Outlaw Elections and Updates

Updates and Events

My fellow Outlaws, it’s been a few months and I apologize for the delay in getting another update to you. Writing, deals, family health, and the day job grind have all made life interesting lately. Thank you for your patience with me. 

I got told when I started this gig to be me, and talk like me. To  talk about the things I like. So for those that don’t know, my bachelors is in political science and my minor in history, mostly military history, and we just had an election here in the US. I promise when this leaks in that it's not going to be lobbying or proselytizing.  

The US just had an election that had political pundits and TV hosts wetting themselves. It’s been a wild ride watching the celebrations and meltdowns here as everyone braces for the next 2-4 years of our political cycle. I’m one of those pesky libertarians, mostly with a small l, that hold no loyalties to either of the big two parties America tortures themselves with. I threw a post about a lot of what I saw on my personal facebook, but after some consideration y'all are going to see it too. If you get bored or don’t care, skip past it to Bucky and we will get to the cool story stuff.

This is that post cleaned up for typos:

So the big day came and went, and I'm seeing a lot of people struggling in general and struggling with the states vs federal law, and how different states have different rules, and how that, direct quote,

“literally makes zero sense.”

I've seen people flabbergasted how Trump could win, and how anyone with any morals, much less 72+ million Americans could have voted for him. Abortion laws are cited almost every time. So for anyone that cares, I'd like to try and help frame this photo so the lines fit together better.

Since the founding, Federalist, people pro federal power, and Antifederalist, people pro state power, have argued. There's papers about it from the 1700s that are a really killer read if you care about Governance. The final design of the US was intended to have powerful states that the Fed could unite and coordinate for war and commerce.

It makes perfect sense when you have a nation 3000+ miles across. We are not one united people. We are “These United States”. Californians don't want to live like Georgians, and vice versa. In my opinion, nobody 1000 miles away should govern your life in any major way. They cannot possibly understand your problems. We are a land of many mixed and unique cultures that do not all live 100% the same.

But the nation is so big, it needs defending, and the states need to work together. So we made a Fed for that purpose. It was always the idea, since inception, that the states, closer to your home and your reality, would pick the laws and be the real power. It's a lot easier to hop over a state than hop over a country to live the way you want.

Problem is that it slipped massively in favor of the Fed real fast, especially after Lincoln and again after FDR. The Fed is a central authority that perpetuates its own power. Seeing that, the Two Party system is now simply two authoritarian regimes with different flavors. I can't personally abide gun control. Others cannot personally abide abortion control. I hate both, but a Two Party shit show system makes you choose priorities like this which is really fucked up. It makes the political landscape not a choice of ideals, but a barren wasteland of trying to make sure whatever freedom you clutch to most survives.

It looks more and more reasonable, in light of the failure to actually represent multiple interests, that the US will split either forcibly or hopefully peaceably. Become like Europe in a way as much as the comparison pains me. Two or three nations bound with mutual trade and defense and common currency. Progressives and Conservatives would live under their own rules. There would be a place for most to live how they want.

But the last time anyone tried to leave the union, they got their asses beat and conquered, and the right of secession was squashed. That's not a comment on morality. Regardless of the reasons why, terrible or not, national divorce was not allowed. It was specifically crushed and cited over other much more grievous moral concerns. It's looking more and more like what we need now.

The State and Federal system was meant to make sure this exact problem did not happen, and it failed under the weight of the Two Party System and America's flat refusal to support other parties in any real measure.

I've been seeing a lot of "the world is falling apart" and "this is how Liberty dies" and "fascism" because Trump won, but the missing piece is that your rights are eroding no matter who won that election. Democrats and Republicans are an authoritarian pendulum that we swing harder and harder back and forth until finally this place is going to break. As a nation we are not compromising or negotiating, we are split personalities swapping control and screaming at one another while making shady backroom deals to make sure any other personality can ever get the reins.

So don't hate your neighbor, or continue to shriek that everyone who didn't vote your way is a sexist, racist, homophobe. It never won anyone over. If you want real systematic change, you have to actually change the system to make sure someone fully represents people's freedom and views. You have to create real choice. Not this paltry illusion painted by politicians and pundits.

Your neighbors voting red don't all hate you. They had to choose which villain was going to star in the next season of Shitshow. Lex Luthor’s orange cousin just sounded better than The Riddler’s inarticulate step sister.

Life will go on, there is much work to be done, and if we really want to make this place free, it starts with evolving beyond D vs R.

***

I don’t really care what “Side of the fence” you are on, I want you to not need therapy over an election, and it's getting to where a lot of the people I see online and even know personally qualify for it.  Be well Outlaws, even when they don’t want you to be. Live your life, and make the Government not matter.

Have a Bucky for your troubles.

Now with current events out of the way, let's get to the cool story stuff. 

I cooked up a really fun story about a magical wildlife rescue run by trailer park elves for It Came From The Trailer Park. Sadly Bucky Bob and Pam Jo did not make the cut for the latest Antho, but I’m not giving up on the two yet. There is some talk in the works of me getting involved in the Trailer Park process, but we will see what happens when the ink is dry.

For those of you who enjoyed Sergeant Atlas and Corsica killing Marcillians, Contested Landing Just hit Audible. So if you don’t like reading and would rather listen, this is your opportunity.

https://www.audible.com/pd/Contested-Landing-Volume-1-Audiobook/B0DL7MCDRM?qid=1731283526&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=C0TRVYR4JDVMZ6YTH20K&pageLoadId=apKiBqBxrWe9b8SE&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1 

Two new heroes, Leonidas Vanagandr and Rune Red Eagle have been accepted by publishers and will hopefully be hitting your Kindle or bookshelf early next year. If you have been watching Blasters and Blades or Mirthquake, you have heard me talk about Leo. Leo starts a grand world and a grand adventure for us as a retired Special Forces Medical Sergeant from the United States Sorcerer’s Legion. America’s magical service branch. Leo’s feeling lost at home, when a series of events and a murder case draw him back into his dark specialty. It's a gritty Urban Fantasy that spawns my Holy Diver and The Midnight Sea universe.

Rune Red Eagle is the Muscogee Berserker, half native American, and half Scandinavian, he’s my fun amalgamation of norse and native myths that trace with my ancestry and all my family's years at Pow Wow. Rune possesses terrible power, and the beast demon Kaccv (English would be something close to Kotch-shu, or Coach shoe for those of you who like designer footwear) Rune is my Conan, going through a series of short stories as he navigates a post civil war steampunk universe that both the Union and Confederacy survived. Rune has two accepted stories so far, with anthologies and release dates upcoming. 

Y’all remember that Midnight Sea thing I hinted with Leo? It’s big. We all know stories about the bar that has all the legends in it. All the fixers that make shady jobs and rare deals happen. Well we are taking that bar and slapping it on the edge of a sea that touches anywhere, and anywhen. So prepare for genre breaking stories inspired by classic pulp, heavy metal, TTRPGs and ancient myths of the river to the land of the gods. This is a huge project that's going to include novels and anthologies, the first antho including not only myself, but awesome writers like William Joseph Roberts, David Badurina, Charlie Cox, and more.

 

These amazing people have all done me the honor of agreeing to make my vision of cross genre tales of battle and intrigue come to life. K Anders has already sent me the start of a killer tale. The project is looking to be about a year out, as everyone works through their own projects and makes time for little ole me. 

I’ll have updates for you on all of these tales, and even a few more worlds waiting in the wings, the moment things are official and the NDA’s expire. 

May We all Find What We Seek, 

Jesse James Fain