John Holbo
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jholbo.bsky.social
John Holbo
@jholbo.bsky.social
5.1K followers 2.2K following 10K posts
Professor of Philosophy, Illustrator of Philosophers
https://www.onbeyondzarathustra.com
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Reposted by John Holbo
normative.bsky.social
Because between that and the voter rolls extortion that’s pretty clearly what this is: “We will make your state an unlivable occupied hellscape until you do things we cannot legally or constitutionally make you do directly.”
January 29, 2026 at 1:52 PM
jholbo.bsky.social
It is 2026: premium legal AI is hallucinating caselaw.

It is 2028: Grok, in a robot, is confirmed by the Senate to replace Clarence Thomas. (When the SC is not in session, the robot stands in Harlan Crow's Garden of Evil, receiving conservative visitors with whom it enjoys exchanging memes.)
obarcala.bsky.social Owen Barcala @obarcala.bsky.social · 22h
This is notable to me because I've heard from some other lawyers that they're not worried about AI hallucinations because they only use the premium Westlaw or Lexis versions. Supposedly, they are limited to the real case databases

This clerk used Lexis+ and Lexis Protege and got 8 hallucinations
January 29, 2026 at 7:49 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
This infographic-heavy NYT piece on Trump's 2nd term grift is clear and effective: 1.4 billion. Pretty soon, you are talking about real money! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | How Much Can One Man Make From Being President?
The president took an oath to serve the American people. Instead, he’s focused his second term on enriching himself and his family.
www.nytimes.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:24 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
Grindr but Gamrfigrcollectrpaintr.
wolter.bsky.social Jon Wolter @wolter.bsky.social · 15h
I think someone once recommended a “guy friend who lives nearby” matchmaking program for middle aged men who have become isolated. That would probably be useful. Sometimes a guy just needs another guy to look at his hobby and say things like “what wood did you use?” or “It’s good. Not too hoppy.”
wolter.bsky.social Jon Wolter @wolter.bsky.social · 18h
Middle aged white men (and I’m 49, so I’m in the demographic) absolutely need ridiculous Dad Hobbies or they get squirrely. I think if you’re can’t prove you have a preexisting Dad Hobby or 2 by age 45, you get entered into a national hobby draft and get assigned one. It would solve so many things.
January 29, 2026 at 3:48 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
Impeach.
January 29, 2026 at 2:44 AM
Reposted by John Holbo
whstancil.bsky.social
Jesus Christ you freak, they’re just my neighbors
January 29, 2026 at 12:52 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
NYT Pitchbot:

Between 2012 and 2024 hate on Republican platforms was vastly increasing. But the incidence of the word 'hate' on Democratic platforms was also increasing. So who's to say who has the hate problem?

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/o...
Thomas Edsall column: "In October, the group behind the centrist Democratic WelcomePAC issued “Deciding to Win,” an analysis of “election results, hundreds of public polls and academic papers, dozens of case studies, and surveys of more than 500,000 voters” that found that “since 2012, highly educated staffers, donors, advocacy groups, pundits and elected officials have reshaped the Democratic Party’s agenda, decreasing our party’s focus on the economic issues that are the top concerns of the American people.” "The authors tracked key word usage in Democratic platforms from 2012 to 2024 and found the frequency of the word “hate” increasing by 1,323 percent; “white/Black/Latino/Latina” by 1,137 percent; “L.G.B.T./L.G.B.T.Q.I.+” by 1,044 percent; and “equity” by 766 percent."
January 29, 2026 at 1:06 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
CNN is doxxing him in the chyron even as he says it. His name, political affiliation even, and where he’s from.
Screencap outing the guy they are interviewing as one Thom Tillis, Republican, of North Carolina.
January 28, 2026 at 11:34 PM
jholbo.bsky.social
The War on Christmas came early this year.
johnmoe.bsky.social John Moe @johnmoe.bsky.social · 1d
Man do these people hate toys.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d
Scott Bessent on Trump Accounts: "Rather than giving a toy for a birthday or holiday, they can contribute to these accounts"
January 28, 2026 at 3:24 PM
jholbo.bsky.social
You could completely solve this problem simply by legally obliging agents of the state to identify themselves.
“Absolutely CHILLING. THIS is the Democrat party, folks. Here's George Soros-backed Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner. He publicly declared that Democrats will “hunt down” @ICEgov agents when @realDonaldTrump leaves office: “If we have to hunt you down the way they hunted down Nazis for decades…we will find your identities!” Make sure everyone in America sees this. These people are out of control.” Blue Lives Matter tweet, retweeted by Dreher
January 28, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by John Holbo
jbriggeman.liberalcurrents.com
We see consequences of Trump v. United States every day, and an example at this moment is the difficulty of holding Miller, or Noem, or Bovino, or anyone, accountable for anything. 'Why should this mere underling, this less privileged person, get in trouble for something Trump is allowed to do?'
jbriggeman.liberalcurrents.com Jason Briggeman @jbriggeman.liberalcurrents.com · Aug 24
"Those attracted to Trump's political leadership see his ability to evade laws... Those who want an all-new constitution—those who want to carry out huge frauds—those who want sex but don't have consent... They wish to extend Trump's exceptions to themselves." www.liberalcurrents.com/a-rich-kid-t...
A Rich Kid Taking It All the Way
Trump and his hangers-on create anew the organization of social affairs they've known since youth.
www.liberalcurrents.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by John Holbo
brianbeutler.bsky.social
“The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone.” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Good @adamserwer.bsky.social.

