About Sterling
About Me
My name is Sterling and I am a Senior Reliability Engineer with over 20 years of experience in Cloud Infrastructure, DevOps and systems reliability. As a citizen of the United States and the husband of an immigrant, I am deeply concerned about the future of our democracy.
As technologist and engineer I am of the belief that an informed and engaged citizenry is the critical infrastructure for democracy itself.
My Professional Background
I have spent my entire career building and maintaining complex systems. I help organizations build, deploy and operate cloud infrastructure. As a Reliability Engineer, I focus on resilience, process, and enabling teams to succeed.
What I bring to Politics
The same principles that keep complex systems running reliably apply to our democracy:
- Monitoring & alerting — we need transparency and truth in politics, not misinformation. We politicians to exercise their oversight powers
- Resilience through redundancy — democratic institutions are strong when they’re distributed and balanced.
- Automation & process — we need consistent, reliable systems for elections and governance
- Failure recovery — when systems fail (like January 6), we need accountability and repair
- No single points of failure — democracy requires checks and balances, not concentrated power
Why I Speak Out
For years I was content as an informed observer of politics. But the past 10-15 years changed that. When I see attacks on truth, attempts to undermine elections or the authoritarian tendencies of our leaders, I cannot and must not stay silent.
Politics isn’t about left vs right, or even policy disagreements. It’s about right vs wrong, truth vs lies, and fundamental questions of morality and human rights. The differences between Republicans and Democrats today go far beyond budgets or regulatory philosophy — they concern who deserves freedom, dignity, and protection under law.
As an atheist, I’m passionate about protecting religious freedom — true religious freedom, which means the right to believe as you choose and the right not to believe. I’m deeply concerned when I see religious doctrine used as a weapon to restrict other people’s rights, control education, or undermine secular governance. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of democracy, but it only works when no single religion can impose its beliefs on others through law or policy.
What we are witnessing in our politics is religious freedom weaponized as religious privilege.
Nothing is more patriotic the desire for your country to be better. We have yet to achieve a true, inclusive, multiracial democracy that works for the people by the people. Our politics are rife with corruption and money has infiltrated our system the point our country is run by corporations and the rich, not every day Americans.
I write about what’s happening in our country, why it matters, and what we can do about it. I support candidates and causes that are grounded in reality, committed to protecting democratic institutions, and rooted in respect for human rights and human dignity.
The republic’s uptime is not guaranteed. We have to actively maintain it.
On This Blog
You’ll find my thoughts on:
- Politics & Democracy — current events, policy, and threats to our system
- Elections & Voting Rights — why they matter and how to stay engaged
- The State of the Republic — where we are and where we need to go
All grounded in evidence, analysis, and a belief that democracy requires shared reality.
Get Involved
If you believe in democracy, you have a role to play:
- Vote — based on informed decisions, not lies or culture wars
- Stay informed — seek out reliable sources, understand the stakes
- Volunteer — help campaigns and voting rights organizations
- Donate — support candidates committed to truth and democracy
- Speak out — tell your story, engage your community and educate your friends and family
Looking for more ideas? Check out my take action page!
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