FreedomFest 2021

by | Sep 7, 2021 | Libertarianism, Liberty, Travel | 282 comments

 

I attended FreedomFest 2021 which was held from July 21st through 24th, 2021 in Rapid City, SD.  Normally FreedomFest is held in Las Vegas, NV, but thanks to lockdowns in Nevada, FreedomFest 2020 was cancelled and the organizers decided to hold the 2021 event in South Dakota because Gov. Kristi Noem never locked South Dakota down.

FreedomFest is a multi-day libertarian conference.  It has run for many years.  The conference features a variety of speakers.  Most are libertarian or liberty leaning. The organizers sometimes bring in conservative and liberal speakers.  The organizers’ goal is to have a variety of speakers and a variety of topics to provoke thought and debate.  Some talks are before a large crowd.  Others are in what are called break-out sessions.  These are smaller talks in a smaller room.  Several break-out sessions run concurrently in different rooms.

This write-up is what I remember of the speakers from FreedomFest 2021.  I did not take notes and instead relied on my memory.  There are many details I don’t remember, so if you ask for more details about a talk I attended, don’t be surprised if I say something along the lines of, “Sorry, I can’t remember.”  You are getting what you paid for: guaranteed the best in town, and you don’t get your money back.

While I wrote this article, the folks at FreedomFest announced that all talks are now available for purchase.  I know a few are up on youtube for free.  I’m not going to purchase the videos or watch what is on youtube to refresh my memory.

This is the first time I attended a FreedomFest.  It was C. Anacreon’s idea.  He suggested to a few H&R refugees that did not come over to Glibs, some infrequent posters here, and me that we get together for FreedomFest in South Dakota.  It was a good idea.

 

Meet-ups Along The Way

Before I talk about the talks that I remember, I want to mention all the Glibs and H&R refugees I met up with along the way as I drove to and from South Dakota.

When I passed through southern Illinois on my way out, a friend of mine and I met bacon-magic at Fast Eddie’s Bon-Air in Alton, IL.  It’s a good place and bacon-magic is a good guy.

I met with Mojeaux, Ozymandias, and Mojeaux’s husband at a fine BBQ place Mojeaux picked.  The BBQ and the company was excellent.

The time in Rapid City with C. Anacreon, Emissary of Cospaia, and some H&R refugees that didn’t come over to Glibs was good.  In the evenings, we consumed a lot of Missouri wine.  Missouri wine is underrated.  Spending time with these guys was good.

At FreedomFest I met Putrid Meat and his wife at a FreedomFest social event at Hay Camp Brewing.  I also met Robby Soave and offered to teach him how to change a tire.  I did not intend this as an insult, and even said so to him.  I like some of the work he did.  It was an excellent night.

I met with Tundra at Daily Dose.  The place was good.  It was good to finally meet Tundra.

I met a H&R refugee who didn’t come over to Glibs in the Chicago area for lunch at Elmhurst Brewing, a good place.

Unfortunately, I started getting sick in Indiana on my return trip, so I cut my trip short and did not meet with Nephilium or Timeloose.

 

FreedomFest Day 1

Opening Talk

I attend Mark Skousen‘s opening talk.  Mark Skousen is the founder of FreedomFest.  The talk was a welcome to FreedomFest.  Mark gave advice to the first-timers on how to get the most from FreedomFest.  He reminded everyone that despite differences of opinion, FreedomFests are civil.  He specifically called out masks.  He said people are going to choose to wear them and some people will choose not to wear them.   He added, “Please respect everyone’s decisions.”  After this talk, the breakout sessions started.

How to Change Students’ Minds About Socialism

The first breakout session I attended was Mark Skousen giving a presentation on how he changes minds of college students about Socialism, Keynesianism, and the $15 Minimum Wage.  Mark Skousen, in addition to putting together FreedomFest, teaches at a college.  One thing I remember him saying is that students are so brainwashed about Capitalism that you can’t use “Capitalism” by itself.  He finds that if he uses “Democratic Capitalism” that students are willing to listen about what Capitalism actually is.  During the part of the talk on the $15 Minimum Wage, he says he has much success talking about the harm to $15 Minimum Wage does.

The US Constitution:  Conceived in Liberty or a Conspiratorial Coup?

The next breakout session I remember was a debate on Murray Rothbard’s opinions of the US Constitution.

Patrick Newman, a professor at a college in Florida, took the side of defending Murray Rothbard’s opinion that the US Constitution is the result of a conspiratorial coup and is a document which is not conducive to liberty.  I remember two key points.  One is how the Constitution, by taking effect when only nine states ratified it instead of all states as the Articles of Confederation required, was not legally ratified.  Another is that he also talked about how the Federalists included weasel words like the Necessary and Proper Clause so that they could expand their power.

Anastasia Boden, a lawyer at the Pacific Legal Foundation, responded.  She opened with stating that she is not a historian and won’t address the historical points Newman brought up, which was about half of what Newman talked about.  She talked only about legal issues.  She pointed out that the Constitution, when properly interpreted, is a great force for freedom and limiting government.  She talked a bit about strict constructionism’s origins and evolution.  According to her, we just need the correct judges.  Her response sounded like a combination of “We need the right TOP.MEN” and “Real Communism… errr…. Limited Government Has Never Been Tried”.  Which to my mind is a backhanded admission that Rothbard and Newman are correct that the Federalists worked weasel words to expand their power into the Constitution.

Mark Skousen joined the discussion to talk about some kooky ideas Murray Rothbard had concerning the American Revolution which I thought had nothing to do with the topic at hand.  As an example of Rothbard’s ideas that Skousen thinks are kooky, Skousen said that Rothbard thought Charles Lee should have been the head of the Continental Army.  Even if you agree that the examples Skousen presented are kooky ideas from Rothbard, that doesn’t mean Rothbard is being kooky or wrong when he considered the Constitution as the product of a conspiratorial coup.

Newman had an opportunity to respond to Boden and Skousen, but I don’t remember his response.

I remember thinking to myself that if I was on a jury judging each sides’ arguments that I would side with Newman.  Boden’s opening statement that she wouldn’t address Newman’s historical points combined with her arguments centered around “if we have the correct judges, the Constitution is great” weren’t impressive to me.  I think Skousen should not have joined in on Boden’s side.  I think there could be a good response to Newman’s and Rothbard’s arguments, but Boden’s response with Skousen’s assistance was not it.

Summary of the First Evening Talks

The last talks on the first day were larger speeches before large crowds.  Among the speakers were Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and JP Sears.  Noem talked about why she did not issue statewide restrictions in South Dakota for Covid.  She trusts people to make their own decisions.  She thinks that governors do not have the authority to determine what businesses are essential and what are not essential  The only thing I remember about Sears’ talk is that he’s a funny guy.

There was a private paid Q&A event with JP Sears late that evening.  C. Anacreon, Emissary of Cospaia, and I paid for it.  I remember Sears receiving a question about why he changed his comedy to start poking fun at the public health establishment.  He said he got his wife pregnant right around when the Covid restrictions started, and he was worried about what type of world his child would grow up in.

 

FreedomFest Day Two

A Talk About Hillsdale College

In the morning, there were a series of larger talks.  The first I attended was by Dr. Larry Arnn of Hillsdale College.  He talked about how Hillsdale has stayed independent of Federal government dictates by not taking Federal money.  He also talked a little about how Hillsdale pushed back against Covid restrictions to hold a graduation ceremony.

How Maj Toure Talks About Guns

The next large talk I attended was from Maj Toure of Black Guns Matter.  The key point I remember from his talk is he has more success finding an emotional connection with a person he is trying to reach about gun control than to use only facts.  He said, “How is ‘facts don’t care about your feelings’ working out for you?”

