iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by G. Patrick O'Brien

The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · 18/09/2026

The bipartisan opposition to automated license plate readers suggests Americans have not entirely lost their rebellious spirit. A historian explains how the revolt against Flock cameras mirrors the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

theconversation.com

How the American revolt against Flock cameras mirrors the Boston Tea Party of 1773

The bipartisan revolution against automated license plate readers suggests Americans have not entirely lost their rebellious spirit.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Congratulations! May the coffeepot be always full.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Boston officials canceled their contract with Flock Safety yesterday. IMHO, perhaps the most clear indication that the Revolutionary spirit lives on 250 years later has been the grassroots, extralegal, and bipartisan revolt against ALPRs. I got to write about it: theconversation.com/how-the-amer...

theconversation.com

How the American revolt against Flock cameras mirrors the Boston Tea Party of 1773

The bipartisan revolution against automated license plate readers suggests Americans have not entirely lost their rebellious spirit.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Godspeed. Fall 2025 I had three 110-minute classes back-to-back-to-back (8am-1:50) and then a fourth that same day 3-4:50. T/Rs were absolutely brutal.

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The Rundown @therundowntvo.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

"Today it’s Lake America, but tomorrow the propaganda coming from south of the border could be both more serious and insidious, and the actions of Google, Apple and other companies show plainly that they will not be on our side." — @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social

tvo.org

ANALYSIS: 'Lake America' makes one thing clear: we can’t trust U.S. tech companies | TVO Today

The president’s decree is dumb. Why is anyone going along with it?

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McGill-Queen's University Press @mcgillqueensup.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Read this excerpt from The Lives of Lake Ontario by Daniel Macfarlane! Get $5 off the hardcover edition using coupon code ONTARIO until the end of September: buff.ly/SMpotNt buff.ly/uwEyw8h

thewalrus.ca

Lake Ontario Has Bigger Problems than Donald Trump | The Walrus

Forget the fight over its name. The Great Lake is being threatened by pollution, development, and decades of neglect

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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

A Florida grand jury found the DeSantis administration “misappropriated” $10 million meant to provide health insurance for poor children. Part of a “sophisticated scheme to fund political activities,” the money was funneled through multiple organizations before reaching two PACs and the Florida GOP.

cbsnews.com

Grand jury finds DeSantis administration "misappropriated" $10 million in taxpayer money to Hope Florida

A Florida grand jury found the DeSantis administration misappropriated $10 million in taxpayer money for political purposes.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

AL East is wild though. Jays only 3 back of wild card! Six remaining games v the O's and 3 v Texans and Cleveland. Gotta get hot! As a Sox fan, I cannot wait for this weekend v NYY. I think we'll get a taste of October come early...

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

In my book, Alexander is OTHER Keith.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Elbows up, Canada. We're with you. 🇨🇦

Me holding a can of the finest beer in Nova Scotia, and all of Canada for that matter.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

You read that right my friends, we will all now pay more for goods because the administration's negotiators wanted to exempt US manufacturers from printing labels in French. Stupid is as stupid does. newrepublic.com/post/214635/...

newrepublic.com

Here’s How Trump’s Culture War Killed Trade Talks With Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney says that U.S. demands to curtail his nation’s French-language identity were a nonstarter.

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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

"We recognized that sometimes [the United State's] signature was written in pencil." — Mark Carney

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Maya Media @mayamedia.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

No. We will destroy your police state. Flock CEO calls for ‘compromise’ as surveillance company faces growing backlash techcrunch.com/2026/08/23/f...

techcrunch.com

Flock CEO calls for ‘compromise’ as surveillance company faces growing backlash | TechCrunch

Flock Safety faces a growing public outcry over concerns that its surveillance technology could be misused.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

While you're at it, why not check out all the articles in both volumes and consider submitting your own work? We're excited to announce we'll continue publishing for at least the next two years! Read the most recent CFP here: networks.h-net.org/group/announ...

networks.h-net.org

CFP: Remembering the American Revolution at 250, an H-Net Journal | H-Net

The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the formal start of the American Revolution are now less than two months away. In response, conversations about the meanings of the revolut...

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Teaching a class on the Revolution or Early America this fall? Be sure to check out the freshly published article in Remembering the American Revolution at 250. Read Spencer Wells', "Damned Loyalists: Weaponizing Conscience in a Revolutionary World," here: journals.h-net.org/America250/a...

journals.h-net.org

Damned Loyalists: Weaponizing Conscience in a Revolutionary World | Remembering the American Revolution at 250

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Just a follow up: I still need to clean it up a bunch with alignment, etc., but many thanks for this suggestion. It is by far the easiest method!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Thanks for this. I hadn't thought of PowerPoint, but you're right to note that it's graphics are easy to use and manipulate. The problem I run into is, as you also seem to have experience with, showing nontraditional relationships and very large families. THANKS! As I get working, I might reach out!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Hi Christopher, thanks so much for these. My searches across many platforms didn't reveal these. I appreciate your assistance.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

My book project follows a large family over a few generations. Thus, a think a few family tree graphics are necessary for readers to easily reference. However, Microsoft Word has NO GOOD options for making family trees! Has anyone had success using other software? I'd appreciate any and all advice!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This means the world, Ben! THANKS! I don't know about miles, but there have certainly been words!!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Reading the letters of friends separated by the Revolution is always so powerful. I'll never tire of it: "Alas, how you are changed my dear Mary [...] the artlessness of youth and innocence unclouded by even a shadow of fear for future [...] you seem indeed to have the care of the world on you."

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I have 1 chapter to finish on this book project and like 2.5 weeks before classes. Send some cooking vibes this way please! I'd like nothing more than to have a complete draft of this book to the press by end of September!!

