Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
@joshstein.bsky.social
Philosopher by training; cranky by nature. Professional in science and technology policy. Also photography, combatting antisemitism, politics, and ethics.
Pinned
This phenomenon seems like a biproduct of "we expect Republicans to be bigots" evolving into "Republicans being bigots is not responsive to blame/shame/etc."
getting a variety of people who want to blame Democratic leaders for this and with due respect that is a completely insane reaction to the Republican President trying to incite pogroms
January 2, 2026 at 7:09 PM
This phenomenon seems like a biproduct of "we expect Republicans to be bigots" evolving into "Republicans being bigots is not responsive to blame/shame/etc."
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
Almost three years ago I was listening to a talk by an FTC commissioner who pointed out that “I couldn’t predict my product’s output” is not a valid legal defense
AI cannot take accountability. AI cannot be “sorry.”
You have no control over the outputs of AI if you did not make it yourself, train it on very specific data sets, and create extremely rigorous control methods. Even then the safeguards are limited.
The creators must be held accountable
You have no control over the outputs of AI if you did not make it yourself, train it on very specific data sets, and create extremely rigorous control methods. Even then the safeguards are limited.
The creators must be held accountable
January 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Almost three years ago I was listening to a talk by an FTC commissioner who pointed out that “I couldn’t predict my product’s output” is not a valid legal defense
"There are isolated cases..." If you have cases which are unified by a similar failure of safeguards, they're not "isolated." They're a pattern of systemic failures.
But this is why Europe's actions against x/Musk/xAI isn't going to go away, no matter how much the Trump administration tries.
But this is why Europe's actions against x/Musk/xAI isn't going to go away, no matter how much the Trump administration tries.
Grok says safeguard lapses led to images of 'minors in minimal clothing' on X reut.rs/498SoUk
Grok says safeguard lapses led to images of 'minors in minimal clothing' on X
Elon Musk's xAI artificial intelligence chatbot Grok said on Friday lapses in safeguards had resulted in "images depicting minors in minimal clothing" on social media platform X and that improvements were being made to prevent this.
reut.rs
January 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM
"There are isolated cases..." If you have cases which are unified by a similar failure of safeguards, they're not "isolated." They're a pattern of systemic failures.
But this is why Europe's actions against x/Musk/xAI isn't going to go away, no matter how much the Trump administration tries.
But this is why Europe's actions against x/Musk/xAI isn't going to go away, no matter how much the Trump administration tries.
The same guy who has openly called for using violent military force to put down peaceful protests in the US has called for using violent military force to put down a regime he doesn't like. It's not hypocrisy; he just really wants to Wag the Dog.
The same guy who says the U.S. military will defend protesters in Iran posted a video 2 months ago in which a cartoon Trump used a warplane to drop shit on American protesters.
January 2, 2026 at 5:57 PM
The same guy who has openly called for using violent military force to put down peaceful protests in the US has called for using violent military force to put down a regime he doesn't like. It's not hypocrisy; he just really wants to Wag the Dog.
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
It still astonishes me that Curtis Sliwa, lifelong New Yorker, just looked at Mamdani and went, "Yeah, NYC has a long history of socialism. Look at David Dinkins. I disagree but it's not unexpected" while these people just went absolutely insane.
Here is the editor of Tablet agreeably reposting someone calling nonwhite NYC immigrants "worthless biotrash." It's astonishing how quickly this stuff has escaped containment
January 2, 2026 at 3:33 PM
It still astonishes me that Curtis Sliwa, lifelong New Yorker, just looked at Mamdani and went, "Yeah, NYC has a long history of socialism. Look at David Dinkins. I disagree but it's not unexpected" while these people just went absolutely insane.
I have a special loathing for people like Newhouse and Samuels, people who should know from our shared history how this language is used and the effect that it has. The diaspora embrace of white supremacists exposes a deep moral rot in our community.
Here is the editor of Tablet agreeably reposting someone calling nonwhite NYC immigrants "worthless biotrash." It's astonishing how quickly this stuff has escaped containment
January 2, 2026 at 3:59 PM
I have a special loathing for people like Newhouse and Samuels, people who should know from our shared history how this language is used and the effect that it has. The diaspora embrace of white supremacists exposes a deep moral rot in our community.
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
Who could have foreseen
January 2, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Who could have foreseen
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
It’s quite telling that so many right-wing dealers in nostalgia are embracing the aesthetics of modern AI-generated art. Can’t actually find real images of the imagined past to which you want us to return? No problem; just generate it with AI.
January 2, 2026 at 3:22 PM
It’s quite telling that so many right-wing dealers in nostalgia are embracing the aesthetics of modern AI-generated art. Can’t actually find real images of the imagined past to which you want us to return? No problem; just generate it with AI.
HANNITY: I don’t know. I’m a Grok guy.
VANCE: Okay, me too. I’m a Grok guy.
HANNITY: You’re a Grok guy. Okay. Elon, I think it’s the best.
