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Anti-maskers are dumb. I am not going to waste a lot of time arguing why they are dumb at this point. I have done that in prior episodes in great detail. Instead I will just emphasize the contrary nature of a political movement, which is majority republican, that supports the destruction of the middle class all while demanding hugs and kisses from the very middle class they are destroying. It is no shock to me that most anti-maskers are of European descent. The need for Europeans to act a fool is evidenced by their obsession with monarchy and their worship of failed religious institutions. The much more impressive statistic is the divide between democrats and republicans on this seemingly simple issue. Only 29% of republicans support wearing a mask in public. This only helps to solidify my theory that liberalism is always preferable to conservatism, if just for the mere fact that you might live a little longer under democratic rule. Freedom is great, to an extent. Obviously we all have "the right" to harm one and other, but that is in no way beneficial to any of us. This kind of fatalist view of liberty makes me sick and, if you are not careful, it could make you physically ill. Time and time again conservatives lecture us on the constitution, the very same constitution that in no way prohibits mask mandates, yet we are expected to listen to their uninformed lectures about the founding fathers. We must listen to how "the communists" are coming to destroy us...with hygiene. I, for one, am sick and tired of hearing this stupid argument that has never once been based in any evidence. Wearing masks is the last thing that communist nations want us to do, especially communist nations hostile to the United States; they would want us to die or suffer, not to protect us from the coronavirus. One can make an argument that many of these anti-masker forums are run by Chinese or Russian propagandists, and there is some evidence to support this claim as we continue to find that many twitter, facebook, youtube and other social media accounts are completely fake, and often based in far away nations. We also know that Russian operatives are trained to speak English fluently so they do not appear to be from other nations. However, no matter what their origin may be, conspiracy theories about the original cause of the pandemic have become so prolific that they have caused people to go into a kind de facto panic mode, attacking anyone and anything the presume to be a threat. I detail several instances where these flare ups have been occurring even more increasingly than usual ever since the CDC updated its mask guidelines the more relaxed status, essentially eliminating social distancing and with that the requirement for masks, apart from travel. This has of course emboldened anti-maskers to begin attacking their targets at ever increasing numbers. This decision by the CDC is having real blow back that is not getting much news time apart from amateur youtubers who make compilations of local reports. Popular stores like Home Depot, Walmart and various dining establishments, along with grocery and sporting goods stores have all been hit by a huge surge, not of the coronavirus itself, but of coronavirus deniers. The CDC's change in the rules only confirms to science deniers that the CDC has not told the whole truth; this is the real reason I brought you my original discussion on this topic in a prior episode. It is not so much that I disbelieve the CDC; it is much more that I do not trust other people to follow their rules. These suggestions are fine for people who behave as adults, but we simply cannot go on expecting that of nation that has not even accepted the reality of the Joe Biden's presidency while we are well after the one hundred day mark. You can go on and frame this as a sane debate between rational minds all you like, but when you are dealing with a bunch of immature people someone eventually is going to have be the adult.