Luncheon With Larry Arnn

I attended a paid luncheon with Larry Arnn about the 1776 Project.  The goal is is to counter the Howard Zinn-ification of history classes which teach distorted and incorrect American history.

Surviving Communism

The first post-lunch break-out session was a panel of people from Communist countries talking about how horrible life under Communism is.

The first person was from Venezuela.  He saw how Hugo Chavez and Nicolás Maduro had destroyed what was a growing and fairly well off country.  When he was younger, Venezuela was doing well.  Then Chavez came to power and the country went downhill.

The next person grew up in Lithuania during the Soviet era.  He talked about how he witnessed the transition from Communism to Capitalism.  He said that he and his friends, during the Communist days, used to wish that they were in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, or East Germany as people in those countries have it “so much better” than he and his friends had it.  I told a friend of mine that grew up Bulgaria under Communism what this guy said.  Her response was one word:  “Wow”.

The final person grew up in China and remembered the Cultural Revolution.  She talked about how her family had Western items which the Red Guards destroyed.  She talked about how her family lost everything.

Pushing Back On Covid Restrictions

The next talk was a panel discussion centered on how the Pacific Legal Foundation pushed back against Covid restrictions.

Their attorneys described how when they went to court, the judges generally did not care about Constitutional issues.  No judge wanted to hear from experts about the restrictions doing nothing to stop the spread of Covid.   Basically, since this is an emergency, state and Federal Constitutions don’t matter.  Existing precedent means that if the executive thinks an order will stop the spread of Covid, the judiciary must defer to the executive’s opinion.  Judges did want to hear if the executive had exceeded the powers in the state’s emergency powers law.  Occasionally a judge would be interested if the executive’s orders weren’t equally applicable.

In other words, the lawyers had to deal with how the legal system is and not what it should be.

One example case was from North Carolina involving private bars.  These bars do not serve food and have a special license from the state liquor commission.  The emergency orders in North Carolina allowed other bars and restaurants to open but not private bars.  The attorney went after the fact that the emergency orders were not equally applicable to all bars and restaurants.  I can’t find a resolution to the case using Google searches.  I don’t remember what the panel said happened with the case, but I found this news article about it.  It’s the newest news article I can find about the case.

Given that judges were interested in emergency powers law, the Pacific Legal Foundation starting pushing for legislation to change states’ emergency powers law.  They had people who were involved with the Kentucky legislature’s efforts to rewrite Kentucky’s emergency powers laws.  This was a long process.

 

FreedomFest Day Three

Taxes

The first talk I attended on Friday was Grover Norquist talking about taxes.  He is very optimistic about activity at the state level.  He listed off a significant number of states whose state governments had cut taxes in the past year.  He is not optimistic about the short term with the Federal government, but is optimistic in the long term.  He thinks nothing will change at the Federal level until Congress changes hands, and seemed optimistic that would happen in 2022.

Civil Disobedience

Later in the afternoon I attended a breakout session about civil disobedience.  The panelists were Austin Petersen, Spike Cohen, and Jess Mears.  I remember much debate about whether or not it counts as civil disobedience to ignore a private property owner’s signs requiring people to wear masks.  Austin Petersen took the position that you should always obey the private property owner.  Spike Cohen took a position that if the owner has only posted the sign because of the government, it’s OK to ignore the sign.  I don’t remember Mears’ position.

Project Veritas

Later in the evening I attended the big talk where James O’Keefe of Project Veritas talked about recent work Project Veritas has been doing in exposing Facebook and news organizations have been quietly influencing news and what we see.  He introduced their whistleblowers to the crowd.

Mock Trial of Lockdowns

I attended the mock trial of lockdowns.  The trial was to determine if the Covid Pandemic justified lockdowns.  Micheal Shermer was the defense attorney for the lockdowns.  I don’t remember the prosecutor’s name.  Each side had three witnesses.  I only remember two of the witnesses, both of which were for the defense of lockdowns:  Ron Bailey and a professor from Harvard.  Ron Bailey was his usual technocratic self.  I remember the professor had a moment of self-awareness when he said, “You’ll probably discount everything I say because I’m from Harvard.”  There was a jury of FreedomFest attendees who said they had not formed an opinion on whether or not lockdowns were justified.  Even though I am adamantly opposed to lockdowns, it was good to see a civil debate on them and some people attempt to defend them.

The jury ruled against lockdowns.

 

FreedomFest Day Four

Jo Jorgensen and John McWhorter

On Saturday, I attended the John McWhorter talk.  Before John McWhorter, Jo Jorgensen gave a talk.  I was not interested in her talk, but I arrived in the hall when she started.  I found PutridMeat and his wife.  Jo Jorgensen’s opening for her speech can be summed up as “I’m not going to tell you what you are doing wrong in spreading liberty, but I will tell you what you are doing wrong in spreading liberty.”  Despite tuning her out I noticed that she ran significantly over her allotted time.  The FreedomFest staff were trying to get her attention to let her know that she had run out of time, but she continued on.  Eventually she finished and left the stage.

Unfortunately, the only things I remember from John McWhorter’s talk were

  • he got in several jabs at Jo Jorgensen for running over her time which were not obvious
  • he had some trivia about English grammar rules
  • despite losing time to Jo Jorgensen, he ended on time.

Maybe PutridMeat might remember more of these two talks.

Multiple Sen. Mike Lee Talks

The last day was supposed to be Tom Woods day, with several talks inspired by topics he has been covering in his daily show and a paid luncheon with Tom Woods.  Tom Woods got Covid and pneumonia.  He was not able to attend.  Sen. Mike Lee of Utah offered to take over the luncheon.  The FreedomFest organizers offered refunds to people who had signed up for the luncheon but didn’t want to listen to Sen. Mike Lee.  I was on the fence.  One of the H&R refugees that joined us at FreedomFest recently moved to Utah and thinks well of Mike Lee.  Based on his opinion of Mike Lee, I attended the luncheon.

After listening to Mike Lee talk at the luncheon and other talks he gave that day, I think Mike Lee is one of the good ones in the US Senate.  Here are two things that stood out to me.  Mike Lee has written legislation to repeal the Jones Act and its passenger line equivalent.  Mike Lee represents a landlocked state unaffected by the Jones Act, and at least some of the people in places affected by the Jones act would never vote for him.  Despite this, he’s trying to get the law repealed because it is hurting people.  The other is that he is very concerned about inflation and how it will affect ordinary Americans.

The H&R refugee says two Never Trumpers are running against Mike Lee for the upcoming Republican primary for the US Senate in Utah.  The refugee is going to help out with Mike Lee’s campaign.

 

Conclusion

It was a good time.  It was well worth the money and time.  I signed up for FreedomFest 2022.  As a side-note, I will also be at PorcFest 2022.  I am looking forward to FreedomFest 2022 which will be held in Las Vegas.  Hopefully, by the time FreedomFest 2022 rolls around, Las Vegas will be restriction free.

About The Author

DEG

DEG

Will work for guns, ammo, booze, books, and cool cars.

282 Comments

  1. Brochettaward

    I’m sorry Great Firster, for I have foresakin you…I cannot stop myself.

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      What a Dick,

      • Toxteth O'Grady

        I misread that initially as foreskin.

      • DEG

        #metoo

  2. Mojeaux

    Great read! It was wonderful meeting you after all the Zoom time. I’m glad you had a good time, except for that last bit when you were sick.

    • DEG

      Thanks!

      It was good meeting you, your husband, and Ozy.

    • Tundra

      No kidding.

