Patrick Matthews
@matthewsp.bsky.social
Delawarean. Workforce management professional, quiz bowl enthusiast, and Microsoft Excel MVP. Philadelphia sports enjoyer. I left The Bad Place.
Pinned
California judge rules that a report on police in Vallejo bending their badges to mark fatal shootings can remain secret. The judge also closed the hearing to public and press and locked the door to the courtroom. openvallejo.org/2024/10/02/f...
From a locked courtroom, judge rules Vallejo badge bending report will remain secret
A Solano County Superior Court judge on Wednesday blocked the full release of an investigative report into Vallejo police badge bending in a hearing closed to the public and press.
openvallejo.org
Alternate headline: “Armed Gang Suppresses Details of Initiation Rituals”
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
How many times in your life have you heard a member of Congress or someone on TV say “we can’t afford it” when talking about something small but very important? It’s been happening my entire life. We can’t afford it? They’re putting seven times the annual budget of the EPA into immigrant detention.
June 30, 2025 at 12:49 AM
How many times in your life have you heard a member of Congress or someone on TV say “we can’t afford it” when talking about something small but very important? It’s been happening my entire life. We can’t afford it? They’re putting seven times the annual budget of the EPA into immigrant detention.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Thanks to a whole lot of resilience — and a $30,000 grant — Mastery Smedley is making history as the first inner-city public school to compete at the UCA Nationals in Florida.
Smedley Elementary cheer squad will make Philly history at UCA nationals
www.inquirer.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:40 AM
Thanks to a whole lot of resilience — and a $30,000 grant — Mastery Smedley is making history as the first inner-city public school to compete at the UCA Nationals in Florida.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Such is the outrage in Denmark over both Trump’s desire for Greenland and disparaging remarks about NATO that one of the country’s leading newspapers devoted their Saturday front and plenty of room inside to the bios of all 44 Danes slain during NATO missions in support of the US
February 1, 2026 at 12:01 PM
Such is the outrage in Denmark over both Trump’s desire for Greenland and disparaging remarks about NATO that one of the country’s leading newspapers devoted their Saturday front and plenty of room inside to the bios of all 44 Danes slain during NATO missions in support of the US
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
This administration’s treatment of a NATO ally is both incredibly disgraceful and contrary to U.S. national interests.
Such is the outrage in Denmark over both Trump’s desire for Greenland and disparaging remarks about NATO that one of the country’s leading newspapers devoted their Saturday front and plenty of room inside to the bios of all 44 Danes slain during NATO missions in support of the US
February 2, 2026 at 2:25 AM
This administration’s treatment of a NATO ally is both incredibly disgraceful and contrary to U.S. national interests.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Feb. 1, 1960, 4 NC A&T students sat-in at the “whites only” counter at Woolworths in Greensboro. Their defiance ignited a movement led to the birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Young people fuel movements. It is inspiring to see that today they still do.
#BlackHistoryMonth
Young people fuel movements. It is inspiring to see that today they still do.
#BlackHistoryMonth
February 1, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Feb. 1, 1960, 4 NC A&T students sat-in at the “whites only” counter at Woolworths in Greensboro. Their defiance ignited a movement led to the birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Young people fuel movements. It is inspiring to see that today they still do.
#BlackHistoryMonth
Young people fuel movements. It is inspiring to see that today they still do.
#BlackHistoryMonth
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
immigration should be handled by one single agency that is 99% boring office work and 1% border enforcement on the actual physical border to catch smugglers and shit
having a whole agency dedicated to being "guys with badges and guns who track down illegals" inevitably self-selects for this
having a whole agency dedicated to being "guys with badges and guns who track down illegals" inevitably self-selects for this
February 1, 2026 at 10:21 PM
immigration should be handled by one single agency that is 99% boring office work and 1% border enforcement on the actual physical border to catch smugglers and shit
having a whole agency dedicated to being "guys with badges and guns who track down illegals" inevitably self-selects for this
having a whole agency dedicated to being "guys with badges and guns who track down illegals" inevitably self-selects for this
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
It is unprecedented because it is expressly forbidden by the constitution -- the only specifically enumerated cause of action for impeachment and removal.
WSJ: “.. The deal marked something unprecedented in American politics: a foreign government official taking a major ownership stake in an incoming U.S. president's company."
