Nick Carnes
@carnes.bsky.social
Author of White-Collar Government and The Cash Ceiling Co-Author of Keeping Workers Off the Ballot Co-Editor of The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Bio/Foster/Adoptive Parent Opinions my own / not my employer's
It’s another great day to not use LLMs :)
Greg Pak@gregpak.net · 4h agoFair question! I use the periods to avoid slandering the Alberts, Albertos, and Alfredos of the world. I use a lower case "i" to devalue the industry's claim of "intelligence," because "A.i." is not sentient. And I add the quotes because the whole thing is an inaccurate, bogus marketing term.
Hugely proud to be part of this project. Gorgeous line art by @joshadams.bsky.social, colors by @nickfil.bsky.social & Matthew Wilson, letters by @longtalljodie.com, and story by Jim & Allie Bourdy. In the ISLANDS IN THE SKY anthology in comic shops this Wednesday!
Appalachia Comics Project@appalachiacomics.bsky.social · yesterdayIt was just rain. Until it wasn’t. Check out this sneak preview of “Just Rain” by Jim & Allie Bourdy in ‘Islands In The Sky: A People’s History of Hurricane Helene’ Written By: Jim & Allie Bourdy And Greg Pak Art By Josh Adams Colors By Nick Filardi & Matthew Wilson Letters By Jodie Troutman
It was so exhausting to do this in 2012. And then again in 2021. And then <again> in 2024. The only thing more Lucy-and-the-football than this is the way the media has fallen willingly for the "GOP Deficit Hawks" thing every couple of years since the 1980s.
Seth Cotlar@sethcotlar.bsky.social · yesterdaySomething tells me they didn’t really mean this.
For people who work in orgs or industries that have rushed to embrace "AI," it can be hard to appreciate both the breadth and the depth of the criticisms. This thread is a nice primer on what a lot of the people who aren't personally profiting from products marketed as "AI" think of this stuff.
Greg Pak@gregpak.net · yesterday"A.i." is bullshit and literally everyone knows it.
Depicting Jewish people with horns is a centuries-old, dehumanizing, antisemitic trope. Democratic Gov nominee Phil Weiser is outspoken about his mother’s birth in a Nazi concentration camp, his family members killed in the Holocaust, and the threat posed by antisemitism today.
It's another great day to not use LLMs.
Greg Pak@gregpak.net · yesterday"A.i." is bullshit and literally everyone knows it.
This is honestly one of the most shocking images coming out of this administration and that’s saying something
Murshed Zaheed@murshedz.bsky.social · last wk.“Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Right now people in blue states are basically paying federal taxes as if they’re colonized territories of red states. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
P.S. It's not just strategists--it's candidates and electeds, too. And it's not just the Democratic Party, it's both of them. And it's not just the U.S.--it's every country that uses elections to select leaders. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... @noamlupu.bsky.social
Keeping Workers Off the Ballot
Why the underrepresentation of the working class in political office is an inevitable side effect of electoral democracy itself
press.princeton.edu
Nick Carnes@carnes.bsky.social · 3d agoNYT: Dem 2024 ”autopsy” was redacted to exclude chapter arguing that “most senior Democratic strategists in 2024 were ’financially secure’ and thus removed from the challenges facing many Americans.” First step is admitting you have a problem. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
TIL: I kept a *confetto* from my first Weezer concert in my wallet for two decades.
Merriam-Webster@merriam-webster.com · 3d agoA single piece of confetti is called a ‘confetto.’ spaghetti = spaghetto graffiti = graffito
This is what happens people use children as political footballs: they get kicked.
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 3d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
Bunch of creeps who want to inspect your kids’ genitals.
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 3d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
Drought-induced closure of Hungary’s nuclear power plant will take 40% of their electricity offline until the drought abates— or work-arounds can be implemented. This is yet another risk of nuclear that should be considered before countries develop more nuclear.
Hungary faces energy crunch as drought shuts down Paks nuclear plant, PM says
Budapest loses 40 percent of the country’s electricity generation as water levels continue to drop.
politico.eu
NYT: Dem 2024 ”autopsy” was redacted to exclude chapter arguing that “most senior Democratic strategists in 2024 were ’financially secure’ and thus removed from the challenges facing many Americans.” First step is admitting you have a problem. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
Author of Democrats’ 2024 Autopsy Says Party Left Out Key Chapter
A dispute over the chapter between the author and the Democratic National Committee has added to the party’s turmoil as it tries to look forward, not backward.
nytimes.com
Please stop saying “lockdowns.” There were never true lockdowns in the US, and it fuels far right narratives to repeat this inaccurate statement. You can say closures, you can say restrictions, or better, you can say public health measures which saved many lives.
Dr. Lucky Tran@luckytran.com · 6d agoPeople still complain about “lockdowns” but we had none in the US. We had stay-at-home orders, where although businesses were closed, you could still go outside whenever you wanted. Other countries had far stricter rules, and yet have been much more accepting of them as they saved many more lives.
Maine hates outsiders meddling in its politics, absolutely hates it. So Troy taking it to Elon Musk for him dumping money in to help Susan Collins is right on and very effective.
Troy Jackson@troyjackson207.bsky.social · 4d agoMy response to Elon Musk.
“Let’s not let this dangerous untested tech mess with our kids’ brains.”
Greg Pak@gregpak.net · 5d agoHey, friends! I put my big face in a video like the kids do! Time to join the @aimoratoriumnyc.bsky.social and tell @mayor.nyc.gov to enact a moratorium on "A.i." in the schools! Please share - and please tell the mayor you want a moratorium! www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
Hey, friends! I put my big face in a video like the kids do! Time to join the @aimoratoriumnyc.bsky.social and tell @mayor.nyc.gov to enact a moratorium on "A.i." in the schools! Please share - and please tell the mayor you want a moratorium! www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
It’s another great day to not use LLMs and other synthetic media extruders.
Joseph Cox@josephcox.bsky.social · 5d agoNew from 404 Media: Google Earth has introduced an AI feature that lets anyone fabricate completely bullshit satellite images. In our own tests, we added a “bomb blast and crater” to an area of Los Angeles. This is a misinformation time bomb, will 100% be abused www.404media.co/google-earth...
It’s another great day to not use LLMs.
PBS News@pbsnews.org · 6d agoThe State Department said it takes "full responsibility" for "hastily" altering and then presenting a map of Africa at a global AIDS conference that mislabeled every single country it highlighted. An analysis by Reuters found a watermark in the map image that suggests it was made with OpenAI.
It’s another great day to not use LLMs.
Aaron Parnas@aaronparnas.bsky.social · last wk.AI companies are reportedly buying rare and out-of-print books, cutting off their bindings, and scanning them for training data. The physical copies are then destroyed, raising fears that uncommon and historically valuable works could be permanently lost.
Unique Vintage just decided potential bigot dollars are more important than my human rights welcome to being trans in 2026 please let them know this is unacceptable to you, ESPECIALLY if you’re cis: service@uniquevintage.com
