Category Archives: Current Events

June 20, 2024 · 5:18 am

On Heat Waves And Climate Change

It’s the middle of summer. That means that, relative to where you live in the northern hemisphere, it’s going to get hot. In some places, it’s going to get very hot. I’ve been to Las Vegas in the middle of June. There are certain kinds of hot that are much less bearable than others.

But enduring heat in the summer is nothing new. Most people who live in any temperate climate zone probably understands that. However, with every intense heat wave, and the death that comes with it, there are usually some larger discussions about climate change. Most of those discussions tend to get lost in the politics of climate deniers and anti-science grifters, but it’s still a discussion worth having.

I may not be old enough to remember what summers were in the early 20th century, but I’ve been living on this planet long enough to know that the climate in my area has been changing. I’ve actually lived around the same area for all my life, except for a few years when I went to college. And in that time, I’ve certainly noticed a general warming trend.

When I was a kid, the hottest year for a long time was in 1997. I know that’s not the hottest year on record, but it certainly felt like the hottest year to that point in my life. I couldn’t give you the hard data, but I remember a lengthy stretch during that summer in which every day seemed to be 100 degrees. I also remember vividly how the water at the pool and beach felt as warm as bath water, at times. There was none of that initial chill you got when you jumped in. I enjoyed that to some extent, but I didn’t enjoy the extra sunburn that often came with it.

During that same summer, there was very little rain. I can only remember a few days in which we had a couple of thunderstorms. But aside from that, most days were brutally hot under a blazing sun. Just going outside for a brief period was too much. Even as a kid who wanted to go outside to play baseball, it was just too much.

For years after the summer of 1997, I don’t recall experiencing anything that hot. Sure, there were a few heat waves here and there. I even remember having to deal with one in a college dorm without air conditioning. Believe me, I would not wish that on anyone. But eventually, summers got to a point where they all seem to feel equally hot in the same way 1997 felt.

After around 2010, which was years after I’d graduated college, summers with the kind of heat I once thought was so abnormal just felt normal. I came to expect weeks on end of temperatures that exceed 100 degrees. I came to expect long dry spells, followed by round after round of heavy thunderstorms. When I eventually got my own place, I actually spent nearly $7,000 getting a new HVAC unit to deal with these summers.

And therein lies the issue with hot summers, climate change, and how we navigate it. For a lot of people, it happens so gradually that we just come to see it as normal. Never mind the fact that the devastating effects of climate change are documented, measurable, and indisputable. Never mind the fact that the number of people actually dying of heat-related illness is increasing. It’s not that more people are denying climate change. We’re just accepting it.

But is that tenable?

Is that sustainable?

Is that even a just and moral thing to do on a planet we share with over seven billion people?

I would argue that this is something we’re just choosing not to think about, regardless of whether or not we accept the science of climate change. Right now, the path of least resistance is to just adapt as best we can and accept the death, suffering, and environmental destruction that comes with it. It’s basically the Rick Sanchez approach of “The answer is don’t think about it!”

The biggest problem with that approach is that, beyond all the suffering and death, it assumes we’ll always be able to adapt. It assumes that there’s not a point in which the planet becomes so hot that certain places become unlivable, which would displace millions of people and create a refugee crisis the likes of which we’ve never seen before. It also assumes that we’re able to pay the cost, in terms of money and lives, of entire coastlines being changed due to rising sea levels.

Those are all some very lofty assumptions, which I would argue we should not make blindly.

Now, I don’t claim to know the proper course of action here. Climate change is such a big, complex phenomena that no one group of people and no one nation can do something to address it fully. We live on a shared planet. So, anything that involved addressing its issues has to be a shared effort. Whether or not we’re capable of doing so remains to be seen.

But if the climate changes to a point where failing to do so just costs too much, then we might not have a choice.

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May 27, 2024 · 8:59 am

Happy Memorial Day 2024

Today is Memorial Day.

For many, it marks the official start of the summer. The pools are open, the beaches are crowded, and flip-flops are the shoes of choice. And that’s all well and good. I love warm weather, sunny beaches, and long days as much as the next American.

But Memorial Day has always had a more serious, and sometimes solemn connotation.

