Many of you know me from my writings for a wide range of publications, from Reason to Newsday to Time to The Daily Beast. But sometimes, there are things I want to write that don't really fit anywhere and would work best as a blogpost (with a repost on The Medium). Plus, there are great sites that I'd like to contribute to (such as Spiked and Huffington Post) that don't pay, and unfortunately I'm not in a position where I can regularly write for free. I've also been toying with the idea of starting a video blog. Crowdfunding sounds like a pretty good option. I set up a Patreon but I also want to have a venue for one-time or irregular donations.
A little more about me. I was born in Russia and came to the United States in 1980. (Here's my
Wikipedia bio.) At the moment, much of my writing focuses on gender issues, where my outlook is either "equity feminist" or "egalitarian": against gender antagonism, for equal rights and responsibilities and for treating people as individuals first. I also write about larger culture-war issues, the "social justice" movement, and identity politics. My other frequent topics include Russia and foreign policy in general.
One of my goals in my writing is to cut through left/right stereotypes and focus on the issues from an independent perspective. My politics can be described as libertarian/conservative, leaning more libertarian on some issues and more conservative on others, but I've been described as everything from a neocon to a radical feminist. ;-) I believe in judging people as individuals, not on the basis of membership in a group. I believe that reality trumps ideology, left or right. Perhaps most important, I believe that it should be possible for honest and intelligent people to disagree on political issues and respect each other.
All donations will be greatly appreciated!