I said it almost every day when I boozed — Towards the latter part of my drinking career, it was crystal clear to me that the alcohol was doing me far more harm than good. Consequently, pretty much every day, I would promise myself that was going to quit or take an extended break from the booze. I will stop…

Is it worth all the trouble? Writing political opinion pieces and publishing them online can be a worthwhile and enjoyable pursuit. It can also potentially generate financial rewards, depending on where the articles are published. There can also be definite downsides to writing politics, though. This is especially true in…

I say this from experience — My drinking career lasted for decades, but I think my boozing was always at its worst during the periods when I lived alone. I was in my early thirties when I switched from only drinking socially to doing it solo. I’d already been boozing for over fifteen years by then…

The politics of using the f-word — At a political rally in Maryland at the end of August, buoyed by a series of legislative wins and clearly in an exuberant mood, President Joe Biden used the word “semi-fascist” to describe Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans. Biden explained that: “The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights…

This is my experience. — One thing that I’ve noticed is that there is a lot said and written about the initial stage of stopping drinking, the withdrawal phase that lasts ten days or so when the alcohol is leaving your system, but not so much about what comes after. For me, there was a…

We should take reasonable steps to avoid a conflict, but be prepared for the worst — In a disturbing, but not necessarily unsurprising development, a recent poll by the Economist and UK-based firm YouGov found that 43% of Americans now believe that there will be a civil war within a decade. I am one of those who sees some sort of civil breakdown or conflict as…

While you’re enjoying the moment, the booze is playing the long game — Problem drinking isn’t something that most people seek or desire. For many of us, it just seems to happen. It creeps up quietly, often taking many years to fully manifest. The alcohol takes over by subverting our thinking and the process happens mainly at a subconscious level. It’s often only…

Or is something even bigger happening? — While none of us can know for certain what’s going on behind the scenes at the Department of Justice, it’s clear that a Rubicon has been crossed with the decision to raid and retrieve classified documents from the home of Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. After much speculation in the…

How concerned should we be? — Let’s not be under any illusions, the challenges facing the new CEO here at Medium are daunting. From its birth, the platform functioned as the brainchild of Ev Williams, who’d previously co-founded Blogger and Twitter. He took the site on numerous twists and turns during his tenure. However, the site…