It’s a day in which we take a moment to honor those who have served their country in the armed forces. That is definitely a service worth honoring. America, as a country, would not exist without men and women willing to take up the call. What they do for this nation and what they sacrifice cannot be overstated.

In my own family, I’ve had multiple individuals serve. Going back to my grandfathers who fought in World War II to other close relatives who saw combat in Vietnam, it helps give perspective to what it means to be an American. You can say anything you want about how divided we are politically. You can say even more about the state of our culture, our conflicts, and the many things that make us unique.

There’s a time and a place to have those kinds of debates. But today is not one of them.

Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, I urge everyone to use today to take a step back to honor those who sacrifice and serve for the United States of America. If you can, participate in a parade or activity to honor veterans. If you can’t, consider denoting to a veterans charity.

But whatever you do, keep those who have served this country in your heart. They’ve already sacrificed plenty. Today, on Memorial Day, let’s return the favor.

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April 11, 2024 · 5:22 am

Should Billionaires Even Exist? A Serious Question

In general, I’m in favor of capitalism.

I believe people have the right to work, buy, sell, and do business as they see fit. There certainly need to be rules. No social, economic, or political system can function without rules that are fair and well-enforced. That’s not a political statement. That’s just cold, hard realism.

In that same mold, I am not in favor of unmitigated capitalism in the mold that most libertarians and conservatives envision. I do not believe corporations, businesses, and industries should be given excessive leeway when it comes to dealing with fraud, failure, or environmental destruction. There needs to be some level of regulation to curtail the excesses of the market.

In my youth, I used to be a lot more libertarian in my views on how much or how little capitalism should be regulated. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more aware of just how dangerous unfettered capitalism can be. You need only deal with Comcast’s customer service for any length of time to be convinced of that.

Now, I’m at an age where I feel like I’ve reached a new crossroads with respect to my view of capitalism. I won’t say I’ve completely lost faith in it or the idea. But I’ve seen way too many instances of big corporations doing objectively evil things to not be critical. And when they get in bed with political institutions, that evil only compounds.

Seriously, there are companies and state governments colluding to roll back child labor laws. This is not a joke. These companies want to make children work for them because it’ll result in greater profits.

This brings me to billionaires. They are the most celebrated figures in all of capitalism. They’re regularly ranked and whenever someone else becomes the world’s richest person, it generally makes the news. Like many others, I often celebrated their achievements too. I used to think that making a billion dollars, let alone over $100 billion, took a special kind of drive.

I admit I was wrong about that.

Now, I don’t think that billionaires, as a class, should even exist.

That may sound like a radical position. It’s often a talking point that comes up among those on the extreme left of the political spectrum. And those who espouse anything close to it are often ridiculed as being anti-business, anti-American, or outright communists.

Those criticisms are bullshit, by the way. They’re also just a distraction to avoid the distressing implication about billionaries.

To understand, just take a moment to appreciate how much more a billion dollars is than a million dollars. I know those three extra zeros might not mean much to most people. But in simple mathematical terms, the gap is vast. In case you need something visual, here’s a quick image to help illustrate the concept.

Again, it’s not a trivial difference.

But if you need another way to conceptualize just how big a billion dollars is, consider the following.

One million seconds is about 11 days. Most of us can grasp that length of time.

One billion seconds is 31.5 years. That’s a third of an average person’s lifetime.

I hope that helps belabor the point because with that now in mind, ask yourself one critical question.

Is it humanly possible for anyone to work hard or long enough to justify having a billion dollars?

In the past, I might have considered that a dumb question. But now, I would answer that question with an emphatic no. I don’t care how smart, skilled, capable, or dedicated anyone is. The idea that someone even could work hard enough to earn a billion dollars just doesn’t work.

Again, look at the visuals above. The difference between a million and a billion is extreme.

It also helps to think back to the hardest, most laborious job you ever worked. Whether it was working in fast food, construction, or retail, just think about how hard that job was and how much it paid you. Now, consider how hard your boss worked and how much they got paid. Did the extent of their work actually reflect their salary?

In some cases, it might. But in most, I doubt it. Apply that to how much more billionaires make compared to even senior managers at a company and the disparity becomes even more absurd. If that doesn’t convince you, then maybe this video highlighting a speech by Jesse “The Body” Venture will.

