Beer and Conversation with Pigweed and Crowhill

Latest Episodes:

468: Are we entering a new era of book banning? Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

The boys drink Right Proper Pale Ale and discuss book bans.

Anne Arundel County in Maryland has become "a book sanctuary." They want "all voices, all stories, and all perspectives to be protected."

Crowhill calls it out as a flat lie and virtue signalling. These same people (or their intellectual fellow travelers) have been in favor of censorship on social media. Why is the library any different?

Should we make a distinction between what children can access and what adults can access?

A big part of the problem is the misuse of the word "banned." You're not banning a book if you choose not to stock it at the local library. You're not banning a book if you believe children's story hour shouldn't include child pornography.

At the local library there are tables full of "banned books." They're so banned that they have a prominent place at the front of the library.

Are these "sanctuary libraries" going to include Mein Kampt, books on how to make your own suicide vests, "My Favorite Lynchings"?

The rhetoric is that "all views" are accepted. That's a transparent lie.

467: Does abortion qualify as "healthcare"? Dec 03, 2024

Show notes

While drinking a local stout, the boys ask whether abortion is really healthcare and then discuss that and related issues.

Healthcare is generally understood as the maintenance or improvement of health through prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or management of illness, injury, and other physical or mental impairments.

How does abortion fit in with that?

Pigweed and Crowhill evaluate the reality against the propaganda and the pro-choice slogans.

Is it really "my body, my choice"?

Do people really want to affirm Roe v. Wade?

Is it actually a "conversation with my doctor"?

"Keep your laws off my body!" Is that a legit legal standard?

So where should we draw the line? When does a fetus become a human with protected rights?

466: What can we expect from Trump's new administration? Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

The boys drink and review a festive, Christmas beer, then discuss Trump's selections for his cabinet and what we might expect from them. Nazi Germany, of course. And fascism. And the end of democracy. But beyond that ....

As of the time of the podcast, Trump has chosen ...

Marco Rubio for Secretary of State

Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense

Matt Gaetz for Attorney General (although he withdrew)

Doug Burgum for Secretary of the Interior

Howard Lutnick for Commerce

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for HHS

Sean Duffy for Transportation

Chris Wright for Energy

Linda McMahon for Education

Doug Collins for Veterans Affairs

Kristi Noem for Homeland Security

Other key positions include ...

Lee Zeldin for EPA

Elisa Stefanik for the UN

Mike Huckabee as Ambassador to Israel

Tilsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence

John Ratcliffe for CIA

Tom Homan as "Border Czar"

... and a few others.

He's also asked Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head a new "Department of Government Efficiency."

Remember to visit us at https://www.pigweedandcrowhill.com/

465: Is Scientology a religion, a cult, or science fiction? Nov 21, 2024

Show notes

The boys drink and review Sierra Nevada's Cold IPA, then discuss Scientology.

If you had your choice, would you rather your child be woke or a scientologist? It's a hard choice.

Pigweed starts the discussion with a bio of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder / creator of both Dianetics and its later manifestation, Scientology. He was one of the most prolific authors in history, with as many as 1,000 titles.

The distinguishing factors of Scientology include ...

* The reactive vs. the analytical mind. The reactive mind stores painful traumatic memories called “engrams.” You find these through “auditing.” Once you get rid of the reactive mind you’re “clear.”

* Auditing is done with the E-meter, which is essentially a galvanometer.

* Opposition to Psychiatry and Psychology are flawed because they focus on symptoms rather than addressing the underlying problem of engrams.

* Focus on self-empowerment and personal responsibility

* Bridge to total freedom

* Thetans and spiritual identity.

* Survival as a core drive

But there's another side -- the mythology, including the goofy story about Xenu throwing people into volcanoes 75 million years ago.

Remember to connect with us at https://www.pigweedandcrowhill.com/, or write to the show at pigweedshow@gmail.com.

464: Do you really need to pay income tax? Nov 21, 2024

Show notes

The boys drink and review "Raised by Wolves" from Right Proper brewing, then wonder if they're suckers for paying their income taxes when other people seem to get away with not filing!

They start by steelmanning the arguments against the income tax, which include ...

* The "sovereign citizen" idea

* Questions about the ratification of the 16th Amendment

* That it's a violation of the constitution's original intent

* The "voluntary compliance" language

* That the income tax was not intended to apply to everyone

Pigweed and Crowhill examine these arguments and give their analysis.

Remember to visit us at https://www.pigweedandcrowhill.com/, and write to the show at pigweedshow@gmail.com

463: Why are public schools failing so miserably? Nov 19, 2024

Show notes

Broadcasting from the Royal Oak pub, the boys drink and review Crowhill's homebrewed porter then discuss the failure of our government-run schools and the American education system.

Over the last 40 years we've had an increased role in education by both governments and unions, we've spent more and more on education, but results are worse and worse. Why?

