Matthew Petersen
@meptrsn.bsky.social
Transportation Planner, Allston-Brighton Resident, Union Steward. Opinions my own and do not represent opinions of the City of Boston.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
In this entire piece there is not a hint of even a semblance of a legal argument for how a war of this scale would be legal or authorized.
There is quite simply no legal or constitutional authority for Trump to launch a war of choice against Iran.
None. Zero. Nothing.
There is quite simply no legal or constitutional authority for Trump to launch a war of choice against Iran.
None. Zero. Nothing.
U.S. Military Moves Into Place for Possible Strikes in Iran
www.nytimes.com
February 19, 2026 at 2:01 AM
In this entire piece there is not a hint of even a semblance of a legal argument for how a war of this scale would be legal or authorized.
There is quite simply no legal or constitutional authority for Trump to launch a war of choice against Iran.
None. Zero. Nothing.
There is quite simply no legal or constitutional authority for Trump to launch a war of choice against Iran.
None. Zero. Nothing.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
I think we shouldn’t attack Iran
CBS News: US preparing to attack Iran as soon as this weekend, but timeline may extend beyond that, and no final decision has been made.
www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-p...
www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-p...
Trump has discussed timeline for Iran strikes — including as soon as this weekend — but no decision yet
Trump has not yet made a final decision about whether to strike Iran, sources told CBS News.
www.cbsnews.com
February 19, 2026 at 1:23 AM
I think we shouldn’t attack Iran
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
the people pushing this bullshit, including those who claim to be on the left, are basically trying to enforce a tech version of TINA (“there is no alternative”): there’s only Silicon Valley’s version of digital technology, or none at all. don’t dare consider there could be another path.
February 17, 2026 at 6:47 PM
the people pushing this bullshit, including those who claim to be on the left, are basically trying to enforce a tech version of TINA (“there is no alternative”): there’s only Silicon Valley’s version of digital technology, or none at all. don’t dare consider there could be another path.
My grandparents spent years of their childhood locked up by our government in the middle of the desert during WWII. My grandmother went to high school at Manzanar in Death Valley, and my grandfather was in the camp at Poston.
I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.
February 18, 2026 at 11:47 AM
My grandparents spent years of their childhood locked up by our government in the middle of the desert during WWII. My grandmother went to high school at Manzanar in Death Valley, and my grandfather was in the camp at Poston.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.
February 17, 2026 at 9:00 PM
I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
My elementary, middle and high schools were all hit, and I don't really know the results of those attacks because there's not really anyone around but my parents to report it. My parents whose car windows were smashed along with the whole neighborhood. We need reporters out there.
There is no drawdown. There is no retreat. ICE is just redistributing their assets to better avoid accountability.
The same day DHS announced the surge would end in Minnesota, ICE activity increased in small towns
The less densely populated areas outside the Twin Cities make it harder for protesters and observers to organize.
www.theverge.com
February 18, 2026 at 2:19 AM
My elementary, middle and high schools were all hit, and I don't really know the results of those attacks because there's not really anyone around but my parents to report it. My parents whose car windows were smashed along with the whole neighborhood. We need reporters out there.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
That we would end up following the fate of Athens and Rome was the single most obsessive fear of America's founders.
February 18, 2026 at 3:56 AM
That we would end up following the fate of Athens and Rome was the single most obsessive fear of America's founders.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
The left tried for decades to pass green energy subsidies, passed them, the subsidies worked, and now literally the entire planet's electricity grid is going to convert to solar+battery. It just doesn't feel like "tech" because it mostly produces kinda boring blue collar jobs instead of billionaires
is there a technology that "the left" is excited about?
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
The left is missing out on AI
As a movement, it has largely refused to engage seriously with AI, ceding debate about a threat and opportunity to the right
www.transformernews.ai
February 18, 2026 at 3:51 AM
The left tried for decades to pass green energy subsidies, passed them, the subsidies worked, and now literally the entire planet's electricity grid is going to convert to solar+battery. It just doesn't feel like "tech" because it mostly produces kinda boring blue collar jobs instead of billionaires
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
"It was said long ago that not everyone who keeps on repeating ‘Lord, O Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. It now has to be said that not everyone who keeps on reiterating ‘Criticism, criticism!’ is capable of rising above dogmatism." - Georgi Plekhanov, 1898
February 17, 2026 at 2:26 AM
"It was said long ago that not everyone who keeps on repeating ‘Lord, O Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. It now has to be said that not everyone who keeps on reiterating ‘Criticism, criticism!’ is capable of rising above dogmatism." - Georgi Plekhanov, 1898
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
Precisely. The subject of one of my favorite pieces by Lynn Hunt, which I love teaching
February 17, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Precisely. The subject of one of my favorite pieces by Lynn Hunt, which I love teaching
This has become my core belief around writing, and why I've tried to write more memos and fewer decks for work. The written word requires you to say what you mean and mean what you say or it doesn't hold together.
