Greetings, HuffPost readers.
Since I've been blogging here for a few weeks now, and we've gotten all the kinks ironed out, I thought I'd formally introduce myself. I started my blog The Agitator almost 12 years ago. We're now moving it here, although the archives will stay at the old place.
I've been at HuffPost for about a year-and-a-half now. I do investigative journalism and write reported columns on civil liberties and the criminal justice system. I came here from Reason magazine, and before that from the Cato Institute. (Yes, this means my politics are libertarian.) I wrote about the same general issues at both of those places. I also started a little side project here at HuffPost called Nashville Byline, a blog about about music and culture in Nashville, where I live. That project was derailed a bit when I got an offer to write a book. I'm hoping to pick it up again now that I've finished the manuscript.
Oh, and about that. I'm writing a book. It's called Rise of the Warrior Cop, and it will be out this spring. As you might guess from the title, it's about police militarization. In the coming months, I'll be promoting the hell out of it, and regularly bugging you to buy it.
On this blog, you can expect heavy emphasis on issues like police abuse, prosecutorial abuse, forensics, wrongful convictions, the drug war, and general criminal justice and broader civil liberties issues. I'll also post links and offer commentary on other items that I find interesting, many of which will have nothing to do with those issues. Most of my original reporting will appear on the HuffPost main site.
I also do a little amateur photography. I had a "photo of the day" feature on my old site. I plan to revive that here, starting with some of my favorites from over the years. You'll also quickly learn that I'm a "dog person" (see below). As for other recurring themes and Agitator traditions, I'm sure you'll catch on.
Welcome.