Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
@californiajoe.bsky.social
journalist, localist, futurist. Founder-publisher @democracylocal.bsky
Fellow @berggruen. Calif. columnist @thepublicsquare Author 4 books, including The U.S. vs Us. Proud Californian, Angeleno, baseball coach
Fellow @berggruen. Calif. columnist @thepublicsquare Author 4 books, including The U.S. vs Us. Proud Californian, Angeleno, baseball coach
Democracy Local is delighted to announce our first ever Mayor of the Year, the most impactful local elected chief executive on earth in 2025. And yes, he's a 35-year-old South Asian rapper-turned-mayor. And no, he's not named Mamdani. www.democracy.community/stories/awar...
December 26, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Democracy Local is delighted to announce our first ever Mayor of the Year, the most impactful local elected chief executive on earth in 2025. And yes, he's a 35-year-old South Asian rapper-turned-mayor. And no, he's not named Mamdani. www.democracy.community/stories/awar...
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
Check out our favorite artwork from the past year, created by artists from all around the world 🗺️
Noema’s Top Artwork Of 2025 | NOEMA
Here’s our favorite artwork from the past year.
www.noemamag.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Check out our favorite artwork from the past year, created by artists from all around the world 🗺️
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
Harold Lasswell, 1941: "The purpose of this article is to consider the possibility that we are moving toward a world of 'garrison states' — a world in which the specialists on violence are the most powerful group in society." www.jstor.org/stable/2769918
The Garrison State on JSTOR
Harold D. Lasswell, The Garrison State, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Jan., 1941), pp. 455-468
www.jstor.org
December 19, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Harold Lasswell, 1941: "The purpose of this article is to consider the possibility that we are moving toward a world of 'garrison states' — a world in which the specialists on violence are the most powerful group in society." www.jstor.org/stable/2769918
TODAY'S THE DEADLINE to sign up to be a panelist in Rewrite LA's mini-assembly on Sunday, Jan. 11. Panelists will be selected by lottery. Big thanks to @jamuseum
for hosting and to @MOCAlosangeles
which will provide panelists with passes to the exhibition MONUMENTS. Register: rewritela.org
for hosting and to @MOCAlosangeles
which will provide panelists with passes to the exhibition MONUMENTS. Register: rewritela.org
Rewrite LA
rewritela.org
December 19, 2025 at 7:43 PM
TODAY'S THE DEADLINE to sign up to be a panelist in Rewrite LA's mini-assembly on Sunday, Jan. 11. Panelists will be selected by lottery. Big thanks to @jamuseum
for hosting and to @MOCAlosangeles
which will provide panelists with passes to the exhibition MONUMENTS. Register: rewritela.org
for hosting and to @MOCAlosangeles
which will provide panelists with passes to the exhibition MONUMENTS. Register: rewritela.org
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
Ruh-roh! "What’s amusing about 'circularity' to market watchers of a certain age is that we’ve seen this movie before — but under a different name. During the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s, such deals were referred to as 'round-tripping.'" www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | ‘Circularity’ is a flashing warning for the AI boom
Wall Street’s buzzword for investors was known as “round-tripping” during the dot-com years.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Ruh-roh! "What’s amusing about 'circularity' to market watchers of a certain age is that we’ve seen this movie before — but under a different name. During the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s, such deals were referred to as 'round-tripping.'" www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
If Los Angeles were to ad a Preamble and a Bill of Rights to its city charter, what should be in it? That's the question that a lottery-selected panel of everyday Angelenos will answer on Jan. 11. Please sign up for the lottery to be a panelist here www.rewritela.org/deliberate#r...
Deliberate — Rewrite LA
www.rewritela.org
December 17, 2025 at 5:31 PM
If Los Angeles were to ad a Preamble and a Bill of Rights to its city charter, what should be in it? That's the question that a lottery-selected panel of everyday Angelenos will answer on Jan. 11. Please sign up for the lottery to be a panelist here www.rewritela.org/deliberate#r...
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
Check out our best longform journalism & essays of the year, with stories covering everything from the last days of social media to the unseen fury of solar storms.
#reading #longform
#reading #longform
Noema’s Top 10 Reads Of 2025 | NOEMA
Our best longform journalism and essays from 2025.
www.noemamag.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Want to help rewrite the LA cty charter? Please apply now (deadline Friday) for Rewrite LA's one-day mini-assembly on Sunday, January 11. The mini-assembly is a body representative of the city, and selected by lottery. Questions? www.rewritela.org/deliberate#r...
Deliberate — Rewrite LA
www.rewritela.org
December 16, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Want to help rewrite the LA cty charter? Please apply now (deadline Friday) for Rewrite LA's one-day mini-assembly on Sunday, January 11. The mini-assembly is a body representative of the city, and selected by lottery. Questions? www.rewritela.org/deliberate#r...
