Books, Politics

Better Politics Please Again

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In 2020, after four years of Donald Trump and in the midst of the divisiveness of a pandemic response, I wrote a book called Better Politics, Please.

It was hopeful.

Maybe naively hopeful.

On January 6, 2021, as the nation witnessed a violent attempt to overthrow an election—an unprecedented assault on our democracy—that hopeful book felt worse than naive.

Here we are four years later, barreling toward the 2024 election. Are our politics any better? Please?

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Politics

We’re Not Going Back: Biracial Confusion

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Yesterday former President Donald Trump made a series of racist attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, challenging her biracial identity. I try to bite my tongue on the latest controversy of the day (and often fail), but this is just nuts.

It’s really wild (and kind of gross) to watch people struggle with race and not understand being biracial or mixed race in 2024. You can have more than one identity, and that’s not inconsistent. Claiming one of those identities does not negate the other.

White people claim multiple European roots and celebrate both—for St. Patrick’s Day it’s “I’m Irish!” and for Oktoberfest it’s “I’m German!”

Using my father’s last name does not mean I disowned my mother’s family. I can claim both.

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Employment, Twin Cities

7 Stories in 5 Days

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So it’s been a long week. Yeah, there was that whole political tsunami on Sunday. Feels like an eon since then. (And the energy… feels like it’s only ramped up since then, for what it’s worth.) But I’m more talking about locally and my reporting with West St. Paul Reader.

This week we ran seven stories in five days.

Multiple stories that we broke and some exclusives. It’s big stuff like a long-time restaurant leaving and a 115-year-old historic mansion torn down, and what should have been simpler stories like a library renovation—that some how drew the ire of anti-library trolls (BTW, did an update on that story Friday night, because book nerds love library plans!).

It’s been a lot.

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Politics

A Political Snapshot in Time

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Sometimes a blog like this works best as a time capsule. What did I think at the time? Our perspective tends to distort over time, so capturing an honest assessment in the moment is important for the sake of accuracy. With politics and history, doubly so. Everything seems inevitable in hindsight. But at the time it often didn’t feel that way.

And politics in the last month? Oof. From President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, to Biden withdrawing from the election and Vice President Kamala Harris taking the mantle—it’s been wild.

I could write about this for days, but nobody wants to read that. So I’m going to try to capture my thoughts in short, quick bursts. Here goes nothing…

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Books, Politics

Renegade for Independence Day

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The Fourth of July seemed like a fitting day to read Adam Kinzinger’s political memoir, Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in our Divided Country.

If you don’t remember Kinzinger, he’s one of two Republicans in Congress who served on the January 6 Committee and one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump. I profiled him in my 2020 book Better Politics Please.

It’s an interesting book, perhaps not as polished and slick as some political memoirs (and he gives us the mercy of not rehashing his entire life in excruciating detail like most political memoirs), but a solid snapshot of politics from the Tea Party to the Insurrection.

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Business & Marketing, Education, Introspection

Reflecting on 20 Years

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It’s been an incredibly busy spring season. I’m just now catching my breath at the end of June. I’ve had a few milestones—including 20 years of business, five years of local news, and a kid graduating high school—that make me a little introspective.

The past two months have included a member drive, a five-year anniversary, a bike safety event, a bike ride, a parade, a mural unveiling, a massive four-day community event, launching a summer contest, a high school graduation, a grad party, the 20th anniversary of my business, and my brain has now shut down so I can’t remember anything else.

Whew. That’s an understatement.

So when I get a moment, I’m reflective. A few thoughts…

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Employment, Introspection, Twin Cities

West St. Paul Reader: Five Year Anniversary

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Five years ago today I launched West St. Paul Reader with the first-ever post, a recap of a City Council meeting.

That first post really epitomizes the work we do: It’s narrowly focused on what happens in our first-ring suburb. It celebrates what’s happening in the community. It serves as an archive to mark what happened, when, and why. I just spent some time reflecting on that first post five years later.

Reflecting on Five Years

We’re doing a whole five-year anniversary member drive with an audacious goal of 50 members to mark five years by 5/25. But more than flogging a member drive and trying to bring in new members, today I’m trying to reflect on five years of this work.

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Vacation

Bentonville/Eclipse Vacation

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Abby and I went on a kid-free vacation to Bentonville, Arkansas to see the 2024 total solar eclipse and do some biking.

No kids?: If leaving the kids behind seems mean, I did invite them and they shrugged. They’ve seen a solar eclipse before—meh.

Why Arkansas?: There were closer locations to see totality, but Indiana isn’t a very exciting place to visit. I wouldn’t think Arkansas is either, but Bentonville is billed as the mountain biking capital of the world. I’ve been thinking about taking a trip there anyway. The eclipse being two and a half hours away made it a perfect location.

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A work-at-home dad wrestles with faith, social justice & story.