Background

Rationalist’s real name is Thomas S. Higgins. He holds a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and History from Metropolitan State University of Denver, where he specialized in political theory and the history of the United States Constitution. He spent 10 years as a newspaper reporter, where he covered politics and business news (and a bunch of other stuff), before changes in the industry forced him to find another profession. He now works as a software QA tester, where he finds the attention to detail and the thick hide he developed as a journalist remarkably useful.

Politically, he’s a moderate centrist who believes the best available facts should drive policy and that government exists primarily to defend individual rights and civil liberties. He also thinks government must fight the tragedy of the commons and abuses by the powerful, as well as promote political stability through the establishment of a minimal social safety net.

As a general rule, he thinks leadership in politics appears about as frequently as it does in any other human endeavor (“not very”), and argues the best elected officials know they exist to serve the public, and understand they have no business dictating how others should live their lives.

For fun, Rationalist likes to play complex games with friends on table-tops or computers, goes camping at least once per year in the Colorado high country (but wants to go more often), and travels abroad when he can. He frequently dines in downtown restaurants and brewpubs, but could turn up just about anywhere in the Denver-Boulder metro area.

On this site, Rationalist speaks only for himself, and bears all responsibility for its content.