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
What a way for L.A. to mark 10 years of Vision Zero, writes @paulthornton.bsky.social: with the arrest of a street-safety activist trying to make good on promises that the city failed to fulfill.
L.A.'s disgraceful end to the failed Vision Zero experiment
The city marks the end of the decade-long effort to eliminate traffic deaths with the prosecution of an activist who painted unofficial crosswalks at dangerous intersections.
www.golden-state.org
December 11, 2025 at 4:16 PM
What a way for L.A. to mark 10 years of Vision Zero, writes @paulthornton.bsky.social: with the arrest of a street-safety activist trying to make good on promises that the city failed to fulfill.
"This column is a waste of your time. Because it’s about voter ID. And even a minute spent debating voter ID is a minute lost forever." -my column @sfchronicle www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
California is joining the pointless national debate over voter ID. Why, exactly?
OPINION: “This column is a waste of your time. Because it’s about voter ID. And even a minute spent debating voter ID is a minute lost forever,” Joe Mathews writes.
www.sfchronicle.com
December 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
"This column is a waste of your time. Because it’s about voter ID. And even a minute spent debating voter ID is a minute lost forever." -my column @sfchronicle www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
“Like others who think differently & come from outside the insider establishment, Frank Gehry rebelled against the custodians of proper & hallowed ways.”
—Nathan Gardels
#frankgehry #architecture
—Nathan Gardels
#frankgehry #architecture
The Creative Intuition Of Frank Gehry | NOEMA
“I’m not a theorist, but a vacuum cleaner.”
www.noemamag.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:07 PM
“Like others who think differently & come from outside the insider establishment, Frank Gehry rebelled against the custodians of proper & hallowed ways.”
—Nathan Gardels
#frankgehry #architecture
—Nathan Gardels
#frankgehry #architecture
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
This is appalling — and bad for the Jews
www.propublica.org/article/ucla...
www.propublica.org/article/ucla...
Trump’s DOJ Pressured Lawyers to “Find” Evidence that UCLA Had Illegally Tolerated Antisemitism
An investigation by ProPublica and The Chronicle of Higher Education reveals how the U.S. government ignored due process to gin up its attack on the University of California.
www.propublica.org
December 12, 2025 at 12:45 PM
This is appalling — and bad for the Jews
www.propublica.org/article/ucla...
www.propublica.org/article/ucla...
Ankara and Denizli, two Turkish cities, are among the 4 finalists to be the next European Capital of Democracy.
democracylocal.substack.com/p/2-turkish-...
democracylocal.substack.com/p/2-turkish-...
2 Turkish Cities Are Finalists to Be the Next 'European Capital of Democracy'
Ankara and Denizli Join Brussels and Tirana on Short List
democracylocal.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Ankara and Denizli, two Turkish cities, are among the 4 finalists to be the next European Capital of Democracy.
democracylocal.substack.com/p/2-turkish-...
democracylocal.substack.com/p/2-turkish-...
BREAKING NEWS 2 Turkish Cities Are Short Listed for 'European Capital of Democracy'
www.democracy.community/stories/news...
www.democracy.community/stories/news...
NEWS Two Turkish Cities Are Finalists for 'European Capital of Democracy' | International Democracy Community
www.democracy.community
December 11, 2025 at 11:22 PM
BREAKING NEWS 2 Turkish Cities Are Short Listed for 'European Capital of Democracy'
www.democracy.community/stories/news...
www.democracy.community/stories/news...
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
“AI companies use the future to justify the present, as though speculative benefits should outweigh actual, ongoing damages. This temporal shell game, destroying the world to save it, would be comedic if the consequences weren’t so severe.”
— @jamesosullivan.bsky.social
#agi #superintelligence #ai
— @jamesosullivan.bsky.social
#agi #superintelligence #ai
The Politics Of Superintelligence | NOEMA
Today’s tech “prophets” push a narrative that God-like artificial superintelligence is inevitable, and only they can ensure humanity’s safety from their creations.
www.noemamag.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
“AI companies use the future to justify the present, as though speculative benefits should outweigh actual, ongoing damages. This temporal shell game, destroying the world to save it, would be comedic if the consequences weren’t so severe.”
— @jamesosullivan.bsky.social
#agi #superintelligence #ai
— @jamesosullivan.bsky.social
#agi #superintelligence #ai
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
Twice actually, if we are counting the Kavanaugh stops
December 5, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Twice actually, if we are counting the Kavanaugh stops
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
Rep. Grijalva says she was pepper-sprayed by ICE
December 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Rep. Grijalva says she was pepper-sprayed by ICE
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
“History has repeatedly demonstrated that societies with inclusive political & economic institutions thrive & sustain themselves, while extractive societies, where wealth & power are concentrated at the top, ultimately fragment & fail.”
