The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

“How Would Making Donald Trump Less Rich Make Anybody Else Better Off?”

Posted on | October 2, 2014 | 16 Comments

by Smitty

. . .asks Kevin D. Williamson, with the following self-response:

There is, obviously, one direct answer to that question, which is that making Trump less rich by seizing his property and giving it to somebody else would make the recipients better off, and that is true. But the Left does not generally make that straightforward argument for seizing property. Rather, they treat “inequality” as though it were an active roaming malice on the economic landscape, and argue that incomes are stagnant at the lower end of the range because too great a “share of national income” — and there’s a whole Burkina Faso’s worth of illiteracy in that phrase — went to earners at the top. It simply is not the case that if Lloyd Blankfein makes a hundred grand less next year, then there’s $100,000 sitting on shelf somewhere waiting to become part of some unemployed guy in Toledo’s “share of the national income.” Income isn’t a bag of jellybeans that gets passed around.

Part of the challenge for conservatives is that we’re still beholden to some notion of rational discourse. You’ve got to understand that the Left is making a purely hormonal play to the flesh here. Somewhere between Gustave LeBon and Saul Alinsky the Left figured out that there was massive political power to be had in rejecting the enlightenment and treating people like a big lump of meat.

By tempting the less thoughtful into a straightforward 10th Commandment violation (that is, stoking covetousness) you can motivate an awful lot of votes. This is a highly tactical maneuver to acquire power, though. In essence, they treat the standard normal distribution like a giant pimple, and give it a big squeeze of temptation. The bulk of the populace regresses toward the mean of the distribution. The dirt poor will always be with you in the left tail. The trick is to be a member of the oligarchy or the clerisy in the right tail.

Fairly diabolical, but effective. Anybody claiming Christianity that is still in the Democrat party may have some repenting to do.

via Instapundit

Category: Culture

LIVE AT FIVE: 10.02.14

Posted on | October 2, 2014 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Texas Ebola Patient’s Nephew: “I Had To Call CDC”

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you?

Dallas hospital’s ER bungles care of Patient Zero
Patient told doctors he’d been to Liberia
Dallas students possibly exposed to deadly virus




Secret Service Director Pearson Resigns After Harsh Bipartisan Criticism
Elevator incident sealed her fate

David Cameron Pledges Tax Cuts For 30 Million Brits
Meanwhile, UKIP gets $1.62 million windfall after senior Tory snubs insurance mogul



POLITICS
Walker Opens Lead In Wisconsin Governor Race Amid Burke Plagiarism Scandal

SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE

Marquette poll of likely voters shows Walker up 50-45 over Burke

Obama Tries To Patch Things Up With Pro-Amnesty Latinos

Clapper, Lawmakers Defend Intel Community


Orr To Resume Detroit Bankruptcy Testimony Today

Awlaki: Enemy Or FBI Asset?

Romney In Demand As GOP Heads Into Midterms

Louisiana VA Hospital Lacks PJs And Sheets, But Spends Millions On New TVs, Furniture, Solar Panels

Voter Registration Surges In Ferguson After Michael Brown Death

Gov. Christie Tells Obama “You Need To Be Accountable On ISIS”

Beauprez Reverses Stance On Driver’s Licenses For Illegals



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Continues Slide On Global Supply Glut: WTI $90.69, Brent $94.08
Asian Stocks Down On Recovery Worries, Ebola
Japanese Shares Tumble, Topix Posts Biggest Loss In Six Months
Pepsi Tries Stevia
Coke Bows To Pressure, Amends Employee Stock Plan
US Companies Add 213,000 Jobs In September
Facebook Apologizes To Drag Queens Over Real Name Policy
Hong Kong Crashes Great Firewall With FireChat
Ello, Goodbye: Five Social Network Flops
Verizon Backs Down From Plan To Throttle Unlimited Data
Microsoft Sway Aims To Simplify Presentation Creation



SPORTS
Giants’ Bumgarner Shuts Down Pirates 8-0

Nine innings, 4H, 1 BB, 10K, 0 R

Giants advance, will face Nationals tomorrow

Tigers’ Cabrera Declines Post-Season Bonus

Former Nationals Slugger Adam Dunn Retires

Belichick On The Hot Seat In New England

NFL, DirecTV Extend “Sunday Ticket” In $12 Billion/8 Year Deal

A’s GM Beane Stands By His Trades

Olympic Committee Lashes Out After Oslo Withdraws Winter Olympics Bid

Jeter Announces Debut Of “The Players’ Tribune”

Nationals Post-Season A Potential Windfall For DC’s Economy



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Anne Hathaway: “Fame F**ked Me Up”

Elle UK’s cover girl

Back from her self-imposed break

Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher: It’s A Girl!

