Rolf Obermaier
@rolfobermaier.bsky.social
Author of the books Navarchus and Open Systems, Closed Minds
Writing at the edge of democracy, tech & power.
Freedom advocate.
Cancer survivor, dad, husband.
Ohio-based. Global mind.
📚 amazon.com/author/rolfobermaier
Writing at the edge of democracy, tech & power.
Freedom advocate.
Cancer survivor, dad, husband.
Ohio-based. Global mind.
📚 amazon.com/author/rolfobermaier
Pinned
Reposted by Rolf Obermaier
They want to tell you a kid with a Spider-Man backpack is evil www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
They want to tell you a kid with a Spider-Man backpack is evil
Liam Ramos' innocence, like the innocence of all kids, is unimpeachable. The visuals of his arrest are excruciating.
www.motherjones.com
January 23, 2026 at 9:00 PM
They want to tell you a kid with a Spider-Man backpack is evil www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Chávez’s “por ahora” in 1992 was a bad omen. I fled the caudillo's poison early. Today, Maduro falls, but nothing changed: continuity, loyalty over democracy, sovereignty sidelined. I’ve seen this before.
Llegó la Billo’s, pero la música no cambió.
rolfobermaier.medium.com/an-open-lett...
Llegó la Billo’s, pero la música no cambió.
rolfobermaier.medium.com/an-open-lett...
An Open Letter: The Music Has Not Changed
In 1992, I watched a man in a red beret smirk into a camera and say “por ahora” after a failed coup. To the world, it looked like a…
rolfobermaier.medium.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Chávez’s “por ahora” in 1992 was a bad omen. I fled the caudillo's poison early. Today, Maduro falls, but nothing changed: continuity, loyalty over democracy, sovereignty sidelined. I’ve seen this before.
Llegó la Billo’s, pero la música no cambió.
rolfobermaier.medium.com/an-open-lett...
Llegó la Billo’s, pero la música no cambió.
rolfobermaier.medium.com/an-open-lett...
Reposted by Rolf Obermaier
"Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine
December 18, 2025 at 11:24 PM
"Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine transformed elite abstractions into mass political certainty, but was erased because he was:
❌ Too secular for the "Second Great Awakening"
❌ Too hostile to the myth-based Washington
❌ Too radical for an elite-managed democracy
He was right too early and refused to shut up about it.
❌ Too secular for the "Second Great Awakening"
❌ Too hostile to the myth-based Washington
❌ Too radical for an elite-managed democracy
He was right too early and refused to shut up about it.
December 26, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Thomas Paine transformed elite abstractions into mass political certainty, but was erased because he was:
❌ Too secular for the "Second Great Awakening"
❌ Too hostile to the myth-based Washington
❌ Too radical for an elite-managed democracy
He was right too early and refused to shut up about it.
❌ Too secular for the "Second Great Awakening"
❌ Too hostile to the myth-based Washington
❌ Too radical for an elite-managed democracy
He was right too early and refused to shut up about it.
Best Racing Drivers of All Time
December 15, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Best Racing Drivers of All Time
Thomas Paine's America: A Deam Deferred
December 14, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Thomas Paine's America: A Deam Deferred
The First Amendment protects religious freedom, not taxpayer-funded indoctrination.
Public money comes with public obligations.
Public money comes with public obligations.
December 13, 2025 at 2:08 AM
The First Amendment protects religious freedom, not taxpayer-funded indoctrination.
Public money comes with public obligations.
Public money comes with public obligations.
We don’t mean-test fire protection because catastrophe isn’t optional.
Healthcare is the same kind of risk.
Universal healthcare sets a floor, not a ceiling.
Healthcare is the same kind of risk.
Universal healthcare sets a floor, not a ceiling.
December 13, 2025 at 2:05 AM
We don’t mean-test fire protection because catastrophe isn’t optional.
Healthcare is the same kind of risk.
Universal healthcare sets a floor, not a ceiling.
Healthcare is the same kind of risk.
Universal healthcare sets a floor, not a ceiling.
No one earns their birthplace. No one earns superiority from it.
December 13, 2025 at 2:01 AM
No one earns their birthplace. No one earns superiority from it.
Difference between Canada and USA traffic signals
December 12, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Difference between Canada and USA traffic signals
I opposed Charlie Kirk’s ideas. But his murder is unforgivable and abhorrent. Normalize political violence and it will consume us all. Celebrate it here and you’re blocked. Don’t become the scourge you claim to oppose.
