February 19, 2013 
2 Comments
A rather timely article from Legal Insurrection.
The GOP sucks at the internet. Libertarians, tea partiers, young republicans, and others are learning, but they are nowhere as coordinated or connected as the democrats are.
As stated on the last Invisible Voice show of the Fall, there is a lot of work to be done.
January 11, 2013 2 Comments
I know folks, I have a tendency to do these posts too much compared to normal content. I’ve cut back, as long time followers will notice, though! Feel free to disregard this post if you find this kind of thing boring/frustrating.
But this is important enough for me to drop a small note. Listeners of the podcast (2,000 hits on the last show) on what was supposed to be the End of the World show got a taste of where I’m trying to steer the ship of TheDougem long term. Please pardon me getting a bit wordy as we continue.
Way Back When
I started off my online ‘career’ for real just over three years ago with this small testing video. Since then I started and “retired” Total War Tracker, ran a slightly successful livestream channel of the same name, worked with Slaguth and VonGreyson for near two years, discovered the wonderful world of podcasting – I’ve got quite a bit under my belt, a lot of fun time and experience spent with too many people to list!
I had a lot of energy and passion as I ran through these different projects. But always, as now, my worry was that I was taking on too much at one time, promising too much, spending too much time on what wasn’t really giving me much of a return other then the satisfaction that comes with getting Fun work done. So this past year has been a relatively quiet one for me – and to be honest, it’s been more like a year and a half.
Why?
This video, the effort involved in making it, and the reception it drew clarified a number of things for me and also confirmed a number of ideas that had been spinning in my head since the time the Total War Tracker livestream was drawing a consistent viewer-base.When I focus on a project, put my all into it, make a plan to turn it around quickly, stick to it, and work with at least one other person – the quality of my work changes drastically.I felt that I had reached a point where because I could, I should hold myself to a higher production standard.
I also figured out very fast that time is extremely valuable, and that if one’s serious about being an online content producer one has to have money, time, and a stable life. So I took a step back, began to focus on personal things, and take some time to grow. And now is about the time that I feel comfortable sharing a few of my goals for this year, as well as long term. I passionately call for transparency as part of my political commentary – why should my own professional conduct via a hobby I dearly love be any different?
Framing
The biggest reason I am posting this tonight is that I am about to cross a significant benchmark in my life that I set two years ago – a small degree of independence. If all goes as planned, a good friend of mine and I will soon have an apartment of our own that we will pay for entirely with our own income and without crippling ourselves financially. It will be our space – and most importantly, it will be a -small- production space for my efforts that is dedicated almost entirely to creative pursuits and being my little corner of the universe – something I’ve been missing for way too long!
It’s a modest start. It’s supposed to be. Those who know me well know that I like to make moves that are more careful and stable long term. The floodgates on Stuff won’t part when we move in, but the path will start moving again. I will have a studio again – a place where I can reliably record without interruption and without bugging the other people I live with, and without feeling I’m burdening others by spending time on it. I refuse to -beg- for money – I want to earn it IF I get it. As I work on in my current job, settle financial issues, and make this move – I will be putting myself in a much happier place, and I will have the freedom to simply -work- again.
That paired with how listens on the podcast have been lately – a larger audience dictates I take my work much more seriously, which means I have to be taking life seriously and maintain that attitude!
Nutshell:
To put it simply: I had a time where I was making stuff like crazy. Then I learned I could do better. I wasn’t comfortable with the life position I was in, so I did things to change it. Those changes are bearing fruit and will continue to, so I can now safely be a dreamer again while being responsible and not pestering you, the audience, for Stuff because seriously nothing is more annoying then constant fundraising.
Rough Goals
You should not take any of these goals as promises, they are what they are: Goals.
January
February
March
April through August
September
October to December
Overall:
A steady small trickle of stuff, gaming and current events (and some pure-writing content). Learning how to publicize without being a pest. Accomplishing all of the above with minimal advertising/monetizing.
What’s Missing:
Unfortunately, some things WILL be too much when living on a budget, and a lot of my more ambitious ideas have to wait until I have a staff. Period. That requires me drawing much more income then I do now, and also means that I will be running or part of some sort of production group.
I can’t quite say when podcasting will resume precisely, nor when the -real- end of the world show will happen, except for saying that I hope it will be soon(c).
As always, I cannot thank all of you enough for being patient and understanding, and continuing to stick around as long as you have. You are a great – quiet – audience, and that’s fine.
-Doug
November 13, 2012 0 Comments
Expect to see more Sarah Hoyt reblogs in the future, if the tone of her commentary remains this strong. I’m not a big fan of defeatism, you shouldn’t be either.
If I say “I’m not a particularly political person” in front of my husband and kids, they’ll probably laugh so hard that they’ll break something. And yet it’s true.
I’m not a particularly political person, though I am aware of and anxious about politics, because seeing a country slide into ever more leftist and dysfunctional regimes while the media covers up the results and attributes them to “bad luck” is one of those things one only cares to do once per life time. So I have an obsession with the news (and these days blogs) and sometimes I can only work in front of the TV, if things are particularly iffy (the three months after 9/11.)
I’m not a particularly political person because I don’t think there is a one-size fits all political solution for every land. I believe, by and large the United States constitution is the best way…
View original post 3,454 more words
November 7, 2012 0 Comments
Sarah Hoyt’s take on the election, and a reminder that yes, national debt is a serious issue.
Today I’m going to come as close to political as I ever do in this blog. You’ve been warned. If it’s going to annoy you, you may leave now.
