Daily Stoic Week 26

by | Jun 24, 2022 | Advice, LifeSkills, Musings | 288 comments

Last Week

The Daily Stoic

The Practicing Stoic

Meditations

How to Be a Stoic

If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool, H/T mindyourbusiness:

The Stoic Challenge

Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.

June 25

“This is why we say that nothing happens to the wise person contrary to their expectations.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 13.3b

I did not expect to need surgery last year, nor my wife’s car to blow the head gasket. I am not surprised that these thing happened. I do not expect to lose my job, but if it happens, being surprised and complaining does not help. I try to not be surprised when things happen that are outside of my control, and not waste energy fighting against them. Instead I try to react positively with what I can control.

 

June 26

“What assistance can we find in the fight against habit? Try the opposite!”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 1.27.4

If it works for George Costanza, it might work for me. Anger at the world and my own body did nothing to improve my situation or my state of mind. Trying to look at things a different way gave me patience to wait until I could start working out again. It also has made working on my truck or doing other tasks more enjoyable. I used to like finishing a project, but the actual process was irritating. I recently noticed I was enjoying actually doing the work.

 

June 27

“How does it help, my husband, to make misfortune heavier by complaining about it? This is more fit for a king—to seize your adversities head on. The more precarious his situation, the more imminent his fall from power, the more firmly he should be resolved to stand and fight. It isn’t manly to retreat from fortune.”
—SENECA, OEDIPUS, 80

Complaining doesn’t help. When things piss me off, yelling changes nothing. Instead it takes energy and focus from how to best deal with the problem. Too much complaining will also make people less likely to want to hang out with me or help me.

 

June 28

“Philosophy calls for simple living, but not for penance—it’s quite possible to be simple without being crude.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 5.5

There is no need to punish myself when I screw up. It is important to be aware of what happened and the cause, so I can learn from it and avoid repetition. Going beyond that and either mentally berating myself or denying myself something to make a point to myself is counter productive and a waste of energy.

 

June 29

“It is possible to curb your arrogance, to overcome pleasure and pain, to rise above your ambition, and to not be angry with stupid and ungrateful people—yes, even to care for them.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.8

I have trouble with the first statement, because I am a fairly arrogant guy. Overcoming pleasure and pain is simple for me, and I don’t really have a lot of ambition to rise above. It is very difficult for me not to be angry with stupid people, but I will get to test this when I visit my Mother next month. I know it will be a struggle, so I will try to change the subject if necessary.

 

June 30

“While it’s true that someone can impede our actions, they can’t impede our intentions and our attitudes, which have the power of being conditional and adaptable. For the mind adapts and converts
any obstacle to its action into a means of achieving it. That which is an impediment to action is turned to advance action. The obstacle on the path becomes the way.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.20

Things won’t go the way I planned many times. Looking back there have been benefits to this. I planned on not getting married until I was 30. Instead I had a daughter and a wife at 22. There would have been something missing from my life now without those two. I was planning on getting out of the Marines and becoming a WV state trooper, but my knee was bugging me and I wasn’t sure I could finish the academy, so I reenlisted. Definitely dodged a bullet there. Now when things go against my plans, I will try to look for the advantage instead of realizing it later.

 

July 1

“Whatever anyone does or says, for my part I’m bound to the good. In the same way an emerald or gold or purple might always proclaim: ‘whatever anyone does or says, I must be what I am and show my true colors.’”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.15

I am not a fake person, my true colors are pretty easy to see. My wife calls me a natural christian(even though I’m not religious) because of my strict moral code and direct nature. Part of being “bound to the good” is the study of a guiding philosophy, as well as the desire to improve by following it.

 

Music this week is in commemoration of our 28th wedding anniversary. we didn’t do much, just drove to Williamsburg for BBQ and then sat on the deck and talked while I drank a few beers and she drank Baileys over ice. During the drive we listened to music we enjoyed while we were dating.

Badlands: High Wire

Masters of Reality: The Candy Song

Drivin’ and Cryin’: Wild Dog Moon

About The Author

ron73440

ron73440

What I told my wife when she said my steel Baby Eagle .45 was heavy, "Heavy is good, heavy is reliable, if it doesn't work you could always hit him with it."-Boris the Blade MOLON LABE

288 Comments

  1. robc

    I thought we weren’t supposed to be stoics now.

    • The Other Kevin

      Yep. Some lefty said it was selfish or something, so I’m out.

    • ron73440

      Server error is back?

      • Sean

        I had trouble several times this morning.

      • Lackadaisical

        Stoicism helps you accept the server errors easier.

      • Tonio

        Ron, see my links post from yesterday afternoon. I think that’s what they’re talking about.

      • ron73440

        I read it and commented below.

        I am always behind on the afternoon links, so I was a little surprised to see my name in there this morning.

      • R.J.

        You’re famous!

      • ron73440

        I started Corona Zomies, I’ll probably finish on Saturday.

        The soup plant with Chef Donahue had me rolling.

        “Keep pushing that button!”

  2. Ownbestenemy

    Fitting bout of stoicism that a lot of people should reflect on at this moment.

    That said, who wants to open up an Abortion Vacation travel agency?

    • The Other Kevin

      “No fetus can beat us”

      • R C Dean

        Bravo.

      • MikeS

        actual lol

      • Lackadaisical

        Everyone knows my opinion, I still laughed.

      • rhywun

        👏🏻👏🏻

      • Tundra

        Damn. Nice work!

