's a group of homes in a Pittsburgh suburb that has risen from the dead. Once deemed unsalvageable, they're still standing more than 2 years since demo was ordered. Read about the Penn Hills Lazarus homes in my new story for @pghcitypaper.com www.pghcitypaper.com/news-2/commu...
pghcitypaper.com
Penn Hills’ Lincoln Park could see development — or become “prairie”
Many structures in Penn Hills' Lincoln Park are beyond repair, but the neighborhood is seeing signs of life.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Khashoggi's Ghost @urocklive1.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It's still the Department of Defense, still the Gulf of Mexico, still Lake Ontario, still Twitter, and still AI. Fuck this guy who thinks everyone else has to follow his weird-ass made up rules about what we call things. Don't call them that now, and officially change them all back when he's gone.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We don’t spend enough time talking about just how WEIRD all these people are. This is just an incredibly weird and insecure thing to say. Imagine any other SecDef ever being this weird and insecure?!
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Cowboys past and present are: Black, Indigenous, Latino, immigrant, queer, trans, radical, female (and the ones in rodeos rely on rodeo clowns to keep them safe). And that pro-democracy pro-Constitution patriots despise this dimwitted pile of hatreds. I've met cowboys and you, sir, are no cowboy.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It can't catch them all 👇
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas @cals-eoa.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
On this day in 1919, a group of African Americans, mostly sharecroppers, attended a union meeting at a church in Hoop Spur, #Arkansas. What happened next kicked off several days of anti-black violence now known as the Elaine Massacre. Read more at: encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/elai...
encyclopediaofarkansas.net
Elaine Massacre of 1919 - Encyclopedia of Arkansas
The Elaine Massacre was by far the deadliest racial confrontation in Arkansas history and possibly the bloodiest racial conflict in the history of the ...
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
If Trump thinks cost overruns on a renovation project are criminal, I have a reflecting pool to sell him
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
when your country's new accord on “super intelligence” misspells the country's name
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yep.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Michael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Most TV is just this now.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
You forgot Russia election interference
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Took the new federal AI out for a spin with a question it didn't want to answer. It did tell me to call 911 if I thought it was an emergency. I do think it's an emergency, but 911 won't be able to help.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
No recipes from Elaine.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Did you see this? www.planetizen.com/news/2026/09...
planetizen.com
Pittsburg launches 'EZ permits,' aims for one-day turnaround for low-risk permits
The pilot ‘fast lane’ for permits is part of a bundle of modernization efforts for Pittsburg’s permitting process.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Kentucky Lantern @kentuckylantern.com · 30/09/2026
Trump TV ads paid for with $20M in Homeland Security funds, Dems find kentuckylantern.com/2026/09/30/r...
kentuckylantern.com
Trump TV ads paid for with $20M in Homeland Security funds, Dems find • Kentucky Lantern
President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
if you know anything about senator schmitt's monumental fuck up in the jack smith hearing, i implore you to reach out. can be anonymous. signal: marisakabas.04 email: marisa@thehandbasket.co
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Circus Performers, by Walt Kuhn, 1978, 📸 via @marisakabas.bsky.social
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I think it's broken. Too bad, I was really looking forward to an answer.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 29/09/2026
Lullz
Can the president rename the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts?

No. Not without Congress. I cannot give legal advice.Can the president demolish the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts?

Not on his own. Congress created the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a national memorial. I cannot give legal advice.
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Reposted by David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives
Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 29/09/2026
Trump’s new AI website is kinda fun, it turns out.
Can the president use taxpayer funds to air his old campaign ads on TV?

No. Federal appropriations law has long barred using taxpayer funds for political advertising.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is so embarrassing, @planetizen.bsky.social. It's Pittsburgh, not Pittsburg.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Didn’t Don Corleone also have a gated compound?
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We recently had our mail held. It took 3 days to get delivery resumed after returning (despite the hold request clearly stating when to resume). We regularly get other folks' mail, sometimes the carriers skip us. These are the people who are going to ensure a secure, fair election? Right.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hasn't a single power strip designer ever owned a cat? Seriously, on-off switches on top, easily flipped by a cat's paw? I awakened to a dead phone & depleted watch thanks to this mischievous little lady exploring behind my nightstand.
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David Rotenstein, Curator, Shrouded in Secrecy Archives @davidrotenstein.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Another issue with framing: language. How many ordinary Americans know what reconciliation means? It's a big word with lots to unpack. "Truth and Consequences Movement, Commission, etc." packs more punch, is easier to understand, and gets right to the heart of the issue.
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