
ARCHIVED ACCOUNT. Executive Director @OpenMediaOrg. @matth@mstdn.ca, @matthtfld.bsky.social. Digital rights, democracy, freedom of expression. Proud šØš¦.
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Matt Hatfield retweeted
This is absolutely pathetic. A man-child is throwing a temper tantrum and risking America's alliances and American national security for his own ego and vanity. We can already base troops in Greenland. We can already use that land to protect our nation and our allies.
President Donald J. Trump has announced that he will impose a 10% tariff on all goods entering the United States from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom on February 1, until Denmark agrees to sell Greenland, also citing recent deployment of European military forces to Greenland and the Northern Atlantic, adding that the tariffs will increased to 25% on June 1, 2026 unless a deal is made regarding the purchase of Greenland.
Matt Hatfield retweeted
BREAKING: Federal court of appeal dismisses government's appeal of the emergencies act case. The lower court decision is upheld. The declaration of an emergency was unreasonable. The freezing of bank accounts and the prohibitions of assemblies were unjustified charter violations
Matt Hatfield retweeted
These stories are nauseating. Iranians arenāt asking for much: basic freedoms & a government that doesnāt wreck the economy. For that, many are paying with their lives. Incredible bravery in the face of pure evil.
Erfan Soltani is scheduled to be executed by hanging in Iran in 48 hours.
He was arrested in Karaj on January 9 for taking part in the protests. His family was given just 10 minutes to say goodbye. No lawyer. No fair trial. Days later, the Islamic regime sentenced him to death.
Reports now warn the regime is preparing public hangings to terrorize the population. More than 10,000 protesters have been arrested since the start of the 2026 uprising. Many could face the same fate.
The only thing this regime fears is global scrutiny.
Be their voice. Share their names. Expose these crimes. Silence is a death sentence.
Good piece.
My argument against banning "globalize the intifada." š Yes, it's usually meant the way Jews hear it. But banning it poses risks to our Western liberal-democratic value of free speech while giving us a false sense of security that weāve done something. readtheline.ca/p/josh-dehaasā¦
Matt Hatfield retweeted
The @WSJ has analysed 13 other incidents where ICE agents have fired into civilian vehicles & identify a pattern of agents boxing in running vehicles while engaging in escalatory & intrusive tactics which police are trained to avoid.
wsj.com/us-news/videos-show-ā¦
Matt Hatfield retweeted
There's a misperception that law enforcement (or ICE) is permitted to use lethal force any time they feel the slightest bit endangered, or whenever some terrified person with a gun pointed at them does not immediately follow (often unclear) orders perfectly.
That's just not true. Lethal force is allowed ONLY when there is literally no possible alternative to preventing other deaths. In this case, that requires that:
1) An officer would surely have been killed by her continuing to drive 2 mph away from them, and
2) There was NO OTHER WAY to save their lives, such as hopping out of the way of a barely moving car, shooting the tires, firing a warning shot, or shooting to just injure.
No rational person can watch the video and conclude that both standards were met.
And, no, there is no "the ICE officer was panicking and didn't have time to think" exception. The law still applies, and if we're going to judge the panicked response of a woman in a car with a gun pointed at her, then we can absolutely judge the panicked response of a ICE official who had unnecessarily pulled a gun in a situation that did not require it.
There are rules of engagement, even for under-trained ICE officials who just saw their training slashed from 5 months to 47 days (because Trump is #47, how cute).
This ICE official clearly failed to follow those rules, and that means a 6-year old had to be told at school today that his mother is gone forever.
Matt Hatfield retweeted
The most dangerous thing about yesterday's ICE shooting isn't the shooting itself: It's the response from Trump, Vance, and Noem that signals to ICE that they can do this again, with impunity. No investigation. No suspension. No talk of training or policies. Just impunity.
Matt Hatfield retweeted
This is really one of the more galling parts of this discourse every time it pops up; random American civilians are supposed to be calm, disciplined, ice-water in their veins, but armed agents of the state are entitled to take life on the basis of āfeelingsā
Nothing Trump says is a joke. Theyāre just trial balloons to see if he can proceed with the idea now or later.
Matt Hatfield retweeted
Several contradictory things are simultaneously true:
1. Maduro was an oppressive, unpopular and illegitimate ruler, disastrous for his country and the region.
2. Using the US to remove him may have been equally illegitimate.
3. Venezuela would be better off with a new government under the opposition's Edmundo Gonzalez (who probably won the presidential election but is now exiled).
4. It's not clear that Maduro will be replaced by Gonzalez. Maduro's VP is still apparently in power, as are other regime figures and the Cubans who back them.
5. As we've seen in Iraq and Libya, it can be easier to topple a leader than to establish a new government; sometimes you get a worse leader, or Somalia-style chaos.
Matt Hatfield retweeted
The Deeper Picture: The State of the Nation and Prospects for the Future open.substack.com/pub/voiceoā¦
Matt Hatfield retweeted
A compelling graphic look at all the ways that Trump and his family and friends have been monetizing the White House in his second term to enrich themselves more than any presidential clan has ever done before. @LazaroGamio @amyswalk
nytimes.com/interactive/2025ā¦
Matt Hatfield retweeted
A SWAT team threw 30+ grenades into an innocent manās business while chasing a suspect.
L.A. left him with a $60,000 bill. His livelihood was destroyed.
A federal court says heās entitled to $0. Whatever your politics, thatās a travesty.
An innocent L.A. man sued for over $60,000 after police blew up his business in pursuit of a fugitive. A court ruled he is entitled to nothing. reason.com/2025/12/29/innoceā¦
Matt Hatfield retweeted
Why North America has a housing crisis, in one tweet.
#Bestof2025 One of the most downloaded Zoning Practice issues of the year examines how planners can manage pickleball noise through zoning ā explaining why traditional noise ordinances fail and outlining tools like setbacks, conditional use permits, and use-specific standards to balance recreation demand with neighborhood livability.
Over the holidays, weāre taking a look back at 2025 and recapping what planners read, watched, and listened to this year.
plnn.org/4ssaGZV
Matt Hatfield retweeted
On DOGEās watch, federal spending did not go down at all.
It went up.
nytimes.com/2025/12/23/us/poā¦
Matt Hatfield retweeted
Everyone should read this weekās WSJ story on Trump selling pardons. Itās some of the most corrupt shit Iāve ever seenāyou can literally corner him at one of his lame parties and walk away with a pardon. How is this not the biggest story in the country?
Matt Hatfield retweeted
Atul Gawande's ideas have saved tens of thousands of lives. Here he speaks about the worst thing that Trump has done. āThe current estimate is about 600,000 lives lost so farā as a result of cuts to USAID, Gawande said. Also very, very bad:" Gawande returned to Harvard just as the federal government began imposing deep cuts to research funding, hindering efforts by Ariadne Labs to make surgery safer and improve primary care around the world." news.harvard.edu/gazette/stoā¦


