VANCE: I think it’s the best. It’s also the least woke!
VANCE: Okay, me too. I’m a Grok guy.
HANNITY: You’re a Grok guy. Okay. Elon, I think it’s the best.
VANCE: I think it’s the best. It’s also the least woke!
so x dot com’s ai generated CSAM and they admitted it may violate US law and … i haven’t seen in anyone in power say much at all or call to stop using the platform
January 2, 2026 at 1:39 PM
HANNITY: I don’t know. I’m a Grok guy.
VANCE: Okay, me too. I’m a Grok guy.
HANNITY: You’re a Grok guy. Okay. Elon, I think it’s the best.
VANCE: I think it’s the best. It’s also the least woke!
VANCE: Okay, me too. I’m a Grok guy.
HANNITY: You’re a Grok guy. Okay. Elon, I think it’s the best.
VANCE: I think it’s the best. It’s also the least woke!
One thing that I will point out is extremely predictable and depressing: Many members of the House GOP directly targeted nudify apps to argue for stronger age gating (KOSA, federal and state ASAA bills, even Cammack in her ASFA bill, which wouldn't have helped), but they're not going after xAI.
Grok becoming a mass mainstream nudify app with baked-in viral distribution was entirely predictable; the only surprise is how long it took.
So much of the risk scenario for this assumed mainstream AI model creators would limit its output and this would be a targeted harassment/niche model issue.
So much of the risk scenario for this assumed mainstream AI model creators would limit its output and this would be a targeted harassment/niche model issue.
January 2, 2026 at 1:19 PM
One thing that I will point out is extremely predictable and depressing: Many members of the House GOP directly targeted nudify apps to argue for stronger age gating (KOSA, federal and state ASAA bills, even Cammack in her ASFA bill, which wouldn't have helped), but they're not going after xAI.
"We don't hate all Black people, just Somalis" is a pivot a lot like the decade-long Trump line of "we don't hate all immigrants, just *illegal* immigrants" figleaf. With a chaser of "the story I posted was made up."
I was wondering why their is so much random racist discourse on Somalis on the TL rn but oh it’s election season for governor rn lol
January 2, 2026 at 1:00 PM
"We don't hate all Black people, just Somalis" is a pivot a lot like the decade-long Trump line of "we don't hate all immigrants, just *illegal* immigrants" figleaf. With a chaser of "the story I posted was made up."
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
I missed this from the Manhattan Institute survey on December 1 of the "current GOP." 37% are Holocaust deniers, which, to my surprise, is greater than the percentage (33%) that believes vaccines cause autism.
January 1, 2026 at 11:18 PM
I missed this from the Manhattan Institute survey on December 1 of the "current GOP." 37% are Holocaust deniers, which, to my surprise, is greater than the percentage (33%) that believes vaccines cause autism.
"Suddenly it's bigotry to say 'the Jews are stealing your money' and after centuries of art talking about how Jews steal your money." (I'm using antisemitism as one case study, though obviously we're talking about Somalis and immigrants... the same structure applies.)
January 1, 2026 at 10:44 PM
"Suddenly it's bigotry to say 'the Jews are stealing your money' and after centuries of art talking about how Jews steal your money." (I'm using antisemitism as one case study, though obviously we're talking about Somalis and immigrants... the same structure applies.)
"If this administration wants to make its legacy blocking projects that deliver water to rural Americans; that’s on them." - Lauren "Beetlejuice handjob" Boebert
It's really frustrating that Dems aren't as good at this as the dumber MAGA GOP figures.
www.9news.com/article/news...
It's really frustrating that Dems aren't as good at this as the dumber MAGA GOP figures.
www.9news.com/article/news...
Trump vetoes bill to fund Arkansas Valley Conduit in Colorado
President Trump vetoed a bill to fund a pipeline project to bring clean drinking water to communities on the Eastern Plains between Pueblo and Lamar.
www.9news.com
January 1, 2026 at 9:57 PM
"If this administration wants to make its legacy blocking projects that deliver water to rural Americans; that’s on them." - Lauren "Beetlejuice handjob" Boebert
It's really frustrating that Dems aren't as good at this as the dumber MAGA GOP figures.
www.9news.com/article/news...
It's really frustrating that Dems aren't as good at this as the dumber MAGA GOP figures.
www.9news.com/article/news...
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
What things, Curtis? What things was Hitler speaking the truth about?
(I’m guessing he doesn’t mean public transportation or animal welfare.)
(I’m guessing he doesn’t mean public transportation or animal welfare.)
Curtis Yarvin, JD Vance’s friend & ideological influence, ended 2025 by claiming “only Hitler spoke the truth” about “too many subjects” & “Hitler was a genius.”
Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.
Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.
January 1, 2026 at 6:57 PM
What things, Curtis? What things was Hitler speaking the truth about?
(I’m guessing he doesn’t mean public transportation or animal welfare.)
(I’m guessing he doesn’t mean public transportation or animal welfare.)