Beyond just the work, take a moment to think about what it would take to spend that kind of money. How many houses could you buy that you could reasonably live in? How many yachts or ships could you buy and actually use in any meaningful extent? How much fancy jewelry could you buy and actually wear?

I’m sure there are those who think they could spend a billion dollars with ease. I doubt those same people truly understand how much more a billion dollars is compared to a million. And even if they could, it would take real, considerable effort to spend that kind of money in a single lifetime.

There’s also the argument that billionaires donate a lot of money to charity and that effort is worth their massive wealth. I used to think there was value in that too. But I’ve also come to see that endeavor as little more than virtue signaling laced with tax avoidance.

And finally, there’s the idea that billionaires are somehow special and they have a unique set of skills that somehow warrants them having that kind of wealth. That’s partially true, but not in a good way. If you just look at how most billionaires made their money, you’d notice that a lot of them either involve inheriting wealth that they didn’t do a damn thing to earn or being exceedingly ruthless in exploiting the labor of others and/or avoiding taxes.

On top of that, those with that level of wealth can literally afford to manipulate the system, legally and illegally, to ensure that their wealth and status is preserved. Whether it’s through tax loopholes or lobbying for laws that benefit them (and only them), billionaires can basically shape the world as they see fit, even if it hurts people, the environment, and everything in between.

Even if you’re in favor of capitalism, it’s hard to deny the corrupting factors that just a few billionaires could have. No system can work when it’s so top-heavy that just three people have more wealth than the bottom half combined. You can still have a functional, vibrant capitalist system that encourages entrepreneurs and wealth creation. You can also have a system that allows for billionaires. But you cannot have both.

As an alternative, I propose this.

Once you make a dollar over $999,999,999, that money gets taxed at 100 percent. And every year, the government sends you a nice trophy that says “Congratulations! You won Capitalism!”

If that much money and the trophy is still not enough for you, then you’re not just greedy. You’re an asshole and you can’t be trusted with millions of dollars, let alone a billion dollars.

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February 28, 2024 · 6:59 am

Abortion, IVF Treatments, And The (Distressing) Trend Of Criminalizing Women

A few years back, I did a detailed breakdown of the potential implications of the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and effectively undoing a woman’s right to an abortion. When I wrote that, I did so with the sinking gut feeling that it would eventually happen. Ignorant, cruel, fun-hating, sex-hating, misogynistic right-wing assholes have spent decades of time and billions of dollars to undo this ruling.

It was never a matter of if this fundamental right would be overturned. It was only a matter of when. It just happened a lot sooner than I expected. And while there has certainly been backlash, the full extent of that backlash is just beginning. We won’t know how it’ll fully manifest for a number of years.

However, the same assholes who fought so hard to undermine abortion rights were never going to be content to stop there. I’ve met and dealt with enough of these people to know they weren’t going to be satisfied with stopping women getting abortions. Even with the backlash their efforts incurred, they were always going to keep moving forward. They just have too much time, money, and cruelty to stop.

And the recent ruling with the Alabama Supreme Court that effectively criminalized in-vitro (IFV) fertilization is yet another instance of where these assholes will be focusing their efforts. I certainly didn’t expect something like this to happen so quickly after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but I can’t say I was surprised.

The details of this case are remarkable, and not in a good way if you have any shred of humanity. But what’s more important, in terms of the bigger picture, is what this ruling does to the very perception of what IVF is and why it matters.

Because this is not some new, untested, unknown technology that most people haven’t heard of. IVF has been around since the late 1970s and to date, over 8 million children have been born through IVF that probably wouldn’t have otherwise been born. Keep in mind, these are all children born to parents who genuinely wanted to have a child, but couldn’t conceive due to various reasons.

These are not people who are in any way unnatural or less-than-human. And their parents are that much more admirable for seeking to have a child that they otherwise could not have had. Now, this ruling has completely reframed these millions of people and their parents by ruling that the procedure that helped them become a family was somehow immoral.

