Who is the Skeptical Veteran?
Skeptical Veteran grew out of a pretty simple idea: question claims, follow the evidence, and don’t confuse confidence with competence.
I’m a veteran, a software developer, a lifelong tinkerer, and someone who tends to look at politics, science, technology, firearms, and public policy through the same lens: Does this actually make sense, and what does the evidence say?
The commentary side of Skeptical Veteran is intentionally hard to pigeonhole. I’m not interested in treating politics like a team sport, and I don’t have much patience for propaganda just because it comes from the “right” side.
I care about constitutional rights, individual liberty, veterans, responsible firearm ownership, science, evidence, and a government that actually works for the people it represents. Sometimes that means serious discussion. Sometimes it means sarcasm, dark humor, or a meme pointing out something absurd.
The software side comes from the same mentality. Tools should solve real problems instead of creating new ones. Projects like ShootersToolbox are built around practical use, user control, and the kinds of problems I’ve actually wanted software to solve. I’d rather build something functional, understandable, and useful than cram it full of buzzwords and features nobody asked for.
Skepticism here does not mean automatically rejecting everything. It means being willing to ask questions, challenge assumptions, change your mind when the evidence changes, and apply the same standard to ideas you agree with as you do to the ones you don’t.
I won’t always get it right. Nobody does. The goal is to stay curious, keep learning, build useful things, and remain skeptical enough to recognize when somebody, including me, is full of shit.