Steve, I live in Arlington VA, within walking distance of the GW Bridge. I was NROTC at Berkeley and stayed in for 12 years before I got injured.

My first wife had a bachelors in math and a doctorate in CS. Her doctoral project was AI for autonomous underwater attack submersibles. That was in the 90's. She wound up at Los Alamos.

My second wife had a bachelors in CS and a doctorate in Math. She also worked for the Fed. At Sandia National Labs. On satellite nuclear test monitoring systems.

I worked at NSA for a few years while I got my doctorate in Anthropology. When we parted ways I went west for the dot.com boom (and wife #3, she was in sales). I did IT consulting and forensic data retrieval for a LOT of companies. I met a lot of people.

Plus, some of my friends from Berkeley have gone on to be VERY wealthy in the tech industry. I was in "the Valley" in the 70's. I met Bill Gates and Steve Jobs before they were famous. My "roots" in tech are really deep.

Wife #4 was in politics and lobbying. She came back to DC during the Obama years because she was intimately connected in CA political circles and agribusiness. I did some consulting on "land mine removal" in archeological and cultural heritage sites.

When she got sick, I went into retirement and started writing to pass the time. You want some "personal" info on who I am Steve, try this piece.

Random Thoughts — 02 : Imagine there’s no Heaven

I do not dream.

Or, if I do, I almost never remember them.

I am not haunted by my past. Of the sexual molestation I suffered at my father’s hands. Of watching my best friend drown in a flood swollen river that we fell into when I was eight. Of falling in a climbing accident as a teenager and being in a coma for a week. None of that haunts me.

I do not have PTSD symptoms although I have killed in close combat. I do not remember their faces and I have no regrets over their deaths. In both cases they were trying to kill me and in one case he almost succeeded. I have scars that are testament to his skill and determination.

But that was long ago, in a far away land and I do not think of it often. It is in the past and I have never dreamed of it. Not even once.

I do not dream.

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Now, I tell you this as an explanation for why I am not going to tell you what chat groups I haunt. Given my background, what kind of people do you think I might be listening to?

I am telling you what kind of 'chatter' I am hearing. Not an "official policy" of any kind. This sort of chatter has been around for a long time but recently it's gotten a LOT louder.

The fascists feel EMBOLDENED.