It is a bit difficult to be a true humanist, if there is such a thing, if you are always going on about how superior your particular culture is, but Europeans seem not to care very much about this issue. I was once again reminded of this contradictory fact when I came across a question on twitter which essentially asked, "do you feel safer criticizing Christianity than you do Islam?" (I say essentially because the actual question was in a silly multiple choice format that was so poorly prepared I do not feel like repeating it). I immediately responded by saying that I felt exactly the same criticizing any religion, that basically what the average person does is get a bit annoyed with you for not following their faith. I also stated that there are obviously always violent extremists in any religion (this statement can also be backed by extensive evidence documenting the human obsession with dying or "sacrificing" oneself for one's faith), but that the threat was pretty much the same across the board. Mind you that I would have said this is also true of any atheist as well. Sure, there may be a few outliers, a few bad apples in an overall good tree, but I could say that about any members of any faith, or lack of faith. It is quite ridiculous to think anything else really. Hamas in no way represents Muslims; Israel knows this just as well as I do. That is why the cease fire was reached after all. Hamas is a rogue government that came into power through a fluke and that constantly struggles to maintain power of their people. There is no great elation on either that Hamas is in power. But the problem of continuing to remove existing governments and rebuild new ones is real; such a task is costly and there is a currently a deadly pandemic still spreading throughout the world. Also, one always has to be cautious to strike at the right time, otherwise what is known as blow back occurs. The blow back from the removal of the Gaddafi administration, a violent horror of a government that tortured its citizens, is still being felt by the current Biden administration; the resentment from the removal of Gadaffi was, in fact, one of the factors that propelled Trump to victory in 2016. Trump's team of propagandist constantly hyper focused on the violent removal of the former dictator instead of detailing the brute force he used to govern, making the Obama administration look like a gang of tyrants. Blow back is real, and its consequences must be thoroughly considered before one rides off into the sunset looking for the next government to topple. In world politics you are dealing with billions of lives; tact is a requirement in such situations, not a luxury. It is fine to make whatever generalization you like about a particular people in your home, but doing so in front of large audiences only causes more needless fighting and bickering. The person who asked the aforementioned question proceeded to assume that I was saying it was just as dangerous to be an atheist in a Christian nation, as it was in Muslim nation. Again, this question stated nothing about countries of origin and my answer would have been different if the question was asked properly. But because this person was not precise when asking their question, it caused the person to bitterly reprimand me. It was great; I felt like it was September 11th, 2001 and I had just said all brown people were not terrorists. It was the exact same reaction. The only thing that was different is that I was expecting better; I was expecting this person to be different. I was wrong, and that really let me down. I really thought I could trust this person to not jump all over somebody for having a different opinion than them. I was wrong. But I also realize that not all atheists are like this. I am an atheist after all. This is just more proof that I am my own person now, not wanting or needing the approval of like minded people, and flat out rejecting the bullying of their narrow minded attitudes

One of the reasons people spend so much time talking about love is because there simply is not that much out there for us to experience in the real world. People mock haters because they are honest, not because they believe them to be incorrect. Honesty is not allowed so the false pretense of love in spit of it all takes honesty's place. Because of this a lot of fake lovers come around, begging you to be exactly like them before the world ends. Lovers love everything so they love the planet too; you know, the dirty they walk all over after they litter. Now, isn't that lovely? Everything is just love now. Did a war take place? Well, it was for the love of democracy. Did someone get laid off? That is a sacrifice they have to make for the love of capitalism. Did someone suggest a bit of civility when talking about Muslim people? Well, that just isn't allowed. The problem with love is that it is a one way street. You have no way of controlling who you love or for how long you love them. It is a kind of emotion that, really, was created by humans to explain their attraction to others. You cannot pin the definition of love down like you can with other emotions like anger or depression. Love is a very uninformed emotion that is based mostly on superficial opinions and long term goals. Love is a business in America, and business is booming. It's amazing how you can go from encouraging people to bomb the shit out of Gaza on Saturday to bitching about the rebellious youth on Sunday. It's astounding that people are completely oblivious to the hypocrisy of their loving ways. But the lovers have already won this battle by training you from an early age that saying "I love you" just makes everything better in an instant. Perhaps they should inform insurance workers to say that they love the clients that they are going to deny medical and dental insurance; I'm sure that would make things a lot better. Who knows? Maybe a dry ass, meaningless statement like "I love you" can pay your rent and feed your kids. We don't need food anymore; we should love animals and plants so that we starve ourselves to death for love of the ecosystem. You just have to love that kind of ignorance. Lovers lie to themselves even more than they lie to others. They do not bring up real problems to people like the fact that overeating can cause cancer or the fact that under eating can cause severe dehydration, leading to seizures. That does not necessarily sound like a loving world, that you can experience severe pain simply by not following a proper diet. Saying such things is a downer to people; it is not going to make them feel loved, you see. Oh, and do not advise people about politics; that's not loving at all. You should go on Twitter instead so that you can pretend, along with all the other idiotic lovers, that everything is just fine, even if your entire world is falling apart. Complaining has no place in the realm of lovers; everything is always amazing at all times. Mediocrity does not exist in this strange lovers' paradise, nor does excellence or failure. Love erases all pain, while at the same time setting you up for future failures. Why? Because love blinds us to our reality of course. Do you really believe a person of sound mind would Netflix and chill right after watching Capitol police officers getting stomped to death on live TV? Do you even remember the big ass noose on display for everyone to see? Do you remember the Christians dancing with glee as they shouted "hang Mike Pence" over and over again. Of course you don't. You have moved on. You are over it. Most people will not admit this because it is not a very loving thing to say out loud. You are supposed to keep such things to yourself. But as soon as Hamas bombed Israel and Israel responded, as is their right, the love seemed to disappear. It was as if I had been transported back to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Humans are incapable of love, but they are great at turning love into hate. 