Writing is thinking.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
It’s easy to think writing is mainly the transcription of ideas you already have—that is, until you try to write something worthwhile, and you find what you thought were saying transform into something far more interesting in the process. This skips that last step, and that is *not* an improvement.
February 17, 2026 at 1:32 PM
This has become my core belief around writing, and why I've tried to write more memos and fewer decks for work. The written word requires you to say what you mean and mean what you say or it doesn't hold together.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
I actually think this is a massively under-stated reason for everything. But it isn't just trauma/grief. It's also the disruptions in everything downstream of large numbers of experienced people dying or retiring from many industries. I think they go together www.thedeletedscenes.com/p/what-are-t...
February 16, 2026 at 9:52 PM
I actually think this is a massively under-stated reason for everything. But it isn't just trauma/grief. It's also the disruptions in everything downstream of large numbers of experienced people dying or retiring from many industries. I think they go together www.thedeletedscenes.com/p/what-are-t...
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
Scream this from the ramparts. Everything people claim to care about - power, hegemony, prosperity, science, universities, art, food, culture, tech, soft power, countering rising China, etc. etc. etc. The answer is always "more immigration why are we being so obtuse?"
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
February 16, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Scream this from the ramparts. Everything people claim to care about - power, hegemony, prosperity, science, universities, art, food, culture, tech, soft power, countering rising China, etc. etc. etc. The answer is always "more immigration why are we being so obtuse?"
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
Personally I would not attempt to claim something easily falsifiable in an interview about a former CIA operative who successfully won a gubernatorial race
This is a nice move in an interview www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...
February 16, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Personally I would not attempt to claim something easily falsifiable in an interview about a former CIA operative who successfully won a gubernatorial race
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
Very sad day. What a body of work. www.indiewire.com/news/obituar...
Frederick Wiseman Dies at 96: The Documentary Legend Was One of Cinema’s Greatest Masters
Wiseman's 50-plus year career started with a bang, "Titicut Follies," and only got better.
www.indiewire.com
February 16, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Very sad day. What a body of work. www.indiewire.com/news/obituar...
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
February 16,1952
February 16,1952
February 16, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
February 16,1952
February 16,1952
I'm a huge fan of deck access/single-loaded exterior corridors. French2D used this for the very successful Bay State Cohousing project in Malden, and many of the tower block housing estates in Singapore also have exterior corridor access
Really interesting plans for public housing in Barcelona
Deck access means all apartments have ease of access to cross ventilation and cooling breezes
By Cierto Estudio
Deck access means all apartments have ease of access to cross ventilation and cooling breezes
By Cierto Estudio
February 16, 2026 at 7:38 AM
I'm a huge fan of deck access/single-loaded exterior corridors. French2D used this for the very successful Bay State Cohousing project in Malden, and many of the tower block housing estates in Singapore also have exterior corridor access
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
"All the free school meals, the free community college, making financial aid larger for people in Massachusetts, all of these things are going to go away," Healey said. "That doesn't make Massachusetts more affordable."
Exactly!
www.wcvb.com/article/heal...
Exactly!
www.wcvb.com/article/heal...
Gov. Healey opposes ballot push to cut state's income tax
"I really want the public to understand how catastrophic this would be to Massachusetts," Healey said.
www.wcvb.com
February 16, 2026 at 4:38 AM
"All the free school meals, the free community college, making financial aid larger for people in Massachusetts, all of these things are going to go away," Healey said. "That doesn't make Massachusetts more affordable."
Exactly!
www.wcvb.com/article/heal...
Exactly!
www.wcvb.com/article/heal...
