Beer And Conversation With Pigweed And Crowhill

The boys drink and review Torpedo extra IPA, then discuss El Salvador and their new president, Nayib Bukele. El Salvador has been a basket case for decades. It was one of the most violent places on earth, corruption was rampant, and the drug cartels ran everything. Mr. Bukele started his political career in a small town, not far from the capitol, and quickly became very popular. But he didn't fit with either of the existing majority political parties, so he joined and essentially took over one of the smaller political parties. His career skyrocketed, and he eventually became the incredibly popular president of the country. His reforms have make life more livable for most of the country, but it hasn't been a completely smooth ride. Some of his "reforms" seem more like dictatorship, and he's been criticized internationally for his crackdowns on the cartels. The boys try to evaluate this career. On the one hand, they prefer the rule of law, and politicians who stay within their desi

The boys drink and review Crispy Boy Vienna Lager from Black Flag brewing, then discuss some fantastic recent decisions from the Supreme Court. The cases involved affirmative action, freedom of religion, student debt, and freedom of speech. Affirmative action is blatantly unconstitutional. It was passed by a liberal court that knew it was bad law, but hoped it would be a temporary fix to race issues. The Court found that things have gotten worse, not better, so it's time to be done with it. In the freedom of religion case, the Court corrected a misinterpretation of previous precent. People thought that an employer could refuse an accommodation if it caused a "de minimis" hardship. In Groff vs. Dejoy, the Postal Service failed to accommodate a postal worker whose religion prevented him from working on Sunday. The Court ruled that employers have to make religious accommodations unless doing so would cause substantial harm. The Court also shot down Biden's over-reach on student debt, which

The boys drink and review 395 Rye from Checkerspot Brewing, then discuss the changing expectations in dating, courtship, and marriage. The traditional formula is first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage. The new formula is something like first comes sex, then comes dating, then you move in together, then you get a dog, then maybe you finally get married. What happened to "take me down to the little white church," "no huggie no kissie until you make me your wife," or "if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it." The problem is that the elite have adopted "luxury ideas" -- idiotic, fashionable beliefs that don't harm them, with their flock and nannies in their gated neighborhoods, but destroy the lives of the middle and lower classes. Traditional dating and marriage rules spread the wealth, so to speak, in a way that the modern rules don't. It results in a lot of men and women who have no life partner, and no p

The boys drink and review a kolsch, then discuss China's Belt and Road Initiative. They start with a quick review of the Persian Royal Road and the Silk Road, then bring things into the modern era with China's desire to control worlwide commerce. In the hopes it would lead China towards freedom, the west brought China into the modern world by giving them favored trading status. That pumped cheap good into the west and revitalized China's economy. But China isn't content with being the cheap labor force for the world, and is trying to become the main superpower. But they're not following the "cooperation with competition" model we see in the west. They're bullies. They embow their way in and take over. China is threatening to control world commerce with a long-term plan. Our leaders argue about bathrooms and pronouns.

With special guest Longinus, Pigweed and Crowhill drink and review Pigweed's homebrewed version of Monument's Steady Eddie IPA, then discuss famous people who are from or have a strong connection with Baltimore, including ... John Aston Jada Pinkett Smith Barry Levitson David Hasselhoff Oprah started off in Baltimore Anna Farris Elmer Snowden Billie Holiday Michael Phelps Julie Bowen John Waters Thurgood Marshall Toni Braxton Tori Amos Tupac Shakur Mike Rowe Del McCoury ... and many more!

With special guest Longinus, P&C drink and review Ruby Redbird, by Shiner, then discuss William Faulkner. They start with some brief biographical info on Faulkner, then discuss three of his most famous short stories. Two features that are common in all of Faulkner's work are (1) a lack of chronological time, and (2) concealing things from the reader. "A Rose for Emily" is a disturbing story about an old woman in a fictional southern town. It starts with her death, and then jumps back and forth in time, exploring different aspects of her life. The surprise ending is not to be missed. "Barn Burning" is a very different tale. It starts with a trial of Abner Snopes for allegedly burning down a neighbor's barn. Snopes is forced to leave town, but continues his reprobate behavior in the next town and gets his family trouble. The story is mostly about the trials of Sarty, his young son, who has to deal with the disreputable conduct of his father. "Red Leaves" is the

The boys drink and review Crowhill's latest homebrew concoction, then discuss the recent phenomenon of aliens moving from nerd world to mainstream. Why has this happened? Is there new evidence? Some videos have surfaced that allegedly show strange craft doing impossible things. The military seems to have changed its tune in their responses to these reports. Military aviators report regular contact with strange objects. We also have high-level, credible whistleblowers who have given remarkable testimony that the U.S. government has alien spacecrafts. But there are still no bodies, no spaceships, no x-rays, no blood samples. It's hard to say that we have new "evidence" now that we haven't had for decades. It always seems to reduce down to the same thing. Seemingly sincere people can't produce any tangible evidence. Also, the underlying story doesn't make any sense. These creatures have the tech to get here from light years away, but when they get here they just fly around, an

