Not Uniquely Joel Rosenberg
I first noticed Joel, I think, commenting as "Jdog" on Scott Greenfield's Simple Justice blog where I was struck by the fact that even though he clearly had an emotional investment in the issues, he was willing to accept the possibility that he could be wrong, willing to consider alternative explanations, and willing to believe that despite their errors, his opponents were sometimes acting with good intentions.
He later came to my attention some more due to an unfortunate and costly problem with the server that's hosting my blog. In an exchange after the discovery, Joel was somewhat apologetic, even though this was clearly not really his fault. Don't let the fact that he carries a gun fool you, he's really a nice guy.
But the gun thing is part of why he's here. Joel is a firearms instructor from Minnesota, where runs the Twin Cities Carry Course. Online, he posts to his Open Sites LiveJournal page and operates the Twin Cities Carry Forum.
Joel was recently mentioned in a City Pages article by Ward Rubrecht where he gave this great quote:
[Joel] suggests that after five years, mild-mannered Minnesotans have finally learned that a gun tucked into a waistband isn't the sign of a blood-hungry nutcase.
"It's like the gay couple that moves in down the block," he says. "At first some people get upset, but after a while it's just like, 'Yeah, that's just Joe and Todd.'"
With the Democrats in control of the federal government again, I expect some gun control measures to start their way through the legislative process. It wasn't a big issue during the election season, but politicians have a way of returning to their roots once the election is over. Although Joel is free to write about anything he wants, I'm hoping he'll help illuminate some of the issues surrounding the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
One of the things I didn't realize about Joel when I asked him to be a co-blogger is that he's a published novelist. Had I known, I doubt I would have had the nerve to ask him. He's a professional writer, and here I was asking him to write for me for free. I don't even pay in copies...
But for some reason, Joel came on board. So when Joel said he wanted me to write this introduction, I realized I had to find out more about him. I started my research late one night by searching for "Joel Rosenberg" on Amazon, and discovered something shocking: There are two Joel Rosenbergs who write books.
Joel C. Rosenberg---who has contributed nothing to this blog---is a political columnist, novelist, and communications strategist living outside of Washington, D.C. He writes political thrillers and he wrote Epicenter 2.0: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future
The other Joel---my stalwart coblogger---is just Joel Rosenberg (no middle initial). He's a firearms instructor and novelist living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He writes fantasy, science fiction, and mystery novels, and his nonfiction books are about carrying a handgun legally in Minnesota and Missouri. Here's a nice bibliography of Joel's fiction writing.
Joel's back-flap bio for Paladins II: Knight Moves
His occupations have included driving a truck, caring for the institutionalized retarded, bookkeeping, gambling, motel desk-clerking, and passing himself off as a head chef.
That last one sounds like it would make for a good blog post (hint), but I still don't know why a guy with that kind of talent is willing to write for my blog. I'm sure glad to have him, though. He's busy with other stuff, so he doesn't post very often, but his posts usually attract attention, and he's always entertaining.
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