      • Fatty Bolger

        🤣

      • Grosspatzer

        😆😆😆

    • Sean

      We can partner with Amazon, and get some of that sweet Bezos Bucks.

    • rhywun

      who wants to open up an Abortion Vacation travel agency?

      Kathy Hochul, among others.

    • Rat on a train

      Thunderdome travel. Two enter … one leaves.

      • Timeloose

        Just spit out my iced tea. Who runs abortion town!

      • R C Dean

        Pairs nicely with TOK’s motto.

    • Zwak, who counted all his blessings, and counted only one.

      “Come, to Abortion Valley, were we can remove that apple from your eye.”

      • Plisade

        Destination Termination!

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      That said, who wants to open up an Abortion Vacation travel agency?

      I’ve already received an email that my company is looking into expanding the health care plan to include travel for abortions. I wonder how much that’s going to add to my premium.

      • UnCivilServant

        The cost of an annual vacation plus a new lambo for the planned parenthood execs.

    • TARDis

      Abortion Vacation travel agency?

      Sure thing. You come to see us. We immobilize you until baby is viable outside the womb. We remove the baby and put her/him up for adoption. Then you a get a free helicopter ride.

      • Lackadaisical

        Can I sign up for your newsletter?

  3. Ownbestenemy

    “Whatever anyone does or says, for my part I’m bound to the good. In the same way an emerald or gold or purple might always proclaim: ‘whatever anyone does or says, I must be what I am and show my true colors.’”
    —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.15

    I am not a fake person, my true colors are pretty easy to see. My wife calls me a natural christian(even though I’m not religious) because of my strict moral code and direct nature. Part of being “bound to the good” is the study of a guiding philosophy, as well as the desire to improve by following it.

    That is my step-dad to a tee and he, along with my late religious grandma, showed me that Christians aren’t what we see in the news.

  4. ron73440

    I will try again.

    I read that article this morning and it seemed very lightweight.

    The philosopher with the raped daughters is one example.

    Did the author think the philosopher didn’t care because he controlled his reaction?

    Every “serious” critique of Stoics has the same tripe, some with the added spice of calling them racists.

    • Ownbestenemy

      People like to confuse their own minds when other people have silence or inaction with indifference or carelessness.

    • Raven Nation

      “Did the author think the philosopher didn’t care because he controlled his reaction?”

      Not stoicism, but way back during the Lindy Chamberlain trial, there were a lot of people in Australia who thought she was guilty, because she talked about her daughter in a non-emotional way.

      • Gustave Lytton

        “Dingo ate my emotion!”

      • ron73440

        Holy shit, I had never read the details of that story before.

        I can’t imagine much worse than your baby being killed and then being put in prison for it.

        Is there any situation the state can’t make a thousand time worse?

      • Raven Nation

        Yeah, it’s really astonishing.

        This is probably the most egregious:

        “In acquitting the Chamberlains in 1988, the Supreme Court found that the alleged “baby blood” found in the Chamberlains’ car, upon which the prosecution so heavily relied, could have been any substance, but was likely that of a sound deadening compound from a manufacturing overspray (which contained no blood).”

      • Ted S.

        You’d think that after Meryl Streep played Lindy Chamberlain, she’d be wary of witch hunts, but no, she was right in there in the witch hunts against Donald Trump.

    • Drake

      Maybe he thought that enough wailing and rending of clothes would get his daughters unraped?

      It is really hard sometimes to accept a terrible situation and start dealing with it. But the alternatives are all worthless.

    • EvilSheldon

      “Oh no, someone is developing emotional resilience and mature coping skills! I must destroy them!”

      If that was supposed to be a serious critique of Stoicism, I’d hate to see the Cliff’s Notes version…

  5. pistoffnick

    When things piss me off, yelling changes nothing.

    I think swearing must be good for us. Lots of people do it.

    /nearly EVERYTHING pisses me off. You learn to live with it

    • MikeS

      No it doesn’t! Shut the fuck up!!11

      • pistoffnick

        See! Don’t you feel better?

    • Nephilium

      Per Mythbusters swearing increases pain tolerance.

      • ron73440

        I didn’t think of that, but it’s true.

        I amend that to yelling at my wife or the dogs changes nothing.

        On second thought, yelling at her can change things, but not in a good way.

  6. PieInTheSky

    Looking at the world… War economic crisis all things out of our control etc this is not the time to he stoic it is the time to panic

    • ron73440

      Dammit Pie, you convinced me!

      *lights own hair on fire*

      That should help.

      • Swiss Servator

        Now we have something to panic about…. RON IS ON FIRE, AHHHH!

      • Gender Traitor

        ::shrugs:: Sounds like a personal problem to me.

      • UnCivilServant

        But, he might light us on fire with the way he’s flailing about this confined space.

        Should we get a fire extinguisher?

      • Gender Traitor

        “Your right to flaming hair ends where my hair begins.” ::remembers she just spent a ridiculous amount of money on her hair yesterday:: OMG!! Yes!! Drown/suffocate the bastard in ammonium phosphate!!

      • TARDis

        Hey that’s indifference, not stoicism. Can I get you some hot tea or a cold beverage?

      • Gender Traitor

        Thanks – either one. I don’t care.

      • Aloysious

        Ron is on fire?

        Is it Chlamydia?

  7. robodruid

    It is hard to not smile at the wailing democrats.
    I will let stoicism slip just a bit for the day.

    • Lackadaisical

      ” States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy.”

      Okay, it is safe and effective, but we’re banning it anyway.

      I learned it from you, FDA!

