Hey, sometimes the comedic well runs dry. Maybe the news today will inspire me. Probably not, we’re in a dull stretch.
WRONGTHINK! WRONGTHINK! (Unfortunately, when reading the actual document that has caused the outrage, my impression was that it was reasonable, well thought out, and well expressed)
Personally, I find the whole PUA thing rather dull and stupid. But I will admit that this is a novel variation.
The holidaymakers were spotted by officers on a routine patrol Saturday snapping smartphone pictures of each other posing with the banned gesture outside the historic landmark in the heart of the German capital.”A probe on suspicion of using the symbols of anti-constitutional organisations was opened against the two Chinese men, aged 36 and 49,” the spokeswoman told AFP.
You know who else saluted outside the Reichstag?
Jumping To Conclusions 101 and Getting Ahead Of Facts 310 seem to have become required courses at modern journalism schools. A few minutes reading this website would perhaps cause reporters to think a little bit, but hey, that’s crazy-talk. One could argue that it isn’t a matter of lack of thought but rather deliberate propagandizing, and to be honest, I wouldn’t have a good counter-argument.
When I left California after spending most of my adult life there, I couldn’t ever imagine going back. But this is tempting…
If there was even any doubt in your mind that modern Progressivism is just Old Puritanism, stories like this should convince you.
And finally, music, from what might be my favorite album ever.
ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN ONES. ZARDOZ HAS REFLECTED UPON THE COUNTRY MUSIC HIS BRUTAL COWORKER HAD PLAYED FOR HIM. ZARDOZ THINKS HE MIGHT HAVE SOME LYRICS FOR MUSIC OF HIS OWN.
I’ve been flyin’ these streets so long
Broadcastin’ the same old death song
I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of the Vortex
Where cleansin’s the name of the game
And brutals get washed away like the snow and the rain
There’s been a load of compromisin’
On the road to my event horizon
But I’m gonna be where the lasers are shinin’ on me
Like a flying stone cowboy
Riding out on a grav beam in a brutal roping rodeo
Like a flying stone cowboy
Hearing cries and despair from brutals I don’t even know
Exterminator orders over the megaphone
ZARDOZ WILL ASK BRUTAL COWORKERS WHAT THEY THINK. PERHAPS ZARDOZ CAN GET BRUTAL COWORKER “BOBBY” TO PLAY HIS STRINGED INSTRUMENT AS ACCOMPANIMENT.
WHILE ZARDOZ WORKS ON THAT, HIS CHOSEN ONES CAN ENJOY THE LINKS HE HAS PROVIDED:
ZARDOZ THINKS BRUTALS SHOULD STAY OUT OF PRISON FOR SPEECH – BUT STILL BE CLEANSED…
ZARDOZ FINDS REACTION TO INEFFECTIVE CLEANSING …ENLIGHTENING.
I was thinking of starting a quick discussion about libertarianism and feminism and how the two go together, because well it could be rather entertaining.
Disclaimer: I am white, male, Romanian, and an engineer, with a huge penis. I mean massive. You should see this thing. So I maybe do not have the full nuances of Americanese society or the blessing of an education in intersectionality at a social sciences college. Which I think is a good thing, as I talk general principle not the particularities of this or that society. Onwards, then.
Also disclaimer: while I use terms like men and women in the article, it goes without saying I do so for the sake of brevity, do add how many ever other identifications in there.
Feminists for liberty
So let’s get ready to rumble. In the blue corner we have a lot of libertarians who are against the concept of feminism, for a wide variety of reasons (from philosophy to actual misogyny). In the red (well pinko mostly) corner, feminists like good ol’ Lizzie NB from you know which site, who says feminism is part of libertarianism, I think. She has that whole feminist for liberty thing going.
Personal view: I am not a feminist. I do support full liberty and rights for women. I do not believe men/women are superior/inferior in any way, though I believe there are some biological differences. Those differences are irrelevant from a philosophical point of view. Beyond the State and the Law, the main concerns of libertarianism, I think people should respect each other and treat each other as equals.
So what is my disagreement with feminism? And to be clear, I do not qualify this by stating third wave/radical/intersectional/postmodern/critical theory/whatever feminism. Feminism period. Well, it is the same with my disagreement with any form of identity politics. Any form of group politics, group rights. The way I see it, it is quite inherent in identity politics to devolve into tribalism and collectivism. It is just human nature. In the end, these movements will fill with self-interested people who profit from them and with people with various ideological ideas beyond the scope of the movement. These people will be interested in grievance mongering, keeping conflicts, and hijacking the movements for other reasons. Inevitably, the demand for positive rights or privileges appears.
