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Submitted on January 31, 2016 at 08:42 AM

Section 1 (Text)

Pro: Humanism, irreligion, libertarianism, open borders, capitalism, America, classical liberalism, the robust executive, republicanism, representative democracy, federalism, pretty things, the environment, sustainable development, urban development, futurism, genetic research, evolutionary research, diversity, inclusion, freedom of expression, freedom of self-defense, limited government
Anti: Authoritarianism, religion, naturism, immigration restrictions, communism, modern social justice liberalism, executive restraint, monarchism, minarchism, “states' rights movements,” SUVs, rural subsidization, restricting expression, restricting self-defense, the FCC, the RUS, the DHS

Music I like: Basically a lot of shit Pitchfork recommends, indietronica, rock, rap, '90s country, pop, R&B, house, synthpop, dance, electro-dance, most kinds of metal, and especially pop-punk

Things that interest me: planes, cars, military equipment and technology, strategy, geopolitics, government, political culture, comparative politics, foreign policy, economics, pretty women, hunky dudes, GSM issues, technology in general, evolutionary biology, human evolution, music, culture, scenic vistas featuring fog, the life and times of the DPRK

Who I am:

- Fluidly Bisexual
- Heteroromantic
- Atheist (ex-Christian)
- New Southerner
- self-hating (Log Cabin) Republican
- Libertarian
- Anthropocentrist/human exceptionalist

What I drive: http://i.imgur.com/7OgfHmD.jpg a 2002 VW Passat GLS estate with a 1.8L turbocharged engine, shiftable automatic transmission. Her name is Lise. She's been bitchy of late on the transmission bit but we're going to smooth over it eventually. Love her to bits. Sometimes literally. She's hit 120 mph in my hands before, and taken it like a champ. I've got a lengthy shopping list.

What I do: I deliver pizza and read boring books in the hope that one day the university system in this country gets its head out of its ass and remembers that rote, repetitive work is for salarymen, and you don't need a college degree for that shit.

Where I've lived: Tennessee, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina in the US. Also lived in the following Indonesian cities: Bandar Lampung (Tanjung Karang, to be exact), Jambi, Banda Aceh (for about a month), and Jakarta (technically). I've visited Singapore (it's a FINE city), Thailand, as well as the following Indonesian cities: Bandung, Yogyakarta, Denpasar, Kuta, Balikpapan, Pangkal Pinang (I've been to the harbor in the finale of Black Lagoon), and Batam. I've stopped in airports for extended periods in Hong Kong, the Republic of China, Japan, Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea. I've made it a life mission to know more about the world every day than I did the day before.

Do I support any charities? Yes, I actively support Recovering From Religion thanks to AmazonSmile. I have also been doing research on sickle-cell anemia charities, which in total bring in roughly $500,000/year, almost all of which goes to finding a cure for a disease which overwhelmingly affects children of African and Hispanic heritage. When I'm not poorer than the dirt I keep tracking into my house at school (it's a damn swamp), I hope to contribute frequently to both of these causes as well as others which are important to me.

Have you ever helped crowdfund anything? Yes, I helped crowdfund Automation before it was cool (a tycoon game in which you run a car company) as well as Stripped! a documentary about comic strips in newspapers. I threw enough money at them to convince them to let me see Bill Watterson in his first interview in three decades.

What are some other random questions I can ask myself? Hmm. Oh, I know…

Who have you voted for in your myriad elections? You Americans have too many. You're damn right we do. I envy Europeans on one count and one count only: y'all don't have another election every three days or whatever it is. Anyway, I voted for Gary Johnson in 2012. I was literally the one percent. Still don't regret it. I've voted for Jimmy Carter's grandson (he ran for governor in my then-state of Georgia in 2014). I voted for the daughter of Sam Nunn, Michelle, who ran for Senate the same year. They were both blown out. I voted against a ballot proposition that would have added additional sales taxes to purportedly fund transport projects and voted in favor of a proposition expanding charter schools. I voted with the winning side in both instances.

Do you support any sports teams? Yes. I support Arsenal FC (EPL), Celtic FC (SPL), the US Men's National Team (FIFAWC), Pahoman United (Indonesian lower-division squad whose ground was less than five minutes from a home I occupied), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL), Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL), Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL), Tampa Bay Storm (AFL), Tampa Bay Rays (MLB), Greenville Swamprabbits (ECHL), Greenville Drive (MiLB), Florida Gators (NCAA D-I FBS), Furman University Paladins (NCAA D-I FCS), and the North Greenville Crusaders (NCAA D-II). I love pretty much any and all kinds of football, and recently I've started to “get” hockey and baseball a bit more. Shootyhoops is still just really uninteresting to me, sorry.

What are some specific political causes you support? I'm an open borders advocate, ask me anything. I support the right to keep and bear arms. I support wider choices for women in healthcare. I'm a huge advocate for awareness of the growing problem of domestic and sexual violence perpetrated against men.

What are some things that make you tear up or cry? The fourth stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner, an immigrant telling me their story, people showing kindness to other people. Those kinds of things.

Previous entries in “song of the now”:

Wolves - Digitalism
Till Sunrise - Goldroom
Miss Alissa - Eagles of Death Metal
Hawaiian Air - Friendly Fires
Sea of Light - Night Drive

Last time I took the Political Compass, these were my results: 1.75 to the right, -2.75 authoritarian (meaning I was in the libertarian side of the compass)

Here's a wall of quotes I've used in signatures here and elsewhere.

“There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.”
“Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.”
“Never was anything great achieved without danger.”
“I have no interest in preserving the status quo, I wish to destroy it.”
— Niccolo Machiavelli

“Socialism proposes no adequate substitute for the motive of enlightened selfishness that today is at the basis of all human labor and effort, enterprise and new activity.”
“We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.”
“I am in favor of helping the prosperity of all countries because, when we are all prosperous, the trade with each becomes more valuable to the other.”
“The world is not going to be saved by legislation.”
—William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States

“Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.” — Milton Friedman

“No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.” — Adam Smith, On The Wealth Of Nations

“The totalitarian, to me, is the enemy - the one that's absolute, the one that wants control over the inside of your head, not just your actions and your taxes.” — Christopher Hitchens

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” — Stephen Hawking

“Islands are natural workshops of evolution.” — Richard Dawkins

“Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of man will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.”
“Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.”
“Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.”
— Alexander Hamilton

When I think of other shit to shove in here, I will add it. Cheers.