Big dumb whiny baby Joe Rogan is at it again, and this time he is more ignorant than ever. Now, I know what you are thinking, "come on bro, it does not get much more ignorant than Joe Rogan. I mean, the dude said a strengthened immune system could beat covid for crying out loud." Yeah, that was a doozy, but it is nothing compared to his recent statement. Rogan has now officially jumped on the good old straight white male oppression bandwagon that conservatives have been riding high on ever since Barrack Obama announced his candidacy for president some fourteen years ago. White conservatives love to play this card; it is the same card they have used for centuries to justify every crime they have committed. It is an uninformed appeal to emotion that has no basis in fact whatsoever; the idea of minority hegemony has always been a myth ever since the fascists used it during world war two. But it is an effective myth for as people continue to lose their jobs or not to be satisfied with the wages of their jobs they will seek to place the blame not on themselves, but elsewhere. It becomes quite easy for a corporate thug to redirect the anger you should be feeling toward them back at your neighbor, who most likely lost their job as well. The odd thing about paranoia is that wealth only seems to exacerbate it; the wealthiest nations in the world are currently waging propaganda wars on one and other and therefore it only makes sense that corporations do the same. This atmosphere is rife with paranoia about worker uprisings that, in actuality, are quite overdue. Many of the marches and protests we have been horrified by on television were really just working people asking for a fair shot at the American dream, people who were so broke that they had nothing to lose. Is that really something to be afraid of? Do you really think starving people are going to have the energy to break into your two bedroom apartment for some of that Trader Joe's frozen salmon burger? No, my friend, no one is that hungry. These people decided to go big or go home, and in order to do that they knew that they would have to show you how brutal these corporate thugs really are. You saw them sick their police goons on their employees like they were a bunch of damn crooks. You saw them beating old people in the street. You saw them shooting paint balls at black people who were on their property, who were not even protesting. You saw a black man's windows busted out on live television for the world to see and you saw them proceed to taser this man until he went into convulsions while their friends jumped all over the woman he was with. You saw them castrate a black man who worked with the police department, a man who they knew, who they then shot in the testicles. You saw it all. This oppression is made up. It is the same oppression that the Christian bemoans in the United States of America, a nation that is so obsessed with Christianity that it begins Christmas six months early. We have all heard this delusion before. Perhaps Rogan is running out of material. Perhaps droning on about fitness for 1300 episodes has fried his brain. Or perhaps the boys at Spotify really are pulling strings. I personally believe Spotify is much like Twitter; they know how to play the game. They know that their audiences like "liberal" or "progressive" companies now. So they show up to meetings dressed like college students and treat their employees kind of okay when people are looking. Let us not forget that companies like IBM had similar perks until they left Silicon Valley hanging, laying off and eventually displacing thousands in the process, a small price to pay for capitalism according to the captains of industry. Both Spotify and Joe Rogan are a joke; what they offer is not entertainment, but distraction. Their messages only confuse and divide; they have no valuable information to offer. Perhaps that is the real reason for their success. More white noise for white people.