Taylor Swift Covers English Vogue

Amanda Bynes Gets The Boot From Fashion School

Isla Fisher Preggers, Expecting Third Child With Baron Sacha Cohen

Brad Pitt: My Six Kids With Angelina Make Me Feel Like The Richest Man Alive

“Big Brother” Winner Dick Donato: I Am HIV+

Snooki Complains About Breastfeeding



FOREIGNERS
Hong Kong Protests Continue Despite Beijing’s “Chaos” Warning
Israel Eases Palestinian Travel Restrictions For Eid
South African Nobel Summit Could Be Canceled Over Dalai Lama Flap
Jharkhand Will Pose Biggest Challenge To Modi’s “Clean India” Campaign
American Girl Who Disappeared Twelve Years Ago Found In Mexico
Australian Parliament Restricts Burka-Wearing Visitors
Mexican Drug Lord Busted In Tourist Haunt
Arctic Shipwreck Identified As Franklin’s Flagship
Aussie Air Strikes In Iraq To Start This Weekend
Bulgarian Explosives Factory Blast Leaves 15 Missing



BLOGS & STUFF
Valley of the Shadow: “12 Monkeys” And Obama’s Foreign Policy
Michelle Malkin: Pesky Questions About Those AWOL Afghan Soldiers
Twitchy: “Still Want To Secede?” Classy Liberals Gleeful About Ebola Case In Texas
American Power: The United States Of Ebola!
American Thinker: Two Plus Two Equals Five – Media Coverage Of Terrorist Attacks
BLACKFIVE: Douche Of The Week – ESPN’s Colin Cowherd
Conservatives4Palin: Great News – Jen Psaki Says Obama Receives Intel Briefings “Whenever He Can”
Don Surber: Did Manchin Shoot Democrats In The Foot?
Jammie Wearing Fool: Culture Of Corruption – NY Democrat Arrested In Expense Scam
Joe For America: About That Workplace Violence Problem In Oklahoma…
JustOneMinute: Ebola Arrives In The US, And Who Shares The Confidence Of The CDC?
Pamela Geller: Oklahoma Beheader Wants Muslim To Be Named As His Court-Appointed Lawyer
Protein Wisdom: Though I Have No Desk, My Return Is Imminent
Shot In The Dark: For Those Tired Of That “Smoke Up Your Skirt” Feeling
The Gateway Pundit: Top Doctor – Illegal Alien Children May Be Spreading Mysterious Respiratory Disease
The Jawa Report: Zionist Whores’ Hot Decadent Sexuality Interfering With Brothers’ Ability To Concentrate On Their Deen
The Lonely Conservative: Border Agent Disciplined For Warning About Relocation Of Immigrants
This Ain’t Hell: Warm And Fuzzy Navy Adapts To Millenials
Weasel Zippers: White House Rejects Travel Restrictions From Countries With Ebola Outbreaks
Megan McArdle: Not Everyone Can Work For Costco


Category: Live at Five

21st-Century Relationships?

Posted on | October 1, 2014 | 61 Comments

That’s what @Instapundit might call this story. On the other hand, some people might call it . . . RAAAAACISM!

White Lesbian Sues Sperm Bank
After Having Black Baby
. . . Jennifer Cramblett and Amanda Zinkon, a White couple living in Ohio selected sperm from a White male provided by the Midwest Sperm Bank. Cramblett used the sperm to become impregnated with her first child, but just months before little Payton arrived in August of 2012 Cramblett received a communication from the donor bank informing her she had been given the wrong sperm.
Her baby would be Black.
Unsurprisingly Cramblett is suing the sperm bank for “wrongful birth and breach of warranty.”

