Matt Dragon

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Dad, Husband, Principal Eng; Steer. Comm. Our Rev NJ. Toots not proofread, much less approved. He/Him
Buttondownhttps://newsletter.mattdragon.com
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We must remain steadfast in continuing to pay attention to both, and advocate for both, as these are not separate crises, but are deeply and permanently linked.
https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/things-im-reading-2026-06-05/
Things I'm reading

Delaney Hall and Cuba are two facets of the same polycrisis.

TL;DR;
While a lot of the focus in NJ this past week has been on Delaney Hall, thanks to Governor Sherrill’s naive or dishonest belief that the State Police wouldn’t escalate the violence against legal protest compared to ICE, we also cannot lose sight of the fact that it is US policy to deprive Cuba of food, medicine, and fuel to the point of mass murder.
https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/things-im-reading-2026-06-05/
Things I'm reading

Delaney Hall and Cuba are two facets of the same polycrisis.

TL;DR;
Sure Trump may be mad at Netanyahu but is there any more Zionist Settler act than tearing down a century old structure to build a garish, antagonistic, militarily protected Trump ballroom? It's almost like Netanyahu, or Trump, aren't the actual problems.

It's wild how pretty much everything we've built for the last 100 years is like:
1. Person invents something cool
2. It's developed for the public good, using government money
3. Business hacks weasel their way in, lobby the government, and completely flip the system to be active detrimental to 99% of us
4. A formerly promising technology that was expanding equity and doing a public good becomes a millstone around our necks
5. Repeat

https://pocketcasts.com/podcast/stepchange/e656b930-b9ee-013d-c357-024180b637c3/the-grid-the-largest-machine-ever-built/dc97fa0c-fece-4746-af36-ba18fd28d332

The Grid: The Largest Machine Ever Built

The grid powers everything around you. And it is in crisis. We cannot build AI, decarbonize our economy, or deliver affordable electricity if we don’t rebuild. And yet, the largest machine humankind…

Pocket Casts

Somehow there is no dispute that the conditions inside of Delaney Hall are inhumane, disgusting, and unnecessary. It’s outside the gates that the Democrats we’ve elected are lying to our faces.

https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/delaney-hall/

Delaney Hall

Shut down Delaney Hall.

TL;DR;
The way forward is to embrace humanity. Share a post by another human. Talk to another human about what you’ve read. Circumvent AI moderation on social media by emailing or texting someone a link to something that moved you. Circumvent the captured corporate media by subscribing to or sharing stories from independent journalists. Show up for your community, whatever shape that takes for you. That is the way forward. That is humanity. That is what we can do.
https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/things-im-reading-2026-05-29/
Things I'm reading

It's our humanity, but we must defend it or lose it.

TL;DR;
We don’t need AI, we need human writing, human art, human connection. Our destruction of humanity, from Palestine, to Cuba, to the Global South via Capitalism’s inexorable death grip of Climate Change, all of it is because it is far too easy to remove people’s humanity. AI can never fix that. Autocomplete cannot tell stories, even if it can produce words that roughly, but soullessly mimic them.
https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/things-im-reading-2026-05-29/
Things I'm reading

It's our humanity, but we must defend it or lose it.

TL;DR;
We are at an inflection point. It’s still an open question of which way that inflection takes us. We could be on the verge of a huge shift toward community, social care, improvements to peoples’ conditions we haven’t seen since electrification or indoor plumbing. Or we could be on an accelerating path toward authoritarianism and fascism. How do we know or steer the direction we’re heading?
https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/things-im-reading-2026-05-29/
Things I'm reading

It's our humanity, but we must defend it or lose it.

TL;DR;

So Council members, what will you do?
Not photo opportunities.
Not platitudes.
Not thanks for bringing this to your attention.
Who has already contacted the County?
Who has already amplified the community’s demands to the Mayor?

Who is an actual leader?
And who will remain a leader after the election?
https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/public-comment-on-the-removal-of-the-pride-steps/

Public Comment on the removal of the Pride steps

"I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"

TL;DR;
But by Monday night’s HRC meeting, she had realized the error of her ways. She promised a pride crosswalk, but confusingly, promised it on County roads, not Town property she actually controls, a project she could move forward herself. Now a week has passed, there’s been no follow up statement, no public commitment, no announcement of conversations with the County, nothing has fundamentally changed from the day the steps were erased.
https://newsletter.mattdragon.com/archive/public-comment-on-the-removal-of-the-pride-steps/
Public Comment on the removal of the Pride steps

"I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"

TL;DR;