      It was a nice test of my immune system, though! 😉

  3. Gender Traitor

    I also met Robby Soave and offered to teach him how to change a tire.

    Bless you for doing that! But what inquiring minds want to know is… did he take you up on your offer??

    • DEG

      No he didn’t.

      He said he should have never have written that piece.

      He seemed a bit embarrassed about it.

      I think Robby is a good guy by the way. I really wasn’t trying to insult him with my offer.

      • rhywun

        I think Robby is a good guy by the way.

        I do too.

        Did he offer any hair tips?

      • DEG

        Hair tips?

        If Emissary of Cospaia shows up, I’ll let him answer that. He was there.

      • Loveconstitution1789

        Robby might be a “good guy” but he is a propagandist for commies.

        Honestly, I cant keep track of all the efforts to destroy America so I cant cite a bunch of examples against Robby. Luckily, unreason has made it easy, that anyone currently on staff lies and/or panders commie propaganda. None of them are libertarians. They have shown that over and over and over.

        IIRC robby was on the tear down war memorials, battle markers and statutes…because racism bandwagon.

      • Loveconstitution1789

        Here’s Why Twitter Briefly Suspended J.D. Vance’s Campaign Account

        Robby defending Twatter. Of course twatter simply made a mistake on their 24 suspension of a non-Lefty politician. Twatter admitted the mistake AND NOTHING TO SEE HERE SO STFU.

        Looking through his propaganda. More of the same on Democrats election fraud 2020/2021, TDS, and said he would have voted for Joe Biden if Tulsi was the VP.

        Robby, of course, Tulsi was the make/break candidate for the democrat ticket. Its the Party of slavery, KKK, segregation but Tulsi will was that stink off.

  4. Brochettaward

    I also met Robby Soave and offered to teach him how to change a tire. I did not intend this as an insult, and even said so to him.

    I am hoping that his girlfriend was with him and that you totally cucked him. She thought about you and your manly tire changing skills that night while she gave him a handjob with a rubber glove to avoid having to fuck him.

      • Plinker762

        Yes, more of this and less 1st

    • Hyperion

      And don’t forget to insult his hair first.

      • Not Adahn

        That’s where she wipes the glove afterwards.

  5. Ghostpatzer

    “He specifically called out masks. He said people are going to choose to wear them and some people will choose not to wear them. He added, “Please respect everyone’s decisions.”

    Imagine that. Dude is completely out of touch, how can you win without forcing others to comply?

    • DEG

      I know, right? Get with the program!

      • Ghostpatzer

        Great post, just finished reading it. Thanks for sharing this, amazing you were able to put this together from memory. Plenty of food for thought there.

      • DEG

        Thanks! Sometimes my memory works.

  6. DEG

    RE: FreedomFest 2022 and PorcFest 2022: If other Glibs go, we should meet up.

    • Animal

      FreedomFest might be worth flying down from the Great Land for, but unlikely next year, as we’re already planning a flight to Michigan for our daughter’s wedding.

  7. C. Anacreon

    Great write-up DEG! FreedomFest was an amazing experience that I recommend all Glibs check out some day if they can. How fun to be around a lot of liberty-minded individuals to discuss and debate important topics in a respectful way. What a difference from the smirking condescension of the Rachel Maddows and Don Lemons of the world. It really gave you hope that liberty can spread and grow among the population.

    And thanks for not revealing too much about the evening bull sessions lubricated by adult beverages…..?

  8. Sour Kraut

    “a few H&R refugees that did not come over to Glibs,”

    Or just can’t keep up with the schedule over here. You people are so punctual. 🙂

    • Animal

      Refugees from Harrington & Richardson? What, they weren’t down for the whole “New England Firearms” thing?

  9. westernsloper

    Spike Cohen took a position that if the owner has only posted the sign because of the government, it’s OK to ignore the sign.

    And Spike is right!

    Thanks for the write up Deg. I might need to go to one of these one day.

    • DEG

      Yes, you should go to one of these one day.

    • DEG

      Oo…. numbers again.

      Thanks for no face diapers.

      I like #10. And #28. And #31.

  10. Plinker762

    Available for purchase? Freedom my ass.

    • Plinker762

      Nice write up.

      • DEG

        Thanks!

    • whiz

      Just capitalism proudly on display (though tacky, IMHO).

      • DEG

        Yeah.

        I would like it if conference attendees could receive free copies of the recordings, but, it’s not my festival.

  11. pistoffnick

    I am dissapoint, DEG! No talk anywhere about weed, Messicans, or ass sex.

    /questions DEG’s libertarian bona fides.

    Seriously, though, thanks for the write-up

    Your next chance to meet like minded people is Honey Harvest 2021 on Sunday, September 19th at Fourscore’s Bee Enslavement Factory in North Central Minnesota.

    • DEG

      Thanks!

      I’ll be in PA that weekend.

    • Fourscore

      While the HH crowd may not be as intellectually stimulating as the FF you can bet the Tundra and Pope Jimbo will take opposite sides of every question. And free means free, well, almost. And you can get your hands sticky…

      • pistoffnick

        When those bees form a union, ain’t nothing gonna be free.

  12. Tundra

    …and he was worried about what type of world his child would grow up in.

    This is what a real man worries about.

    Nice write up, DEG! I really enjoyed meeting you two days before I headed West.

    Thanks for not telling everyone that I had ice cream and coffee for lunch. But for the record, Sebastian Joe’s makes the best ice cream.

    And I will miss them.

    • DEG

      It was good meeting you.

      Thanks for not telling everyone that I had ice cream and coffee for lunch.

      😉

      Given the amount of booze I consumed on this trip, it’s not like I was being healthy on this trip.

      • Fourscore

        Your memory served you well. Thanks, DEG, enjoyed hearing how things went and that there is hope.

      • DEG

        Thanks Fourscore.

        There are people out there pushing back. It might be a little too late though.

  13. Yusef drives a Kia

    You know when your dog knows you are hurt and they Lay next to you? My DogCat Sophie does that, an amazing creature,

  14. Hyperion

    “I attended FreedomFest 2021”

    I see we got us one of them white supremacist domestic terrorists here.

    Someone call the Ministry of Truth.

    • DEG

      Not MiniLuv?

    • Hyperion

      “which was held from July 21st through 24th, 2021 in Rapid City, SD. ”

      Geez, and a super spreader as well. This guy is truly a menace to society.

  15. Spudalicious

    Great write up, DEG! It’s awesome that you got to meet so many Glibs. Nice to see Tundra showed up.

  16. Plinker762

    So freedom causes the CCPV?

  17. Loveconstitution1789

    Thanks for summarizing Freedomfest events.

    I might go next year.

    I would say that the constitution being the supreme law which all subsequent laws and government positions created from it, is only a framework for liberty.

    The founders warned us over and over. They predicted what is happening now with government tyranny.

    Im not one to think humans always need to be reminded about history but maybe we do. Every generation has its war as if living the horrors of war are required because reading about them is not enough. Americans have let groups like communists incrementally undermine our constitutional protections. 2A is one such example. All gun control laws are not valid laws at all, as they violate the protections in the peoples right to keep and bear arms.

    Civil war 2.0 is upon us. Democrats started this civil war too and I hope they lose sooner than latter. Innocents will suffer the most in war, as they always do.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Civil war 2.0 is upon us.

      Can I be honest? I only see one side fighting. The presumption behind the assertion that “civil war 2 is already happening” (a proposition I’ve heard from more than just you) is that the right is going to wake up someday and start fighting back.

      I’m not that optimistic. I see a bunch of conservatives and other right wingers writing angry stuff about their country being gone, but I’ve seen wisps of that for a couple decades. I see angry parents at school board meetings, but it’s all talk. I see people talking a big game about social media, but they just can’t give up their sheepbook account. I see people bitching about the vaccine mandates and then giving in and getting the shot.