This election has swirled around a lot of crazy things, starting with “War on women” a concept that might as well have been invented by a Martian with no understanding of human psychology or anatomy. I can just imagine the march on the women’s towns, guns blazing… I can, unless I realize that most men love or at least like women, and that women are not an army of same-minded robots. Then there was the war on Big Bird and finally the rather ridiculous injunction to vote for revenge – though what in heavens name requires revenge no one knows. Of course human nature being what it is, all of us can come up with several reasons to seek revenge on…
View original post 2,603 more words
October 9, 2012 3 Comments
Listen at
More details inbound! I promise we’ll turn this episode over onto BTR and youtube really quick guys!
Schedule locked down several days ago, we haven’t had a lot of time to work with it.
Tuesday mornings at 7am for two hours. Which is pretty sweet! More later.
September 24, 2012 3 Comments
Via Instapundit.
http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/151485/
What is there to say? This is childish. Stupid. Asinine. On one hand they treat us like babies and lie to us, and on the other they get offended when they get challenged by legitimate questions.
This incident has really ticked me off. There’s just something about arrogance that works so -well- on that front.
One more thing worth sharing – Pat Condell released a youtube video a few days ago with a strongly worded response to muslim outrage. Worth a watch. I wouldn’t go as far as he does since I criticize primarily radical Islam, but the man makes great points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCXHPKhRCVg
In happier news, 2nd season of Invisible Voice is CONFIRMED, we think it will be Tuesday mornings, and we will have one or two more people on the team which will make a tremendous difference production wise. ETA first-second week of October.
June 28, 2012 14 Comments
And I dared to be optimistic about the ruling this week!
In one of the most historic cases of modern times thus far, the Supreme Court of the United States largely upheld the law known as Obamacare, yet tweaked the individual mandate from an exercise of the commerce clause – one, if unchanged, would have essentially established the precedent for government to regulate almost any behavior – to a tax.
J. Christian Adams breaks it down quickly far better then I could.
So, what does this mean?
This is obviously an outcome I wasn’t hoping for – I feel -strongly- that the commerce clause is a deeply abused power of congress, and that obamacare is at worst designed to eventually force everyone in America into public health insurance with the goal of control, and at best is a deeply misguided solution to the very real problems we have today with healthcare. I would have much rather preferred to see SCOTUS overturn and punt the law back to congress.
You have to remember this law was rushed through congress as swiftly as possible without review, passed by -one vote- in the senate, is hopelessly vague about the limits of regulation it establishes, and in a nutshell constitutes of an obscene power grab by the Executive branch. There are those out there defending Obamacare saying it’s ‘necessary’ and the ‘right thing’ to do, but I’m not an ends justifying the means guy. This law is poison in terms of giving government power it does not deserve.
On one hand, it’s weirdly intriguing that the individual mandate is now a tax. Combined with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts in January, Obama will have one of the largest tax increases in US history under his belt – an albatross from the neck he’ll have to defend in the coming months.
On the other – it’s not all doom and gloom today – rarely, it ever is, with politics. It’s not up to SCOTUS to rule on the validity, ethics, or soundness of law, they rule on constitutionality and precedent. Congress is allowed to be incredibly stupid as much as we may dislike it – and this in no way means that congress can’t later on change things as they see fit. This means that conservatives have a lot of heavy lifting to do this summer in terms of not only pushing for repeal of Obamacare, but most importantly coming up with a solution of our own.
We need to get worked up. If Romney leaves a sour taste in your mouth – push for a congressional candidate. Holding and expanding upon seats in congress is our best bet to turn this around.
This isn’t fueled by racism, shallow bitterness, or anything of the like – there is a very serious deficit problem in this country and the collapse of the economy at any point to any number of factors is a real threat. If there’s a huge rush to put folks on entitlements and welfare, just for the rug to get swept out from under them by economic disaster, where does that leave those people compared to today? Is a sweeping entitlement that comprises quality of care worth destroying one of if not the best health care systems in the world? I am not comfortable with government administrators making decisions that trump doctor’s authority. I resent the fact that government leaning heavily on the healthcare system at large the past several decades has pushed us to this point. And I think it’s just plain reckless to erect yet another towering bureaucracy when we all know how corrupt and two faced our system is today.
As I’ve said many times, this is going to be a bitter, divisive, and highly interesting summer. Enjoy the ride while it lasts.
I’ll share some more specific thoughts regarding the Supreme Court, whether it overreaches or not, and the positives and negatives of judicial review later this week. And I’m going to publish this with crossed fingers hoping that a rushed post immediately after an opening shift at my job isn’t too addled and rambling!
Cheers
Update: More analysis on the impacts of Obamacare and why this is important
May 18, 2012 0 Comments
Another week, another Invisible Voice. Episode starts today promptly (maybe) at 4pm pacific time
Topics today:
Enjoy the show!
March 6, 2012 4 Comments
TheDougem Drives, where I rant in my car in order to make use of all the damn time I spend driving. Consider this my ‘unplugged’ segments. I’ll probably go off on tangents, I’ll rant, get pumped up, and probably bellow some since usually I’ll be talking about things that piss me off. Don’t turn this up too loud!
In this inaugural rant I discuss Breitbart’s death and the tone of commentary surrounding it as well as the broader political sphere.
February 29, 2012 2 Comments
Stub topic. Show tonight!
Gop primary, freedom of speech, this coming Spring
This topic will expand as the night goes on!
The Skeptic Conservative 