      • Ownbestenemy

        Yeah that might have worked two years ago but I would like to think a lot of people have wisened to the ways of the FDA

      • rhywun

        Okay, it is safe and effective, but we’re banning it anyway.

        The Juul ban was yesterday.

      • Lackadaisical

        Exactly what I was referencing. 🙂

    • Sean

      Something…something…hydroxychloroquine.

    • kbolino

      There seems to be an unwritten AI prompt on these threads to the effect of “write something more retarded than the last guy”

      For example, apparently a bunch of Catholics are actually enacting a 160-year plan to get pay back for the Civil War.

  8. Lackadaisical

    @RC Dean “Honest question: How much further could they go than outright overturning Roe and Casey and declaring no federal role? I think the way they worded it even sets up a challenge to federal abortion laws.”

    I am not sure what would be de riguer (I assume more narrow is more typical), but a right to life is the obvious answer. No class of person can be legally killed. It is, at a minimum, an equal protection problem.

    • UnCivilServant

      I don’t think that would work as then it calls into question the entire category of justifiable homicide – if no class of people can be legally killed than defending oneself against lethal force becomes illegal. It may be outside the intended scope of the argument, but would be a natural consequence of such a stance.

      I would go with those not a threat to others may not be legally killed.

      • Lackadaisical

        What I meant was no class of person can be without legal protection. I don’t think ‘attackers’ usually falls under the concept of class. May not be wording that right, but that is why I am not a lawyer.

      • juris imprudent

        Now do illegal immigrants.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Overturn Griswold as well?

      • Lackadaisical

        I think you could make a strong case that while there is a right to privacy, it doesn’t protect any activity just because you do it privately.

        Now there may be better reasons why contraception should not be bannable by the government.

      • Rat on a train

        Weren’t all those rape dungeons private?

      • Swiss Servator

        “Where do you see, in the Constitution, a power to ban contraception?”

      • Gustave Lytton

        It was a state law that was struck down and I’m not familiar with the details of Connecticut’s state constitution.

      • juris imprudent

        Originally upheld as a legitimate exercise of the police power – after all, morals gotta be policed too. And fucking without possibly conceiving was considered immoral.

        This is the root of the problem – the expansion of the concept of the police power such that anything was fair game unless explicitly put out of bounds.

      • R C Dean

        I don’t know if thats really an expansion of the police power. But it would be interesting to read an account of the historical limits on the police power. My impression has always been that the police power was very broad in theory/principle.

        The original Constitutional scheme left the police power with the states, except for whatever the feds had under their explicit Constitutional powers, and subject to whatever Constitutional rights applied against the feds or the states, respectively.

      • juris imprudent

        I don’t think the original Anglo-American view of the police power extended to the bedroom of a married couple. It was a late 19th century law in question – part of the early Progressive era which smuggled in a more Continental view of the state (and police power). This was also the time that would see prohibition and the first war on drugs, all based on Progressive religious precepts.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Historically the police powers and any others were essentially limitless. The states were sucessors to the British crown and virtually all powerful monarchy, subject to limitations in state constitutions

        Ignoring that technological limitations and distance prevented all out tyranny. Or that modern police powers theory is the fig leaf progressives used to justify their horrible policies.

      • robc

        When exactly did the British establish modern police power? At least as late as early 1700s, you still had things like “thief takers” to capture someone who was being charged with a crime. When did that get replaced with police?

      • robc

        Answering my own question, wikipedia says: The widespread establishment of professional police in England did not occur until the 19th century.

      • R C Dean

        Interstate Commerce Clause?

      • UnCivilServant

        I’m not generally in favor of government being able to ban products.

    • WTF

      Well, that’s really the crux of the abortion argument, isn’t it? Whether the unborn constitute “persons” and at what point that becomes the case.

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Muh boday.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      From this and Bruen, it sounds like the Court is trying to go back to the historical standard in interpreting the Constitution. From what I read of the Dobbs opinion, it sounds like there were many state bans on abortion around the time of the Constitution but no existence of a federal ban or intention to create one. So it would be an expansion, or at least not grounded in the historical standard, to make abortion illegal on the federal level.

      • Lackadaisical

        They also didn’t have e.g. the 14th amendment, which is what changes the calculus, constitutionally.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I can see that. I have noticed that both sides claim the 14th amendment though. Pro-abortion use it to claim liberty for mothers and pro-life use it to claim life for the unborn. Same with firearms. A common argument by the gun grabbers is that states allowing firearm access violate the 14th amendment by depriving life of people killed by guns.

      • kbolino

        Forget repealing the 17th or 19th amendments, the 14th should go first. It’s also the one they’re trying to use to get rid of people like Marjorie Taylor Greene.

    • R C Dean

      As I think about it, the pro-choicers next move should probably be to federalize abortion law under the Interstate Commerce Clause. Under Wickard, abortion is pretty much a slam dunk as interstate commerce. Once federalized, no state laws will apply. That works around the SCOTUS decision that its not protected by the 14th Amendment, at least, and I’m not sure I see a Constitutional challenge except under the Equal Protection Clause, on the grounds that the federal abortion law deprives the unborn of equal protection of the law. Which would require SCOTUS to rule on whether or when a fetus becomes a person. Which is the real issue, and one that I think SCOTUS very much wants to avoid.

      • kbolino

        They may try that, no doubt several such bills will be proposed, but I don’t see SCOTUS yawning over it, especially when a state AG straight up sues Garland and it goes to SCOTUS immediately.

