So far, it’s been nearly 7 weeks of quarantine and social distancing. I have not attended church since March 8th. Lent felt strange and dry and even Easter has continued to feel off. This time has been one of unemployment, restiveness and an odd sense of stillness and waiting, as if life has been put… Read More Obligation in the Time of COVID19

To an extent, I am already burnt out and cynical about this entire process.  Late 2015 onward has been one long process of completing jading any of my remaining idealism about the American partisan system. To me, the outcome is entirely predetermined. Republicans will conjure any excuse, regardless of how absurd or irrelevant to dismiss… Read More Brief Thoughts on Impeachment

Dr. Hanson’s article, “America’s First Third-World State” is over at National Review hitting the rounds. Though Hanson is mainly a military historian (quite a good one, I enjoyed Ripples of Battle & A War Like No Other), he is popularly known for writing on the failures of governance in California. His piece is popular not only because of… Read More Is California a Third World Country?

I have a new piece over at Human Events regarding the new tanker war in the Gulf of Oman. The essay advises caution: Currently, the evidence seems to point to Iranian culpability. The incident on Thursday was preceded by earlier attacks on shipping last month. Nonetheless, the president must be prudent. Caution and clearheaded thinking, not… Read More Tankers, War & Black Flags

Human Events is back. After a brief hiatus, the magazine has returned in the last month. Furthermore they have been kind enough to feature my writing, specifically on foreign affairs. (Full disclosure, one of the publishers is a friend) Currently I have two pieces up, one on NATO and the other on the Venezuelan crisis.… Read More New Writing Over at Human Events

I’ll keep it short but I am glad to say that I’m now an officially published fiction writer. Dusty Saddle Publishing graciously published my short story in their anthology The Last Comanche. All nine writers worked off the same prompt: The warrior stood atop the rocky outcropping, blood dripping from his face and his lance. He… Read More Writing Update: Short Story Published

I don’t feel like anyone is capable of doing an adequate job summing up the immense loss. While blessedly the damage was significantly less than previously thought, the scarring is still a civilization-level tragedy. It is hard to imagine another symbol generating this much grief across the world. And yet before it is a symbol… Read More What Should Notre Dame Mean To Us?

If you live a charmed existence and are unfamiliar with social media then you will probably be blissfully unaware of l’affaire Jussie. For the rest of us living in the hell that Zuckerberg and Dorsey crafted, the merry-go-round has taken a particularly bizarre turn. It not only poignantly demonstrates the unique nature of power, grievance… Read More Hoaxes as Propaganda of the Deed

  The Mueller report is finished. The saga is over. America (or rather the America that remains obsessed with the 5 o’clock news) suffered the final la petite mort when it comes the Russia probe. Honestly very little of this was all that surprising. I always bought the Wolfean thesis of a man who was never all… Read More So Now What: Assorted Thoughts on the Mueller Report

(James Fetherolf, Desert Scene, oil on canvas) I hope you all had a wonderful Christmastide and a terrific Sunday. My contributions have decreased somewhat since I’ve increased my load over at The Hipster Conservative. Additionally, I’ve taken to writing western fiction. Fiction is something I am not used to writing so finding the right voice for it… Read More Writing Update