Matthew Buckley
@physicsmatt.bsky.social
Theoretical physicist, Rutgers professor.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
They’re calling it the most divorced anyone has ever been
January 15, 2026 at 6:26 PM
They’re calling it the most divorced anyone has ever been
On the one hand, my attitude towards LLMs on a scale of 1-10 is "Butlerian Jihad," but on the other hand, Claude did manage to sort out the dependencies between the 15 different C++ and Clang compilers sown like dragon's teeth in the dark recesses of my computer.
January 15, 2026 at 6:38 PM
On the one hand, my attitude towards LLMs on a scale of 1-10 is "Butlerian Jihad," but on the other hand, Claude did manage to sort out the dependencies between the 15 different C++ and Clang compilers sown like dragon's teeth in the dark recesses of my computer.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
When one group of workers is terrorized or disappeared, it threatens all workers’ ability to fight for their rights. I wrote about how federal raids and ICE occupations are chilling organizing and eroding conditions for all workers.
How Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Chills Organizing and Erodes Conditions for All Workers
When one group of workers is terrorized or disappeared, it threatens all workers’ ability to fight for their labor rights.
www.thenation.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:46 PM
When one group of workers is terrorized or disappeared, it threatens all workers’ ability to fight for their rights. I wrote about how federal raids and ICE occupations are chilling organizing and eroding conditions for all workers.
It used to be that when my computer crashed (which happened not infrequently), it would take all my open tabs with it. Now my computer doesn't crash often and when it does the tabs are saved.
I'm saying we have to go back to being able to blame the computer for Tab Bankruptcy.
I'm saying we have to go back to being able to blame the computer for Tab Bankruptcy.
January 15, 2026 at 5:45 PM
It used to be that when my computer crashed (which happened not infrequently), it would take all my open tabs with it. Now my computer doesn't crash often and when it does the tabs are saved.
I'm saying we have to go back to being able to blame the computer for Tab Bankruptcy.
I'm saying we have to go back to being able to blame the computer for Tab Bankruptcy.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
I'm not taking any stance on the validity and I certainly am not here to lecture the people of Minneapolis on how to endure the unendurable, but people aren't screaming that nonviolence isn't going to work because it has no history of success, they're screaming because it does & people hate it.
I think some posters on here missed that "getting punched in the face, repeatedly, by goon security services and not directly punching back" has been a core tenet of just about every successful nonviolent resistance movement in history
January 15, 2026 at 5:16 PM
I'm not taking any stance on the validity and I certainly am not here to lecture the people of Minneapolis on how to endure the unendurable, but people aren't screaming that nonviolence isn't going to work because it has no history of success, they're screaming because it does & people hate it.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
ICE keeps saying the people protesting it are being paid without any evidence, but we have receipts showing that the people *defending* ICE are absolutely being paid.
And yet we only hear lies about the former on cable news.
And yet we only hear lies about the former on cable news.
relevant to the debate over whether we should keep funding DHS without reforms and accountability for how out of control their spending is
January 15, 2026 at 4:28 PM
ICE keeps saying the people protesting it are being paid without any evidence, but we have receipts showing that the people *defending* ICE are absolutely being paid.
And yet we only hear lies about the former on cable news.
And yet we only hear lies about the former on cable news.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
First Trump dismantled USAID, now he’s cutting health aid globally.
The more unhealthy the world is, the more at risk we all become.
The more unhealthy the world is, the more at risk we all become.
U.S. Cuts Health Aid and Ties It to Funding Pledges by African Governments
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:03 PM
First Trump dismantled USAID, now he’s cutting health aid globally.
The more unhealthy the world is, the more at risk we all become.
The more unhealthy the world is, the more at risk we all become.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
So ~1 week after they killed Renee Good, ICE chased a man, shot and injured him reportedly through the door of a home, then blanketed a majority Black neighborhood in a tremendous amount of chemical weapons and flash grenades in the middle of the night. That's where we're at.
January 15, 2026 at 3:31 PM
So ~1 week after they killed Renee Good, ICE chased a man, shot and injured him reportedly through the door of a home, then blanketed a majority Black neighborhood in a tremendous amount of chemical weapons and flash grenades in the middle of the night. That's where we're at.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
looks like donald trump used the military to do a smash and grab for his personal benefit
Seizure ... by whom? If we're asserting that the money is safer in Qatar than the US, that suggests that it is being protected because Qatar has something the US lacks — presumably a lack of accountability to American courts and Congress. www.semafor.com/article/01/1...
January 15, 2026 at 4:01 AM
looks like donald trump used the military to do a smash and grab for his personal benefit
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
North Carolina x Kyrsten Sinema: alienation of affection suit complaint edition.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
January 15, 2026 at 2:42 PM
North Carolina x Kyrsten Sinema: alienation of affection suit complaint edition.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
This is good if true. (Not that I doubt the reporting, just that I don't trust RFK and his crowd.)