Aw, did I just hurt your feelings by stating a fact? Who the hell cares? I am done acting like some sort of babysitter for uninformed, often times willing ignorant, people. It is not my job to protect your political views from criticism. Quite the opposite. My job is to expose people for the bullshit artists they really are. I told you before that this show would be different. I made it very clear from day one that this was a liberal news show for real liberals, not the pussyfoot moderates who run the democratic party. If you want to see news that denies reality in favor of fake civility you can go on twitter or watch CNN. It doesn't matter to me where you get your news, but if you expect me to sit here and lie to you to make you feel better about yourself, you are looking in the wrong place. Calls for "rational" debate and a return to "reason" by the modern democratic party are as hilarious as they are insincere, and they are extremely insincere. Do you even understand the human mind? Do you know that it is virtually impossible to practice rational thought? Do you realize that you are a creature of emotion no matter how often you open your science book? Many of you do not. Many of you believe you have the world figured out because you did well in biology. Sorry, but that is just not the case. These calls to be less emotional are essentially calls to be less human, and more apathetic. Politicians are upset because you are paying attention to them for once. You have been on their asses ever since the pandemic began because, in case you have forgotten, they screwed you over royally and left you to die. But Joe Biden has been elected and so we are supposed to forget all of that now because our daddy in the white house has promised to make it all better now. Maybe he can kiss your wounds and heal them but my wounds are critical; they cut deep into the bone and the gore flows freely from the gaping whole that was once my trust in this nation. I hate what they did to me, these politicians, both parties. I may hate conservatives a bit more, but that is irrelevant to me. This about much more than partisan politics for me. It must be because neither party is really interested in helping black or disabled people for that matter, and I happen to fall in both of those categories. Of course democrats and republicans worked closely together to make sure to stomp out any chance I had of developing a successful career. Of course they pissed away countless amounts of cash on wars that ended up causing more terrorism than actually getting rid of it. Of course both parties cut disability left and right. Of course both parties sat on their hands while laws protecting women were erased. Of course both parties did nothing about the attack on abortion. Of course they all sat there and did nothing, all of them, because nothing is what American politicians do best. They stand for nothing. They understand nothing and they hate everything that is not white, Christian and rich. I refuse to mince words any longer. I will not pretend like it is okay to believe whatever they like about serious political issues. You cannot believe whatever you like about the truth! The links between Trumpism and Nazism are so painfully obvious that anyone who refuses to recognize these links is either insane or just does not care. And if you do not care about me, guess what idiot? I don't care about you either! So why the hell should I care if your feelings are hurt when I mock these buffoons when you will not even admit the obvious? All of you phony Bill Maher, Dave Chapelle, Ice Cube and Ricky Gervais want to bes need listen up because I am talking to you too. You ruined liberalism. You turned it into a clown show. You made it about doing cocaine and having sex. You have turned politics into a pursuit for your own selfish gains. I will ruin your reputations as I have ruined the reputations of conservatives. Your time will be up very, very soon. Tick tock bitches.