September 10, 2025 at 10:38 PM
I opposed Charlie Kirk’s ideas. But his murder is unforgivable and abhorrent. Normalize political violence and it will consume us all. Celebrate it here and you’re blocked. Don’t become the scourge you claim to oppose.
Morality grew from dirt, fear, and humans thinking: "If getting stabbed sucks for me, maybe it sucks for everyone else too."
The Mancala Incident: rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-mancala-...
The Mancala Incident: rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-mancala-...
The Mancala Incident.
The Big Question That Won’t Shut Up
rolfobermaier.medium.com
August 29, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Morality grew from dirt, fear, and humans thinking: "If getting stabbed sucks for me, maybe it sucks for everyone else too."
The Mancala Incident: rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-mancala-...
The Mancala Incident: rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-mancala-...
Justice has removed her blindfold.
In “Negotiated Immunity,” I examine how power—through presidential, corporate, and qualified immunity—has distorted equal justice.
How exceptions corrode accountability and democracy.
Read here →
rolfobermaier.medium.com/negotiated-i...
In “Negotiated Immunity,” I examine how power—through presidential, corporate, and qualified immunity—has distorted equal justice.
How exceptions corrode accountability and democracy.
Read here →
rolfobermaier.medium.com/negotiated-i...
Negotiated Immunity.
How Power Undermines Equal Justice
rolfobermaier.medium.com
August 7, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Justice has removed her blindfold.
In “Negotiated Immunity,” I examine how power—through presidential, corporate, and qualified immunity—has distorted equal justice.
How exceptions corrode accountability and democracy.
Read here →
rolfobermaier.medium.com/negotiated-i...
In “Negotiated Immunity,” I examine how power—through presidential, corporate, and qualified immunity—has distorted equal justice.
How exceptions corrode accountability and democracy.
Read here →
rolfobermaier.medium.com/negotiated-i...
What's the perfect 20th-century song recording? 🎤 My new article makes a case!
It's subjective, but I picked my champion, Etta James' "At Last." I also explore why classics from Aretha to Oasis (and even joyful personal favorites!) matter so much.
Dive in: rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-unassail...
It's subjective, but I picked my champion, Etta James' "At Last." I also explore why classics from Aretha to Oasis (and even joyful personal favorites!) matter so much.
Dive in: rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-unassail...
The Unassailable Perfection.
Etta James’ ‘At Last’ and the Quest for the 20th Century’s Greatest Recording.
rolfobermaier.medium.com
August 3, 2025 at 5:22 PM
What's the perfect 20th-century song recording? 🎤 My new article makes a case!
It's subjective, but I picked my champion, Etta James' "At Last." I also explore why classics from Aretha to Oasis (and even joyful personal favorites!) matter so much.
Dive in: rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-unassail...
It's subjective, but I picked my champion, Etta James' "At Last." I also explore why classics from Aretha to Oasis (and even joyful personal favorites!) matter so much.
Dive in: rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-unassail...
🚨 The Fire Department Test
Why even libertarians should support Universal Healthcare 🔥🏥
You don’t pay firefighters at the scene. Why should a heart attack be different?
📖 Read the full essay:
👉 rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-fire-dep...
#Healthcare #HealthcareReform #HumanRights
Why even libertarians should support Universal Healthcare 🔥🏥
You don’t pay firefighters at the scene. Why should a heart attack be different?
📖 Read the full essay:
👉 rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-fire-dep...
#Healthcare #HealthcareReform #HumanRights
The Fire Department Test.
Why Libertarians Should Support Universal Healthcare.
rolfobermaier.medium.com
August 2, 2025 at 6:58 PM
🚨 The Fire Department Test
Why even libertarians should support Universal Healthcare 🔥🏥
You don’t pay firefighters at the scene. Why should a heart attack be different?
📖 Read the full essay:
👉 rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-fire-dep...
#Healthcare #HealthcareReform #HumanRights
Why even libertarians should support Universal Healthcare 🔥🏥
You don’t pay firefighters at the scene. Why should a heart attack be different?
📖 Read the full essay:
👉 rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-fire-dep...
#Healthcare #HealthcareReform #HumanRights
🔻 Faith Against the Good
A secular analysis of how religious extremism—of all kinds—turns well-meaning people into agents of injustice.
✍️ Read now: rolfobermaier.medium.com/faith-agains...
#SecularHumanism #ReligiousExtremism #HumanRights #IsraelPalestine #Rationalism
A secular analysis of how religious extremism—of all kinds—turns well-meaning people into agents of injustice.