Women were not equal to men throughout history. The fact that I believe feminism is not a solution does not mean I discount the problem. Saying communism was a disaster for Russia is not saying Tsarist Russia was just great. I think actually advocating liberty for all is the solution, without going down the path of identity politics. I am sympathetic to arguments that liberty for all is fine, but a certain group’s liberty is more restricted/infringed than other groups, and it should be highlighted, but, in the long term, doing this via identity politics can be counterproductive. You can highlight it strongly without different terms for this. The liberty movement has a long history of supporting equal rights, and can attack a particular injustice without attaching it to identity terminology.
Unlike feminists for sharia
Also, it goes without saying that most of these movements – sex, sexual orientation, race – will be inevitably taken over by ideological leftist – which is the standard left MO – and high jacked for entirely different purposes. The reaction of the left-wing press to organizations like Pink Pistols is quite relevant. Or the environmental movement dominated by watermelons (you know, green on the outside, red on the inside). In the end capitalism is the true problem, because of course. It always is.
Now Lizzie, or people like Christina Hoff Sommers, may say at this point that there is plenty she disagrees with from left feminists and they claim they want a different type of feminism, which is in fact about equal rights and liberty. But that, to me, is like saying oh we don’t want the current big bureaucratic state, we want a competent efficient big bureaucracy. Not gonna happen, as the problems are inherent in bureaucracy and will inevitably reach this point. The same goes for feminism. What the world needs is not more labels and groups and tribalism.
I do not want to suggest that people who identify as libertarian feminists are not real libertarians or something like that. Just that the second label is unneeded and can be quite counterproductive.
About sexism, it is quite important to define it because “anything some feminist does not like is sexism” is bullshit. To give an example, I have heard many a feminist call sexism that a man tells another man a joke that a woman overhears and finds offensive, even if not directed at that woman. Well, tough shit. I my-very-self sometimes like to tell improper jokes, transgressive, or jokes which are offensive just for the sake of being offensive. Jimmy Carr built a very lucrative career on this. If you are bothered, that is your problem and none of mine. I will have to go with the thicker skin thing here. I mean honestly, the world is a nasty place, and it ain’t gonna change soon. So I think a thicker skin is universally useful advice.
Patrice was offensive to women, but it was funny
That is offensive to women, is an oft heard claim. Which women? Are all women offended by the same thing? Who made someone official spokespersons for all women (good gig if you can get it)? Another thing is men will not behave towards women exactly like they behave towards other men and the same goes for women. This is not sexism, it is just nature. It is, as they say, OK.
Is there sexism in the libertarian movement? Well yes, like everywhere. Except the US Democratic party, where there are zero sexists. Furthermore libertarianism attracts a lot of… let’s say non mainstream people, due to not wanting laws against non-violent behavior, irrespective of how in poor taste that behavior may be. Can libertarian men change towards being less sexist / offensive to some women? Sure, probably some of them could.
But here is the problem: I hear many claim casual sexism is what turns women from libertarianism. I am sorry, but this is nonsense. If casual sexism puts you off your principles, your principles were not strong in the first place, and inevitably you would repent and write for Salon about being an ex-libertarian. A community is nice and all, but principles should somewhat transcend that.
Now, of course, ideas reaching people is important. If someone is exposed to libertarian ideas they may become interested in researching further and thinking about it, and in the end developing the principles, so it is important not to turn people off directly. This can use some work for libertarians, including better outreach towards womenfolk. Also, it should be a basic goal in life not to be a complete asshole, sexism or otherwise.
Sadly, the notion that libertarianism is not popular mostly because of marketing issues rings hollow to me. Most people, men and women, do not really have strong principles, do not really research and think about why they believe what they believe. They are just not interested in what libertarians are selling. The movement is small and even doubling the numbers will keep it small. And better marketing will sadly not change much. Looking at the major challenges of spreading libertarianism, casual sexism is not one. Which is sad because it would probably be easier to fix. Of course, that does not change the premise of trying not to be offensive for no apparent reason. This is basic politeness.
Not a good 24 hours for the Glibertarians. Brett’s links go blooey requiring an emergency posting by Playa (who is, let us be generous, not exactly an expert at generating content), and after a long night out concert-going, SP and I have slept a bit later than usual. So I’m only one cup of coffee in and I know I’m going to fuck something up. But hey, the show still must go on.
Here’s another case where I wonder if the prosecution and conviction wasn’t really about the specific charges but more about “Let’s fuck over this asshole.”