      • R C Dean

        It would require SCOTUS to take a major bite out of its Commerce Clause jurisprudence, which is a long shot, or go straight to the Equal Protection Clause, also a long shot. I think its the pro-choicers’ best strategy at this point.

      • R.J.

        I do not believe a revisit of the Commerce Clause is out of the question. It would be historic and fantastic too.

      • juris imprudent

        Only way that gets revisited is with a new constitution (or an amendment), the Court would never gut itself like that.

      • Rat on a train

        That’s one way to get Wickard overturned.

      • juris imprudent

        Or you get another Raich.

      • Rat on a train

        third?

  9. Timeloose

    I listened to Ryan Holiday of Daily Stoic on Rogan last night. It was interesting to hear Rogan discuss the history of Marcus Aurelius with the movie Gladiator as his jumping off point. He does a good job of using his ignorance and openness as a way for the guest to feel comfortable explaining himself and their topics to the listener.

    Good call on Masters of Reality!!!! That first record was so well produced.

    • Fatty Bolger

      I wonder if he knows more than he lets on, but does it for just that reason.

  10. MikeS

    Goddam server error. Short version: great music. Will check out more Masters of Reality.

    • Timeloose

      Mike, they have only a few albums and they span decades. The lead singer and producer is the guy who produced all of the desert rock bands like QOTSA and others.

  11. Tundra

    “Philosophy calls for simple living, but not for penance—it’s quite possible to be simple without being crude.”
    —SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 5.5

    I read this a little differently. To me it means to embrace the simple aesthetic without making it some hair shirt bullshit. Live simply but leave the fucking drama behind.

    But who knows? My stoicism has been sorely tested lately and I feel like Seneca would punch me in the balls.

    As always, thanks for this, Ron!

    • ron73440

      I think looking at it both ways is good.

    • Swiss Servator

      “Tundra, you ok, man?”

      “No… a philosopher nut punched me!”

      • Raven Nation

        Hmm, a philosopher-nut punched me? Or a philosopher nut-punched me?

        Either way works, just curious.

      • ron73440

        Or, philosopher-nut nut punched me?

      • Animal

        Well, you sure pecan-ed that over pretty well.

    • Ownbestenemy

      “There is no threat to our laws with this decision but we need to enact emergency funds/taxes to protect it!”

      • rhywun

        Yeah, I am not looking forward to my taxes being used to pay people to come to my state for abortions.

        And my opinion on abortions shouldn’t even matter – that ain’t right under any circumstances.

        But one must virtue-signal, I guess. 😠

      • juris imprudent

        And virtue signalling with other people’s money is the best virtue signalling.

  12. DEG

    It is very difficult for me not to be angry with stupid people

    Same here.

    Music this week is in commemoration of our 28th wedding anniversary. we didn’t do much, just drove to Williamsburg for BBQ and then sat on the deck and talked while I drank a few beers and she drank Baileys over ice. During the drive we listened to music we enjoyed while we were dating.

    This sounds like a very good day.

    • Tundra

      It does, doesn’t it?

      Congrats again, Ron. Sounds like you (each) found a good one!

      • ron73440

        thank Tundra.

        Go Avs!

        If they win tonight they will be 16-3 in the playoffs.

      • Tundra

        Go Avs!

        Yeah, I’m ready for the season to end. Waaaaay too long.

      • ron73440

        Yeah, I’m ready for the season to end. Waaaaay too long.

        That, and they have been a really good team for a long time.

        I’m still a little bit of a fan from the Patrick Roy days.

      • Tundra

        I hated them.

        But now that I can jump on the bandwagon – why not!

        Sorry Wild!

      • ron73440

        *Thanks, Tundra.*

    • ron73440

      This sounds like a very good day.

      It was, not a whole lot different than what we normally do, but a little more talking about “the good old days”.

    • waffles

      You could always try being stupid. It works for me. Today is a stupid day.

  13. Sean
    • Rebel Scum

      Pass.

    • PieInTheSky

      was he wearing a ffp2 mask… then it is safe

    • DEG

      Once you commit…..

    • Raven Nation

      I decided some years ago I’m not a mountain-biker, I’m a trail-rider. This video confirms the wisdom of my decision.

      • Nephilium

        I’ll stick to trails and roads (which are probably more dangerous then most mountain bike rides).

    • Grumbletarian

      The new development would potentially have reached right up to the border of Chappelle’s property, according to zoning plans.

      It will probably still reach up to the border of his property, nitwit, it’s just that border is further from his house.

      • MikeS

        And they are trying to make it seem like Dave swooped in and blocked it right under the developers’ nose. Except, he bought the land from the developer. They obviously came to some agreement.

    • Tundra

      We have some NIMBY Karens in my neighborhood. They looked at me like I was crazy when I suggested that they create a fund and buy the land they were so worried about.

      • UnCivilServant

        “Why spend my money when I can use your money to put the jackboot to stuff I don’t like?”

      • Rebel Scum

        We run into complaints like that in my industry all the time.

      • robc

        Yes, I have suggested the same thing many times. Good on Dave.

      • MikeS

        Well, he first tried to blackmail the city by saying he wouldn’t give them any more of his money if they went forward with the development.

      • robc

        Is that blackmail?

      • MikeS

        “Blackmail” may be a bit hyperbolic, but the point is he threw a temper tantrum and threatened to take his ball and go home if he didn’t get his way. I thought he came off as a stereotypical entitled star.

      • robc

        Unless it was tax money, it was a voluntary donation, so taking his ball and going home is his right.

