Meeting Inspiring 88 Year-Old Solo Female Traveler, Willoughby
This is Willoughby, an 88-year-old, SOLO female traveler from Seattle. She spent 17 days at a hostel in the Historic Center of Oaxaca. I saw her at the airport and introduced myself as I had to learn her story. This was her first visit to Oaxaca. She didn’t take any group tours but explored on […]
Holding Hands in Mexico City
MEXICO CITY: On my final day in Mexico City, I had a 40-minute treadmill run at the gym, overlooking a busy street below. As I ran, I found myself watching the rhythm of people crossing at the stoplight. And I was struck by something simple but powerful: affection. Not just couples—but a grandfather holding his […]
Never meet your heroes?! Poppycock.
They tell you not to meet your heroes — but what if they meet you first? At The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents USA dinner and awards in DC this past December, I was standing alone when Jere Van Dyk spotted me, introduced himself simply as “Jere,” and then immediately began introducing me around. He […]
MLK Day, My Hometown and the First Amendment
I hope you’re enjoying the MLK holiday. This day carries special meaning for me. It was January 15, 1986—just days before the very first Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday on January 20—when the Ku Klux Klan marched through my hometown of Pulaski, Tennessee. It was not a proud moment. The town quite literally turned […]
The Kyiv Independent Puts Current U.S. Journalism to Shame
I finally met some of my greatest professional heroes—the journalists of the Kyiv Independent. If you are not familiar with the Kyiv Independent, you should be. These courageous reporters broke away from a rival news organization after many resigned in protest over an oligarch owner’s interference in editorial decisions. Determined to build a genuinely independent […]
Synagogue in Kyiv Hit by ruzzian Drone
A ruzzian drone hit last night (Oct. 24, 2025) in Kyiv, a synagogue in Podil. It was just two blocks from my apartment, where I stayed in July/August. I walked past it every other day during my runs along the Dnipro River. I don’t know why it makes war feel more tangible when something or […]
The Once Mighty New York Times Goes Full On ruzzian Propaganda
I’m sharing this because some of you are probably readers of the #TheNewYorkTimes I stopped subscribing a while ago because I don’t believe they can be trusted and are almost as bad as the #NYPost. At least with the NY Post, you know you’re getting a biased, incomplete, partisan version of the truth or an […]
Linda Yaccarino Resigns X as I Cower in My Bathroom in Kyiv, Ukraine
How fitting that on the day Linda Yaccarino resigns as CEO from Twitter/X and expresses gratitude to Elon Musk “for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech…” I am cowering in my apartment’s bathroom in Kyiv, Ukraine, at 3 AM because Ruzzia is bombing us again and terrorizing Ukrainian citizens for over three […]
The Most Beautiful Border Crossing of My Life (So Far)
I’ve crossed the Ukrainian border several times now, and each time is unique, but yesterday was my favorite. Sveta is a wonderful human who takes people in need across the border into Poland and onwards to their new home. It can be an abused wife fleeing her husband, an elderly person fleeing a front-line village, […]
Does NYC’s Deadline Club Stand for Facts or Disinformation?
I’ve been a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and its New York City Chapter Deadline Club for years, and it has been a largely positive experience. However, recently, I’ve had some experiences that have me questioning “What’s happening at the Deadline Club? Do they stand for facts or disinformation?”
Recommended Viewing – Faith Under Siege
Billions have been spent on this and other outlets on a propaganda campaign in an attempt to confuse the simplest case of right versus wrong, good versus evil, that I’ve ever witnessed. It’s time to fight back. Every Christian and person of faith in the world should watch the film Faith Under Siege, now streaming. […]
Amyl and the Sniffers Show – Smells Like Punk Rock To Me
It’s cliche, albeit inaccurate, to say “punk music is dead.” In the past, to counter this false narrative, I’d point to bands like Rancid or musicians like Laura Jane Grace from Against Me. But then I’d just be proving their point. Rancid’s seminal “And Out Come the Wolves” album exploded onto the scene in 1995, […]