BREAKING: The controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau has been *cancelled,* I can now report. A senior official with Africa CDC confirmed the cancellation and said GB officials are working to make sure any research is conducted ethically:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled
$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:31 PM
This is good if true. (Not that I doubt the reporting, just that I don't trust RFK and his crowd.)
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
Republicans control all 3 branches of government. Even when they don't, both parties pump out constant rhetoric about "real Americans" living in rural areas.
The entire premise of this article is a conservative-fluffing myth. Cities have more political power because that's where most people live!
The entire premise of this article is a conservative-fluffing myth. Cities have more political power because that's where most people live!
January 15, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Republicans control all 3 branches of government. Even when they don't, both parties pump out constant rhetoric about "real Americans" living in rural areas.
The entire premise of this article is a conservative-fluffing myth. Cities have more political power because that's where most people live!
The entire premise of this article is a conservative-fluffing myth. Cities have more political power because that's where most people live!
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
EPSTEIN UPDATE: today I’m expanding my follow-the-money investigation of Epstein’s financing by examining his transactions at another Wall Street Bank, BNY Mellon.
BNY’s $378 Million of Epstein Transfers Draws Senator’s Scrutiny
A key Senate Democrat asked Bank of New York Mellon Corp. for information about $378 million in transfers processed for Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in jail in 2019 as he faced se...
www.bloomberg.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:11 PM
EPSTEIN UPDATE: today I’m expanding my follow-the-money investigation of Epstein’s financing by examining his transactions at another Wall Street Bank, BNY Mellon.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
Virginia's legislative session only started yesterday, and it was a very big day.
The House already passed four constitutional amendments on Day 1:
—protect abortion rights
—repeal the same-sex marriage ban
—allow mid-decade redistricting
—greatly expand voting rights restoration.
Next: Senate.
The House already passed four constitutional amendments on Day 1:
—protect abortion rights
—repeal the same-sex marriage ban
—allow mid-decade redistricting
—greatly expand voting rights restoration.
Next: Senate.
January 15, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Virginia's legislative session only started yesterday, and it was a very big day.
The House already passed four constitutional amendments on Day 1:
—protect abortion rights
—repeal the same-sex marriage ban
—allow mid-decade redistricting
—greatly expand voting rights restoration.
Next: Senate.
The House already passed four constitutional amendments on Day 1:
—protect abortion rights
—repeal the same-sex marriage ban
—allow mid-decade redistricting
—greatly expand voting rights restoration.
Next: Senate.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
If Donald Trump calls for the Insurrection Act, the house of labor MUST respond!
January 15, 2026 at 3:08 PM
If Donald Trump calls for the Insurrection Act, the house of labor MUST respond!
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
Stage 5 pundit-brain is watching an innocent woman being killed by agents of the state and going, "hmm this says a lot about the urban-rural divide in America."
January 15, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Stage 5 pundit-brain is watching an innocent woman being killed by agents of the state and going, "hmm this says a lot about the urban-rural divide in America."
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
Madison Sheahan is a 28-year-old former political aide to Kristi Noem with little law enforcement experience before being named ICE Deputy Director. Prior reporting said she was mocked internally as "fish cop" because she somehow got made director of Louisiana Fish and Wildlife in 2024.
January 15, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Madison Sheahan is a 28-year-old former political aide to Kristi Noem with little law enforcement experience before being named ICE Deputy Director. Prior reporting said she was mocked internally as "fish cop" because she somehow got made director of Louisiana Fish and Wildlife in 2024.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
Dr. Paul Offit was similarly alarmed. “These investigators will conduct a trial where children who are born to mothers who are HBsAG [Hepatitis B carriers] positive—but don’t know it because they weren’t screened—would not be given a birth dose? That condemns those children to a shorter life.”
We have the CDC-funded Hepatitis Vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau protocol.
It’s worse than you thought.
Check it out, first in Inside Medicine…
with @pauloffit.bsky.social David Boulware and others.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-the-...
It’s worse than you thought.
Check it out, first in Inside Medicine…
with @pauloffit.bsky.social David Boulware and others.
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-the-...
Scoop: The leaked protocol of the CDC-funded Hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau. “This is another Tuskegee.”
The protocol reveals that the trial will withhold the Hepatitis B birth dose from thousands—without placebos, without universal maternal screening, and with endpoints critics call indefensible.
insidemedicine.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Dr. Paul Offit was similarly alarmed. “These investigators will conduct a trial where children who are born to mothers who are HBsAG [Hepatitis B carriers] positive—but don’t know it because they weren’t screened—would not be given a birth dose? That condemns those children to a shorter life.”
