Author: Steve Ainslie

I heard Yuval Levin on this podcast yesterday speaking about the United States, our political system, the constitution, divisiveness and, most importantly, how to fix our problems. I was so intrigued with his discourse, knowledge and ideas that I will be reading his two most recent books on the subject soon. In the meantime, I…

I have a friend who’s “had his eye on” a woman he’s attracted to that he crosses path with regularly several times a month. He’s mentioned her to me in the past. They’ve spoken many times as casual acquaintances. Last week, he told me he’s not sure if the attraction he’s feeling is mutual. He…

As I watched news videos of attendees at the Trump rally in Butler where the assassination attempt took place, it made me feel somewhat sentimental. Many of the people interviewed were from the area where I grew up. Their accents and straightforward plain-talk reminded me of home. When I heard why they attended the MAGA…

I think that Trump just won the 2024 Presidential election after the near miss assassination attempt that happened yesterday in Butler, PA. The photo of him raising his fist in the air with blood streaming down his face while shouting “fight, fight, fight” is iconic. His dedicated base of supporters will, of course, rally around…

I listen to a lot of podcasts and read many books, articles & essays. As a fan of grammar, etymology and words, I often focus on the way people use language to argue points. There are some writers & podcasters who challenge me both intellectually and linguistically – Nick Gillespie, Ross Douthat, Carlos Lozada and…

It has been extremely hot and humid these past two weeks in Raleigh with blazing sunshine and temps reaching the upper 90s everyday. I’ve had to adjust my dog walking schedule so that the dogs and I aren’t setting ourselves up for heat exhaustion or burnt pad pads. Even so, by the end of our…

Due to summertime pool maintenance, swim team practices and swimming lessons at my regular pools, I’ve had to rely on my 3rd choice backup pool at the YMCA for swimming several days a week. (You can start playing the world’s smallest violin for me now.) Other than adjusting to a different environment and new swimmers,…

Unless you are wealthy enough to be able to influence legislators through bribes, donations and lobbyists, you will be paying more taxes than you think is fair. Taxes are not meant to be fair. Since their inception, taxes were used to siphon money (or goods) from people not in power to pay for royals, government…

I spend little to no time reading user comments on blogs, reddit threads, YouTube, and forums mostly because I find the comments add little value. Occasionally when I’m digging into a niche topic seeking advice, I’ll skim them. Comments from legit people with expertise are easy to spot. I’ll rely on those and have even…

After my recent week of dreaming I had a girlfriend, one evening curiosity got the better of me and I decided to check out the dating app Bumble to see if I was missing anything (or to be more accurate, anyone). I downloaded the app, created a quick profile, set my age range to 51-61…