When I saw this story, all I could think was, “RED ROCKET, RED ROCKET!”
On the dick theme, here is yet one more guy who sincerely believes that random women want to see selfies of his dick. Now, to be fair, this is how I met my wife, but usually it doesn’t work.
Before the abject pussification of the world through animal welfare regulation, there was a time when a man could bring his wife and children out on the town for an exciting evening of the finest blood sport. Perhaps as ritualistic payback for the all the millenia Homo sapiens sapiens and to spend huddling in caves, naked and afraid, hiding from roaming beasts, from at least the time of the Roman venatio, for much of human history, entertainment meant seeing some animal get crushed or disemboweled, because fuck animals. This article recounts four such bad-ass entertainments, now lost to us, that could return in a more (g)libertarian world.
Cock Throwing
“Cock Throwing” is currently just what jesse.in.mb calls “Tuesday”; however, cock throwing was once also a popular British pastime until the early 19th century. The game was brilliant in its simplicity: a rooster is tied to a pole and then people throw sticks at it until it dies. A variation of cock throwing was basically “hit the piñata,” but with a live chicken instead of papier-mâché and blood and viscera instead of candy. Regardless of this, according to historians cock throwing was quite popular with children. Cock throwing was also a hallowed ritual associated with Shrove Tuesday, because Jesus Christ demands the blood of chickens offered in sacrifice.
While originating in Spain, until about 150 years ago, goose pulling was the favorite sport of the Dixie. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson most likely participated in goose pulling. Indeed, contemporary reports detail that a goose pulling was one of the few social events in which the entire spectrum of society, from slave to plantation aristocracy, could be found participating together.
“A Gander-Pull” by Fredric Remington (1894)
So, just what is goose pulling? As further evidence that Christianity is actually a demonic cult focused on blood sacrifice and cannibalism, as part of Easter celebrations, a live goose with its neck greased was tied to a pole so that it hung head-first over a road. Competitors on horseback rode through the road at full gallop while attempting to pull the head off the goose’s body. Sometimes, obstacles would be placed on the path. According to one account, riders had to ride through a gauntlet of whips on their way to the pole. Spectators would bet on the proceedings and drinking copious amounts of whisky was expected.
In the United States, goose pulling would fade into obscurity after the Civil War. Thanks, Lincoln!
As evidenced by their pornography, the Germans are fucking lunatics. As it turns out, such lunacy has a long and storied tradition. Fuchsprellen, or fox tossing, was a popular sport among the aristocracy of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. Fox tossing involved using a giant slingshot to launch foxes and other animals into the air. Whoever tossed the animal the furthest won. Of course, you can imagine it wouldn’t be easy to keep a snarling, scratching and biting fox in place for long so that you could send it flying to its doom. Despite that, expert fox tossers could launch an animal 24 feet into the air. According to Wikipedia’s article on the sport, “Augustus II the Strong, the King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, held a famous tossing contest in Dresden at which 647 foxes, 533 hares, 34 badgers and 21 wildcats were tossed and killed. Augustus himself participated, reportedly demonstrating his strength by holding the end of his sling by just one finger, with two of the strongest men in his court on the other end.” Whereas goose pulling was seen as a test of one’s manliness, fox tossing was considered a fun party game where couples paired off to compete with one another.
As if death by slingshot wasn’t indignity enough, sometimes the animals would be decorated with “bits of cardboard, gaudy cloth and tinsel” as part of a masquerade.
Good ol’ boys and their punkin’ chunkin’ ain’t nothing but pussies.
If goose pulling was the national sport of Dixie, then baiting was the sport of Victorian Britain. Baiting involves pitting a pack of dogs against a chained animal in a fight to the death while spectators bet on the outcome. Pretty much every combination could be found, bear-baiting, bull-baiting, duck-baiting, etc.. And since we’ve all wondered who would win in a fight, 10 toddlers or 1 pit bull, it wasn’t long before someone had the idea to pit a human versus a dog to find out. In 1807, The Sporting Times reported on one such human-baiting match:
A fight between a man and Bull Dog took place some time ago to settle a bet. With its first charge the Bull Dog already succeeded in throwing and pinning its opponent. Although the dog’s jaws were nearly closed by a muzzle, it succeeded in sinking its teeth into the man’s body. Had the dog not been pulled away immediately, it would have disemboweled the man.