      I think the left is going to steamroll this country a la most of the communist and fascist takeovers of the 20th century. “Having all the guns” isn’t much of a threat when massive encroachment is met with some uncomfortable grumbles and a hasty redefinition of where the new line in the sand is.

      • Loveconstitution1789

        The main reason you only see one side fighting is because the Commies in the media show it that way. When you look around, there are all sorts of non-Lefties fighting in different ways. Did you know that evidently a bunch of Republicans and Libertarian-ish folks have successfully set themselves in local politics to make sure Democrats would not be able to steamroll elections in the near future? Is it enough to prevent violent war? Who knows.

        I agree that there is a bunch of talk but there are actions to use the system to stop Democrats. Organization comes in all forms. You can tell that many American patriots are organizing off the radar of the MSM. The Democrats think everything is fine and they have won. The MSM controlling the narrative means that blue states dont really see how free Republican states are right now and have been. Georgia doesnt have the problems that NY has. We never had lockdowns or mask mandates. Unless I form a Georgia militia and march on D.C., I have to wait for trouble to come to Georgia.

        Even with the Revolutionary War, the Founders talked A LOT before taking up arms against the government of the time. You risk losing everything if you lose. You SHOULD be very aware of that and make sure you have enough people on board. An American Civil war that turns into bloodletting would allow countries like China to nuke us if they wanted. The Commies in our government who are going to get the rope, might decide not to defend the USA. Especially when Commies in cities and D.C. have been cut off from food, electricity, and will starve within 4-6 weeks. Do America patriots really want to risk everything or is there still a chance to defeat the American Commies with our system?

        Very few Americans fought in the Revolutionary War. Same is happening now. Most will accept whichever side wins. Conservatives by definition dont change things unless they have massive support. Luckily, Democrats are forcing Conservatives into a corner so massive support wont be required.

        Honestly, I foresee inflation and financial problems to be the main catalyst for Civil war 2.0 getting to its climax. Americans wont have a choice since our current type of Elite government will not be able to save them. Most people just dont understand what hyperinflation is and what happens. Those pictures of Germans carrying millions of Deutchmarks in wheel barrels was a warning. They got Hitler. Hopefully, America gets a Patriot like Trump rather than a tyrant like AOC.

      • DEG

        Uhhh… I think you need to get out a bit more.

        The Federal level is done.

        The state level? Lots of stuff is happening. I talked about some of it above (Pacific Legal Foundation) and wrote about a whole bunch of stuff in NH about pushing back on the lockdowns. I know some legislators in NH. They’re gearing up for the next session to do more and are looking to 2022 to expand the number of legislators that want this shit to stop.

        Will the action at the state level be enough to turn the tide? Probably not. But to say no one is fighting is nonsensical.

  18. Tulip

    Thanks for the write-up DEG! Sounds really interesting. Next year is Vegas – hmmm.

    • Zwak, jack off, all trades

      While I generally loath Vegas, that could be in my wheelhouse.

    • DEG

      You’re welcome!

      I think we should get a Glibs meet-up for next year.

  19. Hyperion

    “I also met Robby Soave and offered to teach him how to change a tire. I did not intend this as an insult, and even said so to him.”

    What was he doing as at a libertarian event? Did he think there was a cocktail party where the NYTs were recruiting for new talent?

    • Hyperion

      Geez, DEG, did you tell him you used to be one of the now despised commentariat? You should have asked him if Steve Smith came along because there’s a guy who goes by Sugarfree with you.

      • DEG

        I did. He said he remembered my handle.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Did he think there was a cocktail party

      I would guess that freedom fest is one of those cocktail parties. Never been to that particular one, but every conference like it usually has an “opening ceremony” (cocktail party) and a “closing ceremony” (cocktail party)

      • DEG

        There was no advertised cocktail party at the beginning of the conference. If that happened, people set it up on their own.

        There was a closing banquet, which you had to pay extra to get into. I paid for that and had a good time at the closing banquet.

  20. DEG

    I have to head to bed as I need to up early tomorrow for the gym and a work meeting.

    I will check back tomorrow when I get a chance to reply to any comments/answer questions.

    Have a good night!

    • grrizzly

      I read in the comments elsewhere that Kristi Noem asked the South Dakota legislature to impose the lockdown restrictions in the spring of 2020. The legislature declined and Noem didn’t impose the lockdowns herself unlike the rest of the Governors. Did she address this at the FF or not?

      • DEG

        I don’t remember her talking about going to the legislature about lockdowns.

        I looked around the web, and found no references to her asking the legislature to impose lockdowns.

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      And my life is ruined do to policies He promoted, Burn in Hell!

      • Drake

        Sorry man.

        He ruined and ended a lot of lives. He may be one of the worst mass-murderers in history.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Thanks, I’m good, living the dream!

    • Brochettaward

      Fauci calling Paul a liar knowing full well what the truth was was his most brazen moment. He was so sure of the cult that has built up around defending him that he knew that no one in the media would seriously challenge him. This news will gain traction on right wing media sites, but will mostly be buried. But The Intercept can quietly point to it when people call them a standard left wing rag post-Greenwald.

      • Mojeaux

        This news will gain traction on right wing media sites, but will mostly be buried. But The Intercept can quietly point to it when people call them a standard left wing rag post-Greenwald.

        It wouldn’t matter if it were a left-wing site to be cited. The second any information that disrupts the narrative is pointed to, that source becomes right-wing propaganda. Kinda like Larry Elder being a white supremacist.

      • C. Anacreon

        This news will gain traction on right wing media sites, but will mostly be buried.

        Because it was about to leave HBO Max, I broke down and watched The Suicide Squad over the weekend. I won’t do any spoilers except for the relatively minor part where the crew obtained a hard drive revealing US culpability for a bad thing, and they are eager to “turn it over to the press” as a bargaining chip.

        I thought it would have been more realistic if the government person, instead of being frightened, had said, “who are you going to give it to? CNN? NBC? The New York Times? They will all bury it. Fox News? Our media friends will just laugh it away as a conspiracy theory. Go ahead and give it to the press, it won’t hurt us a bit.”

      • Gustave Lytton

        Three Days of the Condor did it 40 years ago.

      • DrOtto

        Glad I refreshed, was going to post this very comment.

      • Spudalicious

        Great flick.

      • MikeS

        Excellent book (even if it took twice as long ?). Watching the movie is on my to-do list.

    • Tulip

      I hope Paul demands an apology from him.

      • Drake

        Next time Fauci has to testify, Paul is going to curb-stomp him into a pulp.

  21. Tres Cool

    I’m off to work, kids. Dont burn the place down.

    • rhywun

      ?

      I’m on my 4th and final Saturday night this weekend and just mixed up a mudslide. Yum.

    • UnCivilServant

      I’m trying to find the Roswell Gift Shop with the death rays. So far, all I’ve got is a T-shirt.

  22. straffinrun

    You get around, Deg. Fight the power✊?

    • Brochettaward

      As a white libertarian, I’d identify more with a white power fist. Is there a white power fist?

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        ???✊?

        I’ve provided a selection of hand gestures that have been deemed offensive, many because they’re “white” . You can choose whichever you prefer.

      • Mojeaux

        Well, ackshually, they look kinda orange to me.

      • MikeS

        ??

      • Plinker762

        Orange hand bad

      • hayeksplosives

        ?

      • Hyperion

        Where have you been? All your white supremacy signs have been outed.

      • rhywun

        ✊?

      • MikeS

        ??

