James O’Neill was born in Illinois, but was raised as a Baraboo native. His childhood was that of a normal middle-class latch-key child of the 80’s. As an unassuming, introspective, and introverted child he was a bit of a social outcast. Being a band nerd, having severe acne, helmet hair, as well as being passionate about computers and role playing games sure did not help his social status either. =)
He went to elementary school in what was then called South School, then completed what was called Baraboo Junior High School, and then graduated from Baraboo High School in 1992. Following graduating high school he enlisted into the US Navy having served on the USS Enterprise as a nuclear reactor operator during the Iraq War. After his 6 year stint in the military he graduated with honors from Herzing University in Madison with a BS in Computer Information Systems (computer programming) as well as with an additional AS in Computer Networking Technologies (computer networking) in 2002. Once he graduated from college he travel through Europe for 10 weeks visiting friends in Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, and Belarus.
After he returned from traveling he found a job with the Sauk County Government’s MIS Department in 2003 where he still works today. Shortly thereafter he met an amazing Belorussian woman whom he married and has the joy of raising a talkative and beautiful daughter with. Together they own and change lives with their Yoga studio, It’s All About You, which is located on the square in Baraboo.
James has been a lifelong learner and has aggressively pursued learning about the world since he became politically active shortly after they got married in 2005 having studied a wide range of topics such as:
- Sciences: evolutionary psychology and biology, anthropology, astrophysics
- American Law and History: Revolutionary War history, founding fathers, constitutional law
- Social Sexual Issues: homosexuality, marriage, polygamy, prostitution, polyamory
- Religious Topics: Christian history, theology, and philosophy; divine feminine theology and symbolism; paganism, world religions and mythology
- Social and Political Issues: poverty, minimum wage, US imperialism, nationalism, inequality, monetary systems
- Other topics such as: linguistics, calendar reform, micronationalism, sovereignty
You can learn more than you ever wanted to know about him on his About Me page on his blog.