Well, it was inevitable—after dedicating an extremely popular edition of Supporting Friends Friday to the irreplaceable Audre Myers, I had to dedicate one to the man and the website that gave her an outlet: Neo and Nebraska Energy Observer.
I’m not sure how I discovered Nebraska Energy Observer, but I suspect it involved Neo leaving a comment on one of my posts a couple of years ago. I’m generally suspicious of unknown commenters, as the Internet is full of trolls interested in harassing right-wing bloggers, but I quickly figured out that Neo was one of the good guys.
My initial perception was that Neo was obsessed with English history, and I figured his blog was largely dedicated to the “special relationship” between the United States and our erstwhile mother country. That relationship is, indeed, an important focus of Nebraska Energy Observer (though you’d never guess it from the title), but the blog covers a wide range of topics (including, of course, reflections on the life of an electrical lineman in Nebraska).
Not only does Neo host Audre’s writing; he also began featuring multi-part and standalone fiction last October. Jessica Hoff‘s fifteen-part (!) Rowan’s Way, about a female Church of England vicar awkwardly (and dangerously!) navigating the dating scene, is a well-plotted and nuanced story that I hope Ms. Hoff will consider publishing as part of a collection of stories.
From what I can gather, Neo has been posting daily—with the help of the aforementioned author friends, and others—for nearly a decade. That means his blog is a treasure-trove of history, both recent and medieval. It would be curious to go back through the archives (it appears he’s been blogging at Nebraska Energy Observer since July 2011) to see how his perspective has changed over the years—or how it’s been fortified after a decade of craziness.
It’s thanks to Nebraska Energy Observer that I’ve come to find a little place in the blogosphere. Neo has championed my writing in the past, and graciously wrote a short review of my book. It tickles me to no end that he included the review as a preamble to a post celebrating the life of the then-recently deceased Prince Phillip, who I’d like to think would have appreciated the absurdist humor of this chubby colonial.
As far as I can tell, there is no way to donate to Neo to support Nebraska Energy Observer, but if I am mistaken, I’m sure Neo will provide the necessary PayPal link in the comments. I hope he does—he deserves your support.
If nothing else, give his blog a read. You’ll be glad you did.
The Portly Politico 
I remember how I discovered NEO – DA Christianson, as he posts on TCW, mentioned his site in one of his comments. I popped over and I’ve loved it ever since.
Despite only having a small amount of posters, something I hope to change by posting NEO’s articles elsewhere, it’s a very warm place. For me, a home away from home. The articles are as disparate as they are knowledgeable and the writers have a fantastic depth of experience about them.
As for David himself, he’s a lovely gentleman. An anglophile, a historian but most of all, a true American patriot. I hope one day Tina and I get to meet him. For one, I’d like to drop him in the middle of the English countryside without a map and a compass and see how he gets about! 🙂
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Yes, I’m not sure how I first stumbled upon David/Neo, but somehow we got linked up and I am very thankful. Neo’s site is responsible for bringing all of us together here, and I’m glad that I can be a part of the TCW/Neo blogosphere.
I think Neo would thrive in the English countryside, map or no. One day I will finally get out to Nebraska and pay him a visit.
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Thanks for the picture heading, by the way, for both this article and the one that headed the drive through Georgia. I have copied both. Great background and avatar pictures – I’m using this one for my CW avatar.
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Sure thing, dude! Like I said, the road picture from the Georgia post is just a Pexels photo, not an original. The field picture is something I found online somewhere, either with a Creative Commons license or in the public domain.
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Lovely article, Port. Well done.
Neo is like an onion … (lol). One sort of has to hang around awhile to begin to appreciate the depth of his knowledge, his ability to connect the dots from the past to the ‘breaking news’ of the day, and his ability to present complex information in an easily accessible format.
What doesn’t take long is the realization that he feels things deeply, has a (very British) reserve about him, but can cuss and carry-on with the best. His is a very dry sense of humor but it’s delightful!