      • rhywun

        ??

      • MikeS

        ✊?

      • PudPaisley

        I believe straffinrun had one as his avatar for a while. It appeared to be squeezing some chubby thing that was squirting a juice of some kind. It was very empowering and titillating.

    • DEG

      I do what I can.

  23. Tundra

    Hey Trashy!

    Getting used to the scheme. I like the H/S! Is there a cue for a new post?

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      Nope, but I have an algorithm sketched out in case we need it. I’m giving TPTB some more time to settle out the new feature set for the site before coding that part up. It’s enough effort (the feature itself is simple, but there’s some cleanup that needs to happen to avoid performance issues) that I’d be disappointed if I coded it up and then had it all rendered moot the next day by the sidebar coming back.

      • Tundra

        Thanks!

        I really do appreciate your work.

    • rhywun

      In the before times there were previous/next arrows in the left sidebar. The next arrow “lights up” only if there is a new post.

    • UnCivilServant

      I suddenly feel I need a canoe… despite not having room for it or any inclination to go onto the water.

    • rhywun

      The article is so biased I couldn’t make it all the way through.

    • pistoffnick

      Souris Canoes are good canoes.

      Up there with and maybe exceeding We-no-nah canoes.

      /Former Boundary Waters Canoe Guide

    • Tundra

      I’ve rented their canoes many times. Now I might fucking buy one.

      Good job, Souris!

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Kayaks are your friend, I own three and they are Badass!

    • Trigger Hippie

      Work for cash, don’t pay income tax, stay off the grid financially, have no directly identifying address, pay for utilities under the table to a sympathetic landlord, pay for everything you can in cash, live without benefits…an unvaccinated second class citizen…pffft…this is old hat.

  24. MikeS

    Great write up, DEG. However, I disagree with:

    I am looking forward to FreedomFest 2022 which will be held in Las Vegas. Hopefully, by the time FreedomFest 2022 rolls around, Las Vegas will be restriction free.

    If this thing is supposed to celebrate freedom, I’d say Las Vegas should be forever banished from hosting. Seriously.

    • MikeS

      Well, of course I don’t’ disagree with your opinion, rather the sentiment.

    • Nephilium

      Sure… say that the night before I’m flying out to Vegas for this last year’s Viva. Really hoping they are still able to pull together a good show for this weekend and next April.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Good luck and wish you the best! I still think Las Vegas is a shithole for conferences/conventions and I’d rather be in SD than there, except maybe in the dead of winter.

      • MikeS

        This. I get winter, but summer conferences should be spread around the upper-Midwest.

      • Gustave Lytton

        The problem is LV now has the infrastructure (rooms, flights, board, after hours entertainment, etc) for mid size to large events that it’s difficult to substitute other places.

      • MikeS

        Yeah, I get it. I just would like to see conventions like these move around more. I mean, Rapid City just proved it could do Freedom Fest, and yet they are anxious to get back to a city that has gone severely against freedom with their COVID response.

        I guess I’m just biased. Las Vegas isn’t on my bucket list. There are dozens of other cities I’d rather visit. But, I also know there’s tons of people who think that’s nuts.

      • rhywun

        Las Vegas isn’t on my bucket list.

        Dittoes. Big turn-off for any event I might be interested in.

      • Nephilium

        Why not Cleveland?

        We’ve hosted the All Star Game, RNC, and the NFL draft over the past several years. They even passed laws allowing locations to request extended last call for the events

      • MikeS

        Why not Cleveland?

        Well, I was thinking of cities in “pro-freedom” states, but yeah. There are scores of cities I’d rather go to a convention in than Vegas. Even Cleveland.

      • DEG

        There were some problems in Rapid City.

        Specifically with getting Ubers/Lyfts/taxis/rental cars.

        There were plenty of hotels and places to stay. Getting around for those that didn’t drive (like me) was a bit of a pain. Flight availability wasn’t that good either.

      • DEG

        Errr… people that didn’t have a car is what I should say.

        I drove out to Rapid City since I wasn’t going to wear a face diaper on the airplane. I had my car, except for one day when I took it into a local shop to get the A/C looked at.

      • MikeS

        Have fun, dude!

        Are there mask mandates down there, yet?

      • Nephilium

        Currently there’s an indoors mask mandate, the hotel doesn’t have some of the restaurants open for their full hours (two aren’t open at all), quite a few regular acts/shows aren’t happening, and based on recent announcements it sounds like attendance will be much lower. However, the goal is to have a good time regardless.

        And for the recipe, if it’s the one I’m thinking of, robc provided it. He had shared the recipe in the comments one day. Brewtoad has since gone under, but I did manage to save all of the recipes I had up there before hand.

      • MikeS

        I saw your Hefe reply late. I’m pretty sure it was Brewtoad. I’ve since lost the link and the recipe. Do you mean it was Glib’s robc provided the base recipe? That’s cool. Did you guys know each other on brewing and Reason, or did you make that connection here?

    • DEG

      Mark Skousen said at one of the closing talks that if Nevada locks down again, FreedomFest will never be held in Nevada again.

  25. Gustave Lytton

    Austin Petersen took the position that you should always obey the private property owner. Spike Cohen took a position that if the owner has only posted the sign because of the government, it’s OK to ignore the sign.

    They’re both wrong. Such signs have the same force as no guns signs. Follow it if you wish and leave if the business tells you to take a hike. Neither should be an automatic trespass violation. Laws such as Texas’s 30.06 can suck STEVE SMITH’s schlong.

  26. Yusef drives a Kia

    Too much wasted, muc h Fuckeff up, opps,

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      I’m realy tired, Man I’m tired,

      • Hyperion

        Too tired from flashing all of those white supremacy signs?

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Damn White people!

      • Hyperion

        I know. Good thing you’re in close to Yupperland and there ain’t no whitey.

      • Trigger Hippie

        ?

        You asking me or DEG?

        I rarely drink wine and can’t taste the difference between a $30 dollar bottle and a $3000 dollar bottle. Just brain farting out a half remembered subject.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Fucking misthread, really?

        How? Not even in the same ballpark, WordPress.

        Fucking Christ…

  27. creech

    JoJo’s a long talker, huh? Good to know if you are booking her for a conference. I remember once having Nathaniel Branden agree to do a 15 minute introduction to keynoter Murray Rothbard at a banquet in Los Angeles. Nearly an hour later, we had to just about haul Nathaniel off the stage. Murray was fuming but, good naturedly (and, yes, he could be good natured at times) cut his own presentation short so the event could end at a decent hour.

    • DEG

      JoJo’s a long talker, huh?

      Yep.

      I was never impressed with her. I have vague memories of her being a parrot for Harry Browne when she was his VP candidate. I don’t remember her having independent thought.

      Her going significantly over her time made me even less impressed with her.

  28. trshmnstr the terrible

    Lol, Microsoft screened me out of interviewing for a role because I’m “not qualified”. What was the missed requirement? I have 4.5 years as a barred lawyer in IP law (and over 7 total in the profession) and they require 5 years experience as a barred lawyer.

    Dumbasses.

    • rhywun

      They probably get so many applicants they can afford to do that.

      Why would you want to work for them anyway? Gah.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        No particular interest, just hitting up the relevant job postings. MSFT would probably be a step down from my current position, but they could feasibly match the pay differential I’d require to ignore such issues.

        One big reason I’m looking (besides the company and legal department cultures sucking, their racist and sexist promotion practices, their blatant and repeated devaluing of me for my immutable characteristics, the logjam at the top of my department, the head of the department recently telling us that he doesn’t think our work product is a priority, and a pay scale that is becoming less competitive with each passing day) is that current company has a remote but not too remote policy. I feel confident that I could convince them in living two hours out from the office, but not so sure about 6 hours out. I want to find a position where they don’t care if I move to the Ozarks or to eastern TN or east TX or South Dakota, so long as I have decent internet.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        a step down in work environment*

        The job posting would’ve been a promotion for me.