—Nathan Gardels
#democracy #politics
—Nathan Gardels
#democracy #politics
A New Governing Ecosystem Is Evolving | NOEMA
Institutions of citizen deliberation are a counterweight to partisan electoral politics.
www.noemamag.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:38 PM
“History has repeatedly demonstrated that societies with inclusive political & economic institutions thrive & sustain themselves, while extractive societies, where wealth & power are concentrated at the top, ultimately fragment & fail.”
—Nathan Gardels
#democracy #politics
—Nathan Gardels
#democracy #politics
NEW at DEMOCRACY LOCAL. In our "Where in the World is @brunokaufmann.bsky.social ?" feature, the intrepid democracy reporter visits Copenhagen during local elections that produced a historic shift. www.democracy.community/stories/wher...
December 3, 2025 at 3:40 PM
NEW at DEMOCRACY LOCAL. In our "Where in the World is @brunokaufmann.bsky.social ?" feature, the intrepid democracy reporter visits Copenhagen during local elections that produced a historic shift. www.democracy.community/stories/wher...
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
This GIVING TUESDAY, please consider a donation to Democracy Local's parent NGO, Democracy International, which hosts and supports our publication. www.democracy.community/donate
Donate | International Democracy Community
www.democracy.community
December 2, 2025 at 8:04 PM
This GIVING TUESDAY, please consider a donation to Democracy Local's parent NGO, Democracy International, which hosts and supports our publication. www.democracy.community/donate
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
“An Obituary for the American Republic, 1789-2025
In Lieu of Flowers, Design a Replacement”
Bracing and clear April column from @californiajoe.bsky.social
It’s liberating to be told the truth, and we will build a better future!
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/obituary-for...
In Lieu of Flowers, Design a Replacement”
Bracing and clear April column from @californiajoe.bsky.social
It’s liberating to be told the truth, and we will build a better future!
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/obituary-for...
An Obituary for the American Republic, 1789-2025 | Democracy Local
In Lieu of Flowers, Design a Replacement
www.zocalopublicsquare.org
November 29, 2025 at 7:14 PM
“An Obituary for the American Republic, 1789-2025
In Lieu of Flowers, Design a Replacement”
Bracing and clear April column from @californiajoe.bsky.social
It’s liberating to be told the truth, and we will build a better future!
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/obituary-for...
In Lieu of Flowers, Design a Replacement”
Bracing and clear April column from @californiajoe.bsky.social
It’s liberating to be told the truth, and we will build a better future!
www.zocalopublicsquare.org/obituary-for...
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
A depraved and decadent Trump WH dinner for MBS was a stunning low for an American ruling class that's stopped pretending to carry a moral compass
It was really a celebration of death - of democracy, of an overheating planet, and ultimately themselves. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/ceos...
It was really a celebration of death - of democracy, of an overheating planet, and ultimately themselves. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/ceos...
The night America’s doomed ruling class gorged on lamb, blood, and oil
For America’s deeply corrupt billionaires, time heals all wounds — even from a murderous Saudi prince’s bone saw.
www.inquirer.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:10 PM
A depraved and decadent Trump WH dinner for MBS was a stunning low for an American ruling class that's stopped pretending to carry a moral compass
It was really a celebration of death - of democracy, of an overheating planet, and ultimately themselves. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/ceos...
It was really a celebration of death - of democracy, of an overheating planet, and ultimately themselves. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/ceos...
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
“As AI continues to advance, what will stop chatbots from using the vast knowledge in their training set about how humans think & act … against us in real life?”
—Martin Skladany
#aiguardrails #airegulation #ai
—Martin Skladany
#aiguardrails #airegulation #ai
The Case For AI ‘Datarails’ | NOEMA
We must prevent AI models from learning about human weaknesses by banning certain data from their training sets.
www.noemamag.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:05 PM
“As AI continues to advance, what will stop chatbots from using the vast knowledge in their training set about how humans think & act … against us in real life?”
—Martin Skladany
#aiguardrails #airegulation #ai
—Martin Skladany
#aiguardrails #airegulation #ai
Reposted by Joe Mathews 乔·马修斯
The media needs to rethink its role in protecting democracy — rather than just chronicling its demise, Peter Pomerantsev argues.
#authoritarian #journalism #disinformation #media
#authoritarian #journalism #disinformation #media
Journalism In An Age Of Authoritarianism | NOEMA
The media needs to rethink its role in protecting democracy — rather than just chronicling its demise.
www.noemamag.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:56 PM
The media needs to rethink its role in protecting democracy — rather than just chronicling its demise, Peter Pomerantsev argues.
#authoritarian #journalism #disinformation #media
#authoritarian #journalism #disinformation #media
Appalachia is a natural border between different Americas, defended by us Scots-Irish... Now gotta go make some hard candy and sew some coats for Christmas.
I'm guess Border Patrol goons are allowed to operate in Charlotte because it's within 100 miles of the South of the Border rest stop on I-95? I can't think of any real border that's close by
November 18, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Appalachia is a natural border between different Americas, defended by us Scots-Irish... Now gotta go make some hard candy and sew some coats for Christmas.