What happens is that you get two copies of the same letter, and they spell your name wrong. During the ICE crisis in Minnesota in January, I was looking for ways to help from my chair. I’ve given up on protesting–it doesn’t do anything, and if it does, the effects take too long to achieve. People were dying and getting kidnapped now. Plus it was a very cold Winter, and driving all the way down to Minneapolis is no longer something I wanted to do (fun fact: I went to a Twins game yesterday and with all the road construction, it took ninety minutes to get from eastern Lake Minnetonka…
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Being a Politician
I have a niggling little voice in my head that keeps saying, “Eric, be a politician.” And I suppose that’s coming from my strong sense of duty, moral obligation, and service. It’s part of the reason I write books–to demonstrate some moral truth. Better writers than I say “novels should ask the questions, not give answers”. But anyone can bring up a problem. It takes a better man to offer a solution. This is part of the reason I read “Somebody’s Gotta Do It“. I can’t talk about this without sounding egotistical. I don’t know if I’m a good leader. I used to not be one–selfish and micromanaging and egotistical.…
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Men’s Issues: What Are They?
I can’t remember what triggered this issue, so I’m just going to get into it. I watched a documentary called The Red Pill. The documentary was not good. It was propaganda, which is why I don’t like documentaries. They only give one side of the issue–the one the producer wants to promote. A filmmaker can manipulate a film so much to give you what they want you to see and feel (e.g. Super Size Me, White Wilderness, Tiger King, Dinesh D’Souza stuff, Bill Maher stuff, Michael Moore stuff, anything involving haunted places). They’re entirely biased and often lie. And if they’re not lying, they’re omitting or misrepresenting. They ignore questions…
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Suggestion: The Rape Compromise
Just like abortion, there is a problem with rape in this country. And this is a spiderweb with lots of rays coming off of it. Reporting it, cops that do nothing about it, the emotional aftereffects of the victim, of the accused, worries (unfounded) about false accusations, post-rape interaction with the victim, how doctors and judges and other people treat you, etc. But I think the biggest problem is that the definition of rape hasn’t been established. You’d think it’d be basic, but it’s not. Terms like “penetration without consent” and “force” and “deceit or seduction” can get shapeless when you pick them apart (as you do in court trials)…
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Things I’m Angry At Right Now
Democrats for sitting on their asses and doing nothing while Republicans run ram shod on them. They just let them pass laws that take rights away from people, give benefits to billionaires, revoke regulations, provoke a monarchy, lie their asses off, and cultivate division. DO SOMETHING! Do you not see it? Strike back. Get angry. Stop sitting with your thumbs in your asses like everything will all work out in the end. Make good art is not going to cut it this time. Stop mumbling and bumbling while the GOP plays the American people like a business. Don’t tell me to write to my congressman. It does nothing and just…
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I Want a Vaccine Mandate
Every conservative redneck sign is always anti-mandate. The Supreme Court is anti-mandate. Dammit, I want a mandate. We have required vaccines for measles, smallpox, polio to go to school or be in the army or travel abroad. This isn’t a new thing. Here’s what I see. I see the Democrats thinking we can cure the virus and we can get back to normal. We tamp down the virus to the point its either eliminated or rare. If only people would get the vaccine. If the vaccine is there the virus has nowhere to go. It dies out. Can it be done? I’m not sure, but it’s nice to be optimistic.…
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I Am Tired of “Protecting” the Unvaccinated
I am tired of “protecting” the unvaccinated. Look, there are no undecided people anymore. The actions of state governments (or inactions, e.g. Texas, Florida) aren’t an excuse. Your leader doesn’t determine what you do. Only you do. And if they’ve decided not to put a mask on, not to get the vaccine, they’re not going to. Nothing short of devastating personal loss is going to motivate them to do anything. The constant pleas to “wear your mask”, “get vaccinated”, “beware the delta variant” are falling on deaf ears. And I’m sick of hearing it. People are going to do what they want to do. They view it as legislating morality,…
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My Three Goals as a Writer
I want to be a writer, as you can see from the one thousand plus posts I’ve put up. But I also like to make money, which is why I’m not a capital-“A” author yet. There are only so many hours in the day. So for now, writing is a fun thing until I hit that publishing lottery and get something in print. But there are other ways to get a steady job in the printed word. I’m too introverted for journalism (except as a columnist or editorial writer) and I’m not fast enough for freelancing. But there are some fun things I’d like to do. Here are three. I…
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Bill & Bob: Where Are They Now?
So I’m sure you’re all dying to know what’s happened to Bill and Bob since my first article in 2016 and my second in 2019. They ain’t gone away, that’s for sure. I thought they did, but like the cat, they came back. And I still gotta stare at this shit every time I work out. I can’t remember when it went up but the one that said “Dear Congress, ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL, Sincerely Bill & Bob” returned. I think it originally appeared because of the disagreements over immigration policy (i.e. children in cages), but it became especially appropriate around the impeachment (they don’t change their billboards often). That was…
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Who Puts the Gun Down First?
So in the wake of the election, there is this zeitgeist happening. Now that (hopefully) politics are returning to usual, how do we mend the divide that’s cleaved the country the past four years? The election wasn’t close, but it wasn’t a landslide either. Trump and the GOP still gained a resounding collection of votes. They gained a few seats in the house and didn’t lose the Senate majority. Nearly half the world looked at the past four years, the pandemic, the white supremacism, the economy, the crimes, the fascism, the impeachment, the children in cages, and said “yes, I’d like more of that“. It should be an easy moral…