      • MikeS

        When did I say it wasn’t his right? I’m saying he acted like a spoiled, rich baby.

    • hayeksplosives

      Nice! He put his money where his mouth is.

      On the other hand, it bugs me that Bill Gates now owns 270,000 acres of US farmland.

      I’m torn.

      I trust Chappell a million times more than I trust Bill Fucking Gates, who seems to aspire to be a Bond villain. WTF is he planning to do with that land???

      • MikeS

        Yeah. And his most recent purchase is in the county I live in. Interesting part is the seller is very active in Republican politics in the state. I guess money talks.

      • TARDis

        Grow tasty crickets is my bet.

      • Fatty Bolger

        A lot of the super wealthy are investing heavily in farmland. I think they see it as a good long term bet, even if (when?) things go to shit. After all, they aren’t making more of it, and people got to eat.

      • MikeS

        Yup. Ted Turner has been doing it for decades

      • UnCivilServant

        They’re gambling of having those as Fiefs with the return of fuedalism?

    • Gender Traitor

      That “Ohio village is SW OH’s own little Baby Berkeley. Wonder if we’ll keep seeing candlelight vigils from the locals agitating for “affordable housing.”

      • Nephilium

        No. Now they’ll be going on about affordable abortions.

      • Gender Traitor

        (Note to self: Steer clear of YS on way to favorite nearby winery.)

    • Raven Nation

      My FIL has told me the story of some guy in Aspen who built a multi-million dollar home some decades ago. It wasn’t on one of the mountains but he had a view of a ridge-line which he really liked. When he was absent for some months, a development went up on that ridgeline. So, he bought all the houses in the development and tore them down to maintain his view.

  14. PieInTheSky

    Complaining doesn’t help.

    There was a saying worrying is like a rocking chair, gives you something to do but does not get you anywhere. Complaining is the same. A man needs to have an occupation.

    • ron73440

      worrying is like a rocking chair, gives you something to do but does not get you anywhere.

      I like that one.

    • hayeksplosives

      This is probably the biggest source of friction in my marriage. I’ve always reacted to undesirable situations with a calm “well, let’s make the best of it” approach for problems big and small. Husband curses the darkness and magnifies the negative to the exclusion of the good.

      Unfortunately, it doesn’t just affect a complainer; it affects everyone around them.

  15. Rebel Scum

    Seems like a waste.

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams waved a checkered flag to start a bulldozing event, where 100 illegal dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles, confiscated by the New York City Police Department, were crushed

    What?

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      It is, at least auction them off and use the funds.

      • Ted S.

        And then put the drugs back in your ass.

  16. Rebel Scum

    It’s like none of these cuntes actually understands what this decision means.

    Maxine Waters and Al Green among members of Congress who’ve shown up outside the Supreme Court to denounce the end of Roe. “Women are going to control their bodies, no matter how they try and stop us,” Waters says. “The hell with the Supreme Court, we will defy them.”

    • Rebel Scum

      Seriously, you guys need to calm down and take a step back.

      Drew Hernandez

      BREAKING: Congresswoman @AOC has arrived in front of the Supreme Court and is chanting that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade is “illegitimate” and calls for people to get “into the streets”

      How insurrectioney.

      Sunsara Taylor

      This illegitimate decision must not stand!
      Into the streets NOW until the federal government restores LEGAL ABORTION ON DEMAND NATIONWIDE!

      Because that’s how this works.

      • kbolino

        “Safe, legal, rare” was always a lie

    • MikeS

      Haha. My gawd she’s ignorant. How will you defy them? By making abortion legal in California even though that’s exactly what the ruling says you can do?

      • db

        Here’s the thing about that. In our system of government, if something is not mentioned in law (statute or case law), it is presumed to be lawful. So any law regarding abortion in any state will be, by its nature, restrictive. Unless they pass a law saying “‘X’ is legal,” in which case, the law is completely pointless.

        Repealing a prohibitive law is not the same thing as passing a permissive law. Simply removing all references to “X” in law would, de facto and de jure, make is completely permitted without restriction.

        Somehow I suspect this has not crossed certain people’s minds…

    • ron73440

      I saw a video of Waters behind Pelosi and it looked like the assistant that reminds her to breathe had the day off.

    • Gender Traitor

      Is Al Green Full of Fire?

      • Ted S.

        He’s so tired of being alone.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      They understand what the decision means but the truth isn’t quite as inflammatory as the falsehoods they’re peddling and they know many of their followers are overly emotional dumbshits. They’re stoking riots among the ignorant and the stupid and the whackjobs, nothing more or less.

      • ron73440

        They understand what the decision means but the truth isn’t quite as inflammatory as the falsehoods they’re peddling and they know many of their followers are overly emotional dumbshits.

        In other words, it’s another day that ends in “Y”.

    • Not Adahn

      #resist

    • Sean

      These were the same people mandating clot shots for all.

      • ron73440

        IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN WE DO IT!*

        *Joe Biden’s unofficial campaign slogan

      • UnCivilServant

        So, Pro-Death all around?

    • R C Dean

      Women are going to control their bodies

      Indeed they do, through things like deciding whether/when to have sex, who to have sex with*, and whether to use birth control.

      *The traditional exception from many abortion laws for rape is rooted in the idea that pregnancy is a foreseeable consequence of sex. When you voluntarily engage in activities, you are responsible for the foreseeable consequences of those activities. Under this reasoning since rape is not voluntary, a woman should not be required to suffer the consequences of the crime.