The thing I admire most, after his intelligence, is his deep patriotism. If I’m a flag waver, Neo is the pole that holds it up. Where would the flag be if it weren’t for the pole?
I’ve been blessed to make his acquaintance and doubly blessed to be able to call him my friend.
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“If I’m a flag waver, Neo is the pole that holds it up.” A wonderful sentiment, Audre, and one that is quite accurate. I wish I’d thought of it! I’ve really come to treasure his writing (and all of the great writers he hosts on his site), and even though I have not been as active on the comment threads there as I’d like, I do make an effort to read most of the posts that go up at _Nebraska Energy Observer_.
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Well! Thanks, PP. Yep, I’m an Anglophile, not least because I recognize that American history didn’t start from a blank slate, it’s a new branch of English history, and thus part of the oldest experiment in self-government in the world. PP and I touched on this the other day in comments that Magna Chatya is one of America’s founding documents, but so are King Alfred’s law code and the Charter of Henry II. And for that matter, so is the old Danelaw, that Ponty lives in, for that is one of the wellsprings of American liberty.
In addition, I’ve been blessed, the lovely and very talented Jessica Hoff’s brother in law and cofounder of her site is Professor John Chjarmley, retired Provost of St. Mary’s, Twickenham and former head of history at UEA, and one of my oldest friends of about ten years standing, with a doctorate in Modern British History from Oxford (and he, the son of an army sergeant worked his way through). Brilliant and very nice man (as Audre knows) and titularly the editor of NEO as well. Audre was a wonderful find from TCW, whose work has surprised and delighted me, as does her friendship.
My commentators have become in a very real sense, as close as my family, and I value them accordingly. And no, at present there is no way to donate to NEO. I’ve considered it but with so few active commenters, I would consider it unfair, if we grow some a tip jar might be in order, but I doubt anything more. This is my retirement avocation, not my job, even though I do it the same way I did electrical work, on time and regularly.
And yes, I’m an old line American patriot, I’m increasingly chary of the term conservative, too many read Burke as a defender of the status quo, he was not, he was pretty good about the American constitution and revolution, but not the French, and that’s increasingly what we are looking at. Above all, I’m a believer in the US Constitution, as written, ink on parchment. It worked then and it would work now.
And like almost all the Founders, I’m a strong proponent of Christianity and/or the Judeo-Christian heritage which has made it abundantly clear that “The West is best”!
I would like very much to see more of PP’s readers join us, pretty much every day at 0700 central time, always something new to talk about.
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It was my pleasure to write this post, Neo, and for the opportunity to read your work, and that of the talented writers who contribute to it.
Your site has quite a pedigree, and some excellent credentials backing it up. I am, of course, familiar with Ms. Hoff, and I recognized Charmley—I believe some of y’all have sent me his work before. What’s it like having a good Oxford don editing your site?
Blogging really has developed into a family affair for me, too, and I’m glad to be a part of yours (if I may be so presumptuous). If you ever do offer a way to accept donations, please let me know; I will gladly send one along (and hopefully others!).
I agree re: the label “conservative.” Unfortunately, it seems the only consistent catch-all that most people understand, at least intuitively. Burkean conservatism gets it right, in my opinion.
Amen, too, re: Christianity. America cannot function as intended without it, as I believe we are seeing now.
I will do my best to send some more readers y our way, Neo. Many of my readers _are_ your readers, so we might be dipping into the same gene pool. Here’s hoping we can both grow our audiences together.
God bless, dude! Love ya.
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Sadly, he, like Jessica, is currently inactive even on his own blog. Jessica herself has a masters, although I don’t know where from, with a specialty in the poetry (wait for it!) of Rudyard Kipling. You can probably imagine what her advisor said when she decided that!
It very much is. and for me it has grown into a Venn diagram, there the guys you know from my blog, there are quite a few in the past (sadly in all cases), and there are those who inspired me, most of whom I read before I started and still read. Ace, RS McCain, and sadly Bob Belvedere of “Camp of the Saints” who has moved onto our prayer chain this week, after a mention from bot McCain and Mark Steyn. It’s becomes an amazing web.