✍️ Read now: rolfobermaier.medium.com/faith-agains...
#SecularHumanism #ReligiousExtremism #HumanRights #IsraelPalestine #Rationalism
Faith Against The Good
A Secular Critique of Religious Extremism
rolfobermaier.medium.com
July 31, 2025 at 10:22 PM
🔻 Faith Against the Good
A secular analysis of how religious extremism—of all kinds—turns well-meaning people into agents of injustice.
✍️ Read now: rolfobermaier.medium.com/faith-agains...
#SecularHumanism #ReligiousExtremism #HumanRights #IsraelPalestine #Rationalism
A secular analysis of how religious extremism—of all kinds—turns well-meaning people into agents of injustice.
✍️ Read now: rolfobermaier.medium.com/faith-agains...
#SecularHumanism #ReligiousExtremism #HumanRights #IsraelPalestine #Rationalism
“When rights are severed for the privilege of a few, we all lose.”
From Japanese internment to modern immigration policy, the cost of injustice is collective.
My latest essay: Bounded and Bonded
➡️ rolfobermaier.medium.com/bounded-and-...
#CivilRights #Justice #Immigration #AmericanHistory
From Japanese internment to modern immigration policy, the cost of injustice is collective.
My latest essay: Bounded and Bonded
➡️ rolfobermaier.medium.com/bounded-and-...
#CivilRights #Justice #Immigration #AmericanHistory
Bounded and Bonded
The Collective Cost of Severed Rights
rolfobermaier.medium.com
July 31, 2025 at 3:36 PM
“When rights are severed for the privilege of a few, we all lose.”
From Japanese internment to modern immigration policy, the cost of injustice is collective.
My latest essay: Bounded and Bonded
➡️ rolfobermaier.medium.com/bounded-and-...
#CivilRights #Justice #Immigration #AmericanHistory
From Japanese internment to modern immigration policy, the cost of injustice is collective.
My latest essay: Bounded and Bonded
➡️ rolfobermaier.medium.com/bounded-and-...
#CivilRights #Justice #Immigration #AmericanHistory
Thomas Paine’s America: A Dream Deferred obermaier.us/thomas-paine...
Thomas Paine's America: A Dream Deferred - Obermaier
Paine’s America was never a finished project but a challenge, a call to align the nation’s actions with its highest ideals. To honor his vision, we must confront the ways we’ve fallen short: in our bo...
obermaier.us
July 10, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Thomas Paine’s America: A Dream Deferred obermaier.us/thomas-paine...
"Linux, to me, was like adopting a raccoon: weirdly intelligent, occasionally violent, and definitely not house-trained — but I couldn’t help falling for it."
rolfobermaier.medium.com/linux-a-quie...
rolfobermaier.medium.com/linux-a-quie...
Why I Still Love Linux After 20 Years
And No, I’m Not a Neckbearded Sysadmin
rolfobermaier.medium.com
July 10, 2025 at 7:08 PM
"Linux, to me, was like adopting a raccoon: weirdly intelligent, occasionally violent, and definitely not house-trained — but I couldn’t help falling for it."
rolfobermaier.medium.com/linux-a-quie...
rolfobermaier.medium.com/linux-a-quie...
The Linguistic Dehumanization of “Non-Citizen”
How Language Shapes Policy and Perception
rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-linguist...
How Language Shapes Policy and Perception
rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-linguist...
The Linguistic Dehumanization of “Non-Citizen”
How Language Shapes Policy and Perception
rolfobermaier.medium.com
July 10, 2025 at 6:13 PM
The Linguistic Dehumanization of “Non-Citizen”
How Language Shapes Policy and Perception
rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-linguist...
How Language Shapes Policy and Perception
rolfobermaier.medium.com/the-linguist...
The Accidents of Supremacy: How Birth Lotteries Create Human Monsters obermaier.us/the-accident...
The Accidents of Supremacy: How Birth Lotteries Create Human Monsters - Obermaier
(Originally published in the book Open Systems, Closed Mind) Part I: The Illusion of Birth-Based Superiority At the heart of nationalist ideology lies one of humanity’s most persistent logical fallaci...
obermaier.us
July 10, 2025 at 6:11 PM
The Accidents of Supremacy: How Birth Lotteries Create Human Monsters obermaier.us/the-accident...
Independence is freedom. Happy 4th of July!
July 4, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Independence is freedom. Happy 4th of July!