P&C drink and review Wexford Irish syle cream ale, then discuss the need for men to go into the trades, and one particular school that trains them. Our culture tends to look down on people who don't go to college, and on blue-collar work in general. But those are the guys who have practical knowledge and know how things work. Pigweed's son recently played a lacrosse game against a team from the Williamson College of the Trades, which has a very interesting program. It's like a college, but to train people in practical trades, with a focus on craftsmanship. They provide scholarships for the needy. There's zero tolerance for drugs or alcohol. The place is run like a monastery, with a strict daily schedule. The boys also discuss local boy Mike Rowe and his efforts to promote trade work.

The boys drink a Gold Rush cocktail, then discuss the Trump indictment. We clearly have a problem with classified documents in this country. Biden, Pence, Hillary, and Trump have all been found to behave recklessly with classified documents. There's no question Trump was very reckless. If Capt. Crowhill did any of this, she'd be in jail -- no question. Trump claims that he declassified all the documents before he took them home, but later evidence shows that's not true. Was Trump uniquely reckless? That's hard to say. Hillary's actions were pretty reckless as well, and Biden stored documents all over the place. It looks like selective prosecution, and it's hard not to see this as weaponization of the Justice department. Biden is on record as saying that he would use whatever legal means necessary to keep Trump from becoming president again. There are some outliers. We're not sure how the Presidential Records Act applies, but generally speaking it looks very bad for Trump.

P&C drink and review Troeg's Hop Horizon IPA, then discuss the need for strong men. One side of the culture war wants to tell boys they're toxic, potential rapists, and the best they can do is sit quietly and not get in the girls' way, because the future is female. And if you won't sit quietly, we'll give you drugs to make sure you do. On the other side of the culture war, Sen. Josh Hawley recently wrote a book to encourage boys to grow in the manly virtues. From a Roman perspective, these are the classical virtues. 1. Virtus (Manliness) encompasses bravery, courage, and strength. A Roman man was expected to display valor on the battlefield and face adversity with resilience. 2. Pietas (Piety) referred to a sense of duty, devotion, and loyalty. A Roman man was expected to fulfill his obligations to the gods, his family, and the state. 3. Fides (Good Faith) was the virtue of trustworthiness, reliability, and honesty. A Roman man was expected to keep his promises, be true to his word

The boys drink and review Old Blarney Barley Wine, then discuss pride month. During pride month, everyone on the planet is invited -- or rather, compelled -- to celebrate the sexual proclivities of a small minority. "It's a month that vomits rainbows, glitter, and dildos," Pigweed says. Sexuality is usually considered a private thing. It seems odd for it to be a gaudy parade. Something doesn't fit here. At first, the LGB movement was about allowing homosexuals to share health insurance and hospital visitation rights. Now, if you don't allow gay porn in public schools and celebrate when a trans person does a pole dance at the library in front of children, you're a bigot. We have lost the distinction between tolerating and celebrating. Tolerating wasn't enough. Now we have to have parades, because "silence is violence." Americans need to decide that they will no longer participate in the lies.

The boys drink and review Proper ESB, then discuss a speech against wokeness by a famous and well-known personality. The mystery speaker said things like this. “The fight for equality and against discrimination [has turned] into an aggressive dogmatism on the brink of absurdity, when great authors of the past such as Shakespeare are no longer taught in schools and universities because they … did not understand the importance of gender or race. "In Hollywood [the rules are] tighter and stricter than what the Department of Propaganda of the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee did… "[Americans] push the parents aside and [let children make] decisions that can destroy their lives. [This is a] crime against humanity, and all of that under the banner of progress… "Some believe that aggressive[ly] blotting out [] the traditional interpretation of such basic values as mother, father, family, and the distinction between sexes are a milestone… a renewal of society… "[This is] nothing new. [I

P&C drink and review That Shiz Slaps by Aslin Beer Company, then discuss the amazing life and career of Sir Isaac Newton. After barely surviving childbirth, and being abandoned by his mother when he was three, Newton avoided his parent's advice to become a farmer and went on to be a student at Trinity College. He was a quiet and introverted student who spent all his time in his studies and work. Newton went home to avoid the plague. That's when the famous story of the apple occurred. The prevailing thought of the day was that heavenly motions and earthly motions were governed by different rules. Newton realized that exactly the same force that caused the apple to fall caused the moon to stay in orbit around the Earth. To work on his theories he invented Calculus! But Newton was not only a genius at math and physics. He was also a theologian, an alchemist, and made great strides in the field of optics. In order to maintain his position in English society, he had to hide his heretical theologi