If this depiction is to scale, the outcome is understandable:
Not content to let the collective honor of our species be forever sullied, other human vs. dog deathmatches were organized. In 1874, a dwarf who went by the name of Brummy, agreed to fight a bulldog named Physic on account of a bet to prove Brummy’s claim that “no dog could lick a man.” The fight went 11 rounds, in which Brummy suffered several deep bite wounds to his arms, and the dog received so many blows to the head that it lost 2 of its teeth and one eye was swollen shut. Brummy won by knockout.
Another account of human-baiting comes from 1892, where a man by the name of James Oxley went 22 minutes against a dog named Crib. As one of the many previous lives of Mike Tyson, in this incarnation, Crib won the match by jumping over Oxley’s left shoulder, clamping on to his right ear, and slamming him to the ground. Oxley forced the dog to release his grip through a choke-hold, but at the cost of the upper part of his ear.
ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN ONES. ZARDOZ WAS FEELING DOWN ABOUT LEAVING THE FIGURE 8 RACING CIRCUIT. A BRUTAL COWORKER SUGGESTED I LISTEN TO SOME OF WHAT BRUTALS HERE CALL “COUNTRY” MUSIC, TO HELP. ZARDOZ THOUGHT ABOUT CALLING FOR BRUTAL ENFORCERS INSTEAD, BUT DECIDED TO LISTEN. ZARDOZ WAS STRANGELY MOVED. ZARDOZ WILL PONDER THIS, WHILE HIS CHOSEN ONES CAN REVEL IN THE GIFT OF THE LINK:
ZARDOZ THINKS INDONESIAN BRUTALS SHOULD HAVE CONTACTED HIM, SO AS TO LEND THEM BRUTAL ENFORCERS. CLEANSING MONKEYS IS CLOSE TO CLEANSING BRUTALS, YES?
“THE GREATEST ERROR IS TO LIVE IN MEXICO AND TO BE A JOURNALIST”… ZARDOZ MIGHT NEED TO GIVE THEM THE GIFT OF THE GUN.
THIS BRUTAL HAS RECEIVED THE GIFT OF THE GUN…AND USED IT! ZARDOZ IS A BIT DISAPPOINTED IT WAS NOT USED TO CLEANSE FELLOW BRUTALS, YET.
ZARDOZ AGAIN OFFERS HIS BRUTAL EXTERMINATORS….TO BOTH SIDES OF THIS SILLYBRUTAL ARGUMENT.
Man, I’m done with baseball for a bit. The Astros seem to be sliding into a legitimate funk. Fortunately for me, the Yankees are following them there so I won’t have to hear a bunch of shit-talking about them catching us any time soon. Meanwhile, on the left coast, the Dodgers are absolutely playing out of their skin. Too bad they’ll shit the bed in the playoffs as usual.
The Cowboys practice squad beat the Cardinals practice squad in Canton. The biggest name there, Tony Romo, got in a practice game of his own when he called it with Jim Nantz in a side booth as he prepares for his second career. I wonder when he will inexplicably slip on a banana peel and land on his head, ending his season early. Y’all know its gonna happen too, so don’t call me an asshole.
The Neymar deal is finally done. And soccer kicks off for real in just a couple weeks. Hooray for getting up at 5 am on Saturday and Sunday again! Can’t wait to see Liverpool make a run at the EPL this year IF they can stay healthy.
Now the enviro-nuts have gone too far. I’m sure PETA is stoked and will use this to set up more kill-van operations across the country. The rest of us will not be as pleased.
Speaking of crazy: I present you one John McCain. The former reverse-ace pilot has now blamed the failure in Afghanistan on Donald Trump. I guess he forgot the 15 and a half years of failure that went on before the last 7 months of the Trump presidency. Seriously, he should respect the office and his constituents enough to step aside before the tumor completely absorbs his whole body like the dude’s asshole from the Naked Lunch story.
Top Man touts credentials of being a Top Man. Tells prospective voters that he’s so much smarter than them that he will plan on running more of their lives. Prospective leftist voters squeal with delight.
My house is like a plague pit. My kids have been sick for days, my wife is intermittantly ill, and here I am, gliding through on my 18 Constitution. Its funny how your kids can have the same genetic material and raising and be totally different. My older son acts like he’s literally dying when he gets sick, demanding to be carried around and generally making a fuss. The younger one just slows down and cries a little more. Until the medicine kicks in and knocks down his fever, then he’s immediately back to 90% speed.
Jesus F Christ. This WaPo jock-sniffer of an article about Nicolas Maduro is disgusting. On the other hand, they have full transcripts of Trump’s conversations with foreign leaders. Which I am glad to see in public. If only that happened more often.
