Four American industries changed by the September 11, 2001 attacks

Just about everyone alive at the time remembers where they were when they first heard about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. I was 11 years old, sitting in my 6th-grade Social Studies class when someone said something vague about a plane hitting a building in New York City. As the day went on, […]

Veterans divided over Nike’s Kaepernick ad controversy?

Amid the controversy surrounding Nike’s ad campaign focused on Colin Kaepernick, we’ve been treated to something of a deluge of military veterans and associated patriots who, as Green Beret Tim Kennedy put it, “are livid” about the decision by the company to sponsor a former NFL player who ostensibly disrespects our flag and our troops. It […]

Italy’s “Years of Lead” offer a glimpse of America’s future

Tensions are running high in America as social and political forces collide, sometimes forcefully, and sometimes in the streets. Political polarization in America has been closely studied over the last several decades and while the large-scale impact of social media, which has only risen to prominence in perhaps the last five years, is still being […]

Tooned: Chill dude, they’re just fireworks

This Independence Day many of us will be surrounding ourselves with family and friends while we BBQ and blow stuff up. As a veteran, it’s important to me that we enjoy this day with all we’ve got because it’s exactly what we served for and is a celebration of the American way of life. Now, […]

Opinion: Remembering the good things

These days it seems like everyone is in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction. Even compared to the Karen people, who live under the oppressive thumb of the Burmese government while surviving in an unforgiving jungle, I have rarely come across people more profoundly dissatisfied with their lives as Americans.  In fact, the Karen are among […]

TigerSwan: Former Delta Operator sought to incite violence at the Dakota Access Pipeline

It was early afternoon on October 11th, 2016 when TigerSwan’s program manager, retired Delta Force Sergeant Major John Porter, met with Silverton’s owner, Carl Clifton, inside a hangar at the Mandan Municipal Airport. The hangar was initially used by Silverton security as a clandestine office for their intelligence cell that collected information on the protesters, […]

The Statue of Liberty

On Sunday I found myself on the ferry headed toward Liberty Island, where the Statue of Liberty stands. It overlooks New York City and New Jersey,  Like fireworks on the 4th of July, taking pictures does it little justice and everything seems so much smaller than it does in person. Fantasy or science fiction television […]

The American Road: Countries within countries

Over the last two days I drove with my dog from the sunny, warm Tampa, Florida to the cold and wintery Binghamton in upstate New York, and I’ll be making the same drive back in three days time — it’s approximately 18 hours each way without accounting for stops. Just over Thanksgiving, I made a trip […]