The boys drink and review a disappointing homebrew, then discuss the 1st Amendment and the separation of church and state. The well-known phrase actually does not come from the constitution, but from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists. The founder's main concern was to prevent the federal government from imposing a religion on the individual states, which, at the time, often had their own established religions. Today we apply the first amendment to both federal and state governments, but that wasn't true for the first several decades of the Republic. The constitution has two relevant clauses: the establishment clause, which prohibits the government from establishing a state religion, and the free exercise clause, which prohibits Congress from prohibiting the free exercise of religion. The country has been trying to find the proper between these two ideals. The boys discuss.

P&C drink and review Haze Crafy IPA from Great Lakes Brewing Company, then discuss situations where Pigweed pointed out the craziness of a position only to find that the left doubled down on craziness. Body identity disorder is a weird condition where a person believes a limb isn't really his and doesn't belong. He wants a doctor to cut it off. But of course no reputable doctor would do such a thing. How is this different from trans surgery? We're seeing a movement that increasingly wants to accommodate delusions. Pigweed also pointed out that if a minor can choose to be a different sex, why can't they choose to have sex with whom they want. Including an adult. You're expected to be so repulsed by the idea that you jump back in fear from allowing minors to choose their sex. But the crazy left is going the other direction. They're starting to push the idea of allowing sex between adults and minors.

The boys drink a cocktail and discuss the significance of the Durham Report about Crossfire Hurricane -- aka, the persecution of Donald Trump The Federalist put it this way. “Imagine someone told you that in the run-up to a U.S. presidential election, the FBI tried to undermine a candidate at the behest of the opposing campaign by cooking up a false narrative of collusion with Moscow. “And let’s say this conspiracy implicated not just the FBI but also the White House, Justice Department, and CIA — and that nearly the entire corporate press went along with it, gleefully spreading the false narrative that this candidate was a Russian agent, running story after story of fabricated nonsense in a coordinated effort to ensure the opposing candidate won.” The first conclusion from the report is that Trump is vindicated * It was a witch hunt (no reality – based on false information) * It was politically motivated * They were spying on his campaign * It was an attempt to stop him from being elected and to under

After a quick skit by the Ben Franklin players, Pigweed and Crowhill drink and review a French Toast stout, then discuss the production of EV batteries. The story goes that the planet is heating because of carbon emissions, so we have to move to electric vehicles. Energy drives prosperity and human flourishing. Right now, most energy is produced by fossil fuels, and agricultural relies on fertilizer, which requires fossil fuels. But there's a big drive to move all our vehicles to electric. The boys discuss the details about the production and disposal of electric batteries. They're not nearly as environmentally friendly as many people believe.

The boys drink and review a robust porter from Bell's, then evaluate western values. Western values developed from three major sources. * Classical antiquity * The Judeo-Christian tradition * Germanic customs Roughly speaking, "western values" include the following: * Democracy * Individualism * Human rights * Free speech * Free markets * The rule of law * Secularism * Rationalism * Liberalism * Capitalism When people object to western values, which of these do they want to discard? "Western values" are truths, not merely preferences. We're not making this stuff up, we're progressively discovering things about the right ordering of society.

With special guest Longinus, P&C drink and review Carlsberg, then discuss Candide as part of their "shortcut to the classics" series. The boys give a short review of his life. Voltaire was a pillar of the Englightenment. In Candide, Voltaire employs biting sarcasim against the idea that this is "the best of all possible worlds." Candide suffers through "one damned thing after another," but continues to have the sunny outlook of his teacher, Pangloss. Everything must be for the best. Eventually Candide meets Martin, another philosopher with a very different view, which allows Voltaire to have some debates between these two life outlooks. Leibnitz believed that this is the best possible world, because if God is good, he must have picked the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire thought this was ridiculous, and wrote Candide as a response.

With special guest Longinus, P&C drink and review a Belgian saison, then discuss a few essays by Michel Foucault, who many people say was one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Longinus gives a brief biography, then the boys work through two essays: "What is Enlightenment" and "Truth and Power." Foucault is considered a post-modernist. The boys try to unpack modernism and post-modernism, to put Foucault in context. His writings are difficult to read. Sometimes it sounds like complete nonsense. But a few things do come out fairly clearly. Most importantly, he believes that all of the things we think of as rational, self-evident truths, are actually dependent on circumstances and the changing fads and customs of a particular time. Foucault would reject the idea of objective truth. In many ways, Foucault contributed to the craziness we see all around us today, with "my truth," and the idea that everyone gets to define their own reality.