Running Iron Report

Race, racism, and how to teach our children about it has roiled school districts across the country. Here in Central Oregon, the Bend-LaPine School Board election school board election became a scrum over the purported threat of the infiltration of Critical Race Theory into local curriculum. The issue has been raised, albeit in muted form, in our local district in … Read More

“This is probably the first time a robot has autonomously attacked and killed human beings.” — Ed Nash’s Military Matters Anybody who is familiar with the historical fiction science fiction Terminator series knows that the shit hit the fan when the AI network Skynet became self-aware. Humans tried to shut it down; Skynet fought back and… welcome to the apocalypse. … Read More

A person here in my town asked me the other day what my beliefs are regarding climate change. Note that phrasing. It was a political and ideological question. Isn’t everything these days? The question was asked sincerely and in good will, and I answered honestly. That means my thoughts won’t fit on a bumper sticker, and, to an activist, probably … Read More

Yesterday, due to the on-going calamity of representational government known as the State of Oregon, I was forced to drive six hours – round trip – to renew my driver’s license. This was because only about half of the very expensive government apparatus of this state is actually working in their offices at any one time, and also because the … Read More

In this brave new age, when we are daily assaulted by the aching sanctimonies of The Church of the Holy Woke and the militant orders of the School of Point and Screech, those of us who value liberty over lemmings are faced with some navigational challenges. These are both physical and intellectual. Avoiding the purity tribunals that dot the landscape … Read More

Fortunately, I’ve been able to spend most of my time this last year unmasked and unashamed, chasing cows and filming The Len Babb Movie Project. We’ve managed to visit seven states and can hours of film we will soon start editing into a rough cut of the film. That work has created great new friendships, a deeper understanding of my … Read More

U.S. intelligence officials have little comfort to offer a pandemic-weary planet about where the world is heading in the next 20 years. Short answer: It looks pretty bleak. — The Washington Post, April 8, 2021 There is supposed to be some cold satisfaction in being able to say “I told you so.” I’m not feeling that, and I’m pretty sure … Read More

I’ve been trying to figure out how it is I will navigate the asteroid belts of the Imaginarium – dodging the tumbling balls of frozen wokeness, the careening boulders of political duplicity and outright stupidity. In that process I’ve come to realize that in order to survive these hazards, and to pilot my family through them into what will certainly … Read More

Guest post by Mike Lazarus Lots of talk lately about Qualified Immunity. Much chest-beating declaring it an abomination that protects bad cops from prosecution. Like many of our public proclamations, we are enjoying a certain loose standard of facts, that — while entertaining — often fails to educate so much as mislead. First, let us clarify one important distinction that … Read More

My wife Marilyn and I recently finished Season 2 of Cinemax’s martial arts pulp fest, Warrior. Inspired by a concept written down in notes by Bruce Lee many years ago, and heavily influenced by Quentin Tarantino, the adventure follows a Chinese immigrant to San Francisco in the 1870s, where he becomes a tong soldier and is embroiled in the tong … Read More