Private schools that spend far less per student get better educational outcomes, and homeschoolers -- who spend very little -- frequently outperform private schools.

At the same time, we keep hearing that teachers aren't being payed enough.

Okay, so where is all this money going? It's going to administrators.

The boys review some statistics and discuss possible remedies.

462: Trump wins just as P&C predicted. What now? Nov 11, 2024

Show notes

Pigweed and Crowhill enjoy a celebratory bottle of champaign as they review the 2024 election.

Which is the more important victory: that Donald Trump won, or that Harris lost?

The first time around, Trump didn't have a "Trump Team." He had to cobble together an administration through recommendations from people who didn't agree with his policies and approach. That will be entirely different this time.

Once again, the pollsters have egg on their faces. Trump overperformed by a wide margin.

Why did this go wrong for the Democrats?

* Kamala was a horrible candidate who ran a horrible campaign

* She was never selected by any democratic vote

* She has been completely incompetent as vice president

* Her policies, such as they were, were completely out of touch with the country

* She did nothing but call names and alienate people

* Walz was super weird

With hope, we can look forward to these things from DJT:

* The end of trans madness

* Get rid of the men in dresses in the military

* Stand up to China

* A better team with good ideas

* The end of DEI, "equity" and racial grievance

* Close the borders, amnesty over

* End of entitlement benefits for illegals

* Money for foreign wars we don't care about

* Clean up the deep state: DOJ, HHS, DOE, DOT, etc.

* No pride flags on any buildings or embassies

* JD Vance tearing up the idiots in the media

461: Why are the Vikings and paganism so interesting to modern people? Nov 09, 2024

Show notes

The boys drink and review Fireside Chat winter ale by 21st Amendment Brewery, then discuss The Northman, paganism, and Rod Dreher's take on how paganism presents an enchanted view of life.

"The Northman" is basically the story of Hamlet set among the Vikings. Amleth witnesses his uncle murdering his father and carrying off his mother. He vows to avenge his father and rescue his mother.

Years later, Amleth becomes a fierce warrior, but sells himself into slavery so he can be in the town of his uncle and get his revenge.

It's an interesting movie, but the larger question addressed in the podcast is how this relates to modern man's lack of a sense of meaning and purpose, and the longing for enchantment.

Modern secular, technological society is a fantastic thing. It's given us antibiotics and labor-saving technologies that are simply amazing. But there's no dispute that it's come at a cost. Secular society reduces life to the material, emphasizing logic, technology, and efficiency over mystery and meaning. While these advancements offer many benefits, Dreher argues that they leave a void, creating a sense of disconnection from life’s deeper meaning.

In stark contrast, the symbolic, hero-driven narrative of "The Northman" shows characters motivated by a sense of duty and destiny that transcends self-interest. It's an appeal to something timeless and heroic. But beyond that, there's a constant sense of immanent spiritual reality. The gods are as real in The Northman as the sky and the land.

Dreher’s analysis suggests that this type of worldview, which modernity often overlooks, fulfills a deep-rooted human desire to connect with the divine, the sacred, and the transcendent.

460: George Soros and his political philosophy Nov 08, 2024

Show notes

The boys drink and review "Beast of Both Worlds," a "Bi-Coastal IPA" from Lagunitas.

George Soros has become a whipping boy for the right. The man was born a Hungarian Jew and lived through both Naziism and communism, but made his respectable pile of money in the United States. P&C start off with a brief biography, but move on to speak about his underlying philosophy and the causes he promotes.

Soros was deeply influenced by the philosophy of Karl Popper and his concept of open and closed societies. In an open society individuals are free to think and act independently with minimal government control. An open society has pluralism and tolerance, democratic governance, change and reform (because no one holds the ultimate truth), and a commitment to our own limitations (fallibilism).

If giving to political causes qualifies a person as a philanthropist, Soros is a big one. His foundation supports ...

* Democracy and human rights

* Education

* Criminal justice reform

* Public health

* LGBTQIDYSDLKSDH rights

* Immigration and refugee support

* Racial and social justice

* Economic equity

* Media freedom

* Climate change and environmental protection

All of these flow logically from his commitment to the "open society" concept, and Soros takes a very liberal stance on all these issues.

459: Woke yard signs and what they really mean Nov 07, 2024

Show notes

You've seen the sign.

Science is real

Black Lives matter

Love is love

No human is illegal

Climate change is real

Women's rights are human rights

Kindness is everything

What does that sign really mean? P&C break it down, line by line.

But there are other versions, like this, from a public school (if you can believe it).

The American dream is a scan

Policing originates from runaway slave patrols

Capitalism exploits

Colonialism is evil

The founding fathers were racist

American imperialism must end

America was built on genocide and slavery

This country is on stolen, indigenous land

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