At the heart of the ruling is the notion that IVF requires fertilized embryos. And, according to the twisted logic and ethics of these religiously motivated judges, fertilized embryos are no different than infant children. That mirrors how the same logic these people utilize when they call abortion murder because for them, life begins at conception when the sperm and egg meet to create an embryo. So, for them, it means the destruction of any embryo constitutes the loss of a human life.

Now, I’m not a lawyer, a judge, or a legal expert of any kind. But even I have enough brain cells to understand why that logic is complete bullshit. You don’t even need to make any religious or philosophical arguments to prove it wrong.

It’s a simple matter of observable fact. You can place a tube full of embryos in the freezer, which preserves them for future use. But you can’t do that with an infant child.

They are two different things. That’s why we use different words to identify them. It really is that simple.

But in this particular case, the Alabama Supreme Court focused on a single incident in December 2020 at an Alabama fertility clinic in which a special container of embryos was mistakenly destroyed. And plaintiffs in this case argued that constituted the wrongful deaths of living children.

Again, these were embryos in a freezer. If they were children, they would be dead. I wish I didn’t have to make that distinction, but this is apparently where we are with the discourse surrounding women, children, and health care.

But the court didn’t care for that distinction. Whether because of their religious convictions or ideology, these judges ruled these embryos are children. As such, IVF treatment cannot continue because it often involves the destruction and disposal of embryos, usually those that are not viable. It’s twisted, absurd, and irrational logic. But because these are judges, it’s now law in Alabama.

However, don’t expect it to stop there.

Remember, the current makeup of the United States Supreme Court includes the judges that eagerly jumped at the chance to overturn Roe v. Wade. And at least one of those judges has publicly stated that there are just as eager to revisit other rights regarding women and the LGBTQ community.

Do not discount these musings as wishful thinking or unwarranted speculation. When bigots, assholes, misogynists, and wannabe authoritarians tell you what they want to do, assume they’re going to make a serious effort to do it. Don’t assume that our current safeguards, be they laws, norms, or basic human decency, will be sufficient to stop them.

In the meantime, this ruling is another instance of a trend that has been unfolding since the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The same people who advocated for it are pushing beyond the scope of abortion to basically legislate anything having to do with women exercising any level of agency or autonomy. More than anything, this ruling further proves their agenda has little to do with protecting or promoting children.

In one act, they fought to criminalize abortion in the name of saving unborn children.

In another, they fought to criminalize a procedure that actually helps couples have children.

But even if the hypocrisy doesn’t disgust you, just note the common denominator here. It all comes back to women, their bodies, and their role in rearing children. That’s what these court rulings and all the efforts behind them seem to revolve around. It’s about micromanaging how they use their bodies and criminalizing anything that gives them more agency than their religion or ideology commands.

And that’s wrong, plain and simple. I won’t even present to hide my bias on this. No court or judge, no matter how supreme their building claims to be, has a right to legislate what women do with their bodies. They may not like that some women do things they don’t approve of, be it having abortions, enjoying sex, or using science to have children they couldn’t otherwise have. But that’s their problem.

Unfortunately, these people and the right-wing assholes who support them are determined to make it everyone’s problem. That means it’s up to us, those who can actually discern the difference between a child and an embryo, to be just as determined in opposing them.

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February 19, 2024 · 8:46 am

Dear Jon Stewart: PLEASE Run For President

Like many Americans of a certain age, I was elated when I heard that Jon Stewart, the Walter Cronkite of an entire generation, was returning to the Daily Show. It may sound strange, being so thrilled with a comedian returning to a job he hasn’t done in almost 10 years. But Jon Stewart is no ordinary host/comedian.

This is a man whose comedy, wit, and insights made the news palatable for millions of people who were disillusioned, dissatisfied, and mostly disinterested with the issues of the day. He could take something as complicated as gun control, abortion rights, international relations, and war and present in a way that most ordinary people could understand and even laugh at.

But the comedy didn’t come from making light of these issues. They were a natural byproduct of Jon Stewart’s innate ability to confront the absurdities and the bullshit that often lay at the foundation of these issues, as well as the people or institutions who were supposed to deal with them.

It didn’t matter where anyone was on the political spectrum.

It didn’t matter if they were republican, democrat, or independent.

