Beer And Conversation With Pigweed And Crowhill

With special guest Longinus, P&C drink and review Zombie Dust from Three Floyds, then discuss proposals to build a maglev train between Washington and Baltimore. Baltimore doesn't want it. There have been lots of proposals for increasing high-speed rail in the country, but the proposals never seem to make sense for actual transportation needs.

P&C drink and review Fresh Catch from Narragansett, then, with special guest Longinus, discuss Emerson's essay, "Nature." Transcendentalism reacted against rationalism, and was heavily influenced by Romanticism, Platonism and Immanuel Kant's philosophy. Emerson and Thoreau were leading figures in the Transcendentalist movement. "Nature" is a short essay by Emerson, outlining his view that man can have direct experience with God through nature.

The boys review Witness Tree Nut Brown Ale, then ask why women aren't happier. Despite all the attention paid to women's happiness, and all the advances in women's rights -- more women in college, more women in the boardroom, more professional women, almost no restrictions on anything they want to do -- surveys consistently show that women are less and less happy. It seems obvious that women are getting terrible advice.  P&C review some of these modern attitudes towards women, and the suggestions women are getting all the time, and ask why they're not working.

P&C drink and review Little Mack IPA from Antietam Brewery, then do 5 topics in 5 minutes each. 1. Biden the Oil Lover. Biden shuts down domestic production, but then asks OPEC to increase production. 2. What is non-denominationalism, and what does it mean? 3. Rule by childless leaders. Too many of our politicians don't have kids. What does that say about their commitment to the future? 4. Andrew Cuomo's resignation. 5. What's with all the lecherous female teachers?

P&C review a new brewer's first beer, and Pigweed is shocked to discover that Crowhill is a liberal. That leads to a discussion on the differences between classical and modern liberalism. Classical liberalism insisted that government is only justified with the consent of the governed. It was all about liberty, free speech, small government, self-reliance and individual rights, which didn't come from government, but from the creator. The government only has power because we let it have power. Modern liberalism has departed from these ideals in important ways, which the boys summarize.

P&C drink and review a black IPA from Hysteria, then discuss the recent debates on evictions. If there's a crisis, and people aren't able to pay their rent, then it might be reasonable to appropriate tax money to pay people's rent. But rather than that, the CDC, which is not Congress and cannot write laws, made it illegal for landlords to evict people. Landlords were allowed to go bankrupt from not getting any rent, but they couldn't take action against people living in their property without paying. President Biden has admitted that this is illegal, but extended it anyway. This is tyranny, plain and simple, and P&C are beside themselves with anger against our useless government.

Before they drink and review some recent homebrews, the boys listen in on a performance by the Ben Franklin Players, then discuss identity. How do people define themselves? What identifies them? Is it their profession? Religion? Marital status? Age? Or what excites them sexually?  The boys recently read about Michaela Cuomo's announcement that she is "demisexual," and wonder why this is a thing. Is our identity tied to our sexual preference?

What's up with Simone Biles? P&C drink and review a pale ale from Three Floyds, then discuss the Olympics. What makes a sport an Olympic sport? How do we get new sports? What sports have been tried and failed? Why do some women have to wear skimpy uniforms? Also, why all the protests, and how should nations react to them?

The boys drink and review Green's gluten-free amber ale, then discuss futurism and crazy predictions. P&C review quotes from prominent, famous people who got things horribly wrong and made ridiculous predictions, which are funny now, but were taken seriously when they were made.  It's good to keep these quotes in mind when you hear modern experts tell us confidently what will happen in the future.

P&C drink a homebrew fail from Crowhill, then discuss various sociological perspectives on religion. If you look at religion from an evolutionary or sociological perspective, what function does it serve? How was religious belief a positive adaptation? Or was it? Sociologists and evolutionary psychologists who study this question have come up with some interesting theories about the benefits of religion, and why it helped humans advance. P&C consider the "New Atheist" perspective on religion and compare it with other secular approaches.