  29. whiz

    Great article, makes me want to go to FreedomFest 2022.

    Mention of the Maj Toure talk prompted me to go the the Black Guns Matter website. I’m sorely tempted to buy a “Black Guns Matter” t-shirt — just the thing to blow some people’s minds. I also like the “MEDIA — Most Effective Devil in America”, but that wouldn’t have quite the same effect on a progressive — they would just look at it and be dismissive.

    • DEG

      I have been tempted to buy their stuff.

    • Hyperion

      There’s this West Virginia wine made by descendants of the Hatfields of the famous Hatfield and McCoy ordeal. They make shine also, of course. I guess they’re just getting in touch with their hipster side.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Yeah, pre 2010 moonshine was still edgy. Then it got commercialized and soaked in various fruits.

        Give me wax-your-nuts-white-lighting or give me nothing.

      • Hyperion

        I had some of the real deal stuff in my 20s, made by real Appalachian hillbillies. Tasted like water and would get you drunk so fast, I mean it was 80% alcohol if I remember correctly, but so smooth, no burn only buzz. Have never even had the urge to try the ‘apple pie’ stuff in the local hipster liquor store.

      • Trigger Hippie

        I was fortunate enough to have friends move to Lexington, Kentucky who had other friends who made the stuff deeper in the region. For a few years I was gifted a Mason Jar of the pure mountain shit. Oh boy Howdy, the first time I drank that shit I remember lying over the edge of my bed at 3:00AM after puking 10 times saying to myself “I’m going to die. I’m going to die.”

        …I didn’t die.

      • Hyperion

        I didn’t get sick or anything, but pretty buzzed. The stuff I had was actually from the Southeast KY, WV line near where the entire Hatfiled McCoy thing happened. I think it was actually Pike County KY.

    • Mojeaux

      That was a cool read. Thanks!

      • Trigger Hippie

        Danke

    • Hyperion

      Show me the wine? Is that too obvious?

      • Trigger Hippie

        ?

        You asking me or DEG?

        I rarely drink wine and can’t taste the difference between a $30 dollar bottle and a $3000 dollar bottle. Just brain farting out a half remembered subject.

      • Hyperion

        I was making a joke about Missouri’s nickname, the Show me state?

      • Trigger Hippie

        Yeah,…just smoked a bowl.

        You whiffed, chief.

        I ain’t that bright.

      • DEG

        Head to Hermann, MO.

        Lots of good stuff in and around there.

    • DEG

      Yep. While passing through Missouri a friend of mine and I toured several Missouri vineyards. This story came up several times.

  30. Hyperion

    Not sure why, but this suddenly struck me as hilarious.

    Nothing about the post, just a recent experience.

    So I have this friend who’s one of those 60s hippy/flower child types who thinks that democrats and just you know, liberals, are still liberals.

    I have no idea how they miss the gaping chasm in this thinking, but it seems endemic with that crowd.

    Anyway, I still see her occasionally because me and another person I still work with and her used to be a team working together and we’d hang out and do some lunch and after work drinks and shoot the bullshit.

    Anyway, we were hanging out, online, we do that about once a month just to catch up. And she says to us, seriously I am not making any of this up. I mean you can’t. Anyway, she says to us ‘Hey, the city has this app and you can report people’. And that just sort of set off alarm bells for me and so I’m paying attention, meanwhile our other friend is way off in paying more attention to her cell phone zone.

    And she says ‘So, my neighbor on this side, he has this hole in his front lawn and it’s just been there.’. So I said ‘a hole?’. And she said ‘Yeah, this hole and I think it’s an animal hole, it might be a rat because I’ve seen some big rats around here!’. And I said ‘Wait, let me get his, so there’s this hole in your neighbors yard and you think it was made by a burrowing rat?’. And she says ‘Yeah, it could be, right?’. And so I didn’t say the obvious, like rats don’t burrow, you know?.

    So she then she says ‘So I turned him in!’. And I just didn’t way anything for a moment. And then I said ‘I really like you, you’re my friend, but I in no way want to be your neighbor.’. And she says ‘What? I mean why? I don’t get it? Are you serious?. And she wasn’t being sarcastic, she really didn’t get it why I wouldn’t want a neighbor who turns me in to the authorities for harboring burrowing rats. So I changed the subject.

    • MikeS

      You should have called her a fucking fascist and then regaled her with stories of how dictators throughout history have encouraged citizens to snitch on each other.

      • Hyperion

        Seriously, I wouldn’t bother. She’s a really nice person, but she does not and is not going to get where I am coming from. I guess you have to consider it’s institutionalized. It’s too late to unteach that sort of ingrained behavior.

        Also, sorry about all the type-os. I just worked 8:45am until 8:30pm with barely a break. I’m getting too old for this shit.

      • MikeS

        Yeah, good point. Old dog, tricks, etc.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        I’m too old for this shit,

      • Hyperion

        Shush, Yusef, you’re just a pup.

      • Loveconstitution1789

        Some aspects of Communism have been normalized in the USA. Looking to government to solve your problems, focusing on enforcing petty little bureaucrat rules rather than major issues caused by govt, believing media propaganda….

        I never think its too late to discuss how tyranny is tyranny with people. At the very least, when the Commies put the Useful Idiots against the wall they just might think of how someone mentioned that Commies should be fought and freedom wasnt free.

      • Gustave Lytton

        You should have called her a fucking fascistinoffizieller Mitarbeiter.

    • Spudalicious

      “You mean like when pot was illegal, and neighbors narced on neighbors, and they went to jail?”

      • Hyperion

        Like that, only now it’s cool to see something and say something. I mean at least if it’s burrowing rats. And you can never tell, you may have even outed an anti-vaxxer. Those cattle cars cannot fill themselves.

    • straffinrun

      You dirty neighbor. You killed my rat.

      • Hyperion

        It was burrowing, so probably up to no good and probably doesn’t recycle and voted for Trump.

      • straffinrun

        It’s a famous misquote of James Cagney.

      • Hyperion

        Well, I get it, and apparently I can’t even get Missouri’s nickname right. It’s one of those fucked up days.

      • Trigger Hippie

        No, no. You got the nickname correct. I’m just too dense to pick up on your wordplay.

  31. Hyperion

    As much as I really hate to beat a dead thread. I have to go back to this reply from Creech to the subject I brought up about Biden’s most recent braindead episode.

    creech on September 7, 2021 at 5:55 pm

    “Derecho” – probably one person in one hundred had even heard of the word two years ago. Also “BIPOC” – how many people can identify what it stands for?
    LBGTQandsoforth? 99.9% had never heard of “Aleppo” either.

    I mean seriously. The lefty bots are now going to try to defend Biden with something that lame?

    I have family and friends in Iowa and I’ve been there many times over the years. If I had a dollar for every time that anyone in Iowa ever uttered the term ‘Derecho’ in their entire life or even knows that it means, I’d be dead fucking broke.

    And even in Nevada? Even if more people know the term, now many times have Derechos devastated the cornfields in the Nevada wetlands?

    These have to be bots, no one is that fucking stupid or removed from reality. Talking about stinking of desperation. They don’t even try anymore.

  32. Hyperion

    I just watched the first season of Breaking Bad. Brilliant, I love it. But I think they are going to shit the bed in season 2. Maybe it’s just like most good bands. They’re good for an album or two, but then they run out of material. I think that is what is going to happen. Just a few episodes into season 2 and the most interesting thing they can come up with is a fucking fly? Bummer. Yellowstone stayed solid through 3 seasons anyway.

