Your Dog Isn’t on the Ballot: Why Independent Journalism Matters
The best political journalists are not trying to defeat candidates.
They are trying to keep unsupported claims, convenient contradictions and political propaganda from reaching the public unchallenged.
When Skepticism Picks a Favorite
The tragic shooting of Johan Sebastián Guerrero prompted difficult questions about transparency and accountability. But it also led me to ask a larger question: Why do so many people who once distrusted government now seem willing to trust it when their preferred leader is in charge?
“Do You Know Who I Know?”
Bryson DeChambeau reportedly threatened to call Donald Trump over a two-stroke penalty at the British Open. If true, it reflects a lesson Trump has modeled for years: unfavorable outcomes are not accepted; they are attacked until someone powerful changes them.
The Lessons Winners Never Learn
Real success isn’t the absence of failure — it’s the ability to learn from it. What our leaders say about “losers” and “winners” reveals what they truly value — and what they fear most.
When “Just a Fan” Doesn’t Cut It: Nate Bargatze, UFC Freedom 250 and Complicity
An essay on Nate Bargatze, UFC Freedom 250, and why “just a fan” no longer cuts it when the fights are staged on the White House lawn for a political project.
When Intimidation Stops Working
Political intimidation only works as long as people believe the threat matters. A recent political battle in Indiana offers a revealing look at what happens when fear begins losing its grip—and why the reaction of the intimidator may reveal more weakness than strength.
Football, Gas Prices, and the Performance of Empathy
Donald Trump says he’s concerned about football fans being priced out by streaming services. But what happens when leaders express empathy for symbolic inconveniences while avoiding accountability for the real-world consequences of power?
This post explores the gap between rhetoric and reality in modern politics and culture.
The Problem with a Believing Pope
A comment from Timothy Snyder about Pope Leo and Donald Trump raised a deeper question I can’t shake: what happens when faith stops challenging power and starts protecting it instead? Reflections on political loyalty, evangelicalism, moral accountability, and the danger of confusing spiritual conviction with tribal allegiance.
When Distrust Becomes the Operating System
A reflection on the Epstein files, institutional distrust, and what happens to a society when suspicion becomes the default way we process reality.
Randomly Rudimentary Life Stuff 
Death Deserves Compassion; Legacy Deserves Honesty
The recent death of Senator Lindsey Graham prompted me to think about something I suspect many of us will wrestle with more than once in our lives: how should we respond when someone dies whose public life we found deeply disappointing?