P&C drink and review Wook Bait IPA by Left Hand Brewing, then discuss the privilege enjoyed by attractive people. Let's face it, the world stops to admire the attractive person -- especially the attractive young woman. Attractive people are more likely to get called back for a job interview, more likely to get the job, and earn more when they get it. Attractive salesmen get more sales for more money. It's easier for them to find a mate, they have an advantage in politics, and are seen as more competent, kind and trustworthy.

P&C drink and review Fresh Roasted, a delicious, peanut-flavored English Ale. The boys review some of the history of communism -- the Frankfurt school, and various publicly stated communist objectives -- and review how well they've done advancing those objectives. The "classless society" has always been a lie. The actual agenda is and has always been a one-party, totalitarian state. So, how are they doing with their goals? 

P&C drink and review an IPA from Great Lakes Brewing Company, then talk about the change different generations have seen over time. How would a time traveler from 1900 view 1990? Or again, how will someone from 1960 view 2050? The boys review important changes in each decade of the 20th century, then make some predictions for the future.

P&C drink and review Chesapeake Wheat from Flying Dog brewery, then ask why the United States seems to be the only nation that's continually down on itself.  From the very top, people all constantly ragging on the United States. Our president, vice president, and their entire cabinet, keep tearing us down. We're told we're inherently, systemically racist. That we were founded on racism and white supremacy.  Who wants to live in a country like that? Who wants to fight to defend a country like that? How does this affect our foreign policy? 

P&C drink and review a porter from Founders, then discuss the declining standards in dress. How people dress in public matters, and our common standards have been declining for decades. P&C aren't fans. What are the social and personal advantages of dressing better? Quite a lot, actually. Put simply: dress better and people will treat you better.

P&C drink and review Inescapable Fate from Nepenthe Brewing, then discuss quality of life issues in U.S. cities.  Lovely places around the country are falling apart because the local officials are failing to do their jobs. Venice Beach. Fells Point. San Francisco.  Some prosecutors in these locations have decided not to prosecute "quality of life" crimes, and quality of life is deteriorating.  What's to be done? In Baltimore, businesses have created an escrow fund and are withholding their tax payments until the city starts doing its job. Will that help? 

The boys drink and review Hysteria's "What You Want," then continue their "shortcut to the classics" series, with special guest Longinus, by reviewing a few Mark Twain short stories. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County A True Story The Diary of Adam and Eve The $1,000,000 Bank-Note A Dog's Tale

P&C drink and review Pigweed's latest homebrew, then discuss the ruckus in Virginia, where a teacher was fired for failing to toe the line on transgender ideology. A parent rebellion ensued, exposing the high-handed tactics of the educational establishment.  Most people don't like Critical Race Theory, and don't want it taught to their children.  This kind of push-back seems to be catching fire all over the country, as parents realize how radicalized the school system has become, and how much contempt the establishment has for them.

After reviewing a wheat beer from DuClaw, the boys review some of Iain McGilchrist's findings on differences between the functions of the two hemispheres, and what they say about how we view the world. The left and right hemispheres have very different perspectives on life. The right tends to look at the big picture, while the left tends to be more task-specific. When the two hemispheres are cut, scientists are able to communicate separately with each side, and have learned some very interesting things about how the two sides of our brain function, and what biases they bring to the world. McGilchrist is concerned that our society is becoming too left-brain focused, and believes we need a correction.

The boys drink and review Young Buck, a Maibock from Key Brewing, then knock out five topics in five minutes each. The lab origin hypothesis. There's a lab in Wuhan, China, that works on "gain of function" in coronaviruses, which, by an astonishing coincidence, is where the virus started -- but somehow the idea that the virus came from the lab was a crazy conspiracy theory. Zoom life -- what we've learned about virtual meetings during the pandemic. Sobriety checkpoints -- are they legal? Should they be? They seem to reverse the presumption of innocence. Vaccines -- are you a crazy, awful, conspiratorial monster if you choose to avoid the vaccine? 9-0 SCOTUS decision on Catholic organizations being involved in foster care.