Matt Loar
@matt.loar.name
Former software engineer for big tech, former in-house privacy counsel for a smaller tech company, future solo practitioner?
He/him. Chicago-adjacent.
Signal: https://signal.me/#eu/B19ogjK1ReqNnet150oQTfP_h4YzWKJ-wgJ-rcZ6g8ibFdEoEn1N6LQVDp8Uvl-W
He/him. Chicago-adjacent.
Signal: https://signal.me/#eu/B19ogjK1ReqNnet150oQTfP_h4YzWKJ-wgJ-rcZ6g8ibFdEoEn1N6LQVDp8Uvl-W
Pinned
Reposted by Matt Loar
Here in Delaware we have a statue of Thomas Garrett, a white man found guilty of obstructing the recapture of fugitives from slavery – ordered to pay damages to the point of ruin for it.
We don't, to my knowledge, have any statues celebrating the judges or jury members who found him guilty.
We don't, to my knowledge, have any statues celebrating the judges or jury members who found him guilty.
December 19, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Here in Delaware we have a statue of Thomas Garrett, a white man found guilty of obstructing the recapture of fugitives from slavery – ordered to pay damages to the point of ruin for it.
We don't, to my knowledge, have any statues celebrating the judges or jury members who found him guilty.
We don't, to my knowledge, have any statues celebrating the judges or jury members who found him guilty.
Reposted by Matt Loar
There's actually a very unsettling array of these to choose from
December 20, 2025 at 12:50 AM
There's actually a very unsettling array of these to choose from
Reposted by Matt Loar
This studio awards-season email is really matching the current mood in a way I’m not sure they intended.
December 19, 2025 at 11:36 PM
This studio awards-season email is really matching the current mood in a way I’m not sure they intended.
On the Red Line at Howard and the CTA Holiday train just pulled in across the platform. I love this tradition.
December 20, 2025 at 12:51 AM
On the Red Line at Howard and the CTA Holiday train just pulled in across the platform. I love this tradition.
Reposted by Matt Loar
From this point on, I'm forced to assume that every elected politician who does not immediately call for Trump's impeachment is in the Epstein files. Sorry. Just cutting the Gordian knot here, as one does during societal collapse.
December 20, 2025 at 12:05 AM
From this point on, I'm forced to assume that every elected politician who does not immediately call for Trump's impeachment is in the Epstein files. Sorry. Just cutting the Gordian knot here, as one does during societal collapse.
Reposted by Matt Loar
lol when a rich, powerful white man begs for higher taxes, you know that vibes are about to shift towards eating the rich:
Mitt Romney is in the New York Times saying we should tax the rich.
December 19, 2025 at 4:07 PM
lol when a rich, powerful white man begs for higher taxes, you know that vibes are about to shift towards eating the rich:
Reposted by Matt Loar
album cover bsky.app/profile/mili...
❗️🇺🇦Ukrainian homemade 122-mm MLRS based on the BMW 7 series
December 19, 2025 at 7:21 PM
album cover bsky.app/profile/mili...
Reposted by Matt Loar
I read through these (more in the comments) and hoped maybe this was some cheeky lefty publication that went looking for the most extremist nuts they could find to make the right look bad.
Nope. It’s City Journal, published by the far right Manhattan Institute.
Horrifying.
Nope. It’s City Journal, published by the far right Manhattan Institute.
Horrifying.
December 19, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I read through these (more in the comments) and hoped maybe this was some cheeky lefty publication that went looking for the most extremist nuts they could find to make the right look bad.
Nope. It’s City Journal, published by the far right Manhattan Institute.
Horrifying.
Nope. It’s City Journal, published by the far right Manhattan Institute.
Horrifying.
Reposted by Matt Loar
The reason you should all read this book is that it is the only existing historical account of the fall of German constitutional democracy, written in real time, as it happened, from within Germany, by a German lawyer.
The parallels are uncanny.
The parallels are uncanny.
Again, for reference. Should be mandatory reading always, but especially these days.
The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship: Fraenkel, Ernst, Shils, E a, Lowenstein, Edith: 9781616190699: Amazon.com: Books
The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship [Fraenkel, Ernst, Shils, E a, Lowenstein, Edith] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Dual State: A Contribution to the...
a.co
December 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The reason you should all read this book is that it is the only existing historical account of the fall of German constitutional democracy, written in real time, as it happened, from within Germany, by a German lawyer.
The parallels are uncanny.
The parallels are uncanny.
Reposted by Matt Loar
I suggest we invoke Damnatio Memoriae on Trump. There will be a lot to remove/destroy.
NEWS: They're adding Trump's name to the Kennedy Center building right now. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
Kennedy Center adds Trump’s name to building
The signage change follows a vote by the board of trustees to rename the performing arts complex the Trump Kennedy Center.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:13 PM
I suggest we invoke Damnatio Memoriae on Trump. There will be a lot to remove/destroy.
Got the Wordle in 4. Merry Christmas!
December 19, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Got the Wordle in 4. Merry Christmas!
Reposted by Matt Loar
This is huge. Trump has successfully prosecuted a state official for bucking his racist war on immigrants. If they can get a judge, they can get anyone. Gift article.
Judge Convicted of Obstructing Agents as They Sought Undocumented Immigrant
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:01 AM
This is huge. Trump has successfully prosecuted a state official for bucking his racist war on immigrants. If they can get a judge, they can get anyone. Gift article.
Reposted by Matt Loar
this is the most "Get a Job, Stay Away From Her" I've ever felt
![What’s the title or IP that you have yet to land but want?