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
February 2, 2026 at 12:19 AM
It is unprecedented because it is expressly forbidden by the constitution -- the only specifically enumerated cause of action for impeachment and removal.
So much for the RETVRN gang.
Seriously, every administrator who had a hand in this decision should die from embarrassment.
Seriously, every administrator who had a hand in this decision should die from embarrassment.
“In January administrators at Texas A&M told Martin Peterson he could either strike Plato’s ‘Symposium’ from the syllabus of his introductory philosophy course or be reassigned. Reading Plato, they argued, exposed students to one of Texas’s banned topics: gender and race ideology.”
Republican states are censoring universities
New laws restrict what professors can teach
economist.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:37 AM
So much for the RETVRN gang.
Seriously, every administrator who had a hand in this decision should die from embarrassment.
Seriously, every administrator who had a hand in this decision should die from embarrassment.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
The fact that both are quite experienced—8 years and 12 years with CBP—is yet more evidence that CBP should be abolished and all of its agents fired. There's no way to "reform" or "retrain" that, it's just a violent gang with badges.
February 1, 2026 at 9:54 PM
The fact that both are quite experienced—8 years and 12 years with CBP—is yet more evidence that CBP should be abolished and all of its agents fired. There's no way to "reform" or "retrain" that, it's just a violent gang with badges.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Signs you might be a far right authoritarian party (#3305):
February 1, 2026 at 10:57 PM
Signs you might be a far right authoritarian party (#3305):
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
I'm ready to vote for any Democrat who promises to destroy everything Trump builds, fire everyone he hired, and subject everyone who works for him (who wasn't a career civil servant already in place) to criminal investigation.
Historian here literally and symbolically Trump is hell bent on destroying the American republic, its constitution, and founding principles on its 250th. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Trump wants to build a 250-foot-tall arch, dwarfing the Lincoln Memorial
The president is eyeing a plot of land near Memorial Bridge. The art critic who proposed the idea called for a smaller arch or for Trump to pick a new site.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 1, 2026 at 11:34 PM
I'm ready to vote for any Democrat who promises to destroy everything Trump builds, fire everyone he hired, and subject everyone who works for him (who wasn't a career civil servant already in place) to criminal investigation.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Opposition to the “doxxing” of law enforcement is advocacy for having secret police.
January 28, 2026 at 11:20 PM
Opposition to the “doxxing” of law enforcement is advocacy for having secret police.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
What is happening now should make it clear to everyone that a serious attempt to rid America of "illegal" immigrants must inevitably catch legal immigrants and even citizens in the net. And it involves fascistic oppression and violence, corrosive of a free society.
I genuinely have no idea how to convey this to the American people, but I think the biggest impediment to any kind of immigration reform is that people are convinced that "legal" and "illegal" are immutable, intrinsic categories instead of a rapidly-shifting arbitrary constellation of regulations.
February 1, 2026 at 10:42 PM
What is happening now should make it clear to everyone that a serious attempt to rid America of "illegal" immigrants must inevitably catch legal immigrants and even citizens in the net. And it involves fascistic oppression and violence, corrosive of a free society.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
The White House is open for bribery.
U.A.E. Firm Quietly Took Stake in the Trump Family’s Crypto Company
www.nytimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:59 PM
The White House is open for bribery.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Note: CBP, not ICE.
(Not that ICE is any angel, but it's important to keep these straight. Yes, abolish ICE, but let's not forget that CBP is a problem too.)
(Not that ICE is any angel, but it's important to keep these straight. Yes, abolish ICE, but let's not forget that CBP is a problem too.)
BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Note: CBP, not ICE.
(Not that ICE is any angel, but it's important to keep these straight. Yes, abolish ICE, but let's not forget that CBP is a problem too.)
(Not that ICE is any angel, but it's important to keep these straight. Yes, abolish ICE, but let's not forget that CBP is a problem too.)
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
WSJ: “.. The deal marked something unprecedented in American politics: a foreign government official taking a major ownership stake in an incoming U.S. president's company."
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
February 1, 2026 at 1:49 PM
WSJ: “.. The deal marked something unprecedented in American politics: a foreign government official taking a major ownership stake in an incoming U.S. president's company."