  17. Rebel Scum

    They did what?

    CNN’s crestfallen @SchneiderCNN: The Supreme Court has “eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion”

    Good.

    CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin: “The originalists are winning.”

    • Drake

      He may be right – I just read the Constitution and there’s nothing in there about abortion now!

      • Gender Traitor

        “They’ve wiped the Constitution! Like with a cloth!”

      • Raven Nation

        There’s also nothing in there about a right to privacy. Blackmun created one right in order to create another.

        This is not an argument for not having privacy from the state or even an argument against abortion. But, if you’re going to do those things, then come up with a solid foundation.

      • ron73440

        If we really had a right to privacy, the DHS wouldn’t check our names when we fly.

      • Drake

        If I had any privacy or owned my personal information, my info wouldn’t be for sale after every online transaction.

    • Certified Public Asshat

      Jeffrey Toobin is shaking his fist at this decision.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        The only thing he needs to worry about impregnating is a sock.

      • juris imprudent

        And a nut punch is a privilege of the patriarchy!

    • The Other Kevin

      They’re going to protest outside government building and throw eggs at it. Then the people inside the government building are going to come out, join the protest, and throw eggs at the building.

      • Drake

        While Thomas, Alito, and the rest are cracking cold ones by a pool or beach a thousand miles away.

    • R C Dean

      We’re going into the streets to fight for legal abortion on demand.

      I predict complete success, seeing as NY and CA already have legal abortion on demand.

      I am fascinated by the way the right to abortion on demand is so fundamental to these people’s view of the world and, I suspect, their view of themselves. Why/how did that happen? Can you imagine the normies being this worked up over infringements on their right to self-defense?

      • juris imprudent

        Can you imagine the normies being this worked up over infringements on their right to self-defense?

        Sure – just apply the law in jolly old England to a case here. I don’t think that would end well.

  18. Q Continuum

    Roe vs. Wade is dead. Pregnancies will increase in frequency. Pregnancy causes tig ole’ bitties. Check. And. Mate.

    https://archive.ph/lyAid

    Friday Funbags.

  19. Creosote Achilles

    I know it isn’t very stoic but:

    The reeeeing about this is hilarious. Seethe and cope, baby-killers.

    • kbolino

      This much salt hasn’t flowed since election night 2016

    • ron73440

      Who says it’s not stoic to enjoy things?

      • juris imprudent

        Just don’t take unreasonable pleasure, right?

    • kbolino

      I am also enjoying that gays/trannies (it’s still June) and guns got thrown right out the window. Behold the hierarchy.

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      With all the gnashing of teeth and garment rending going on it’s clear the only thing the left values more highly than grooming kids is killing them. An unfair characterization I know but this is just nuts. Gonna be an interesting weekend.

      • Sean

        An unfair characterization

        Nope, it’s pretty much the official Democrat platform.

      • kbolino

        Social Darwinism reaches new heights in the abortion-grooming gauntlet

      • PieInTheSky

        gnashing of teeth – looks this is no laughing matter the fucking mouth guard is fucking up my sleep

      • Gender Traitor

        It fits over the fangs??

        (You walked right into that one.)

  20. Rebel Scum

    Stop your whining, prole.

    WaPo’s Michelle Singletary: “There’s a great deal of Americans where it is uncomfortable that they’re spending more, but they are not going to go under. You know, you got to stop complaining … Overall, many Americans are not suffering as much as they think they are.”

  21. Certified Public Asshat

    Maybe some of those people who don't like Cuomo or Newsom telling them what to do with their bodies aren't really going like DeSantis or Abbott telling them that once an egg is fertilized the state gets to decide your future.— Zach Weissmueller (@TheAbridgedZach) June 24, 2022

    A site called Reason…

    • kbolino

      Oh no, not hypocrisy! The greatest crime known to mankind! The horror. However will I sleep at night knowing that I am violating my enemy’s version of my principles?

      • Gustave Lytton

        If you’re against abortion, you must be against capital punishment. Check mate!

      • R C Dean

        “If you’re against kidnapping, you must be against arresting criminals. Check. Mate!”

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Universal healthcare, including gender reassignment surgery for kids, or you are not really pro-life!

      • Tulip

        I am against capital punishment.

      • robc

        Being against both is a very catholic position.

        My rep until 1992 was a pretty left-wing democrat who was anti-abortion and anti-death penalty. He took his catholicism seriously.

      • Rat on a train

        You racists will change your opinions when you learn most abortions are of clumps-of-cells-of-color.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        However will I sleep at night knowing that I am violating my enemy’s version of my principles?

        Yeah, I’m stealing this.

  22. PieInTheSky

    claire de lune
    @ClaireMPLS
    just impossible to reconcile paying taxes in a country where the supreme court will turn themselves into a pretzel to protect a man’s right to acquire an AR-15 but won’t protect a woman’s right to control her own uterus. it’s beyond the pale. i hope we revolt

    https://mobile.twitter.com/ClaireMPLS/status/1540385728017797120

    I would have stopped after the first 9 words tbh

    • Raven Nation

      Hah!

      She should just stop posting on Twitter. “Better to keep your Twitter feed silent and to be thought a fool…”

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        That kind of stupidity gets you a lot of cred in certain circles.

    • Plisade

      Only men are allowed to buy AR-15s?

      • Certified Public Asshat

        She can conceal carry a gun in her uterus.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Seen today

      • R C Dean

        They overdid it with the demonic glowing eyes.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        Wait, is that supposed to be a meme against Bruen and Dobbs?

