I'm J.D. Tuccille, a writer and editor based in northern Arizona. I'm honored to work, with excellent and highly talented colleagues, as Managing Editor, 24/7 News, for Reason.com -- the online incarnation of Reason magazine, the journal of free minds and free markets, but also a hip, well-written and very relevant publication in this oh-so fast-moving world of ours.

I'm also the author of the gonzo adventure novel, High Desert Barbecue, currently available from Amazon (paperback and Kindle), Barnes and Noble (Nook), Google (DRM-free ePub) and Lulu (PDF ebook free of digital rights management). Written in a style that might be described as Edward Abbey meets Hunter S. Thompson, conspiracy, arson and ineptitude threaten the desert West, and only a misanthropic hermit, a subversive schoolteacher and an unemployed business writer stand in the way.

When not writing novels, I can best be described as a political scribbler with a deep concern about personal freedom. My provocative and often witty columns (yes, I said "witty") have appeared in publications including the Washington Times, the Arizona Republic and the Arizona Daily Sun. I have commented on current issues on both television and radio, and have been quoted saying unkind things about politicians and government policies in the pages of The New York Times, Salon, Wired, WorldNetDaily, Las Vegas Review-Journal and other publications. Controversies on which I've been cited include airport security, gun control, the war on some drugs, high-tech law-enforcement and the potential for civil liberties abuses in anti-terrorism legislation.

My projects have included:

Examiner.com, an online news publication of the Clarity Media Group, where I wrote about free speech, privacy, police conduct, the right to bear arms and other civil liberties issues as the "Civil Liberties Examiner."

The Internet Education Exchange (iEdx), which I served as Senior Editor. During its brief life, iEdx worked to expand the range of education options available to parents and children, so that kids aren't stuffed into institutional "one size fits all" classrooms. I'll add that allowing people to exercise their right to choose from many education options ensures that children are presented with a diversity of viewpoints -- not just the state's approved ideas.

The Henry Hazlitt Foundation's Free-market.net for which I worked as a senior editor. Before its demise in the slow economy, Hazlitt acted as a sort of meta-think-tank for libertarian and free-market groups, and was really the definitive clearinghouse for these organizations, helping them stay in touch and aware of each other's research and activities. I prepared a weekly Policy Spotlight for Free-market.net, produced a daily news feed, and managed the site's Network page.

About.com's Civil Liberties Web site, for which I wrote a weekly column and maintained a categorized library of resources on such subjects as privacy, free speech, the right to bear arms, and reproductive rights. I also moderated a very active discussion forum and published a series of polls on topics in which readers indicated an interest. I left the Civil Liberties site in early 2003 when other projects claimed my attention, but it appears to be continuing in good hands.