Trump banded the morally depraved together, but they’re still badly outnumbered.
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong
The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
www.theatlantic.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by John Holbo
emilyflitter.bsky.social
ICE deported a 5-year-old US citizen to Honduras, where she had never been, after holding her & her mother in a hotel room 80 miles from home for several days and not allowing them access to a lawyer www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Five-year-old deported to Honduras despite being US citizen is latest child victim of Trump crackdown
Mother whose visa application was pending says she will send girl back to US soon accompanied by another relative
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by John Holbo
ayoub.bsky.social
The UK version of “Project 2025” by the Reform party includes a British ICE, a concentration camp for 24,000 people, mass surveillance and withdrawing from refugee, anti-torture and anti-trafficking conventions.

It’s on their website. That’s how comfortable fascists are in the UK today.
The Legislation Upon winning a general election, a Reform government under Prime Minister Nigel Farage will: 1) Leave the ECHR 2.) Repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights. 3.) Pass The Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill: This Bill will: Create a legal duty to remove illegal migrants for the Home Secretary The Bill opens with a blunt obligation for the Home Secretary: "The Secretary of State shall ensure the removal from the United Kingdom of each person who does not have extant leave to remain and is not an Irish citizen or otherwise protected by regulations made under this Act." The following parts of the legislation are introduced on an emergency basis, with an in-built sunset clause after 5 years: Disapply the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture, the Council of Europe Anti-Trafficking Convention (ECAT) Derogation is justified under the Vienna Convention doctrine of state of necessity: Britain faces a national emergency in which uncontrolled illegal migration undermines public order. These treaties will otherwise be used by activist judges to frustrate deportations, even after the repeals of the HRA and ECHR. Create Detention Power Without Hardial Singh Constraints This means illegal migrants can be detained until they are deported. Activist lawyers routinely use Hardial Singh to secure their client's bail, after which the client absconds. If you came to the UK illegally, you are ineligible for asylum. End of story All asylum claims will become inadmissible if made by a person within the Act's scope. If you came to the country illegally, you are ineligible for asylum in the UK. This strips the Home Office, the immigration tribunals and the higher courts of jurisdiction to even consider claims. A claim that cannot be considered cannot suspend removal and therefore, cannot delay a flight. Re-entering after deportation and destroying ID becomes a serious criminal offence Re-entry after deportation will be… The Operational Plan We will create an enforcement unit called UK Deportation Command, including an Illegal Migrant Identification Centre - harnessing cutting edge data fusion A Reform government will create a cutting edge enforcement data centre to relentlessly identify and detain all illegal migrants in the UK. Using powers granted by the new legislation, it will automatically share data between the Home Office, NHS, HMRC, DVLA, banks and the police. It will power bulk warrants, including mandatory biometric capture during any police encounter. Each power addresses a failure mode observed over the past decade - for example, banks and GP surgeries unaware of a customer's status, or overstayers slipping through because a warrant covered only a single property. Secure Immigration Removal Centres (SIRC) will be built rapidly to detain up to 24,000 Detention capacity for up to 24,000 will be created within 18 months. The Home Office will build Secure Immigration Removal Centres. This will be modular accommodation built in remote parts of the country. Conditions are basic but not punitive: prefabricated two-person rooms, canteen catering, on-site medical suites. Robust perimeters and internal movement controls prevent escapes. This enables detention-on-arrest: no more bail. This capacity would allow for up to 24,000 illegal migrants to be deported per month. Initial Voluntary Return Window A six-month Assisted Voluntary Return window precedes large-scale raids. Illegal migrants will be offered a financial incentive to self-deport. An app will be launched to facilitate this. The Deportation Flights The Home Office will scale up charters to 5 flights per day. To guard against last-minute aircraft unserviceability, the RAF will keep one Voyager aircraft on six-hour 'hot-spare' readiness. If a commercial charter breaks down, detainees can still be flown out that night, preserving operational integrity. The legal reset will mean activist lawyers will no longer be able preven…
January 26, 2026 at 1:22 PM
jholbo.bsky.social
Not the worst offence, by far, but one of the most blatantly bright line offenses. You can't NOT impeach for bald-faced open bribery by a moneybags. (Forget the Supreme Court on this issue. Bribery is politically a 'high crime' so long as it is no-kidding bribery.) So: impeach for taking a bribe.
normative.bsky.social Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 1d
Bezos spent $40 million on this, of which $28 million was a direct gift to the Trunp family, plus another $35 million marketing blitz for a propaganda clunker absolutely nobody could have believed would recoup even a small fraction of that cost. It is a flat bribe, right out in public.
newrepublic.com The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 1d
Amazon’s MGM studios spent tens of millions, but the documentary is projected to make just $1M in its first week.