        I thought it was in support of the decisions.

      • Ownbestenemy

        it is…confusing

      • Sean

        My gf will be quite surprised to hear that (angry too!).

      • Gender Traitor

        All she has to do is identify as a guy until the purchase has been completed. Easy peasy!

      • Bobarian LMD

        Straw purchase!

    • Not Adahn

      Sounds kind of insurrection-y.

      • EvilSheldon

        I’m forced to wonder why she doesn’t get herself one of those AR-15s and get the revolt started?

    • Rebel Scum

      turn themselves into a pretzel to protect a man’s right to acquire an AR-15

      Penumbras > Explicit limitations on the government

    • R C Dean

      I think the pretzel-making happened in Roe, actually.

      • Plisade

        ^^^

      • juris imprudent

        Roe never happens without Griswold.

  23. R C Dean

    Its funny, but you know what I’m not hearing?

    Anyone planning to introduce a Constitutional amendment to protect the right to abortions.

    • UnCivilServant

      That’s because they know it would not fly.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Why not…I see claims that 600% of the country wants it

      • MikeS

        That’s because they know it would not fly don’t give a shit about the Constitution.

    • db

      Immediately after the decision was announced I was presented with an ad on Youtube about a group wanting to enshrine the right in the constitution (presumably by amendment, but they didn’t explicitly say so).

      Which is the right way to go about it if it can be passed.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Nah they think passing a federal statute enshrines it.

      • Plisade

        Nah, they hope some of their own useful idiots will kill a couple of SC justices this weekend so Biden can appoint baby killin replacements. …for democracy.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Crazy to think that when the court hasn’t gone the way we generally think we gnash and bitch and hope for saner minds in the future. They want to burn it down. Here I thought I was the nihilist.

      • juris imprudent

        And when they can’t even do that, they’ll demand a Biden executive order!

      • Ownbestenemy

        “By the power invested by my wife *leans in and whispers*she’s a doctor you know, I pronounce babies as thrusmes and…you know…the thing”

      • Rat on a train

        I thought they only needed a declaration from the FDA.

    • Nephilium

      Local news had a piece about introducing an amendment to the state constitution for just that purpose.

  24. Rebel Scum

    Man contorts himself into pretzel.

    “If you have to ask the state for permission to exercise a right, it’s not really a right at all. And I think what the court did today is affirm what we’ve been saying for a long, long time. You don’t — you shouldn’t have to prove to the state some sort of special reason or ‘proper cause’ as they said…in order to exercise the Second Amendment, to carry a firearm, that the right to defend yourself and your family is fundamental and it is inalienable and the court has said that decisively today.”

    • R C Dean

      If you have to ask the state for permission to exercise a right, it’s not really a right at all.

      And then they went on to say that requiring a permit to carry is totes OK. I know, progress, but intellectual dishonesty annoys me.

      • ron73440

        If you have to ask the state for permission to exercise a right, it’s not really a right at all.

        That’s one reason I open carry, I will not ask permission.

    • Plisade

      Now do abortion.

      /prog

  25. Brochettaward

    This is just a measly Supreme court decision. I can only sit here and Imagine the utter jubilation I’ll feel at the despair of my enemies when The First That Will change Everything comes.

    • Raven Nation

      “The First That Will change Everything”

      In 20 years? It’s like the nuclear fusion of firsting.

  26. Fatty Bolger

    We have a decorative window over the front door, and there are a dozen+ flies just sitting on it. I’ve never seen that before. Could it be because of the heat? It’s 100F (feels like 115F) today.

    • The Other Kevin

      Do you live in Amityville?

      • Fatty Bolger

        We did hear somebody say “get out” a few times, but I thought it was just the Amazon Echo acting up.

      • Rat on a train

        Alexa, play ominous music.

      • Gender Traitor

        SiriusXM keeps trying to get me to add satellite radio in my car. (Listening on the app right now.) They’re offering me a free Echo Dot if I do. Hell to the no! Will NOT have any such device. That’s creepier than driving a Subaru! (Thanks again, SF! 😳)

      • Grosspatzer

        Beelzebub awakens.

  27. Pine_Tree

    Hey, I’m not the kind who knows how to track what’s still on deck for the Court, but isn’t there at least one other biggie that’s supposed to be coming down the pike?

    Chevron-related?

    Anybody know the latest on that one? (I could try to research it elsewhere but frankly y’all have the rest of the innertubes beat hands-down, as you know.)

    • Rat on a train

      Scotusblog shows opinions scheduled for Monday.

      • Pine_Tree

        Thanks very much.

  28. Timeloose

    I have a serious abortion question. Is the morning after pill considered an abortion to fundamentalist’s? Can the pill effectively be used at all stages of the pregnancy or does it not work after a few weeks? A morning after pill that works only during the 1st trimester or less than two months might be an alternative if your state is anti-abortion. These could be shipped free of charge to anyone in the country. It’s cheaper than a buss ride and a doctor’s vist.

    I’m coming from a place of ignorance on this one, not snark.

    • Pine_Tree

      Basically, yes.

      Short version – life begins at conception.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Doesn’t the Bible mention a time when the soul is breathed into the body? When’s that supposed to be? Seems like that’d be acceptable to the religious.

      • Mustang

        It’s negated by the part where it mentions God knowing you before you were born.

      • Pine_Tree

        “Doesn’t….?” You tell me. Google is yo’ friend.

        Short version – life begins at conception.

