Radical Second Things

In April 2014, my girlfriend Jennifer passed away. She was a very, very heavy drug user and anorexic. It's miraculous that she lasted as long as she did.

In the wake of it, I saw human nature in its contradictory state hardcore. Nearly 100 people told me they were sorry and everyone who was ever friends with her contacted me. In my housing complex, a woman who fought with her apologized to me. However, some heavier drug users who were in my housing complex said nasty things, or so I heard, not knowing her at all. Some of Jen's drug using friends also said nasty things.

At first you could think human beings are evil but, well no. Nearly 100 people did contact me out of their own volition. Some of those same people, loving as they were to me, have posted weird, disturbing stuff on Facebook as the climate in the United States has gotten horrifically bad. Why are they like this?

Fear. Americans had the highest standard of living in the world, with autonomy and wealth no one has ev…

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Smoking and addiction therapy seem sort of like two opposing forces. We are all very aware of the scientifically proven addictiveness of cigarettes. However, smoking is often allowed in addiction therapy for things such as drugs or alcohol. For many, this seems like a conflicting concept. Why would a very addictive substance be allowed while being counseled on breaking addictive habits? The answer might be a little complicated but hopefully this article sheds some light onto the question.
Smoking is Legal
There are a number of nicotine addiction treatments and therapies out there. Obviously, smoking is prevented in those situations. However, addiction therapy can also be any other habit forming substance of action such as drugs, alcohol, and even sex. Generally, smoking is allowed in these t…

A note - Blogging isn't free. Right now I provide gifts to my writers as a way of thanking people for writing. I would like to be able to afford to give them some sort of renumeration, even if it is small, for making this blog what it is. I'm in talks with a friend who may be able to help connect this blog, which has been in existence for one year now, with more religious communities dedicated to interfaith dialogue. Your donation will do a lot toward making that happen.






I read several installments of the Before Watchmen series.Watchmen is by far one of my favorite graphic novels - Alan Moore accomplished in it a true pinnacle of the graphic novel art form. He created characters that the audience cared for and became invested in and told their story in a narrative that challenged and enticed the reader.

It also never went on longer than it needed to. We had one Watchmen graphic novel that told their stories over the lifetimes of the character. We didn't get…

A note - Blogging isn't free. Right now I provide gifts to my writers as a way of thanking people for writing. I would like to be able to afford to give them some sort of renumeration, even if it is small, for making this blog what it is. I'm in talks with a friend who may be able to help connect this blog, which has been in existence for one year now, with more religious communities dedicated to interfaith dialogue. Your donation will do a lot toward making that happen.






I'm naturally rather skeptical about a Christian organization that sends books out for free and asks for money directly in them. I don't think it takes a genius to see why - capitalism naturally breeds scammers because, in order to gain monetarily beyond simply a basic income, you have to either have control over things people can't do without or coerce money out of people. Political evangelicals usually do the latter and hang out with people who do the former. Billy Graham used to raise m…

A note - Blogging isn't free. Right now I provide gifts to my writers as a way of thanking people for writing. I would like to be able to afford to give them some sort of renumeration, even if it is small, for making this blog what it is. I'm in talks with a friend who may be able to help connect this blog, which has been in existence for one year now, with more religious communities dedicated to interfaith dialogue. Your donation will do a lot toward making that happen.




When I was a conservative and took a great deal of free market economics courses, there were all sorts of know it all animations that explained how economics was governed by the Invisible Hand. From Milton Freidman to Freakonomics, it usually featured various right wing ideologues who condescendingly explained how capitalism was just the only way and anyone who disagreed was stupid and wanted a dictatorship. (Freidman's famous pencil speech and the various conservative animations about Social S…

I really enjoyed listening to this. Sanders is the man!

A note - Blogging isn't free. Right now I provide gifts to my writers as a way of thanking people for writing. I would like to be able to afford to give them some sort of renumeration, even if it is small, for making this blog what it is. I'm in talks with a friend who may be able to help connect this blog, which has been in existence for one year now, with more religious communities dedicated to interfaith dialogue. Your donation will do a lot toward making that happen.



When I was finishing college in 2010, I had a weird year. I had interned with the Heritage Foundation, where I was blessed to spend my months there around real, genuine white racists who weren't just casually racist but were saying really racist stuff like all the time, in every conversation. It opened my eyes that that was real - that real, principled racism and not just a few comments here and there was really a thing.

Then I got to see the real thing. I was attending a small state school in Califor…

A note - Blogging isn't free. Right now I provide gifts to my writers as a way of thanking people for writing. I would like to be able to afford to give them some sort of renumeration, even if it is small, for making this blog what it is. I'm in talks with a friend who may be able to help connect this blog, which has been in existence for one year now, with more religious communities dedicated to interfaith dialogue. Your donation will do a lot toward making that happen.




I got really in to the Republican Party debate this week. It wasn't because I'm about to be a conservative again - I have simply seen too much of life for that to ever, ever happen again. It was great entertainment - Trump was a bizarre goofball, Rand Paul was erratic and deranged (remember when he was up and coming? Not anymore!) and everyone else was a blend of bizarre anger and alienation. The only two who seemed somewhat presidential were Florida senator Marco Rubio and Ohio governor John Kasic…