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
“Fixed price” stores— with labeled prices that were the same for all—were one of the great wonders of commercial life in the democratizing 19C. We will miss them when they’re gone!
(5/11) Walmart, Whole Foods, and Kohls are switching to electronic shelf labels that can display dynamic prices. Kroger deployed them with Microsoft AI—a setup a 2024 Senate inquiry warned could enable “surge pricing” via facial recognition. (Kroger claims it will only lower prices.)
February 16, 2026 at 4:52 AM
“Fixed price” stores— with labeled prices that were the same for all—were one of the great wonders of commercial life in the democratizing 19C. We will miss them when they’re gone!
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
I'm using various AI agents to push out new code 24 hours a day. And as you can see, thanks to my hard work, everything just keeps getting better and better
February 15, 2026 at 10:59 PM
I'm using various AI agents to push out new code 24 hours a day. And as you can see, thanks to my hard work, everything just keeps getting better and better
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
Meta internal memo says they plan to launch facial recognition for their Ray Ban snoop glasses and it should be fine because groups like the ACLU are busy fighting fascism so won't have time to fight back. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Meta internal memo says they plan to launch facial recognition for their Ray Ban snoop glasses and it should be fine because groups like the ACLU are busy fighting fascism so won't have time to fight back. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/t...
This kind of legislation is important at the state level - setting intent for facilities is crucial in a legal setting where the only remedy in many cases is bringing suit.
📣 Witness Slips needed
#HB2454 would make cyclists intended users of roadways. Instead of just permitted. This would hold cities accountable for hazardous conditions that kill an injure cyclists.
ilga.gov/House/hearin...
#HB2454 would make cyclists intended users of roadways. Instead of just permitted. This would hold cities accountable for hazardous conditions that kill an injure cyclists.
ilga.gov/House/hearin...
Official government website of the Illinois General Assembly
Welcome to the Official government website of the Illinois General Assembly
ilga.gov
February 15, 2026 at 2:40 PM
This kind of legislation is important at the state level - setting intent for facilities is crucial in a legal setting where the only remedy in many cases is bringing suit.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
📣 Witness Slips needed
#HB2454 would make cyclists intended users of roadways. Instead of just permitted. This would hold cities accountable for hazardous conditions that kill an injure cyclists.
ilga.gov/House/hearin...
#HB2454 would make cyclists intended users of roadways. Instead of just permitted. This would hold cities accountable for hazardous conditions that kill an injure cyclists.
ilga.gov/House/hearin...
Official government website of the Illinois General Assembly
Welcome to the Official government website of the Illinois General Assembly
ilga.gov
February 15, 2026 at 2:32 PM
📣 Witness Slips needed
#HB2454 would make cyclists intended users of roadways. Instead of just permitted. This would hold cities accountable for hazardous conditions that kill an injure cyclists.
ilga.gov/House/hearin...
#HB2454 would make cyclists intended users of roadways. Instead of just permitted. This would hold cities accountable for hazardous conditions that kill an injure cyclists.
ilga.gov/House/hearin...
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
Happy Valentine's Day❤️. On this day in 1951, Mr and Mrs Snoddy, their two children and pet tortoise moved into a three-bedroomed flat in Gladstone House, the first residents of the Lansbury Estate in east London. We built 162,584 new council homes that year.
February 14, 2026 at 9:10 AM
Happy Valentine's Day❤️. On this day in 1951, Mr and Mrs Snoddy, their two children and pet tortoise moved into a three-bedroomed flat in Gladstone House, the first residents of the Lansbury Estate in east London. We built 162,584 new council homes that year.
Reposted by Matthew Petersen
In Boston ICE randomly pulled over this huge white Irish guy with a Mass drivers license, 20 years in the states, legal status, pending green card and have held him for 5 months, his citizen wife paid a $4k bond that was ignored(!) ICE forged his signature on deportation agreement, no appeal
Kerryman who is married, living and working legally in the United States for >20 years has been incarcerated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) since September 2025.
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
Profoundly disturbing report by Karlin Lillington @klillington.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irish man with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:42 PM
In Boston ICE randomly pulled over this huge white Irish guy with a Mass drivers license, 20 years in the states, legal status, pending green card and have held him for 5 months, his citizen wife paid a $4k bond that was ignored(!) ICE forged his signature on deportation agreement, no appeal