Late 20th century and, Lord knows, early 21st century America has been a time when the powers that be wielded fear like a master surgeon, using it liberally but specifically enough to scare us into doing whatever the hell stupid policy they wanted to implement. Start a war in the Middle East with no exit … Read more
Of all the dumbass laws out there, Indecent Exposure has got to be one of the dumbest. It’s against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole in the state of Georgia (for real), but was this ever actually an issue? Was there an era, long forgotten to history, where people couldn’t get … Read more
Fascists dislike anything out of the ordinary and unconventional (Adorno, et al 1950). We got wind of this when “Christians” objected to the opening art performance of the Olympics where a blue figure appeared at a long table. The performers were odd and weird and there was public outrage that this scene was making fun … Read more
It’s simple. It’s the mother of invention. It’s necessity, or, to be exact, the lack of necessity. Before the Industrial Revolution, the world’s slowest, most influential and most damaging revolution, manly men and their womanly wives had to plan their marital relations to coincide with certain moments in the menstrual cycle. They did this because … Read more
There have been two brief, very brief, periods when I had some hope for the future of the internet. The first was in the late 1990’s, when it morphed from a military communication project to a potentially world-shattering new way to live. But, if I’m being honest, that optimism was far more about the idea … Read more
We’re going to look behind the political bullshit at the real underlying foundations, the real stuff. TV news anchors rant about immigration a lot. Politicians from both sides bemoaning too little or too much immigration in a predictable line-dance. Old dudes at the country club complain about it so often you’ve got to wonder if … Read more
Teenagers’ being stupid isn’t new. They’ve always been stupid. You were stupid too when you were sixteen. You might not admit it, and you definitely didn’t admit it back then, but you were. We all were. As far as I can see, the only real difference between now and then is that, for some reason … Read more
Like most middle-age men in America, this whole explosion of transgenderism has taken me by surprise. Even if it is mainly an internet-phenom designed to keep us arguing about politics so we don’t notice the bigger, evil government stuff, it’s still freaking fascinating. Who could’ve predicted it? Yes, it’s new. Yes, it’s full of too … Read more
Secular fundamentalism is being pounded into American consciousness, and I believe it is from outside sources, experts on propaganda, like China or Russia. One characteristic of expert or elite propaganda is you do not know you are being subjected to it. The purpose is to divide this country into “armed camps” pitted against each other. … Read more
I vaguely remember a movie from 20 or 30 years ago called “Grizzly Man,” wherein a deluded animal lover decided to ditch it all and go and live among the bears. I believe he moved to Alaska, but it could’ve been anywhere where bears roam free and humans rightly fear to tread. This depressed idiot, … Read more