Ian Kummer

I'm a former US Marine fire support specialist, and also worked for about 10 years as a public affairs specialist in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. For that reason I will mostly opine about the "information operations" aspect of current events. Please see my "about" page for more information. If you would like to reach out, you can email me at ian.michael@readingjunkie.com

A Soldier’s Duty; The Battle Begins

by
A Soldier's Duty: the battle begins

This is the second chapter in A Soldier’s Duty, the memoir of Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky (1896-1968), who commanded troops from the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War to the final days of the defeat of Nazi Germany.

How Ethnic Nepotism Destroys Democracy

by

Conservative media is simmering with outrage about the trial of an 80-year-old San Francisco woman accused of mowing down a whole family at a bus stop and likely facing no jail time for it, but they also all miss the point, which is typical for conservative media. The ethnic considerations of this case cannot be ignored.

Fallout Season 2; the Storytelling Game Nobody Asked For

by
fallout season 2

Fallout Season 2 is a $153 million mess that muddles through eight meandering episodes to the finish line, except there really isn’t a finish line, just a teaser for Season 3, and there’s really not a reason for the viewer to care about Season 3, or even remember what happened in this season.

Why Does JD Vance Want To Rebuild the Soviet Union?

by
jd vance visits armenia

Trump and Vance seem extremely preoccupied with ex-Soviet countries, with the former recently holding a meeting with Central Asian leaders, and Vance visiting the South Caucasus and declaring a new nuclear energy deal with Armenia. If I didn’t know better, I would think they’re trying to rebuild the Soviet Union. But why?