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Thinking Out Loud

Thoughts jotted down on the computer by Eric Niewoehner.

I don’t know about you, but I think the word “blog” is a bit “blah.”  It sounds like something from a 1950’s sci-fi B-rated black and white movie.  “The Blog!”  Back in the 80’s and 90’s they were called “Op-Eds”, or opinion pieces or editorials.  But then came the Internet and the advent of a new language.

I consider my opinion pieces to be “thinking out loud.”  Face it.  Most of what we write begins with us running or walking and talking to ourselves.  So it is with my “blogs.”  While much of what I write reflects a particular view point which you may or may not agree with, the important thing to me is that I am “thinking.”  You just happen to have the benefit of reading what I think.  Like much of what we think about, our ideas are continually being tested.  We often have certain notions and must struggle with how they apply to the world about us — or even more fundamentally, should they apply at all.

I hope you find the articles on this page enjoyable and insightful.  Your comments are always welcome.

Complete Listing of Articles

  • My Office at the USFS
    Government Shutdown — A Federal Employee’s PerspectiveOctober 3, 2025
    Another government shutdown. What’s it like to work for free? Or is a furlough nothing more than a government handout? When I started writing this article, a government shutdown was looming. During my second edit, the shutdown began. By the time it gets posted, it may hopefully be old news, with the shutdown ended. Things…
  • Cracker Menu with new logo
    Saving Cracker BarrelSeptember 15, 2025
    Is the Cracker Barrel we had loved going to vanish? The Crisis Cracker Barrel has had unwanted attention in the past few weeks with its “woke” changes going viral. Once again, loyal customers were being subjected to another marketing disaster, all in an effort to “broaden our customer base.” News services and podcasters were declaring…
  • Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci
    The Art of MassacreApril 13, 2024
    A photojournalist wins Picture of the Year award of the October 7th massacre. Is he a terrorist? An artist? Or both?
  • Sign posting "Privilege"
    Privilege and the Politics of EnvyFebruary 10, 2024
    It is said that the worst kind of politics is that of envy. Envy destroys the joy of life, because instead of you living your own life, you are always endeavoring to seize the life of another.
  • Fraud Detection button on a keyboard
    Anatomy of a Fraudulent Health Care ClaimDecember 6, 2023
    False claims are a constant problem for health insurance providers, whether private or government. That a fraudulent health care claim happens is no surprise. But the process by which it happens will provide you with some insights by which you can protect yourself and advance the cause of everyone else.
  • Mary Fulp, Principal of Colony High School
    Stranger than Fiction — The Case of Mary FulpFebruary 10, 2023
    On January 18, 2023, Alaska’s Principal of the Year, Mary Fulp, was forcefully removed from her home, admitted to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, subjected to psychiatric testing, tied to a gurney, and injected with psychotropic medication1. The chain of events that unfolded could provide the basic ingredients of a sci-fi horror tale. In the world of non-fiction, it was a personal nightmare for Mary Fulp. It also opened up a constitutional hornets nest.
  • SS Card on Dollars
    Social Security – When Will America Face Reality?February 6, 2023
    No issue faces more political posturing than social security. The Democrats incessantly accuse Republicans of wanting to end, or destroy social security. “They are after your retirement.” Republicans insist that no one is going to destroy your retirement security. But they offer solutions with fear and trepidation because each time they make the attempt, they are destroyed in the media and the results often show up in elections.
  • Delta Western Tank Farm, Juneau, Alaska
    Is Juneau Running Out of Diesel?November 10, 2022
    In their obsession with windmills and solar panels, government bureaucrats and university analysts have overlooked a million details.
  • Destroyed Russian Tanks
    The Tragedy of RussiaSeptember 30, 2022
    What is the soul of Russia? A nation which endeavors to be modern seems to have one foot anchored in the dark past of tsarist Russia.
  • Mail-In Ballots
    The Mail-In Ballot ExperienceJune 18, 2022
    Mail-in-ballots are certainly convenient.  But the process raises several concerns.
  • National Debt Chart
    The Debt We OweJune 2, 2022
    Alaska’s Congressional Race and the National Debt
  • Student Loans
    The Solution to Paying Off Student DebtMay 16, 2022
