Dispatches

Nick Allison

  • We Were Friends, Me and This Old Man

    Originally published at The Chaos Section One of the main reasons I started smoking cigarettes was because everyone else in my family quit. Everyone except my grandfather. During family get-togethers, when my parents and aunts and uncles would be in the house, I would sit on the back porch with the old man and have… Continue reading

  • If your religion is worth killing for…

    please start with yourself. In the wake of the latest murders in France, I’m reminded that this sentence—once dismissed as a darkly humorous internet meme—is actually solid advice. Seriously. If you think your religion demands blood, make it your own. This goes for all of you: Muslim extremists who murder cartoonists and satirists, Christian extremists… Continue reading

  • Support Your Veterans? Let’s Start by Legalizing Weed

    First published at Examiner There is an epidemic in this country – and it’s not Ebola. Everyday, at least 22 veterans take their own lives. And not only do we stand aside and watch (or ignore) these men and women whom we claim to support: we also support – through our lazy voting habits – the very laws… Continue reading

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  • A Nation of Apes and their Silly War on Cannabis: An American Fable

    First published at Cavalier Magazine, 2010 “The legalization of marijuana is not a dangerous experiment – the prohibition is the experiment, and it has failed dramatically, with millions of victims all around the world.”– Sebastian Marincolo Once upon a time, there was a land inhabited by intelligent creatures called Apes. They called their land a Nation.… Continue reading

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  • Losing My Religion: Thoughts on God, Tragedy and Belief

    First published at Examiner and TCS Each year on September 11th—or the anniversary of any other tragic event—my Facebook feed becomes decidedly more religious as family members and friends send prayers and make pleas to an omnipotent being in the sky. God bless America. Pray for the victims and their families. I’m not attempting to make… Continue reading

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  • Watching Gaza Burn From The International Space Station

    First published at TCS Alexander Gerst has been observing the violence in Gaza from a distance—a distance of 205 miles. The German astronaut, currently aboard the International Space Station, sent out a tweet yesterday describing what he called “my saddest photo yet.” How strange and depressing it is that a human who has traveled to… Continue reading

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