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
Observers are also listening to police radio chatter and they aren’t, let’s say, being friendly about the feds. You can be the coppiest cop alive and not appreciate a barely-trained, heavily armed rabble bombing the city with tear gas and causing unrelenting fear and chaos.
i really think this is gonna be a big ol' schism - my rr spotted undercover cops grouping up and went to observe, first thing one of them said to me was 'we are NOT with immigration.' an extremely distrustful and alert populace is also bad for genuine police work and that WILL have consequences
January 15, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Observers are also listening to police radio chatter and they aren’t, let’s say, being friendly about the feds. You can be the coppiest cop alive and not appreciate a barely-trained, heavily armed rabble bombing the city with tear gas and causing unrelenting fear and chaos.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
Still waiting, five years later, now while the authoritarian paramilitaries are running amok in America’s cities, for that very first Diner Journalism piece on enthusiastic Black Biden voters in Philly & Atlanta.
NYTimes has truly outdone itself with this latest in its "ask white guys in diner" genre. Thank goodness we get a perspective on what's happening in Minneapolis from people in **Nisswa** who probably mean Brainerd when they say they "prefer not to go the city anymore" www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
One State, Two Very Different Views of Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Still waiting, five years later, now while the authoritarian paramilitaries are running amok in America’s cities, for that very first Diner Journalism piece on enthusiastic Black Biden voters in Philly & Atlanta.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
New: meet ELITE, the Palantir app ICE is using to find neighborhoods to raid. Map interface; officers search for immigrants; click person to bring up individual dossier. This is clearest link between what Palantir is building and ICE's activities on the ground yet www.404media.co/elite-the-pa...
‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid
Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activit...
www.404media.co
January 15, 2026 at 2:06 PM
New: meet ELITE, the Palantir app ICE is using to find neighborhoods to raid. Map interface; officers search for immigrants; click person to bring up individual dossier. This is clearest link between what Palantir is building and ICE's activities on the ground yet www.404media.co/elite-the-pa...
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
At a certain point this becomes a statement about the enthusiasm gap between liberals and conservatives. Liberals are out there putting their bodies on the line in the cold. Conservatives in 2021 would take the train into New York and make trouble at the closest fast food restaurant to the station.
Republican on CNN: You peacefully protest with a letter to the editor. You peacefully protest by starting a Substack or a podcast.
January 15, 2026 at 4:29 AM
At a certain point this becomes a statement about the enthusiasm gap between liberals and conservatives. Liberals are out there putting their bodies on the line in the cold. Conservatives in 2021 would take the train into New York and make trouble at the closest fast food restaurant to the station.
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
This. The guy at the bar shouting “hold me back” doesn’t want to fight. He hopes bluster will cow his target and impress his friends.
If Team Trump was actually confident that invoking the Insurrection Act would help them, they would’ve done it already.
(Still might, doesn’t change my point)
If Team Trump was actually confident that invoking the Insurrection Act would help them, they would’ve done it already.
(Still might, doesn’t change my point)
Yeah, the thing about the Insurrection Act is that if Trump -- or his various viziers -- actually thought it *was* magic, they would have pressed that button by now. What it does is escalate the situation in really unpredictable ways
The Insurrection Act isn’t magic.
All deployments of repressive Trumpist forces are based on lies. Why assume he’s holding back due to lack of factual basis?
Possible he likes the looming threat more, wary of how the military responds, that it won’t end protests, and his fans will be disappointed.
All deployments of repressive Trumpist forces are based on lies. Why assume he’s holding back due to lack of factual basis?
Possible he likes the looming threat more, wary of how the military responds, that it won’t end protests, and his fans will be disappointed.
January 15, 2026 at 1:56 PM
This. The guy at the bar shouting “hold me back” doesn’t want to fight. He hopes bluster will cow his target and impress his friends.
If Team Trump was actually confident that invoking the Insurrection Act would help them, they would’ve done it already.
(Still might, doesn’t change my point)
If Team Trump was actually confident that invoking the Insurrection Act would help them, they would’ve done it already.
(Still might, doesn’t change my point)
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
Per yesterdays discourse about what do we call this sort of conflict if its not a civil war, given everything we've seen & whats come out from Trump/Miller the past couple weeks, I dont think itd be too hyperbolic to say that Miller in particular is hoping/trying to spark a race war
January 15, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Per yesterdays discourse about what do we call this sort of conflict if its not a civil war, given everything we've seen & whats come out from Trump/Miller the past couple weeks, I dont think itd be too hyperbolic to say that Miller in particular is hoping/trying to spark a race war
Reposted by Matthew Buckley
In an interview yesterday with Reuters, President Trump boasted that he has accomplished so much that “when you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election.”
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
January 15, 2026 at 1:48 PM
In an interview yesterday with Reuters, President Trump boasted that he has accomplished so much that “when you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election.”
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...
www.reuters.com/world/us/fiv...