        The notion of bullshit bad-faith haggling with God about his own word is ridiculous.

      • juris imprudent

        Short version – life begins at conception.

        That is what science says. Of course science doesn’t say anything about rights going along with that.

    • UnCivilServant

      I believe the ‘morning after pill’ prevents inplantation of the egg in the uterine wall, so it would not have the same impact after that event. There are other abortifactant drugs which will trigger a miscarriage within the early weeks.

    • Ownbestenemy

      I believe there is a narrow window and a possible body weight/BMI component.

  29. ron73440

    I just got a text from Truist Alerts telling me there has been unusual activity on my account so they suspended it, but there is a link so I can prevent further suspension.

    Got one last week mtelling me my package can’t be delivered with a USPS address, but it asked for my birthday and other info.

    Yea, as if scammer phone calls weren’t annoying enough.

    • The Other Kevin

      Just got a text today trying to confirm a $400 charge to my Amazon account. Click the link to dispute the charge.

    • The Other Kevin

      “No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. I want women in Canada to know that we will always stand up for your right to choose.”

      Does that include sitting in a truck?

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        Sitting in a truck is terrorism.

      • Sean

        *honk honk*

      • Ownbestenemy

        Several criteria need to be met first: Did you contribute to the city by clearing sidewalks, setting up trash collection locations, entertainment for both young and old, sing your national anthem, defend a war memorial, or generally just be a good Canadian? Then yes, it is terrorism

    • Rebel Scum

      No government, politician, or man should tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her body. I want women in Canada to know that we will always stand up for your right to choose.

      Now do armed self-defense.

  30. Mustang

    It’s as if a thousand Nikkis cried out at once. Unfortunately they weren’t suddenly silenced.

    One of my fondest memories of Reason was someone’s first comment on an abortion article. “Batten down the hatches, it’s an ABORTION thread! *Waves arms*”

    Looks like I’ll be doing volunteer security at all three church services this weekend. Sweet.

    • Mustang

      Sorry about your post being overcome by events Ron. I still enjoy these stoic posts.

      • Ted S.

        I’m sure he’s stoic about it.

      • ron73440

        Doesn’t bother me, some people like the Stoic posts more than others.

        But I am glad you like them.

    • Nephilium

      Just wait until some woman gets hit by a bus, and then can’t get rid of the baby.

  31. Rebel Scum

    Senile man yells at the clouds.

    I see there is a new red herring about traveling to other states to get muh-abortions.

    No one is trying to prevent that. But since you mentioned, let’s discuss constitutional carry and firearms purchases.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Did he yell or whisper? This makes a difference.

    • The Other Kevin

      Exactly the kinds of things I’d expect from the most devout Catholic in the world.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Seems like he had a sane speech writer today. Danced around abortion but mainly stuck with the ‘right to privacy’ that ‘Roe gave us’

      • Fatty Bolger

        A right to privacy that applies only to abortion, as far as I can tell.

    • Raven Nation

      I haven’t read transcripts yet, but BBC reported that he said it out America back 150 years. I don’t know whether that’s another gaffe, or if his speechwriter/s are arguing this is like slavery.

      • ron73440

        Are you new here?

        EVERYTHING is like slavery.

      • Ownbestenemy

        He opened that it is a solemn moment and that it isn’t hyperbole. That the day is a sad day. Supposedly this puts the government between a woman and their doctor..Health and life of women are now at risk…He supposedly has studied this case carefully.

        He touched on personal autonomy but only for this..not his mandate to jab people.

        He made sure to blame Trump but a culmination of decades of extreme ideology.

        The court supposedly has never taken away a ‘fundamental right’ ever…never ever

        Thats as far as I could get.

    • Rat on a train

      If I see a notice from corporate about paying for abortion travel I will loudly ask if paid travel applies to other medical procedures.

      • The Other Kevin

        Look, it’s a very specific operation I can only get in Aruba.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Make sure it’s for a penis enlargement or some other nonesense

  32. Grosspatzer

    Congrats on your 28th, Ron! 1994 was a good year, Mrs. Patzer and I will be celebrating 28 in October barring unforeseen circumstances.

    • Ted S.

      Sounds like he got married on the day OJ Simpson was in the back of the white Ford Bronco.

  33. Rebel Scum

    Forced pregnancy!

    The Supreme Court has stripped women of their liberty and let red states replace it with mandated birth.

    This is an attack on American freedom.

    CA, OR and WA are creating the West Coast offensive. A road map for other states to stand up for women.

    Time to fight like hell.

    Sounds like some insurrectionisms to me.

  34. R.J.

    Thank you for you excellent post as always Ron.
    My stoic moment today was to stop complaining about an obnoxious text thread I was on and actually tell the people on it to remove me. I spent three years on that thread, it was made to keep ex-employee in touch and allow them a channel to reach me if times go tough during an acquisition where we were all being split up. After about a year and a half, that thread started to lean harder and harder left, I would occasionally engage and remind people that the best thing is if the government stayed out of every moral decision left or right. After the gun decision and now abortion decision, I finally decided I wanted to get off that chain. I cannot change them, but I can walk away and do something more constructive with my time (like reviewing Corona Zombies! Heh heh). I cannot change or help that group any more. But I can go somewhere more positive and use my energy to help those who need it, not those who whine.

    • ron73440

      Sounds like a good decision.

      I can walk away and do something more constructive with my time (like reviewing Corona Zombies! Heh heh).

      This film is up there with Bubba Ho-Tep, absolute riot!