I agree about Burkean conservatism, although Locke comes close,.
Agreed, To work, America needs to be at least a medium trust society, that flows from Christianity and the morals in inheres.
We overlap a lot, ATAW (Jes’ blog and NEO were always almost since she started hers almost co-blogs, I, and most of my contributors are also contributors there, you’re moving into the same realm, and I need to feature you more.
Love you too, buddy. Keep the Faith.
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I love that Jess specialized in Kipling’s poetry! Good choice.
It’s easy to go inactive with blogging. I started TPP way back in 2009 on Blogger/Blogspot, and left it dormant for years. I’ve kept at it as long as I have because WordPress has that streak counter. That got me started, and now I’m hooked—and zeroing in on one thousand posts!
Yes—one of the biggest insights I’ve gained over the past decade is that none of this works—our political system, our economic system, etc.—without trust, and the only way to achieve a high-trust society outside of cultural and ethnic homogeneity is through Christ. I rag on Libertarians so much not because their economic ideas are wrong, but because their economic ideas fail utterly—and become incredibly destructive—in the absence of morality. I’d rather live in Francoist Spain than a porn-and-drug-infested Libertarian utopia.
Thanks for your kind words, man. Here’s hoping you had a blessed Saturday.
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It is, and hard to restart. Ilooked at blogger, still have a sandbox one there, but it offers so little compared to WP, even the free version.
Without trust it all falls apart. I agree about the libertarians, in econ I pretty much are one, but life is more than numbers, and now it falling apart because of squandered trust.
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Yeah, Blogger was so limited in what it could do. When I started with TPP1.0 back in 2009, I didn’t know any better. Even the free version of WordPress is way more robust. I’m now on the “Premium” plan, which basically allows monetization, but they don’t let you get the juicy plug-ins and such unless you go for the $25/month version—too rich for my blood (Premium is $8 a month).
Agreed. Libertarians get so much right on economics, but they sacrifice everything on the altar of efficiency, under the guise of “liberty.” It’s not the liberty Burke would have recognized. Too many libertarians fall into the elementary school definition of liberty (more properly, “freedom”) that says that you can do pretty much anything as long as it doesn’t hurt someone else (and they always have a very limited definition of that) and as long as it’s best for The Market.
I realize I’m setting up a strawman here, but that really does seem to sum up the perspective of most Internet Libertarians.
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Yeah, it was 2011 for me, and it wasn’t a hard choice, although for a bit Jess and I used the blogger one for a backchannel.
I just went to that level this spring because I hate the block editor, but yeah, $25 a month is too rich.
I usually let it go as that libertarians get confused and think it’s spelled libertinism. They need to grow up, but maybe they’re not a bad reality check for the rest of us.
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Oh, dang, I didn’t realize that you had to have Premium to NOT use the block editor. Yeah, I’m not a fan of it, either. I have used it in a few limited cases, but much prefer classic—which is the only “block” I regularly use!
Haha, yes—there’s a lot of libertinism in libertarianism. The fact that a lot of them are young men bodes well—as they grow up, they start to understand there is more to life and human behavior than economic incentives. I was there once, too. The others will grow up in time. It’s a phase young conservatives of a certain stripe pass through.
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True enough. What cured me was Ayn Rand. I agree with so much she said BUT her entire disregard of all human characteristics (not to mention denial of God, in any form) was just too much to stomach.
It went there right before, what March?, when I went premium. I suspect the block editor is likely actually better, if you’ve got a few weeks to learn how to run it. Audre started on it, and Jess managed to use it but I couldn’t makeit do what I wanted.
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YES! Ayn Rand turned me off, too. I knew I could never embrace her philosophy of New Objectivism because it was inherently atheistic.. Not that someone’s personal failures should indict a philosophy or worldview, but the way she lived was so contrary to her crazy system of ethics, it’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for the system she espoused and articulated. For the mid-twentieth century, her philosophy was an understandable reaction, but it is too divorced from reality and human nature.
Yeah, the block editor seems interesting, but I’m a classic man. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
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