This whole episode was inspired by a critique of the parenting skills of uncles, aunts, teachers and daycare workers. The comment went something like this, "uncles and aunts only say that parenting is easy because they are not around the child for as much time as parents have to be around the child; therefore, actual parents are always better at parenting than people who are not around the child all as much". It pains me that I even have to state what is wrong with this generalization. We all know that domestic abuse has skyrocketed during the pandemic. We all know that our most popular religion, Christianity, gives parents a license to abuse their children. It becomes quite easy to blur the lines between faith and abuse. We also know that organizations like child protective services are called more frequently on black and brown families, even though there is no evidence to suggest black and brown families abuse children at a higher rate than white families. So, right from the beginning the argument that natural parents are somehow better at parenting is wobbly from the get go. Of course I am not saying that all parents are abusive, but there are a fairly good amount, otherwise the statistics simply would not be as high; here they are by the way: "It’s estimated that at least 1 in 7 children in the US has experienced child abuse and/or neglect in the past year. Neglect is the most common form of child abuse, followed by physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse. Boys and girls experience similar rates of childhood abuse (48.6% and 51% respectively). Children younger than one year old are the most vulnerable to  maltreatment, accounting for almost half of child fatalities from abuse  in 2018. In 2018, 76% of child abuse perpetrators were a parent to their victim. In 2018, 62% of children placed in foster care were removed from their  homes due to abusive neglect, totaling over 160,000 children." Well, there you have it. A staggering 76% of child abuse occurs in the home, by the parent and the abuse is so bad (CPS has to have clear evidence to place a child into foster care and the requirements are very strict) that the child was removed from the home 62% of the time, that's 160,000 children and that's just 2018! This also does not account for the child abuse cases that do not get reported for various reasons ranging from the ineptitude of child professionals or just lack of evidence. Abusers are crafty; they know they have the law on their side as long as they don't get caught so things like harming people in hidden areas that people don't normally look is common. Also, people often do not know how to properly define abuse, thinking it is limited to physical harm, whereas it can also include, neglect, spiritual abuse and verbal abuse. So what are parents really saying when they critique the school system or other family members who watch their children for "not knowing enough about parenting to really understand it". Are they saying that there is a certain way to abuse children that is somehow more informed? 76% is a large number and it speaks volumes to the fact that aunts and uncles can actually be better at parenting than actual parents are. If the niece or nephew prefers the company of their aunts and uncles, it doesn't always mean that the aunt or uncle is showering them with candy or gifts either. Children often times prefer structure. Sure, they don't say that because structure sounds like a scary word to them. But when children act out around their parents, it is generally (obviously excluding severe mental disorders that cause children to harm parents here) because the child is not getting the attention they deserve. When children misbehave they automatically get the attention they desire. I do not think all parents are bad, but I do think that being a parent does not mean that you know how to parent. I think it is better to learn from as many people as you can when raising a child.

Too soon is a phrase that comes to mind when considering the CDC's recent decision to lift mask mandates for all vaccinated persons in most situations. The decision was obviously not well thought out and mostly done to lure people back to work and school. Politicians are still playing games with people's lives. As a result of this odd decision, sixteen states have now refused Biden's supplemental unemployment insurance, not to mention that everything from amusement parks to sporting events are now allowing unmasked individuals to be around each other inside, while at the same time refusing to perform any checks on their vaccination status. Our government continues to prove, time and again, that it values profits over people. There seems to be no difference between the two parties when it comes to this sad fact. I am not the only concerned about this decision. Many people I speak to on social media have the same concern, stating that they are wearing their masks regardless of what others say. One of the doctors I have spoken with has confirmed that there are indeed more powerful variants taking shape in places like the UK, these variants are far more resistant to the vaccine than prior strains. Further, the efficacy of vaccinations goes up when paired with a mask; there are charts from doctors that prove this. So why do this now? Why not wait until September? We have already spent the money for that! There is absolutely nothing to gain by returning this money to the government, and we are already seeing various stocks begin to crash because of this decision. I suppose this is all coming from a place of selfishness, a desire to have the things that we simply cannot have. Just be aware that you are playing a deadly game here. This is not some silly political thriller; Gene Hackman is not going to show up and kick Joe Biden's ass or Donald Trump's for that matter. This is the real world. Viruses do not care about election seasons and people notice when you sacrifice the welfare