    • Mojeaux

      Very often you have the “sophomore slump”, where the first is brilliant, the second bombs for some definition of “bomb”, and the third is back to brilliant. My second book was meh like that. The third was the Great Mormon Novel.

      I do not know if that’s what happens with BB because I’ve only seen the first few episodes and have no desire to finish. I’m just saying, there is a thing.

      • Hyperion

        It just went from captivating to really bad so fast I didn’t know what to think. Not sure I can even make it through that last episode…

    • J. Frank Parnell

      I enjoyed Breaking Bad up through the penultimate season. I never bothered watching the last season, though.

      • Mojeaux

        I never bothered watching the last season of Boardwalk Empire because a) it was a very short season (like, 5 episodes or something) and b) I’d read spoilers that said it was done hurriedly and sloppily and not really satisfactorily wrapped up.

      • Trigger Hippie

        ‘I never bothered watching the last season, though.’

        The last season was worthy of the series.

        In the end, WW got what he wanted…it only cost him his career, happiness, friendships, family, life and soul.

      • Hyperion

        I just don’t know how anyone made it through the fly episode. WTF is that? Did the previous writer die or something? It went from great to shit in one episode.

      • Trigger Hippie

        I think that episode may have occurred during the writer’s strike but don’t quote me on that.

      • Hyperion

        Makes sense, but not sure why they’d even leave that in there.

      • Loveconstitution1789

        Skip the fly episode.

        They got too artsy on that one.

      • rhywun

        Ditto.

        I couldn’t take it any more.

    • Loveconstitution1789

      Breaking Bad is great all the way through. Better call Saul is a great spinoff.

  33. Hyperion

    I can’ stop playing this over and over.

    Fuck Biden

    • Hyperion

      It’s obvious that we have to go back in. /Biden admin in 30 days or less

    • Gustave Lytton

      Normally prisoners of war are released at the end of hostilities. Were we supposed to hold them until they died of natural causes or just killed themselves? At least Rudolph Hess was convicted first.

      • Loveconstitution1789

        I agree with your sentiment. Either try them and firing squad them or release them as POWs. That neocon bullshit of holding them as criminals was unAmerican. Just like the torture.

        We invaded their country and they fought us. They are soldiers. America should not mistreat soldiers because we dont want our military members to be mistreated as POWs.

  34. Lackadaisical

    Has anyone here covered this: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/09/03/jobs-report-august-2021.html

    August jobs report comes in 700k below estimate? Inflation at over 5% year on year, but wage growth at around 4%. (We’re all losing money)

    Somehow the unemployment rate hoy their estimate while the number of jobs added was off by half a million. At the same time, labor participation rate increased. Something about that math doesn’t work, unless they were expecting a far greater increase in labor participation rate. Which would be another bad data point.

    Will be interesting to see what next month or two brings with pandemic unemployment ending. If that doesn’t fix things we’re in for trouble.

    • Loveconstitution1789

      There is clear price inflation at the grocery in the last year. Many items have gone up 20-30%.

      Another thing people ignore is that recessions tend to reset prices along with wages. The Great Recession “recovery” was designed to prevent price and wage resets.

      Would you rather take a 20% cut in pay rather than lose your job? I would.

  35. Sean

    Polishfest & Baconfest > Freedomfest.

    ?

    • DEG

      I might be able to come down for Baconfest, but if they’re restricting things (face diapers, vaccines, whatever) I’ll pass.

      I am coming down on an upcoming weekend for a swing dance. I’ll send you a text message.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Won’t be overturned because fuck you that’s why.

    • hayeksplosives

      Where is Domino’s pizza when you need them??

      Or Ron Swanson for that matter.

    • Lackadaisical

      Harbinger of SMOD.

  36. LCDR_Fish

    Great article. I’ll look over more of the details later. Just wanted to add that Dave Smith also gave some good comments on Freedom Fest on his (most recent?) appearance on Malice’s podcast.

    • DEG

      Dave Smith was the MC for one of the stages.

      I remember him doing a good job of it.

    • Lackadaisical

      Does Robbie have kids? Hard to imagine. If not they’re not your kids Robbie.

      Unless he means his Yorkies.

      Ironically, he also apparently got the vid, even though he vaxxed up.

      • Lackadaisical

        Of course it was only a mild case ‘thanks to the vaccine’ and not at all because he’s 30.

    • limey

      He’s wrong in his position on putting the covid “vaccines” in kids, but it seems he was pretty good at overturning the ivermectin poisoning hoax.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      As long as he doesn’t think they should be forced to take them.

      • Lackadaisical

        Approval is just the first step to being forced, as soon as they were approved for adults, the compulsion began. It will be the same in some states for children.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        That will happen but the approval is inevitable. If you’re a parent who doesn’t want to get his kids vaxed it’s it’s time to start gaming out strategies to deal with that fact.

  37. Tres Cool

    suh’ fam

    whats goody yo

    • hayeksplosives

      Hey there. I’m up (temporarily).

      No idea what the good news is of the day. Hope you had a good work shift.

      Is it customary to say “Tall cans!” at this point ?

      • Tres Cool

        My Kroger has been out, so its either medium or standard size cans.
        However, I have 36 of ’em !

    • Festus

      Feeling better than yesterday, it was in the high 70’s here and nobody fucked with me. Yet.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, homey and…::glances up & down thread::… all the rest of you! Yesterday at work was more hectic than I’d expected, but I got it done. One more day of covering for Reliable Co-worker, and my boss is doing his weekly WFH practice, so maybe today will be smoother sailing.

      • Tres Cool

        Kinda nice out there this morning. Very pre-autumn -esque. I dont know if we’re getting rain or not, but I got my grass done yesterday before someone callled the Twp.

      • Gender Traitor

        In both Butler & Harrison, we somehow managed to land right across the street from Mr. Anal Retentive Lawn Care Guy. ?

        I’m just waiting for it to get cool enough to wear the pretty new jacket I bought last spring but barely got to wear before it got too hot.

      • Tres Cool

        I have “Grumpy Old White Dude” across from me. A GM retiree, of course. He has ChemLawn, TruGreen, or someone of that ilk, and its kept meticulous.
        Since I started working nights, and Im typically faded by the time the dew burns off, mine looks like the crotch of a 70s porn star. I didnt even put down weed & feed this year, and it shows.

      • Lackadaisical

        That’s better for the environment. I happily cultivate little flowers and what not that sprouts up in my yard, while everyone else around me is busy killing mother Gaia and all her creatures, including all of us. That shit isn’t good for you.

      • Tres Cool

        Ages ago, Tres Sr (who was* opposed to any lawn treatment) would tell people, “Look- you have a lawn. I have a yard. You have a monoculture, whilst mine reflects the plants indigenous to SW Ohio.” The only problem in this ‘hood is that anything untreated is quickly overtaken with dandelions and, for some reason, wild onion. It needs to be dealt with. Unless you’re my buddy that keeps bees. Which I maintain is just an excuse for him to not mow, so they have plenty of clover to feast upon.

        *17 years ago, Tres Sr. moved into a “gated community”. His hippie ideas on yard vs. lawn wouldnt fly. He sprays now to avoid being “that guy”.

      • Festus

        Tres Senior is me when it comes to being poisoned by our betters. I’ll hold off as long as I can.

      • hayeksplosives

        Good luck with a non-stressful workday, GT!

        And good morning.

      • Gender Traitor

        Hi, hay! ? Sorry it doesn’t look as if you’re going to be able to wangle any severance from the current gig, but good luck, especially with the house buying & selling.