Calvin and Hobbes. I’ve been chasing that for years and years, and I just have gotten nowhere with [creator] Bill Watterson. I began writing letters to him over 20 years ago. He lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and I was actually contemplating just going out there and just staying at a local Best Western and seeing if he ever shows up at the [local] bookstore. All he does is these wood carvings for poetry readings, and every now and then he goes to the bookstore and does signings.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bck7uabvjt4xu5uzn3exzhqj/bafkreihbf3oqirpgrhgcmd5ruwmeq6wi4bfhpzlgexh26yfjnb5g5i3a6q@jpeg)
December 18, 2025 at 9:36 PM
this is the most "Get a Job, Stay Away From Her" I've ever felt
Reposted by Matt Loar
Muting a Black woman to claim the vote was unanimous is so incredibly on the nose
The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.
December 18, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Muting a Black woman to claim the vote was unanimous is so incredibly on the nose
Reposted by Matt Loar
Democratic House and Senate candidates have raised $418M from individual donors this cycle. They've spent $242M on fundraising and consulting.
Democratic candidates have already burned 57% of what they raised just to raise it.
Democratic candidates have already burned 57% of what they raised just to raise it.
December 18, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Matt Loar
So... The Hunger Games, then??
Trump announces an "unprecedented four-day athletic event" with "one young man and one young woman from each state and territory"
December 18, 2025 at 7:11 PM
So... The Hunger Games, then??
Reposted by Matt Loar
Truly North Korea territory
Kennedy Center to be renamed Trump-Kennedy Center —Karoline Leavitt x.com/PressSec/sta...
December 18, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Truly North Korea territory
Reposted by Matt Loar
that Maples quote, god DAMN
These are the people who are willing to go on the record.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/u...
December 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
that Maples quote, god DAMN
Reposted by Matt Loar
Again, what the fuck are you even doing here @mayorofchicago.bsky.social @danielbiss.bsky.social???????
December 18, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Again, what the fuck are you even doing here @mayorofchicago.bsky.social @danielbiss.bsky.social???????
Reposted by Matt Loar
Reposted by Matt Loar
If Afghanistan and Iraq are any indication, soon we're going to start hearing from Very Serious People that we should keep our opposition to ourselves, that we should support our country and president during wartime.
Fuck that. War with Venezuela is a moral atrocity. I'll be silent when I'm dead.
Fuck that. War with Venezuela is a moral atrocity. I'll be silent when I'm dead.
December 17, 2025 at 2:22 AM
If Afghanistan and Iraq are any indication, soon we're going to start hearing from Very Serious People that we should keep our opposition to ourselves, that we should support our country and president during wartime.
Fuck that. War with Venezuela is a moral atrocity. I'll be silent when I'm dead.
Fuck that. War with Venezuela is a moral atrocity. I'll be silent when I'm dead.
Reposted by Matt Loar
Please keep this in mind every time you post "Why isn't this a bigger story?" amid a sea of 2 million potential stories every single day
"The newspaper industry served as a feeder for our entire news media ecosystem. So when we lose those newspapers, we've lost that journalism. In the early 2000s, we had 40 journalists per 100,000 people. We're now down to 8 journalists per 100,000 people," says @victorpickard.bsky.social.
December 16, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Please keep this in mind every time you post "Why isn't this a bigger story?" amid a sea of 2 million potential stories every single day
Reposted by Matt Loar
This is really bad and probably just the beginning .
Trump is collapsing this country.
I believe it is intentional and we really are under attack.
Trump is collapsing this country.
I believe it is intentional and we really are under attack.
Tyson is shutting down its Lexington, Nebraska plant in January 2026. That’s 3,200 workers gone in one shot, the largest plant shutdown in company history.
Blame Trump’s tariff chaos and the lowest cattle inventories in decades. Tariffs jack up costs. Supply shrinks. Plants close. Towns hollow out.
Blame Trump’s tariff chaos and the lowest cattle inventories in decades. Tariffs jack up costs. Supply shrinks. Plants close. Towns hollow out.
December 13, 2025 at 9:32 PM
This is really bad and probably just the beginning .
Trump is collapsing this country.
I believe it is intentional and we really are under attack.
Trump is collapsing this country.
I believe it is intentional and we really are under attack.
Reposted by Matt Loar
While the "robot bartender falls over when the operator removed their control helmet" was kinda funny, the "it's just a person behind it" stories keep getting worse and worse.
Nothing about this is sustainable and people are suffering long-lasting harm on both sides of it.
Nothing about this is sustainable and people are suffering long-lasting harm on both sides of it.
“The work was emotionally exhausting, with chat users confiding intimate details about their real-life relationships, as well as their own emotional trauma, falsely believing they were talking to an unfeeling AI chatbot.”
AI "Companion Bots" Actually Run by Exploited Kenyans, Worker Claims
A new testimony from a remote worker in Kenya details the grueling and exploitative work behind romantic AI chatbots.
futurism.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:34 PM
While the "robot bartender falls over when the operator removed their control helmet" was kinda funny, the "it's just a person behind it" stories keep getting worse and worse.
Nothing about this is sustainable and people are suffering long-lasting harm on both sides of it.
Nothing about this is sustainable and people are suffering long-lasting harm on both sides of it.
Nothing like getting an email with the subject "Save the Date" and the date is only provided on the final frame of an animated GIF.
That's an unsubscribe based on principle
That's an unsubscribe based on principle
December 11, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Nothing like getting an email with the subject "Save the Date" and the date is only provided on the final frame of an animated GIF.
That's an unsubscribe based on principle
That's an unsubscribe based on principle