of their families for votes, economic gain or both. Hypocrisy is simply not tolerated in America; you can write all the articles you like trying to normalize it, but you will fail. The people of America simply do not like hypocrites; that is what took Trump down and that is what can take any politician in this country down. Is this the more caring government that was advertised last year? I have to say that this is very disconcerting. The rush to get back to normal has become the rush to prevent us from getting back to normal. I do not think it is normal to sacrifice others for your personal gain. I think that is what is promoted as capitalism, but this winner take all philosophy has nothing to do with Adam Smith. Smith would be appalled at the lavishness of modern day America, and he would certainly detest the seemingly insatiable lust for power. Smith argued for fair competition that would benefit the nation and individuals simultaneously; many establishment ghouls like to leave that part out when they talk about how much they love American economics. Capitalism does not work when the products being made only benefit individual business owners. The entire nation must profit as a whole or the system is not at maximum efficacy. This does not require a dismantling of our system, but a reevaluation of what capitalism was meant to do, encourage invention, industry, success, and happiness. When it comes to economics we can be fair to employees and bosses, the teacher and the student, the criminal and the cop. We can use our system to promote equality, justice, liberty, and prosperity. Why won't we do this responsibly? Why didn't we come up with a system to recognize those who were vaccinated so that people could enjoy themselves and others could be encouraged to vaccinate? Why are people with bad ideas continually allowed to spread such nonsense? Why do they have such large platforms that they can manipulate every narrative? It's unsafe and irresponsible

I cannot say that I am really surprised that Liz Cheney was removed from her power position in the house following her persistent refusal to blindly proclaim that election fraud took place in the 2020 presidential election. Seeing as Donald Trump remains quite popular amongst republicans, leading any potential challenger in the party by solid margins, it is almost a given that he will seek reelection in 2024. And, after a devastating loss and blow to their egos by losing to Joe Biden, who they claimed was no real threat to Trump, it only makes sense that they would take revenge any way they can find it, not only to get back at dissidents, but also to bolster Trump's image for the next election season. Trump is essentially solidifying his role as a political outsider; this way he can state that all of the problems that he caused were in fact the democrats screwing up his policies. It is a deceptive tactic that seems as if it will ultimately fail; however, Trump's appeal amongst his base is not going anywhere. However, I do not see old school republicans going anywhere either. In fact, 100 popular republicans recently left the party after the vote to nix Cheney was approved. None of the republicans were currently in office, but do not underestimate this tactic by the more moderate republicans. They are attacking Trump in the best way they can, by simply allowing him to make a fool of himself with his humongous ego, which is what made him lose in 2020. There are prideful people everywhere, but most like to give off the pretense of civility; Trump has no such civility. He is brazen and bold leader that has little regard for the suffering of others. It appears to me that these two factions within the republican party will eventually devolve into a more intense battle for status. At this moment it appears that the republicans' biggest enemy is themselves; they cannot seem to find cohesion on any issue, and when they finally are able to it is often too extreme, and not at all well thought out. Today's republican policies are not written in smoke filled rooms with men in suits, but by online gossip columns spewing conspiracy theories. Any idiot with a computer and a little spare time is official a political strategist; Trump set that standard and now it appears that all bets are off. The republican train has fallen off the rails. Its ideas about a less liberal republican party are overshadowed by the fact that Liz Cheney's replacement is actually more liberal than Cheney when it comes to voting; this whole idea of ridding the party of RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) is a complete farce. Then there is the fact that the real deciders of elections are now independent voters. Independents can be moderates, but they can also be extremely neoliberal. Free market economics is a very big part of capitalism. How does one justify destroying business while at the same time promoting their own businesses? How does this not come off as manipulating the market for their own personal gain? How does purging politicians you do not trust result in stronger party? It seems to me that republicans are in the worst spot they have been in since they decided to give Michelle Bachman a platform. This is all political theater; it reeks of theatrics and only Tucker Carlson fans are impressed. Shock politicians like Trump are only appealing to massive amounts of people when they act foolish. But after the pandemic it is difficult for me to envision most people taking another chance on such a contentious candidate, one who is not willing to recognize their own mistakes. Trump's leadership skills failed. He acted like more of a coward than a man with courage, choosing to give people what they wanted instead of what they needed. He then decided to attack a woman who actually stood for something. Perhaps that is the real reason people adore this man, the fact that he is willing to destroy his enemies with gusto. Such performative dictates are alarming.