Nicholas Toloudis

For someone currently writing about McCarthyism in Philadelphia, seeing the revived 1953 Chevy jingle on the 76ers broadcast is nothing short of triggering.

The slavery exhibits at the President’s House are beginning to be restored by the National Park Service The restoration is the latest development in the city and community stakeholders’ fight to preserve the President’s House after President Donald Trump’s administration ordered the removal of exhibits.

A positive thing, and another exhibit of how important it is to fight back, even on the relatively small stuff.

It's been a long time since I've logged onto social media for the one and only goal of bragging about a word count, but today was a great writing day after a series of bad ones. Here's hoping I'm not jinxing anything, but I wrote 1,300 words today...and I think they're pretty damn good.

Federal judge orders Trump administration to restore slavery exhibits to the President’s House The order does not give the federal government a deadline for restoring the President's House.

"Rufe, a George W. Bush appointee, compares the federal government’s argument that it can unilaterally control the exhibits in national parks to the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984, a novel about a dystopian totalitarian regime."

Looks excellent and timely. Congratulations!

Epstein sympathized with Kavanaugh during supreme court confirmation, emails show Files show convicted sex abuser messaged with Ken Starr and others about Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford

I'm interrupting a morning full of book-writing to come here and say...
of course he did:

Progressive Texas organizers hail shock win as far-right Republicans left reeling Elation as anti-extremists fight back against influence of billionaire megadonors through grassroots organizing

An encouraging story about local organizing in Texas.

"What the Judge has done, in his zeal against communism, is to adopt the detestable method employed by communists themselves in arbitrary and unjudicial proceedings contrary to all our cherished traditions of law and legal procedure."

A couple of weeks later, the State Supreme Court threw out the contempt citations--there were two of them--because hey! you can't DO that!

Textbook 2nd Red Scare stuff follows: "We have formally adjudged you unfit to try a case in this Court as of today, morally unfit. You do not possess an allegiance to the United States...we declare you morally unfit to try a case in this court room."

The lawyer, Hyman Schlesinger, refused to answer, refused to try any case before Musmanno, and then insisted that the judge recuse himself. When the lawyer tried to leave the courtroom, "the Judge had the court officers restrain him until he, the Judge, had concluded his remarks."

Schlesinger Petition Schlesinger Petition - 367 Pa. 476

Today I learned about PA judge Michael Musmanno's deranged 1951 courtroom performance. At the start of a routine civil case, "he directed that all parties and witnesses leave the court room, and then, in the presence of newspaper reporters and others" asked the plaintiff lawyer if he was a Communist

The Phillies’ Zack Wheeler was given one of his ribs after surgery. Now he’s working to ‘do my thing’ once again. His doctor hand-delivered the rib he removed during Wheeler’s surgery for a blood clot in September. “It was pretty gross,” said the Phillies ace, who is not looking too far ahead in his return.

"It's pretty gross" is about what I'd say if someone handed me one of my ribs too.

This is fucking disgusting. Hashtag Abolish smart glasses. Hashtag Abolish manfluencers.

Trump told Palm Beach police chief ‘everyone’ knew about Epstein, Maxwell was ‘evil’ The new information comes as Ghislaine Maxwell was summoned to appear Monday before a Congressional committee.

"...in July 2006, just as Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal case became public, Trump called then-Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter to tell him that Epstein’s activities with teenaged girls were well known in both New York and Palm Beach."

Speed Limiters Now Mandatory in All New EU Cars Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) isn't an ironclad speeding prevention system, but could be just annoying enough to spark a backlash.

This technology already exists and is widely used. It doesn't involve 'government surveillance' and would not allow ICE or any other government agency to stop individual cars.

Just say you think thousands of kids dying every year is worth it so you can speed!
www.autoweek.com/news/a615322...

I'm writing about the Philadelphia Board of Ed's reluctance to accept federal assistance to relieve child malnutrition in 1941. The food surplus was in Philly, ready to be distributed. And all some board members could think to do was survey the schools.

Bad Bunny's historical advisor is an assistant professor at UW-Madison.

Hell of a flex for your tenure file.

How Prince won the Super Bowl - Anil Dash A blog about making culture. Since 1999.

Many folks are reflecting on Prince’s extraordinary halftime performance, the best ever. What you may not know is that it was a profound, nuanced statement and a powerful reclaiming of a proud musical tradition. Some background: anildash.com/2021/02/05/h...

Wait is that the ELP version?

Office buzz: UK employers turn to beehives to boost workplace wellbeing Providers report rise in demand as companies seek mental health benefits and increased sense of community

Maybe it's just me, but I bet higher salaries and more vacation time would improve worker well-being more than...umm...beekeeping.

This article is going straight to the top of the to-be-read list.

A Day for Gaza Today, The Nation is turning over its website exclusively to stories from Gaza and its people. This is why.

I'm looking forward to digging in to this.

German exports to US plummet, but Europe provides a boost The number of German goods sent to the US nosedived in 2025 due to tariffs, even as overall exports surprisingly rose, buoyed by orders from within Europe.

German exports, moving right along...just not to the U.S.

🚨 Excited to share that my first dissertation paper got published in Politics and Religion this week!

I examine: Is Christian religiosity linked to nativist attitudes?
And does this relationship strengthen when PRR parties are in power?

This looks great. Will read.

Medgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist - Mississippi Today Among anticipated changes to a new visitor brochure for the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is no longer using "racist" to describe the killer of the civil rights leader.

I am speechless.

"The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Among the anticipated changes? No longer calling his murderer a 'racist.'" 🗃️ mississippitoday.org/2026/02/05/m...

ICE attorney who said ‘this job sucks’ removed from detail Julie Le expressed frustration to judge, in response to questions about failure to comply with court orders

The revelation of a lawyer who represents ICE: "This job sucks."
She "also told the court that she had previously submitted her resignation, after handling more than 88 immigration cases in less than a month. She ultimately ended up staying in the role because there was no one to replace her."

Congrats again to the elite Obama administration economists & others who told us that this guy was a "credible Treasury Secretary" and a "renaissance man" because he went to the the right schools & the right cocktail parties.