Barataria is my personal blog. I am Erik Hare, a St Paul based writer and entrepreneur. Barataria is about the space inbetween, the mortar that turns othwise loosely associated people into a strong, interconnected culture. Economics and politics dominate the discussion, but you can expect bits of amateur sociology as well. Publication is 3X per week, MWF, as it has been since 2007 without a single miss. You can expect the stories that the mainstream media is missing along with deep context and predictions to understand the news better. “I don’t break news, I fix it” is my motto.
Barataria itself means “cheap lands” or “swamp” in Spanish. It is the domain given to Sancho Panza at the end of Don Quixote in return for his loyal service. I have used this name for many reasons, the most important being that whenever I’m sick of bad writing, especially my own, I re-read Don Quixote to reinvigorate my faith in language and imagery. I have become convinced that the world has gone mad like the Don himself – except in these times it’s from believing our own BS. I seek only to serve as a humble Sancho until we find sanity once again, and Barataria is my only desired reward for service.