Beer and Conversation with Pigweed and Crowhill

P&C review Honor Brewing's Golden Ale, then discuss common "useful fictions," such as ... * The frog in the pot will let you boil him if you slowly increase the temperature. * Electrons orbit a nucleus * When you touch a bird's egg the mother will abandon it * The gun is always loaded. * More than half of us are above average. * You have free will. * People make rational decisions in a marketplace. This is a fun episode that might challenge some of your cherished misconceptions.

When a man sees an attractive woman as a sex object, he doesn't see her luminous soul or her sparkling personality, he just sees her body. What's the crime here? Women project attributes that men are attracted to and men project attributes that women are attracted to. So yes, to some extent, we treat one another as objects ... until we can form a deeper relationship. Men and women not only treat one another as objects, but sometimes also as possessions. Is that a bad thing?

The boys review For Pete's Sake, an imperial chocolate peanut butter porter from DuClaw. Then they discuss how everything is upside down in today's culture. In upside down world, ... * the guy who makes a move is creepy * men can be women * Patriotism is bigotry * Border control is racism * “Illegal aliens make America more American” * Illegal aliens are citizens * Words are violence * Kneeling for the anthem is patriotic * Islam is a religion of peace

After reviewing the boys' homebrewed Old Ales, P&C reluctantly discuss the madness surrounding the trans agenda. Men are men and women are women, but saying something as obvious and true as that is now an edgy, dangerous thing. You risk your career, your reputation, and might get banned from social media. Well, the boys say it, and a lot more. The trans emperor not only has no clothes, he's got no clue, and no argument. It's simple madness from first to last.

The boys drink and review Crowhill's winter warmer home brew, then discuss the strange phenomenon of people who sow the seeds of their own demise. They discuss some examples, such as ... * Relying too much on Artificial Intelligence * Europe allowing in people who don't agree with their values * FBI undermines its own reputation by deceiving the FISA court ... and much more.

The boys review Pigweed's Wenceslas Christmas warmer, then get into everyone's favorite topic: taxes. P&C review the types of taxes we pay. Taxes are said to be the price we pay for civilized society. Okay, but does that mean we have to support any and every tax proposal? This gets back to the basic function of government, and what we should and should not be paying for. Also, to what extent do we want government using taxes to manipulate behavior?

The boys drink and review DuClaw's "The Pastryarchy" Chocolate Cherry Bon Bon imperial stout. Crowhill had thought that America learned the lesson that busing didn't work, but Pigweed gives the bad news. Maryland's Howard County is going to try it again -- not only for overcrowding, but "to address inequities." What the heck does an "equitable education" mean? The boys discuss.

There's been a debate in conservative circles recently about porn. P&C take it from several angles. First, why it's so popular? Then they discuss the possible negative effects of porn, the few potentially positive effects of porn, and some of the legal issues. Can we regulate it? Should we? Is this a local or a federal issue? This has become an interesting debate between the conservative and libertarian factions within the broadly conservative movement.

* Social media comments are news? Why do we care what these people say? Does Twitter matter? * Not in my backyard. What standards should we use to decide about public works? Is it just who raises the biggest ruckus? * Beard elitism. Should people grow beards when they're not completely full and impressive? * Science used to be about science. Now it's about ideology. * Is Caitlyn Jenner just one of the gals?

After drinking and reviewing Suddenly Comfy from @dogfishbeer, an imperial cream ale. Then they get into pronoun madness. Your name is yours, but pronouns don't belong to you. They're part of the language, which we hold as common property. So what is the appropriate sex-neutral pronoun? "They" is madness because it confuses singular and plural. Ze is at least better in that respect. But the bottom line is that pronouns aren't personal possessions. Everybody collectively owns the language.

The boys reflect on George Will's conversation with Ben Shapiro re: Will's new book, The Conservative Sensibility.  Will gives an interesting contrast between the Madisonian and Wilsonian views of American politics, and what constitutes progress. Will believes the essence of the conservative attitude is to embrace the chaos and confusion of life and try to slowly muddle through -- as opposed to the progressive view, which wants to organize and bring life to heel. 

This episode is a general review and reflection on Thanksgiving. The family gets together just to get together, with no pressure about presents or any of that. Thanksgiving is a good antidote to all the complaining that goes on the rest of the year. Giving thanks is a very important thing, and helps your emotional health. Listen in as Pigweed and Crowhill reflect on what they love about Thanksgiving.

The boys discuss confirmation bias, rational thinking in general, and then go through a few specific logical fallacies. * Red herring * Ad ignorantiam * Strawman * Reductio ad Hitlerum * Slippery slope * Appeal to authority * Begging the question * Appeal to antiquity * Post hoc ergo propter hoc * Moving the goal post (raising the bar) * No True Scotsman

Some cities are refusing to prosecute crimes such as public camping, offering or soliciting sex, public urination or blocking a sidewalk. This is an effort to be kind to the homeless, but what's the effect on everybody else? Somebody's going to be inconvenienced. Who should that be? The hard-working people who run businesses and pay taxes, or the homeless? In the name of helping the homeless, politicians are passing laws that are destroying the fabric of decent society.

The boys review Burger King's meatless #impossibleburger along with Surreal Brewing Company's no-alcohol IPA, called Juicy Mavs. They discuss the progress of vegetarianism in society, and break it down into four stages. Tying it all together, P&C refer to a recent interview with Michael Shellenberger, and found a lot of points of agreement. They review some of the excesses of environmentalism, and comment on Shellenberger's criticism of the eco-apocalyptic vision.