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

The White Man’s Complacency and the Myth of Genocide

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Lately I have noticed patterns in western right-wing and left-wing discourse and realized they’re both based on the same falsehood; an illusion of power that doesn’t actually exist. The dumbest decisions tend to be made by people with a delusion of invincibility. It is possible to see this invincibility trope on display when American conservatives … Read more

Why I As an Immigrant Don’t Trust Immigrants

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When I waste time on Facebook and Quora I frequently see right-wing Americans who say things like “If the country goes to hell I’ll just move to Russia.” No, please don’t move to Russia. It’s not even that Russians don’t want you here, I don’t want you here. I decided to write this post because … Read more

Why Lawrence of Arabia Is Worth a Re-Watch in 2024

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This was my first time watching the 1962 historical epic Lawrence of Arabia since I was a kid, and it was well worth the four hours. For one, it’s simply great art from a lost era when films were actually shot on location. There’s a particular irony in this case because Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of … Read more

The Tenet Media “Russian Influence” Story Makes No Sense

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Today I looked into the DOJ accusations against conservative outlet Tenet Media. None of it makes any sense. First off, let’s see the accusation (which can be read in full on the DOJ official site). As described by Variety: A state-controlled Russian media outlet provided nearly $10 million to “covertly finance and direct” videos produced … Read more