If there was even a trace amount of bullshit behind the political machinations, Jon Stewart would highlight it, confront it, and present it in a way that made it feel important. It’s a big reason why, despite an increasing amount of political polarization, Stewart often ranked high as a trusted name for people of many persuations.

But there were also times when comedy was not enough or not appropriate. In those instances, Jon Stewart could be both serious and passionate. When Congress threatened to cut benefits for 9/11 responders, Stewart made a very public, very impassioned plea that ultimately resulted in the benefits being passed. If you need any proof at just how powerful one voice can be, just watch the testimony for yourself.

There’s a lot more about Jon Stewart that I can say. I understand he’s one of those rare celebrity figures whose voice carries more weight than most. But I’ll dispense with those sentiments because, after seeing him return to the Daily Show and demonstrate his remarkable skill for confronting bullshit, I have one important message for him

Jon Stewart, on behalf of America and everyone who cherishes the values it espouses, please run for President.

I know it’s a hallow and somewhat absurd plea. It’s not like Jon will ever read this, but I’m not the only one who has made this plea. Others with far larger platforms have implored him to run. Even though Stewart has gone on record as saying he doesn’t want the job, that just makes him even more qualified in my mind.

Now, I love America. And I consider myself a proud American. But I don’t deny that this country I love has taken a dark, disturbing turn in recent years. Between the rise of Christian Nationalism and the rollback of basic rights, we are not heading down a good path. And if we’re not careful, we could end up electing the kind of narcissistic wannabe despot who would gladly destroy America’s democratic institutions for his own personal vanity.

You know who I’m talking about. I won’t say his name. I refuse to give him more attention than he deserves.

But Jon Stewart is the perfect candidate to counter that kind of self-centered bullshit. He’s not just someone with the wit and charisma to appeal to voters. He’s not afraid to directly confront toxic people with toxic politics, even on live TV. If you need a reminder of how effective he is, just watch this.

During contentions times like this, there aren’t many individuals who can navigate the bullshit and resonate with people of many backgrounds. I would even make that case that none of the candidates currently running for President or showing an interest in running have what it takes to do the job.

But Jon Stewart is one of those individuals. He might very well be the only person whose name, skill set, and public persona is strong enough to carry both an election and the duties necessary to undo the damage that has been done to America.

Yes, he’s a celebrity.

Yes, we’ve already had a not-so-fun experience with celebrities becoming president.

But in times like this, we can’t let the past obstruct the present. When a country and a society is on a bad path, we need to rally ourselves and others to navigate these dangerous forces. Nobody can do it alone. One leader isn’t going to fix everything. But someone like Jon Stewart is one of the few who could help America realize that it’s not too late.

I don’t claim to know what will happen with American politics in the days leading up to the election. I just know that, even if there’s no such thing as a perfect candidate, Jon Stewart is pretty damn close.

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January 9, 2024 · 5:40 am

My (Terrible) Experience With COVID-19 (And A Reminder To Get Vaccinated)

Being sick sucks. I think we can all agree on that.

It doesn’t matter what you’re sick with. That doesn’t make the experience any less debilitating. Even something as simple as a headache can hinder your ability to do anything, major or minor. But when you’re sick with something serious, that compounds every aspect of why being sick sucks.

I know this because over the holidays, I got very sick. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say the 2023 holiday season was the sickest I’ve been in over five years. Being someone who works out regularly and makes a concerted effort to stay healthy, it was more than a little jarring. To make everything so much worse, I found out early on that I was sick with COVID-19.

While many believe the COVID-19 pandemic to be over, there’s no question that the disease is still raging. Granted, the strains going around today aren’t nearly as severe as the ones we saw at the start of the pandemic in 2020. On top of that, we have better treatments and multiple vaccines with which to combat it. But it is still a serious disease and one you do not want to deal with.

I can say that definitively, having dealt with it. And I freely admit, I was among those who thought I no longer had to worry about COVID-19. Since it began in 2020, I felt very fortunate to have never contracted it. I did test myself regularly and even on days when I didn’t feel 100 percent, they came back negative.

