Ryan Van Loan
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ryanvanloan.bsky.social
Ryan Van Loan
@ryanvanloan.bsky.social
Former infantry NCO turned fantasy/scifi author repped by DongWon Song. Proud Girl Dad.

THE SIN IN THE STEEL, THE JUSTICE IN REVENGE, & THE MEMORY IN THE BLOOD out now from Tor Books!

Eat. Lift. Travel. WRITE.

(he/him)

https://bio.site/RyanVanLoan
Pinned
Hey old friends from X & new followers! I'm a fantasy author. You can check out the link in my bio for my books which are about found friends overthrowing corrupt society along with magic, dead gods, & a lot of swashbuckling. I'm a former infantry NCO and polisci grad so politics comes up a lot 😅
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
Fuck this. Nothing is a monolith, but the South, as a whole, has NEVER accepted or faced its treason as a nation of enslavers. Sorry it sucks, but don't try to wipe your stain on the rest of us.
some people are edging dangerously close to trying to both-sides the goddamn Civil War but leftishly, and no, absolutely not, we are not doing that
November 17, 2025 at 8:05 PM
This is not good.
Penn state study: skin cancer cluster found in 15 Pennsylvania counties with or near farmland. "Counties with more cultivated cropland and those with higher herbicide use had significantly higher melanoma rates." www.psu.edu/news/researc...
November 17, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Fuck this. Nothing is a monolith, but the South, as a whole, has NEVER accepted or faced its treason as a nation of enslavers. Sorry it sucks, but don't try to wipe your stain on the rest of us.
some people are edging dangerously close to trying to both-sides the goddamn Civil War but leftishly, and no, absolutely not, we are not doing that
November 17, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
Upcoming this week: my sole book signing this year!

You are invited to join Ann Aguirre and me at Powells (Cedar Hills Crossing, not the downtown store)

on Friday November 21, 2025 at 7 pm

you can also order signed copies if you can't make it in person.
#booktok

allevents.in/beaverton/po...
Powells Presents: Kate Elliott in Conversation With Ann Aguirre
Find tickets & information for Powells Presents: Kate Elliott in Conversation With Ann Aguirre. happening at Powells Books, Inc. (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing), Beaverton, OR on Fri, 21 Nov, ...
allevents.in
November 16, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Wtaf. Why are we profiling this person?!

Cannot think of any more damning example of the fall of "journalism" than all the journalists fan boy/girl-ing over there nonsense puff piece.
forgot how racist she is
November 17, 2025 at 5:02 PM
This is why when I hear Chris Murphy talk about Senate Dems who don't think it's that bad or that there is way to just return to "norms" I lose my mind.

The old norms are shattered. We can rebuild a New Deal of norms 2.0 or solidify oligarchic fascism. Those are the choices.
i'd say it did. the public put a group of thieves, vandals and extremists in office last november and they promptly went about destroying everything that might work to limit their ability to loot, steal and inflicting pain on the people they hate
This whole NYT account about the weaponization of DOJ is beyond disturbing. Kinda feels like the US government fell in January.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
November 17, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
There is an asymmetry here though: many people within the latter group define socialism far, far more broadly than the former group defines fascism.
November 17, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
The political elite can be divided into two groups: those who think that while a socialist government would be less than ideal, a fascist government is the worst thing that can possibly happen, and people who think the exact opposite
November 17, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
underrated how the de facto prohibition on discussing the substance of policy among political reporters means they are primed to focus on culture war nonsense
November 17, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Great essay from @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social as per usual of late. My one quibble/question is what would a centrist anti establishment figure look like? What would their policies be? 1/3
There is material that Trump did not want us to see and still does not want us to see. So this is nowhere close to the end. It is merely the end of the beginning of the fight. But we can already learn from it.