    It is interesting to note how in the real world loans work. According to the Fed, non-performing loans in the real world rest at about 1%! Yet student loans are at 23%! It is clear that the student loan market is highly distorted. The objective is to re-introduce reality into the student loan marketplace.
  • University of Missouri Columns with Jesse Hall in the background.
    Student Debt: Are Colleges to Blame?May 9, 2022
    A deeper look at how colleges have escalated the cost of education, making it difficult for students to avoid debt.
  • Horse Race
    The Problem of Student DebtMay 1, 2022
    A blanket forgiveness is simply throwing money away and undercutting the millions who attend college for the right reasons, who pursue higher education intentionally, without the help of handouts. It undercuts one of the critical principles of a free economy – accounta
  • Produce Aisle
    Fighting Inflation – A Trip to the Grocery StoreApril 7, 2022
    How do you win the fight against inflation? One battle at a time. Today’s lesson is a trip to the grocery store.
  • Bombed ruins of Wielun, Poland 1939
    Ukraine – Poland 1939 All Over AgainMarch 25, 2022
    The strange resemblance between Ukraine in 2022 and Poland in 1939. An historical perspective on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  • Lorie Smith
    The Case of Lorie SmithMarch 22, 2022
    Can a web designer be compelled to create content?
  • Presidential Debate 2020
    Adults in the RoomFebruary 3, 2022
    What this country needs are courageous adults, people who are willing to stand up and tell people the truth – and do it courteously and respectfully.
  • Donkey transporting hay
    Broken: Is Public Education Beyond Repair?December 29, 2021
    Is Public Education Beyond Repair? The controversy over critical race theory has peeled away several layers of our society that, like an onion, can only bring tears.
  • magnifying glass
    Transparency and Critical Race TheoryDecember 4, 2021
    Transparency implies a desire to be truthful. It assumes that the adults in the room have the confidence to calmly discuss issues. It assumes that where two people disagree, they can still respect one another. CRT cannot stand up to that test because the more it is investigated, the darker it be
  • LA Riots, 1992
    The New WaveDecember 2, 2021
    In order for a democracy to survive it must have an informed electorate. That is why the freedom and health of the press is vital.
  • YouTube Logo
    The Pro Act and YouTubeSeptember 3, 2021
    The Pro Act ads are giving us a taste of what is to come, indicative of how bad it is going to get when we have elections coming in 2022. It will, in essence, ruin YouTube. Like most everybody in Alaska I have been subjugated to endless ads for or against the Pro Act. The Pro…
  • Isaac Barre
    When Few Were WatchingAugust 10, 2021
    What does the colonial resistance to the Stamp Act of 1765 teach us? Discover the British perspective and their view (not ours) of our defense of liberty.
  • 1985 World Series Trophy
    Open Letter to Major League BaseballApril 2, 2021
    As an American, I find the strong-arm bullying of MLB to be offensive. It is not the business of baseball to dictate to the American public how it governs itself. It is the decision of the people of Georgia. It is democracy. Live with it.
  • Rush Limbaugh
    Tribute to Rush LimbaughFebruary 17, 2021
    His piercing intrusion into the news establishment was desperately needed. His success would set the foundation of the Fox News network that would appear in the late 90’s. What would follow in the decades to come would be an arsenal of conservative opinion and news sources.
  • New Parler Logo
    Why Parler?January 26, 2021
    Elements of the Internet have obviously evolved to the status of “common carrier”. What was done to Parler violates, fundamentally, the principle of free speech. But it also demonstrates the monopolistic power of what is coined as Big Tech: Apple, Google, Amazon and an array of powerful Internet companies that can erase your existence on the Interne
  • Red Onions. Transparency is like an onion?
    TransparencyJanuary 21, 2021
    Now we have the Internet – where will it lead? Will we be mature enough, as a society, to handle the ongoing presentation of raw information? Will reactionary mobs be the norm, or can we engineer a system of governance that can more effectively respond to raw information?
  • Rack of Newspapers at a Library
    Fake News UpdateAugust 13, 2018
    You, and no one else, are the best protection against fake news.  Educate yourself.
  • Rack of Newspapers at a Library
    Solution to Fake NewsAugust 6, 2018
    A continuation of an earlier discussion on Fake News. How is the best way to identify it and to fight it?
Read More Non-Fiction by Eric Niewoehner

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