At 50 years old, I am beyond tired of the conversation about taxes in the US evolving not one iota. We need to raise taxes on the wealthy, and have needed to do so for a very long time. That’s it. There’s nothing else to say.

A sandwich without pickles is basically bullshit.

I write with total restraint about The Mandalorian & Grogu Trailer. matthewfreeman.substack.com/p/the-mandal...

It feels reductive to say Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die plays like a mega Black Mirror episode, because some Black Mirror episodes are pretty mega anyway. Still I dug it. It's never quite as weird as its influences (it's not 12 Monkeys) but I had a ball watching it.

Navalny was murdered by Putin. Putin is butchering Ukraine. Trump treats Putin better than he treats Canada. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/w...

I think it's a little soon for the press to be reporting with credulity about ICE's claims of a drawdown in the Twin Cities. Do we really need to take months for reporters to inevitably come back and say "Actually they never drew down the agents?"

Proudly destroying the world. These fucking children. Is there no bottom? www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/c...

Just like the Second Amendment did not anticipate the machine gun, the First Amendment did not anticipate social media. Social media is the machine gun of free speech.

The federal government, while overseeing the terrorizing of a major American city and lying about the on-camera murder of unarmed protestors: "Our top priority is to protect ICE agents." Ghouls.

It is SO good. I got teary at the end of episode 4.

At least the Patriots can rest easy knowing that no one is talking about how they played. #badbunny

Bad Bunny was so electric!

This weekend, New York City will experience some of the coldest – and most dangerous – weather we’ve seen in a long time. If you see someone in need, please call 311 immediately so our outreach workers and first responders can provide assistance.

On a lighter note, I wrote about characters from recent Star Wars that could use some more time in the spotlight. matthewfreeman.substack.com/p/ten-new-st...

1. It was not an accident. 2. It was not a staffer. 3. While the president may have dementia his racism is not due to dementia. 4. He isn’t sorry. He means every racist thought he shares. 5. His base agrees with him. 6. He will do it again. 7. No one in power will hold him accountable.

Ian McKellen performs “The Strangers’ Case” speech from “Sir Thomas More” on Colbert.

Trump is failing in Ukraine unless he’s a Russian asset. Then it’s going perfectly.

LET'S GO

A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."

I finished Kingdom Come 2: Deliverance and I’m very proud of myself but who am I really going to tell? So I’m telling you, whoever you are.

Remember when a government shutdown was front page news, endless coverage?

So Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian spy, right? I mean, right?

Groundhog Day | noun | a situation in which the same usually negative or monotonous experiences occur repeatedly or are felt to occur repeatedly with no change or correction

Always always always vote.

“And we don’t assess art’s value on how many people like it anyway. Some of the best things I ever saw played to single figures sometimes […] while one of the worst – the Queen musical We Will Rock You – got a standing ovation from a sold-out theatre full of twats. “ I love Stewart Lee

Apropos of nothing, my theater company produced a fair number of audio dramas over the past few years. The Apple Podcasts channel is here, if you’re curious! podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/t...

Pam’s new book! It’s incredible. Get your copy today. bookshop.org/p/books/magi...

Some thought about Rebellion, Change, and of course, Star Wars. matthewfreeman.substack.com/p/can-we-cha...

Catherine O'Hara. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKWP...

This arrest of @donlemonofficial.bsky.social is shocking but it is all in their heinous playbook — state run media and a quashing of those who will not comply. Masks off for them and gloves off for us www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/u...

Just a fundamentally evil, malevolent person. Rotten to the very core.

So far, I think Wonder Man is charming and thoughtful, anchored by magnetic performances.

"I was only following orders" wasn't an acceptable excuse at the Nuremberg trials & won't work now. #AccountabilityIsComing

Be safe and stay warm, New York.

ICE murdered Renée Good in broad daylight. Less than 3 weeks later, they killed Alex Pretti, shooting him 10 times. Every day, we watch as people are ripped from their cars, their homes, their lives. We can't allow ourselves to look away from this cruelty. Abolish ICE.

I watched the movie Mercy. Ask Me Anything.

As tens of thousands across America protest the violence that ICE sows with impunity, federal agents shot and killed another person in Minneapolis today.

ICE terrorizes our cities. ICE puts us all in danger. Abolish ICE.

Alex Jeffrey Pretti was an ICU nurse at a VA hospital. His life, through his profession, was dedicated to serving his community and our country. As so many have now seen on video, his final act before he was killed by federal agents was doing everything in his power to protect his community.

Every bit of western culture popular narrative underlined what is right and wrong and that so many just entirely missed it is so disheartening.

I don’t want to hear anything from an elected official unless it’s a plan to defund the DHS and impeach Noem, Bovino, etc. No texts. No emails. No talk about the economy. Step up or step off.

I talk Maul trailer: matthewfreeman.substack.com/p/star-wars-...

This defense of "Tilly Norwood" but her programmer Eline van der Velden is so so richly absurd that it could have been written by George Saunders. An almost crystalline example of how AI evangelists fail to understand artists and their value. variety.com/2026/digital...

Just here to remind everyone that his name meant “hold the door.”

Wake Up Dead Man's screenplay was overlooked at the Oscars and is easily better than Sentimental Value, which is completely and totally fine.

And now, the sanewashing Olympics.

So can we all talk about how to save Ukraine now?

I assume Usha Vance dressed up like a sectional.

When Denmark marches its troops down the middle of Washington DC and demands we surrender, I, for one, will welcome Frederik X, our new king.

Trump's appearance at this press conference is just so painful, he's living entirely in a destructive fantasy world. I still can't believe this is how far we've fallen.