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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 03/08/2026

BREAKING: EXCLUSIVE: Five months ago, we learned that ICE seized drawings and letters from children in the Dilley ICE concentration camp. I sued under the Freedom of Information Act. Today, I got responsive documents. www.muellershewrote.com/p/breaking-e...

muellershewrote.com

BREAKING: EXCLUSIVE: ICE Seized Drawings from Children in Detention. I Sued, and Today I Got Them.

Five months ago, I filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for papers seized from children at the Dilley ICE Detention Center. Today, I got a heartbreaking response.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

THANK YOU! That's exactly what it is. I had always known them as "firedogs" or dog-irons.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Friends familiar with material culture in the late eighteenth century: what kinds of irons is she requesting? "Large handsome ___ irons, Mama thinks she could dispose of them here when she leave the place." THANKS!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

This is utterly insane. Some conservative talking head, who clearly knows nothing about colonial history or the events of 1792/3, giving a kid a lecture full of nonsense. Trump's America250 is totally deranged. newrepublic.com/post/212559/...

newrepublic.com

Far-Right Host at Trump State Fair Lectures Kid on Salem Witch Trials

A crowd of dozens of people watched the bizarre exchange.

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Leon Jackson @drleonj.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Shout out to @drhardesty.bsky.social for bringing Ezekiel Price’s Notarial Records to my attention. Here’s Lancaster Hill, a free man of color in Boston, purchasing his own infant child from his wife Margaret’s enslaver, physician Sylvester Gardiner, in 1761. These are painful documents to read 🗃️

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I always use the "A Society of Patriotic Ladies, at Edenton" mezzotint in my Revolution course. But I never appreciated the ways the image distorts the historical moment, nor its complicated afterlife through the Jim Crow Era! Read Nancy Parode's new essay here: journals.h-net.org/America250/a...

journals.h-net.org

“A Memorable Proof of Their Patriotism”: The Edenton Ladies, Memorialization, and History’s Long Reach | Remembering the American Revolution at 250

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Reposted by G. Patrick O'Brien

250 Years Ago News @250yearsagonews.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

May 19, 1776: Plagued by desertion from his force stationed at Halifax, British Gen. William Howe makes an offer to pardon all those who ran away if they surrender before June 24 and enlist in the newly organized Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Loyalist Jonathan Sewall never forgave his former friends and neighbors for this. Writing to his cousin, Mehitable (Robie) Higginson, in September 1783, he noted, "I assure you, if my Estate was now to be offered me, upon Condition my returning to take possession of it, I would not accept it."

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Charlie Angus @charlieangus104.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Buffalo plays the Canadian anthem even when Canadian teams aren't present. And when the microphone cut out the people did the job admirably. That's what neighbours do. Buffalo proud. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdFv...

youtube.com

Buffalo fans finish CANADIAN national anthem after mic issues

YouTube video by NHL

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

And she got him his first guitar. So he isn't that far removed from NYC after all!!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Asbury Park/Freehold would take offense at being considered Long Branch!!! But I'd agree with you there. He can't be counted as NYC.

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Are you counting Springsteen as "greater NYC"? Also, what a *terrible* "Five Essential Songs" list...

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

"To love our country at this moment is not to excuse its failures, but to insist on its full potential." Well said!

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Atlantic Canada Studies Centre (University of New Brunswick) @acsc-unb.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

We're extremely grateful to have hosted the brilliant Mi'kmaw historian Mercedes Peters last Friday. It was a full house at the NB Sports Hall of Fame, where - in a lovely coincidence - Mercedes' dad Jason Peters is honoured for his contributions to Indigenous sports!

Mercedes Peters, wearing a jean jacket and long dress, speaks to a full room in the Alden R. Clark Theatre. Her presentation can be seen on the screen at the front of the room: "'She didn't leave anybody out': Rita Smith, Mi'kmaw Family, and the Coming Together of Glooscap First Nation."

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Reposted by G. Patrick O'Brien

Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

In Springsteen’s words: everybody has a Hungary heart

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

As always, your help is invaluable. The interlibrary loan people here probably can't stand me!! THANK YOU!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Hi (again) early America crew: I'm a little stuck on an idea and would love some suggestions. I want to read more about extended kinship networks in the colonies. How did relatives provide for orphaned and fatherless the children of brothers/sisters/cousins/etc.? As always, thanks!!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Given its recent prominence, we are particularly interested in publishing 1000-2000 word reflections on Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt's documentary miniseries, "The American Revolution." If you or someone you know would like to start the conversation, please be in touch!

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

We continue to solicit essays, in a variety of forms, from scholars, public history practitioners, and students of the American Revolution. See our ongoing call for papers here: journals.h-net.org/America250/a...

journals.h-net.org

About the Journal | Remembering the American Revolution at 250

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

I'd appreciate a boost from all my Early America friends: The 2nd volume of "Remembering the Revolution at 250" has published! 🥳 It features a great article by Chris Minty and Nadine Delia exploring the near absence of the Loyalists from British public memory. journals.h-net.org/America250/i...

journals.h-net.org

Remembering the American Revolution at 250

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G. Patrick O'Brien @gpatrickobrien.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

And his son got a measure of revenge and vindication by publishing his histories!

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Age of Revolutions @ageofrevolutions.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

A powerful look at how women’s writing during the Seven Years’ War reveals the raw emotion, loss, and humanity often hidden in colonial archives. A moving reminder that behind every global conflict are intimate stories worth remembering. @tlecaque.bsky.social ageofrevolutions.com/2026/03/02/h...

ageofrevolutions.com

Heartbreak on the Colonial Front: Women’s Writing, the Seven Years War, and Humanity in the Archive

By Thomas Lecaque This article is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Patrick Lecaque, 1/15/1949-10/11/2025, who taught his son the joy of history, of research, of discovery, and to find the individuals…

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