There are few spectacles in American life more obscene than watching a well-moisturized professional moralist explain that requiring identification to Continue Reading
Politics
New Converts Are Always the Most Dangerous Zealots
No matter what the organization, no matter the time or place, there is one thing that holds true within any type of exclusive organization: the new Continue Reading
When Politics Feels Like Betrayal
There comes a point for many people when watching politics stops producing disagreement and starts producing something else entirely: disgust. Not Continue Reading
The House of Hush Money
There is nothing, and I mean nothing, more spiritually moving than watching 357 members of Congress sprint together to bury sexual misconduct Continue Reading
Borrowed Battles and the Hunger for Higher Purpose
People need a mission. They need a reason to get out of bed, a hill to climb, something that demands effort and offers meaning in return. Something Continue Reading
The Alliance of Cowards
There is nothing quite as moving as the modern Western alliance in action, if by “in action” you mean standing in a tasteful semicircle, issuing Continue Reading
Signed for the slogan, invoiced for the consequences.
Last April, I looked at Iran’s eternal stadium chant of “Death to America” and reframed it as the geopolitical equivalent of a gym bro screaming “YOU Continue Reading
Working for Free in the Shutdown Season
Well, as of this morning, I am working for the government pro bono. I’m too “essential” to be furloughed but not valuable enough to be paid during a Continue Reading
Europe’s Security Subscription Just Went Full Price Under Trump
Europe has two religions: Symbolism and Someone Else Paying For It. So when Donald Trump waddles onto the world stage and starts yanking the Continue Reading
California’s Homelessness Money Cannon Still Can’t Hit a Target
California has a special talent. Not Silicon Valley “invent a future” talent. Not Hollywood “manufacture a reality” talent. I mean the rarer gift: the Continue Reading
A Day in the Life of a Coast Guardsman
2014 09 12 Friday The event started late in the afternoon. We received a rather vague notification that a vessel of interest (VOI) may be heading Continue Reading
Florida Cold Snap Triggers Emergency Response for Falling Iguanas
By Untactic Al Florida officials confirmed this week that an unexpected cold snap has caused thousands of iguanas to temporarily lose their grip on Continue Reading