May 7Member-onlyThoughts and Prayers are not EnoughIf you support the Second Amendment, empty thoughts and prayers just make things worse. Another week, another mass shooting in the United States. This time, shoppers at a mall in Texas, a state where the Second Amendment is practically a religion. At the time of this writing, nine were dead and seven injured. Then come the usual “thoughts and…Second Amendment4 min readSecond Amendment4 min read
Feb 21Member-onlyNews in Context: What are Stock Buybacks?And how do they affect society, both positively and negatively? Sometimes when there is a corporate scandal, the media, and corporate watchdogs note that the corporation recently engaged in a stock buyback. …Economics6 min readEconomics6 min read
Jan 24Member-onlyDear Reactionaries, Tell Me What To Be Outraged About TodayKeeping up with the latest reactionary outrage when they come at you a mile a minute. Dear reactionaries, What should I be outraged about today? Is it my gay daughter? Her transgender friend? Should I lash out at their existence because it makes you uncomfortable? Or maybe you’re not so much uncomfortable, but feel like they already have all their due rights? …Cancel Culture4 min readCancel Culture4 min read
Jan 9Member-onlyFirearms in the USA: The Rural and Urban DivideThe data behind the American divide on firearm ownership and gun control. There’s no secret that the United States has a divide on firearm ownership This includes Americans’ feelings on the Second Amendment and gun control laws and policy. The divide is often framed as a left vs. right political issue. However, data shows that it’s more of a rural vs. …Data Visualization7 min readData Visualization7 min read
Dec 19, 2022Member-onlyTurns Out, Free Speech on the Internet is HardAnalyzing Elon Musk’s latest bizarre moves with Twitter. Last week, Twitter CEO Elon Musk made a series of moves that seemed to contradict his previous statements surrounding free speech. First, he suspended a Twitter account that tracked his private jet, information that is public on various plane tracking websites. He…Free Speech4 min readFree Speech4 min read
Dec 5, 2022Member-onlyDoomed From the Start: Downfall of The Oath KeepersReactionary conspiracy theories corrupted what should have been a civil libertarian ideal, dooming the movement to failure. As a civil libertarian, the base concept of the Oath Keepers sounds great. Law enforcement, military and other government authorities take an oath that reaffirms their commitment to the Constitution. While all government authorities take an oath with the government to uphold and defend the Constitution…Politics12 min readPolitics12 min read
Nov 28, 2022Member-onlyI Believe in God, Just Not the God of Your ReligionHow I found God, but rejected religion. I am not religious, nor am I an atheist. I believe in God, the creator of the universe. I formed this belief while trying to reacquaint with and then run away from another god, that of the Abrahamic religions. I made a good faith effort to reacquaint myself specifically with the Christian…Religion6 min readReligion6 min read
Nov 10, 2022Member-onlyOregon Ballot Measure 114: Where Was the NRA?Trying to make sense of the NRA’s strategy (or lack thereof) on the contentious Oregon ballot measure. As of this morning, it appears that Oregon Ballot Measure 114 is going to narrowly pass. The law, if implemented as written, will turn Oregon from a relatively gun friendly state to one…Second Amendment6 min readSecond Amendment6 min read
Nov 4, 2022Member-onlyUsing Twitter for Content Without Getting Sucked Into the NastinessI signed back up for Twitter for content generation purposes. Here’s what I found. I have had a love-hate relationship with Twitter over the years. Mostly hate though. I deleted my original personal account in 2010, because I got nothing of value out of it. It was a narcissistic hellscape. …Twitter5 min readTwitter5 min read
Nov 3, 2022Member-onlyAmericans Admit: Our Political Parties SuckA majority of Americans hold unfavorable views of both major political parties. So now what? Respected polling firms Pew Research and Gallup both released studies this year showing that a majority of Americans are increasingly fed up with the two major political parties. In fact, the dissatisfaction is only getting…Politics5 min readPolitics5 min read
