When cruelty becomes a strategy, the vulnerable suffer. I wrote about how disabled students and hungry families were used as leverage during the shutdown.

Read the article on MEDIUM.

In my 43 years of attending concerts, this performance by Limp Bizkit at Woodstock 99 was the most intense I've ever experienced.

Holding down the low end of the performance was bassist Sam Rivers. He is gone too soon.

Read my tribute here: https://change.hopp.to/SamRivers 

Seeing this picture, I was reminded of an article I wrote early in Trump’s first term as President, which started with the following paragraph:

“Donald Trump is a master of branding. He took a “small loan of a million dollars”, bought some gold spray paint, and turned the Trump name into something synonymous with how poor people think rich people live.”

As I went back and read the article. It contained a bit of foreshadowing for what lay ahead in the Trump presidency:

“but a virus only needs to take root in one host to start an epidemic.”

How did he end up back in the White House, and will any of it be left by the end of his term?

👉 Read the full article here: https://change.hopp.to/7th

A memory from my Scouting days and Chris Cornell’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction are reminders that suicide does not occur in a vacuum.

Read the article on MEDIUM.

We now live in a country where a man in a giraffe costume can be shot at and then arrested for the crime of criticizing the actions of the government. 

 👉 More of my thoughts on the state of the First Amendment: https://change.hopp.to/1A

Can democracy survive in a country where free speech is no longer tolerated?

How a performance at the ill-fated Woodstock 99 festival helped define a generation’s rage, rhythm, and release.

Read the article on MEDIUM.

Jimmy Kimmel condemned political violence. MAGA demanded an apology. This isn’t about decency—it’s about control. My latest piece explores how outrage is weaponized to silence dissent, and why calling out cruelty isn’t just speech—it’s responsibility.

📝 Read the article: Free Speech, As Long As You Don’t Offend The King

While Republicans keep the government shutdown to protect their cuts to Obamacare, the numbers don’t lie:

✅ Obamacare favorability at 66% 

❌ 8.2 million losing coverage under Trump’s bill

📉 Red states dominate the uninsured and lowest life expectancy

My latest article breaks it all down. Read it on MEDIUM.

Does this flag still represent me? Or am I a stranger in my own country?

Read more about my thoughts about the flag, Trump, and mourning Charlie Kirk at https://change.hopp.to/AmI

Free speech is technically allowed, but the right is trying to turn public backlash and political leverage into a weaponized form of censorship — demanding apologies, retractions, and obedience to Trump.

Read the article on MEDIUM.