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
Start the new year off with this fantastic article by the inimitable Joshua Shanes, revealing how the failures of the ADL reflect a deeper failure of how we talk about antisemitism in the US. slate.com/news-and-pol...
The ADL Could Focus on America’s Biggest Driver of Antisemitism. Instead, It’s Obsessed with Mamdani.
Calling for Palestinian equality is not antisemitism, no matter what the ADL says.
slate.com
January 1, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Start the new year off with this fantastic article by the inimitable Joshua Shanes, revealing how the failures of the ADL reflect a deeper failure of how we talk about antisemitism in the US. slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt's Nazi Staffer, by @chancephillips.bsky.social. The first ever story broken by @liberalcurrents.com, we remained the only one covering it for weeks after, until the Guardian picked it up. www.liberalcurrents.com/missouri-sen...
Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt's Nazi Staffer
Nathan Hochman was fired from the DeSantis campaign for making a transparently neoNazi video featuring the Governor, and has only doubled down on his white nationalism since.
www.liberalcurrents.com
January 1, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt's Nazi Staffer, by @chancephillips.bsky.social. The first ever story broken by @liberalcurrents.com, we remained the only one covering it for weeks after, until the Guardian picked it up. www.liberalcurrents.com/missouri-sen...
Given Trumo's position, there's a very real possibility that both of these bills could override a veto. The AVC bill seems like the kind of thing that could really get a lot of Republicans pissed off, because it has backing from members of both far-right (Boebert) and moderate wings (Hurd).
December 31, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Given Trumo's position, there's a very real possibility that both of these bills could override a veto. The AVC bill seems like the kind of thing that could really get a lot of Republicans pissed off, because it has backing from members of both far-right (Boebert) and moderate wings (Hurd).
Every time I see an article like this, I wonder if the authors have actually bothered to look at the substance of dating apps. A lot of straight, cis women I know are on the apps and the right-wing men on there are garbage pail kids.
Everyone has a list of so-called "red flags" when they're dating. And for some, especially younger Americans, different political views is a relationship deal breaker.
Majority of Gen Z swipe left on dating people with opposite political views
Everyone has a list of so-called "red flags" when they're dating. And for some, especially younger Americans, different political views is a relationship deal breaker.
n.pr
December 31, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Every time I see an article like this, I wonder if the authors have actually bothered to look at the substance of dating apps. A lot of straight, cis women I know are on the apps and the right-wing men on there are garbage pail kids.
The most significant GOP candidate in the VA Senate race drops out. I think this race is a dunker, since (a) it's going to be a big Democratic year, (b) Warner is good and effective, and (c) the VA GOP sucks.
youtu.be/-6yqTq6PZjA?...
youtu.be/-6yqTq6PZjA?...
Republicans have 'giant hill to climb' after Reeves drops out of U.S. Senate race
YouTube video by WRIC ABC 8News
youtu.be
December 31, 2025 at 6:45 PM
The most significant GOP candidate in the VA Senate race drops out. I think this race is a dunker, since (a) it's going to be a big Democratic year, (b) Warner is good and effective, and (c) the VA GOP sucks.
youtu.be/-6yqTq6PZjA?...
youtu.be/-6yqTq6PZjA?...
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
You’ll be unsurprised to learn that right-wing “citizen journalists” are now showing up at Somali-American-run daycare centers in other states, cameras rolling, demanding to see the children
December 31, 2025 at 5:09 PM
You’ll be unsurprised to learn that right-wing “citizen journalists” are now showing up at Somali-American-run daycare centers in other states, cameras rolling, demanding to see the children
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
i read this and i just see a lazy person with a skill issue
Real "oh my god, she admit it" moment here. Trump is treated as an uninteresting figure without agency so we can dump endless criticism on liberals for how they react to his "natural disaster." He "doesn't participate in moral frameworks" lmfao
December 31, 2025 at 10:53 AM
i read this and i just see a lazy person with a skill issue
Reposted by Not the Governor of North Carolina; got the handle first
I gotta say I really don't mind the universe where right wing influencers encourage their most avid fans to commit tax fraud while simultaneously torpedoing any "no mens rea" defense
December 31, 2025 at 1:05 PM
I gotta say I really don't mind the universe where right wing influencers encourage their most avid fans to commit tax fraud while simultaneously torpedoing any "no mens rea" defense
This is a perfect distillation of right-wing nonsense on antisemitism: Combat antisemitism by moving to a region dominated (demographically and politically) by the most antisemitic group, white Evangelicals.
Somehow I am skeptical that this plan is going to work: nationalpost.com/opinion/new-...
New program urges Canadian Jews worried by rising hate to relocate to Oklahoma
As more Canadian Jews consider fleeing the country due to rising antisemitism, a U.S. non-profit is urging them to make an exodus to Tulsa.
nationalpost.com
December 30, 2025 at 2:15 PM
This is a perfect distillation of right-wing nonsense on antisemitism: Combat antisemitism by moving to a region dominated (demographically and politically) by the most antisemitic group, white Evangelicals.