At times, that was surprising because a lot of people within my family and friends did contract the disease at some point. My parents got it. My siblings dealt with it. I even had multiple cousins and their friends deal with it. By 2023, I worked under the assumption that I had probably been exposed, but didn’t show any symptoms. And since I had also been vaccinated, I thought I didn’t have anything to worry about.

I was wrong.

I was painfully, frustratingly wrong.

I actually started feeling sick shortly after Christmas dinner. At the time, I thought it was just me having eaten too much or a general product of a stressful holiday season. But then, the symptoms compounded. My throat got sore. I started coughing a lot. And my face became hot, even in the middle of winter. At times, my face felt like I had just stuck my head in the oven. That’s when I started to get worried, but I thought it was something I could sleep off.

Again, I was wrong.

The day after Christmas was the day I felt really sick. I had plans to visit my uncle and siblings. I even had plans to go out to breakfast that day. I thought I could push through it. Then, one of my siblings demanded I take a COVID test before I drove over. I ended up taking two. And when both came back positive, pretty much all my holiday plans from that point forward were cancelled.

It was very upsetting. I vividly remember cursing more in that morning than I had at any point in 2023. But it gave me painful confirmation that I was very sick and this was not something I could tough out. It was also not something I could risk spreading to family members. My relatives include young children and cancer survivors. And there was no way I was ever going to put them at risk.

So, from December 26th until several days after New Year, I isolated in my home. And no, it was not a relaxing staycation. I didn’t just missed out on multiple holiday activities with friends and loved ones. I ended up experiencing a wide range of horrible symptoms that felt like my body was torturing me from the inside.

My sinuses were stuffed and clogged in ways I had not experienced, despite a long history of allergies.

My throat was sore and my voice was weak in a way that exceeded the worst cases of strep throat I ever had.

My lung capacity was severely diminished, so much so that just talking on the phone or walking up a flight of stairs would leave me winded. As someone who regularly runs three miles a day, this genuinely scared me.

But the fever was still probably the worst symptom and not just because of my temperature. My head kept getting physically hot as my fever fluctuated constantly, despite the cold weather outside. At one point, I had to go out on my deck at 2:00 a.m. in 24-degree weather to cool down because my head was so hot.

But the weirdest and most disturbing symptom I experienced during my entire bout with COVID-19 was the insomnia. That was probably the most frustrating and the most disturbing. Usually, when you get sick, you just want to sleep it off or sleep until it runs its course. But with this strain of COVID-19, I physically could not get tired.

For three solid nights, I would just lay in bed trying to sleep. But no matter what I did, I remained painfully alert, even when the rest of my symptoms were tempered with medications. I tried cutting out coffee. I tried avoiding sugar. But nothing seemed to work. I couldn’t make myself tired. I couldn’t even make myself drowsy. And I almost always get drowsy in the afternoon, so that was a strange experience.

By the fourth day, I took some over-the-counter sleeping pills that finally allowed me to sleep through the night. I still felt like crap the next day, but just getting some sleep did help. And after that night, the worst of my symptoms started to lesson.

By New Years Eve, I was able to sleep on my own and manage most of the symptoms. I was still coughing a lot and my sinuses were still stuffed up. But my fever had gone down, my appetite was normal, and I didn’t feel quite as weak. I still kept losing my breath when I went up a flight of stairs and people could tell I was sick whenever I talked to them on the phone. But I was on the road to recovery.

As I write this, I feel fine. My lung capacity is almost back to what it once was, my sinuses are normal, and my sleep schedule is back to normal. But make no mistake, this disease left an impression on me and, having gone through it, I have a few important messages to those who think COVID-19 is over.

For one, get vaccinated! Seriously people, stop making excuses and stop giving any attention to anti-vaxxers.

In this regard, I failed to take my own advice. This past fall, I did get my usual flu shot. The flu had surged in my area and I thought that was more pressing. But I did not get a COVID-19 booster because I foolishly thought it was no longer an issue. I had opportunities. I could’ve gotten one at pharmacy that’s less than three blocks from my home.

But I didn’t and, as a result, my holiday was ruined and I experienced the worst sickness I’ve had in years.