From the lawsuit:

One of Jennifer’s biggest fears is the life experiences Payton will undergo, not only in her all-white community, but in her all-white, and often unconsciously insensitive, family. Despite her family’s attempts to accept her homosexuality, they have not been capable of truly embracing Jennifer for who she is. They do not converse with her about her gender preference, and encourage her not to “look different,” signaling their disapproval of her lesbianism. Though compelled to repress her individuality amongst family members, Payton’s differences are irrepressible, and Jennifer does not want Payton to feel stigmatized or unrecognized. . . .
Jennifer’s stress and anxiety intensify when she envisions Payton entering an all-white school. Ironically, Jennifer and Amanda moved to Uniontown from racially diverse Akron, because the schools were better and to be closer to family. Jennifer is well aware of the child psychology research and literature correlating intolerance and racism with reduced academic and psychological well-being of biracial children.

Dude, that’s not a tort complaint. That’s a reality TV scenario. You’re telling me the Bravo network didn’t set up this “accident”?

You know somewhere a Women’s Studies professor is trying to figure out a way to blame this on the heteronormative patriarchy.

 

Category: Gays

Midweek Open Thread

Posted on | October 1, 2014 | 44 Comments

— Wombat-socho


Mr. Winnfield would like to share his thoughts about Wednesday with you.


This may be one of the few posts this week that has no lesbian content.


In unrelated news, while the pulled pork sandwich at Wendy’s isn’t going to make you forget your local BBQ joint, it doesn’t completely suck either. I had the slaw on the side instead of atop the pulled pork, just in case it was one of those sugary slaws (it wasn’t) and it was okay too. Didn’t quite have the courage to try it piled on their cheeseburger, much less the Baconator which is my default Wendy’s burger, but maybe next time. Wendy’s also joins Checkers in offering a poutine-like fries dish, except instead of gravy or chili, they offer pulled pork. Might could be worth checking out.
Disclaimer: I have a whole ten shares of Wendy’s stock in my Cardboard Box – er, retirement – fund.


Thanks to everyone who bought stuff through my Amazon links in September; I know things are tough all around, but between sales of The Last Falangist and the Amazon links, I kinda sorta qualify as an N- or M-list writer on Larry Correia’s helpful guide to the scale of Author Success.


Category: Culture

LIVE AT FIVE: 10.01.14

Posted on | October 1, 2014 | 5 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
“Thank You, America” Says Modi As He Returns To India

“A highly successful and satisfactory visit”

Concludes visit with event organized by US Indian Business Council
Lots of sizzle, but where’s the steak?
Come soon before it’s too late, Modi tells US businesses
Working to deepen improving ties



Traveler From Liberia Diagnosed As First Ebola Patient In US
CDC vows “We will stop it here”
Vox: Don’t panic over Ebola in America
Vox says don’t panic? Uh-oh.

Ukrainian Protesters Tear Down Country’s Largest Statue Of Lenin
The Grauniad wrings its hands



POLITICS
Mark Pryor: Democrats’ Last Stand In Arkansas?

Pryor turns down TV station’s invite to debate with Cotton

Pryor launching tour focusing on “womens’ issues”

Secret Service Bungles Again

Baker Edges Ahead Of Coakley In Massachusetts

California Enacts First Statewide Plastic Bag Ban

Battle For Senate Tipping To GOP?

Virginia Town Gets Sued For Discrimination After Rejecting Plan To House Illegals

State Dept. Spoxes Give Conflicting Statements On Al Qaeda/Khorasan Ties

Oregon Politicians Battle Over When To Pull The Plug On State’s Costly Obamacare Website

Abbott: Won’t Veto Repeal Of Texas’ DREAM Act



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Asian Crude Rebounds Slightly After Overnight Slump: WTI $91.57, Brent $95.08
eBay Does About-Face, Announces Spinoff Of PayPal
Japan Firms Fail To Shake Off Tax-Hike Gloom
SEC Charges Two In Herbalife Insider Trading
Asian Factories Slow In September, Push Inflation Ever Lower
Dollar Breaks 110 Yen For First Time In Six Years
Microsoft Unveils Windows 10, Brings Back Start Menu
Intel Pushes Factory IoT With $9 Million Cost Savings At Plant
Nvidia Shield Now Has LTE, 32GB, And $399 Price Tag
Hackers Arrested For Stealing $100 Million In Army, XBox Software
Hong Kong Protesters Targeted With iOS, Droid Spyware



SPORTS
Royals Run Their Way Into The Pennant Series

Seven stolen bases turn the tide for Kansas City

Royals rally late to force extras, beat stunned A’s 9-8

NFL Says Prayer Penalty On Husain Abudullah Was A Mistake

FCC Sacks TV’s NFL Blackout Rule


Greg Walker Quits As Braves Hitting Coach

Rangers Interview Greg Maddux, Steve Buechele For Manager

UMich Student Athlete Committee Backs AD Brandon

M’s Looking For Bats In The Off-Season

Epstein Expects Cubs To Be In The NL Central Hunt Next Year

The View From The UK: Can The Nationals End 90 Years Of Misery?



