“The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.” – Julian Barnes

Football players across the nation protested on Sunday by linking their arms or kneeling during the National Anthem. Not only were they protesting the injustice minorities receive at the hands of law enforcement officers, or the ingrained acceptance of that injustice so many Americans don’t even realize they’ve embraced, but also the continued abhorrent behavior of a President who stands antithetical to the principles of a country he currently leads.

Their motives were not selfish, nor vindictive, nor anti-military.

As the news unfolded on Sunday I scanned Facebook and, as expected, there were a multitude of people claiming that the protesters and those who support them are an embarrassment to the country in their disrespect of the flag and the service members who “fight for that flag.” The words “I stand” are now framed around many of my friend’s profile photos, and arguments have been unfolding from sea to shining sea. “Those who protest the flag have never been handed a folded one,” many posted in an attempt to shame protesters and their supporters into silence. “This is why I stand” was the caption alongside the picture of a flag draped casket, as if those who disagree with them on protesters can’t possibly understand the sacrifices men in uniform have made. But the stabbing quips and wretched use of this country’s heroes to heap coals onto the heads of those with opposing views has gone too far, and this is just the latest example.  Continue reading →

On Thursday morning Donald Trump aimed his hair-trigger fire at Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough. While Joe was labeled “Psycho Joe,” the brunt of Trump’s sapless junior high theatrics was reserved for Mika.

I have my own opinions regarding the relationship history between Mika, Joe, and Trump, but the internet is doing a fine job of delving into that without my help. The point I want to focus on is that the President once again viciously went after a woman, labeling her crazy, stupid, and then – of course – played a card that, for the most part, is reserved for women by attacking her looks. He attempted to feed on what he assumed were her insecurities and shame her in front of the world for having a face-lift. The anger those tweets caused was palpable, and many across the political spectrum spoke out against Trump’s tweets.

As an example, David French wrote a fantastic article directed towards Republicans regarding celebrating GOP victories while also holding Trump accountable for his words.  Continue reading →

As I’m sure everyone is aware, the plethora of allegations coming from the Don Draper aspirants over at Fox News have pushed the issue of sexual harassment into the light – where it should be, quite honestly. Additionally, the news about Mike and Karen Pence and their rule prohibiting one-on-one meetings with the opposite sex also came out within the last month. Regardless of how you feel concerning either debacle – personally I couldn’t care less what the Pence family does if both parties are in agreement and careers aren’t being stalled – the controversy surrounding both issues made every club wielding neanderthal in Conservative media decide that it was time for them to exit their caves in unison, thumping their chests and throwing feces at anyone who questions their superior opinions.

The Federalist, Erick Erickson, and Matt Walsh have produced some disturbing cringe-worthy material before, but lately it feels as though they found all the diaries men kept on Warren Jeffs’ compound and are now publishing them. The best part is that women are writing a good portion of these articles, because what a great way to try and create a defense of nonsense material. They’re also having Jews write articles critical of Jews, it’s a fun new shtick. Back to the point, instead of articles telling men to behave themselves and learn some self-control – since, after all, women were the ones in the “victims” column at Fox News – we get articles like this: Continue reading →

“You know, if you hit the gas we’ll make it home in time for me to see my Great-Great-Great-Grandkids be born,” he said to me with a smirk as I slowed his truck – the truck he’d sell me for a dollar the day I got my driver’s license – to a crawling 25 mph down a hill that barely merits the label. I was just learning to drive, and my Grandpa had taken it upon himself to teach me. I was a fast learner, but I wasn’t fast enough for the bar I had set for myself.

I had grown up with a deep fear of disappointing those who had expectations of me, scared of being a burden, and I was a perfectionist to the point of being terrified of failure. Somehow my Grandpa knew all of this about me, and with one quick-witted remark at a time he shattered the walls of perfection and created a world where the freedom to be human was like a net beneath a tightrope. “Sorry, I’m just a little scared going down hills,” I replied. “It’s alright,” he laughed, “the Great-Great-Great-Grandkids can wait.”  Continue reading →

I have good news: I’ll be doing a weekly podcast now!

I’ll be posting them here on the blog. Let me know what you think of Episode 1, and if you have any questions you want answered on the next episode, leave them in the comments or tweet them!

I talk about civil asset forfeiture a lot, and every time – without fail – I have a great deal of people ask what asset forfeiture is. Definition wise, it’s a fairly simple concept to comprehend, but it’s the nitty gritty details that tend to confuse people. Just last week I was sitting in my doctor’s office talking about an article I did on forfeiture, and my interview with a lawyer familiar with CAF cases, when suddenly my doctor looked at me and said “I’ve never heard of that.” So if you’ve found yourself scratching your head, you’re definitely not alone.  Continue reading →

I wrote a post this week on embracing The Nothing, as I’ll call it. The political wilderness I once feared is what I’ll now call home, and the tribal tendencies that once provided affirmation now seem so silly and undignified. I’ll provide a few excerpts from that post below so that you understand where I’m coming from, and then move on to the point of this particular post.

First, my acknowledgement that conservative media and pundits, many of whom proudly stood against Trump, have already spiraled back into their pack mentality: Continue reading →