Even so, I still consider myself lucky. As bad as I felt, I never felt sick enough to go to a hospital. I also didn’t go to an ER or visit my doctor, although I probably should have after the shortness of breath got very bad. But I did manage to heal. I did manage to get through without any noticeable damage. That might be more a product of me being relatively healthy and having a rigorous gym routine. I understand not everyone else can make that claim.

But even if you are as health conscious as me, I still highly recommend that you get a COVID-19 vaccine or a booster as soon as possible. Do not leave something like this to chance. Do not assume that the worst is behind you and if you get exposed, you’ll be able to manage it.

Trust me, you do not want to experience what I did over the holidays. You’ll be doing yourself and your loved ones a favor by being proactive. My 2023 holiday plans might have been ruined by COVID-19, but it could’ve been so much worse. And I hope everyone will take this experience I’ve shared to heart.

The pandemic might be over, but COVID-19 is still a concern. Take it seriously. Otherwise, it might cost you more than your holiday plans.

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January 1, 2024 · 9:27 am

Happy New Year 2024!

We did it!

We made it through another year!

That, alone, is something worth celebrating these days. Now, today is the first day of a new year. Nobody knows what 2024 will bring. Nobody knows what sort of upheavals, challenges, and triumphs lay ahead. But with every new year comes new opportunities. With new opportunities come new potential. Whatever form it takes, I look forward to pursuing and realizing it as best I can.

But for now, let’s just celebrate the year we had and enjoy the start of something new.

So, from the bottom of my heart and to everyone reading this, Happy New Year!

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December 3, 2023 · 9:05 am

A Brief Note On (The Stupidity Of) Book Bans

We live in strange, tense, and frustrating times. I know you could say that about any point in any era. But it feels like we’ve been saying that a lot late. I know I have. Just look at some of the posts I’ve made on or near Election Day in the United States. But as someone who lives less than two hours from Washington DC, I tend to feel the politics of these times more than most. And I’ve been around long enough to see some strange and troubling trends.

Then, there are certain acts or phenomena that are just plain stupid on a level that defies parody.

I generally try to empathize and understand where other people are coming from, especially if they have a different background or ideology from my own. There are just some instances where that’s not possible. The breadth of the stupidity is just too great.

That’s exactly how I feel about book bans. For reasons that are too fucking idiotic for me to paraphrase, there are real people living in real places in the United States of America who are advocating for book bans. Some are going so far as to burn them.

Again, this is not 1933. This is happening in 2023. That point is worth belaboring.

Now, I don’t want to name names or organizations. But you don’t have to look far to see who are advocating for book bans. You also don’t have to dig too deep to uncover what sort of ideology they ascribe to.

Here’s a hint. It’s the same ideology the requires stormtroopers, secret police, and prison camps.

But all you really need to know is that these efforts are usually the ones the villains in every TV show, book, or movie get behind. They see people reading books with ideas they don’t like. They worry that those same people, which include children and young adults needed for factories and war zones, embracing or identifying with those ideas.

But rather than confront those ideas, the book banning advocates would just prefer that people never know about those ideas in the first place. The evil, sadistic logic is that if people never read about it, then they can never think about it. And if they can never think about it, then they’re easier to control and guide.

That may not be the reason book banning advocates say out loud, but that is the effect. They’ll usually frame it as “protecting children” or “combating obscenity.” But don’t fall for that. At the end of the day, those who seek to ban books just want to eliminate ideas and stories they don’t like from the public consciousness.

That’s not conducive to protecting children and fostering a healthy society.

That’s a tactic for fascists, authoritarians, dictators, and general assholes.

Now, those tactics were certainly damaging in the past. Until very recently, books were the primary source of important information. If people didn’t have access to books, then they didn’t have access to knowledge, stories, and new ideas. Finding or preserving banned books used to take a concerted effort and many brave individuals put their lives at risk to further those efforts.

However, what makes modern book bans especially stupid is the simple fact that the internet exists. Libraries and book stores are no longer the lone repositories of knowledge and stories. Anyone with a smartphone can access more knowledge in five seconds than an entire university of academics could 50 years ago.

At this point, trying to ban books is akin to trying to censor telegrams. All they achieve now is raising the profile of these books they’re trying to ban. Hell, the book banning advocates might as well identify as free advertising because sales of banned books tend to spike whenever they bitch and moan about certain titles.