Today's Morning Shots from @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and @eggerdc.bsky.social:
November 17, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
"I want to offer a different kind of reflection from an old veteran, one that doesn’t reduce service to a slogan but helps show its lived reality." ICYMI Mark Hertling on the culture and character of veterans, and what we can all learn from service:
Who We Choose to Be: A Reflection on the Character of Veterans
A shared culture of service.
www.thebulwark.com
November 16, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
Lots of people been asking for book recommendations for help with background context for the Ken Burns RevWar documentary, so I’m very grateful to my past self for putting this together so that my current self can be lazy:

angrystaffofficer.com/2024/08/22/u...
Understanding the Revolutionary Era: Recommended Reading List
As many of you know – and are no doubt really excited for – next years begins the semiquincentennial of the Revolutionary War here in the United States. Or, for those of us who have tro…
angrystaffofficer.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
belief in good things happening in Texas elections is a dangerous thing but so help me, I’m afflicted
"When did pedophilia become a partisan issue?" - James Talarico (D-TX)
November 17, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
It's remarkable that the number of news analyses/pundit takes that the Democrats are too extreme--out of touch, too focused on divisive cultural issues, too beholden to progressive orthodoxy--far exceeds the articles on the Trump/GOP's connections to the far right. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/16/u...
Trump Defends Tucker Carlson After Nick Fuentes Interview
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
matt yglesias' primary claim about politics is that to win elections, democrats should adopt the strategy which has given starmer a 13% approval rating in the UK
November 16, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
you can lose by 20 in a good year or 35 in a bad year or maybe *barely* win if your opponent is a literal on-tape pedophile lol
November 16, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
jones lost by 20 points to fucking tommy tuberville, dawg, it doesn't matter. walt maddox lost by less in 2018 bsky.app/profile/bria...
Doug Jones was an outlier. The 2022 Democratic gubernatorial nominee was outraised by the libertarian candidate.
this take gets annoying as a southerner. you should not give up on the south, but no, it is not red because of voter suppression or a lack of funding for dems. doug jones raised shitloads of money and lost. it is red because the overwhelming majority are extremely racist white conservatives
November 16, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
this take gets annoying as a southerner. you should not give up on the south, but no, it is not red because of voter suppression or a lack of funding for dems. doug jones raised shitloads of money and lost. it is red because the overwhelming majority are extremely racist white conservatives
I understand why a lot of white liberals are like, fuck the south, because they think about the people in power who are mostly white conservatives. But that is only because of Jim Crow, voter suppression, a lack of real funding for Dems there
November 16, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
Today's the day! Pop-up book signing from 11am-1pm. But don't just come for me, come check out all the local art!
November 15, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
Always intriguing when someone's profile (who is not a public figure) uses most of the space to talk about their blocking proclivity...like who do you think is reading your profile and taking careful notes so they can be in your orbit? Social Media has been a motherfucker for the ego.
November 14, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
I just don’t see how we can pretend even for a moment that anything involving our federal government is remotely normal when the president is covering up his involvement in a child sex trafficking ring. Like, what are we doing here
November 15, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Reposted by Ryan Van Loan
Hey, Portlandia, did you know about this?!

allevents.in/beaverton/po...

I am so lucky to be hanging out with Kate Elliott next Friday night! You could be too if you live nearby.

Heck, I'm driving 5 hours for this awesomeness! Come out and see us! We'll chat, sign books. Don't miss it, OK?
Powells Presents: Kate Elliott in Conversation With Ann Aguirre
Find tickets & information for Powells Presents: Kate Elliott in Conversation With Ann Aguirre. happening at Powells Books, Inc. (Powells Books at Cedar Hills Crossing), Beaverton, OR on Fri, 21 Nov, ...
allevents.in
November 14, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Always intriguing when someone's profile (who is not a public figure) uses most of the space to talk about their blocking proclivity...like who do you think is reading your profile and taking careful notes so they can be in your orbit? Social Media has been a motherfucker for the ego.
November 14, 2025 at 4:59 PM