      • hayeksplosives

        Thanks for good wishes on the house thing. Always a bit stressful.

        We have a trash hauler scheduled for tomorrow to take away some shitty furniture. Then I’ll follow up with getting rid of other, smaller junk, probably by phoning up a local Latino with a truck. I don’t have time for a yard sale but some of what I want to get rid of isn’t devoid of value so if it helps someone else make a buck, they’re welcome to it.

  38. Festus

    I read Porcfest as Porkfest and then read the description. I was sorely disappointed on both counts. Good reportage, DEG! Thanks for that. Get’s my own blood simmering somewhat.

    • Festus

      When Kristi gave her speech was there the thunderous sound of one hand fapping? I hope there was.

      • DEG

        Hah!

        I will say she looked better on the stage than in the pictures and videos I’ve seen of her.

    • hayeksplosives

      DEG has given us much good reporting.

      He’s also helped steer me from a potential employer that might not have been that bad but where the job would have been much less rewarding—more of a project manager than an engineer.

      His cautionary tale made me hesitate just long enough for the Nevada job to open up, and for that, I am grateful.

      Hopefully I will be able to attend FreedomFest in Las Vegas next year and meet some of you monocle polishers!

      • Tres Cool

        You know what else Nevada has that opens up ?

      • hayeksplosives

        Eeeeww….

        Also, this crater near where my new job will be is pretty cool, although it’s more of a falling in than an opening up:

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedan_Crater

      • Tres Cool

        Its a sedan, so it seats at least 4 people ?

      • Festus

        One person and one Jugsy.

      • Tres Cool

        Oh, she had 2 of her friends up from “back home” last Sunday. You shoulda seen those heifers.
        One girl that I call “Savannah BooBoo” doesnt have calves. They’re steers.

      • rhywun

        LOL

      • Festus

        Good God, I love this site!

      • DEG

        I’m flattered by the compliments. Thanks!

        I’m glad you like my work and found my advice helpful.

  39. Ghostpatzer

    Mornin’!

    Better than even chance this never happened:

    https://www.nj.com/advice/2021/09/dear-abby-dads-sleep-advice-embarrasses-teenage-daughter.html

    “DEAR ABBY: My 16-year-old daughter, “Lily,” came home from her father’s very upset. She has trouble sleeping, and I have been taking her to the doctor for tests. Her father told her not to tell anyone, handed her a vibrator and told her that an orgasm will help her sleep.”

    Creep factor aside, that might not be bad advice. I’m told it works for guys.

    • Tres Cool

      I choke my dick so much, it thinks Im Ezekiel Elliot.

      • Tres Cool

        Shame I cant grow a ‘fro like Don Cornelius.

        My hairline isnt receding. I like large women…its really thigh-burns.

      • Ghostpatzer

        LOL

      • Tres Cool

        GT can confirm. She’s seen the pics.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Effective but weird, too weird.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, ‘patzie!

      Will neither confirm nor deny the effectiveness of the father’s advised insomnia remedy. ?

    • Festus

      Never had the night sweats at 12 or 13. Don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!

    • Loveconstitution1789

      Some parents are more informing when they have the birds and bees talks.

  40. hayeksplosives

    I had a very frank prescheduled 1:1 phone meeting with my boss last Tuesday. He’s at the Director level (la-ti-da) so he very rarely has time for me and my team as he flies back and forth attempting to put out fires.

    He took my words (regarding the urgent need for the company to course correct) to heart enough to schedule a meeting for yesterday of me and some directors and strategic development dudes.

    The meeting occurred (even though my director had to bail again) and I steered us right to the brass tacks immediately. It became clear that despite all the urgent financial signals, there is not going to be an imminent layoff.

    So tonight (Tuesday), I said fuck it, liquidated one of my investment accounts so I can make an immediate purchase of a Nevada house when we choose one, and now plan to move up the date of my resignation and subsequent sale of my California house.

    It would have been nice to have a severance package, but the Veep level above the directors is evidently in deep denial. So no more waiting for me: I’m the captain of my own ship.

    Now I just have to figure out the best way to tender my resignation…

    • Ghostpatzer

      Godspeed, ‘splosives. A severance package would be nice, but peace of mind is priceless. I like to write two resignation letters – the one I want to write complete with vitriol, and the one I actually submit.

      • hayeksplosives

        like to write two resignation letters – the one I want to write complete with vitriol, and the one I actually submit

        This is almost certainly what I’ll end up doing.

      • DEG

        My resignation letters are always very short and are basically:


        Dear (my boss’s name):

        This notice of my resignation. My last day is (whatever it is, usually two weeks out).

        I’ll work with you to transfer my work to other people.

        I appreciate the opportunity to work at (whatever the company is).

        Sincerely,

        (my signature, using my full name)

    • Tres Cool

      Open it with “Dear Mongoloid in Charge:”
      And always close with “yours in Christ”

      • hayeksplosives

        I am considering mentioning the CEO by name followed by (PBUH) but pretty sure I won’t.

    • Lackadaisical

      Spin around in your chair flipping everyone off and yelling ‘duck you I told you so’ a la razor fist?

      • hayeksplosives

        I’d kind of prefer the slow-no walk away with a match thrown over my back but that would only singe the carpets.

    • Festus

      Gah! Sorry to hear that HE but it seems for the best.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      When you finally get past that breaking point, it’s actually quite mentally and emotionally liberating. Congrats.

    • DEG

      This sounds like a good decision (i.e. not wait for layoffs).

      Best wishes!

    • Festus

      Honk Honk!

  41. UnCivilServant

    Morning Glibs.

    Did you know it is possible to get jet lagged on a road trip? Mountain Time has really thrown both me and my dad, who are still running on eastern time. I was wondering why I was waking up in the middle of the night along the road, but having dome some math, the odd insomnia was in line with when I would normally have my alarm set in Eastern time.

    • Ghostpatzer

      Mornin’, UCS. Further evidence that Glib time is the best time zone. Less variation when travelling.

      “I was waking up in the middle of the night along the road”

      Hope you were not driving.

      • UnCivilServant

        I tend to drive in the mornings, since I’m the one more awake during that time. We trade off around lunchtime.

      • Festus

        It was his poor Dad shrieking.

    • Tres Cool

      I once went to do a job in Paducah, KY (-1 hour from here) over the DST time-change weekend.
      I was screwed-up for months.

      • UnCivilServant

        DST alone can mess me up for weeks. We need to abolish that nonsenical practice.

      • Festus

        We already passed that but unless the Western seaboard of the US goes along, no dice.

      • hayeksplosives

        I find “West to East” to be way worse than “East to west”.

        It’s a personal thing I reckon. But I’ve never kept a strict schedule so that probably helps me adapt.

      • Festus

        I hated being wide awake at 2 or 3 in the morning. Then I started sleeping in until noon. Not good, even for a 14 year old.

      • Sean

        I was screwed-up for months.

        Slow pitch, over the plate.

    • Gender Traitor

      I hear Mountain Time can be pretty wild. [EXTREME TW – too urgent for alt text: Beware of unbelievable – and possible intolerable for the jaded among you – cuteness!]

      • Festus

        I dug the little hop!

      • Ghostpatzer

        Aww!

  42. Tres Cool

    Sometime around the end of the year, someone remind me to cancel my Sirius “free” trial. I quit them around 2 months ago, then realized that I couldnt quit them.
    So I fell for it again, with 4 months free.
    Lord, hear my prayer.

    • Festus

      Ha! I bought unlimited data from a new provider some months ago and it turned out that my big site is in a dead-zone.