So, in addition to being a dick move, as well as tactics used primarily by fascists, it’s completely counterproductive. It wastes time, money, energy, and has the opposite effect of what’s intended. With that in mind, I have just one last message to those who still think banning books is a worthwhile endeavor.

Read a fucking book! Preferably a history book!

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November 30, 2023 · 5:26 am

Jack’s Holiday PSA: Avoid Shopping With Temu

In general, I enjoy shopping. I know that’s an odd trait for a straight male, but it’s just how I am. It may or may not stem from how often my mother took me shopping when I was young. But regardless of the reason, I like to think my enjoyment of shopping has trained me to shop smarter and not harder.

Having established that context, let’s talk about Temu. And let’s try to talk seriously.

Because if you’ve been on the internet for any amount of time for the past year, you’ve probably seen ads for Temu. They’re usually very targeted and they stand out in particular ways. You’ll often see products you’ve never seen at a store and at prices that seem too low to be real. Some look like brand name products. Others look like something somebody assembled in their garage.

Whatever the product, the ads are so ubiquitous that they’re almost impossible to avoid. And during the holiday season, you probably saw even more of them. Hopefully, you didn’t just click, sign up, and buy without thinking. If you did, then you might already know why I’m making this.

For background, Temu is a relatively new ecommerce site that launched in late 2022. It’s similar to Amazon in that it sells a wide range of products, but unlike Amazon the site and the interface are a lot more gamified. It has all these widgets and gimmicks that resemble an online casino. And using these features earn you special tokens that you can use to buy products on Temu. But in general, you’ll be buying things the same way you buy them at other sites.

However, as low as the prices seem and as great as the deals appear to be, there are a lot of red flags surrounding this site and the Chinese company that runs it. If you need a comprehensive breakdown of all of them, Snopes did an in-depth investigation on the many issues surrounding it. I highly recommend reading and re-reading this piece before you even visit the site.

In general, Temu is a site that offers tons of cheap stuff, but a lot of that stuff is cheap because it’s a rip-off, a knock-off, or low in overall quality. And what you see on the site isn’t necessarily what you end up receiving. And what you receive is rarely a product that will last. That’s an important detail because Temu’s return and refund policies aren’t nearly as forgiving as most.

Basically, if the product breaks within 90 days of purchasing (and that counts how long it took to ship), you’re out of luck.

That, alone, should give you pause before shopping at Temu. Cheap or not, you won’t get much value out of anything there if it breaks within a few months of purchase. However, there’s one another important detail to consider. It has to do with the potential malware and spyware included with the app.

It’s not a conspiracy to suspect that an app from a Chinese company might contain software that undermines the privacy of its users. Even American companies have a not-so-great track record of respecting the privacy of their customers. But the company behind Temu has a well-documented history of using their apps to extract data from users’ devices.

That means that if you download the Temu app, you’re very likely giving the app and the company behind it access to every photo, contact, text message, and browsing history that’s on the device. Whether they use that data to extort you or just target you with more ads is entirely dependent on the whims of the company. But just be aware that there is a price to pay for lower prices.

That’s a lesson my mother often instilled in me when she took me shopping. It wasn’t just the old mantra of you get what you pay for. If you see cheap prices, there’s usually a reason they’re cheap. And that reason often comes at a price you can’t always put a dollar figure on.

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November 7, 2023 · 5:20 am

Happy Election Day 2023 (Now Vote)!

My fellow Americans, today is Election Day 2023.

Yes, it’s not a Presidential Election year. That’s not until 2024.

But it’s still Election Day. And in many jurisdictions throughout the United States, including my own, you can still vote. It may not be for President, but you can still vote for representatives of every level from the school board to the county to the state house.

And you should. For democracy to work and for liberty, as we know it, to remain, we must do our part. We must get out there and cast our votes to make our voices heard. If you don’t know where your polling place is, you can find it at this site.

https://www.vote.org/

The information is free. Voting is free. Getting out to vote still takes effort, but it’s worth doing. As an American, it’s one of the most important things you can do.

So please do your part. Get out there and vote. Your country and democracy will be better because of it.

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