David Matthews

Speech and Consequences JD Vance has a point when he says kids do stupid things.

JD Vance has a point when he says kids do stupid things. “They tell edgy, offensive jokes…And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke…is cause to ruin their lives.”

True to his nature Vance makes a mockery of the principle by applying it selectively…

This random American (me) has the same opinion.

Portable Bohemia Newsletter Oct 15, 2025 Greetings from the Far Left Coast where I sometimes put aside mysteries read for diversion and take up more substantive fare.

The Portable Bohemia newsletter for October 15 with brief reviews of The University in Ruins and Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury, thoughts about the welcome ceasefire and premature happy talk about peace in the Middle East, upcoming No Kings demonstrations, and more!

Dispatch from Portland Portland is not burning despite the efforts of Trump, Bondi, Noem, and federal agents at their direction beavering away to ignite the flames.

open.substack.com/pub/davidmat...

Take care of yourself.

Portable Bohemia Newsletter Oct 1, 2025 Greetings from the Far Left Coast where we await the occupation of Portland with grim humor, defiance, and coffee.

The Portable Bohemia newsletter for October 1 with a report from Portland, thoughts about the shutdown, the spectacle yesterday in Quanitico, Virginia, the Abundance agenda, another study of domestic terrorism, and more!

I see so little interest
in the culture and beauty I share.
Do you really expect only the war from me?

Sorry, no.
Ukraine is more than the war.
And I’m stubborn enough to prove it.

Where Pierrot Waits (a poem) Politics is a duty.

“Where Pierrot Waits” was composed long ago in a place far from here.

Sisters of Ukraine (2023) | Documentary 1h 24m

Two Spanish volunteers for an NGO travel to a convent in western Ukraine where the nuns care for refugees. With some of the nuns they bring a bus of refugees from eastern Ukraine back to Spain. Incredibly moving story of courage and the heroism of ordinary people.

A Study in Dishonesty: Jr. Kennedy and the Anti-vax Crusade Jr.

Jr. Kennedy’s canned responses when questioned about his views on vaccination are “show me the data” and “no vaccine is safe and effective.” If Kennedy has not seen the data, it is because he chooses to avert his gaze…

Portable Bohemia Newsletter Sept 1, 2025 Greetings from the Far Left Coast.

The Portable Bohemia newsletter for September 1, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's heartfelt exhortation to do something about gun violence, perceptions about safety in my city despite a decline in violent crime, "assault with a breadly weapon" in DC, and more!

On Principle Principles are more easily abandoned than reclaimed after having been cast aside.

Principles are more easily abandoned than reclaimed after having been cast aside. There is no joy to be had witnessing Democrats adopt Republican tactics that strike at the heart of democratic principles and norms…still less joy acknowledging the need to do just that…

Another disgraceful episode for my country. I hope European nations hold the line for yours.

Note Trump was nominated for the peace prize by the celebrated humanitarian Netanyahu (extreme sarcasm alert).

Thanks again for your posts, photos, videos.

Portable Bohemia Newsletter Aug 15, 2025 Greetings from the Far Left Coast where someone has a birthday coming up.

The Portable Bohemia newsletter for August 15 with a birthday coming up, Irmo makes the Little League World Series, summit in Alaska, l'affaire Sweeney, adventures in ICE, Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry, and more!

Portable Bohemia Newsletter August 1, 2025 Greetings from the Far Left Coast where it is August already and the fall term where I come to life again after summer doldrums cannot be far behind!

Comment about André Breton, the Surrealist Movement, and what I take from surrealism at its best, a memo from the cinema desk about an irreverent French farce, the crisis in America's universities, attacks on press freedom, Trump grabs Republican senators by the integrity again, and more!

Wondrous.

The story of two icons -
one stolen from Kyiv and now the moscow’s main shrine,
the other with a long, fascinating journey through the centuries.

Plus key news from Ukraine in the latest Sunday Letter.

Free to read
www.patreon.com/posts/sunday...

I don’t know if you read Time magazine, but this cover made me stop and share.

It comes with an investigation into the mass abduction and forced displacement of Ukrainian children by russian forces.

I’m grateful this story is getting the attention it deserves.

Portable Bohemia Newsletter July 15, 2025 Greetings from the Far Left Coast where I suffer from a deficiency of discipline.

The Portable Bohemia newsletter for July 15 with notes about the Rectified Spirits: Tommy Gaffney Book Tour, warcoffee with Yaroslava Antipina in Kyiv, films from Israel and England, the latest atrocities in the West Bank and Gaza, Alligator Auschwitz, unrest in the ranks at ICE, and more!

It May Be Time Again (a poem) Politics is a duty.

“It May Be Time Again” was first published in the March 2006 issue of Quill & Parchment.

Politics is a duty. Poetry is a need. —Alexandros Panagoulis

Portable Bohemia Newsletter July 1, 2025 Greetings from the Far Left Coast where I have been reading How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Filipino journalist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa. Ressa’s personal story is as compelling as...

The Portable Bohemia newsletter for July 1 with notes about Maria Ressa's book How to Stand Up to a Dictator, bombing and obliteration in Iran, Zohran Mamdani's improbable run for mayor of NYC, and more!

My day brightens each morning when I find that you made it through the night and are still here to bear witness for your country and people. Thank you.