This comes as a new report from Rolling Stone details serious labor issues and two-thirds of the film’s staff requesting not to be credited at the end of the film. trib.al/Clr03cD
January 28, 2026 at 1:15 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
Re-upping pitch for series: Philip K Dick & Ursula K Le Guin go to high school together (based on the fact that they really went to high school together.) They solve mysteries, of an alternately Le Guin-ish or PKD-ish sort. One week, freeing a suffering kid the janitor is using to power the school.
January 27, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Reposted by John Holbo
magaziner.house.gov
Reminder that, as of the latest reports, Liam Ramos is still in prison in Texas - now for 5 days.

His parents are legal asylum seekers with no criminal record.
January 27, 2026 at 12:30 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
'Agree with critiques of Southern authorities' poor handling of the Jim Crow situation, even as I despise these civil rights activists ...'

Say what you will, Rod Dreher puts the 'anti-anti' into honest living.
Live NOT-NOT by Lies
January 27, 2026 at 5:22 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
Alarming. The message is doomerist even if the manner is anti-doomer. I get it that his message needs to be taken with an understanding of the interests of Anthropic. He needs to promise results, soon, and argue for a light policy touch, for now. www.darioamodei.com/essay/the-ad...
Dario Amodei — The Adolescence of Technology
Confronting and Overcoming the Risks of Powerful AI
www.darioamodei.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:09 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
I’m angry fascists are making me feel guilty for wanting to have some quiet, fascism-free zone where I can post silly stuff. One of the main defects of political conservatism is it perpetually threatens to make it impossible for normal people to just lead a quiet life, enjoying what they’ve got.
January 27, 2026 at 2:05 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
I’m with Bill ‘heighten the contradictions’ Kristol.
billkristolbulwark.bsky.social Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 2d
The killing of Alex Pretti and the grotesque lying was an overreach by the administration. They've paid a price and had to pull back a bit. But it's when there's some disarray that the democratic opposition needs to intensify the offensive, and turn a marginal tactical success into a major victory.
January 27, 2026 at 2:00 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
‘For my friends, everything, for my enemies, the law.’

‘We wouldn’t be having these problems if Democrat politicians would simply set aside their partisan opposition to assist us in enforcing the law.’
January 27, 2026 at 1:54 AM
jholbo.bsky.social
Severe alcoholic kills a man in a drunken rage, tries to conceal the crime, is exposed. Admits he has a problem. Promises to limit himself to heavy, angry social drinking - which is all he really wanted - in exchange for dropping charges.
January 27, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Reposted by John Holbo
schweizercomics.bsky.social
Characters from Victor Hugo's 1831 Romantic novel NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS (published in English under the title THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME)
Watercolored drawings of the characters Pierre Gringoire, La Esmerelda, Claude Frollo, Quasimodo, Clopin Trouillefou, Djali the goat, Sister Gudule and her hovel, Phoebus de Chateapers, and Jehan Frollo
January 25, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by John Holbo
greatdismal.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/levgross...

This is definitely true for me. Leiber was a terrific influence, both as a fantasy writer and an sf writer. Genius, and now virtually out of print.
That Other American Tolkien
When I was a child, the novels of Fritz Leiber were way more important to me than The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. If anything Tolkien was the British Leiber
open.substack.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:47 PM