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Kavanaugh Stop
4 federal agents pull over an elderly US citizen for the suspected crime of being brown, break her car window, throw her to the ground, then drive off after they find her US Passport in her purse. The Salem Police, when called, say there’s nothing they can do. www.salemreporter.com/2026/01/31/u...
U.S. citizen injured by federal agents in Salem who demanded to see “papers,” union says - Salem Reporter
A home care worker and union worker was pulled from her car and injured by federal agents Thursday according to a statement by SEIU 503. To comment on this story, use the form at the end of the repor...
www.salemreporter.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Kavanaugh Stop
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Take me down to the Parallax city where the far moves slow and the near moves quickly
February 1, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Take me down to the Parallax city where the far moves slow and the near moves quickly
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
“You are good to go.” Good to go?!?!
This is what ICE tells a young woman they tossed out into dangerously freezing temperatures after four agonizing days in detention at Whipple.
Today’s front page Strib report: www.startribune.com/no-humanity-...
This is what ICE tells a young woman they tossed out into dangerously freezing temperatures after four agonizing days in detention at Whipple.
Today’s front page Strib report: www.startribune.com/no-humanity-...
February 1, 2026 at 4:48 PM
“You are good to go.” Good to go?!?!
This is what ICE tells a young woman they tossed out into dangerously freezing temperatures after four agonizing days in detention at Whipple.
Today’s front page Strib report: www.startribune.com/no-humanity-...
This is what ICE tells a young woman they tossed out into dangerously freezing temperatures after four agonizing days in detention at Whipple.
Today’s front page Strib report: www.startribune.com/no-humanity-...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
Some jawdropping CBP crime statistics here...
February 1, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Some jawdropping CBP crime statistics here...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
They aren’t deescalating anything. They’re claiming new extra-constitutional powers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
ICE Expands Power of Agents to Arrest People Without Warrants
www.nytimes.com
January 31, 2026 at 11:30 PM
They aren’t deescalating anything. They’re claiming new extra-constitutional powers.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
34,000 signing up for this work AFTER seeing their fellow citizens gunned down by federal thugs in cold blood? I'm chugging whatever the opposite of doomerism is
More than 34,000 Minnesotans signed up to be trained as ICED observers with various activist groups in recent weeks, many of them since Jan. 7, when a federal agent shot and killed Renée Good.
Thousands of new ICE watchers hit the streets after two killings
Minnesotans outraged by the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti have signed up in large numbers to monitor and protest ICE with other activists.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 1, 2026 at 1:13 AM
34,000 signing up for this work AFTER seeing their fellow citizens gunned down by federal thugs in cold blood? I'm chugging whatever the opposite of doomerism is
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
the reason the details are important here is because this is behavior we don’t even tolerate from local police, the violations are illegal and egregious, and they’re being committed daily
drawing their guns, aiming them at someone who hasn’t even committed a traffic offense, forcibly removing her from her vehicle at gunpoint and throwing her into their vehicle for transport were crimes committed before local police even made a phone call, and should be reported as such imo
January 31, 2026 at 7:22 PM
the reason the details are important here is because this is behavior we don’t even tolerate from local police, the violations are illegal and egregious, and they’re being committed daily
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
While this is a banger of a story, let's look again at that image of three federal officiers with guns drawn and pointed at an unarmed observer in her car. She's a citizen, but her status isn't really the point. These "officers" are the problem, and you can plainly see why.
January 31, 2026 at 2:56 PM
While this is a banger of a story, let's look again at that image of three federal officiers with guns drawn and pointed at an unarmed observer in her car. She's a citizen, but her status isn't really the point. These "officers" are the problem, and you can plainly see why.
Reposted by Patrick Matthews
"MPR News has learned that the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened Thursday afternoon to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting a local resident" who had been observing federal agents. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
St. Peter police chief intervenes, prevents federal agents from arresting resident
The police chief of St. Peter intervened to prevent federal agents from taking a local resident who was observing ICE enforcement actions into custody. It is believed to the first time local police in...
www.mprnews.org
January 31, 2026 at 2:48 PM
"MPR News has learned that the police chief in the small southern Minnesota city of St. Peter intervened Thursday afternoon to prevent federal immigration agents from arresting a local resident" who had been observing federal agents. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...