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Emily Ratajkowski Doesn’t Understand Feminism

Cosmo’s November cover girl

Feels lucky to be able to “wear what she wants, sleep with whom she wants, and dance how she wants, while still being a feminist.”

Whoopi Tells Rosie: “I’m So Sick Of Your Sh!t”

Yvette Nicole Brown Leaving “Community”

Amanda Bynes Buzzed On Adderall When Busted For DUI


Olympian Michael Phelps Apologizes For DUI, Speeding

“Gone Girl” Has Full Frontal Ben Affleck

“Pretty Little Liars” Star Shay Mitchell Splits With BF

Bachelorette Ashley Hebert: It’s a Boy!

Molly Sims Expecting Second Child

“Big” Remake From “Enlisted” Duo Set At Fox

Annie Lennox Slams Beyonce For Describing Herself As “Feminist”

Jessica Chastain Is Harper’s Bazaar November Cover Girl

Liv Tyler Confirms Second Child On The Way



FOREIGNERS
Hong Kong Marks National Day As Protesters Refuse To Disperse
Taliban Suicide Bombers Kill Seven, Wound 21 In Kabul
Aussie PM Abbott Not Keen On Burqas In Parliament
Death Toll From Japanese Volcano Rises To 48
Kurds Recapture Key Town On Syrian Border With US Air Support
Fourteen Killed, 45 Injured In Uttar Pradesh Train Accident
Thai Tourism Minister Mulls Wristbands, Curfews For Tourists
Syrian Jihadis Release Lebanese Soldier
Spanish PM Rajoy Says Open To Reforming Constitution, But It’s Not A Priority
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister To Stay Jailed Until October 7 Hearing



BLOGS & STUFF
Doug Powers: Paging “Vote Fraud Doesn’t Exist” Holder
Twitchy: Inevitable – Newsweek Blames Ebola On Man Made Global Warming
American Power: Doubts About California’s “Affirmative Consent” Law
American Thinker: Government Desperation Is Increasing
Conservatives4Palin: Elbert Guillory – Mary Landrieu Is Not Helping Blacks
Don Surber: I Can Save The Government $31.5 Million
Jammie Wearing Fools: Good News – CDC Issues Ebola Guidelines For US Funeral Homes
Joe For America: “Master Faith” Or “Master Race”?
JustOneMinute: Border Security Begins (Or Ends) At Home
Pamela Geller: Oklahoma Jihadist Beheader Not Fired; Ritual Slaughter Was Premeditated
Protein Wisdom: It’s October 1, And By Golly I’m Going To Resort To Rule 5
Shot In The Dark: Trulbert! Part XIV – Trick Or Death
STUMP: Public Pensions Followup – The Effect Of Assumptions And Materiality
The Gateway Pundit: Jen Psaki Caught In More Lies, Insists Khorasan Is Separate From Al-Qaeda
The Jawa Report: Everyone Wave Buh Bye To Abu Imran
The Lonely Conservatives: Why Won’t The US Help The Kurds In Their Battle Against The Islamic State?
This Ain’t Hell: 2100 Boots Not On The Ground In Iraq
Weasel Zippers: Douche Alert – ESPN Host Feels Sorry For Americans Who Join The Military
Megan McArdle: It’s Normal For Regulators To Get Captured


Shop Amazon Fashion – Men’s Clothing

Category: Live at Five

‘Could It Be Any More Obvious?’

Posted on | September 30, 2014 | 87 Comments

“I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists. Maybe some women just don’t care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word? . . . Feminism always gets associated with being a radical movement — good. It should be. A lot of what the radical feminists [in the 1970s] were saying, I don’t disagree with it.”
— Ellen Page, interview with the Guardian, July 3, 2013

“I’m here today because I am gay.”
— Ellen Page, Feb. 14, 2014

She was right. It could not be more obvious if it were stated as a declarative sentence: “Feminism is a journey to lesbianism.”

Still, we must not ignore the chicken-and-the-egg question: Which came first, Ms. Page’s lesbianism or her feminism? We don’t know, although when a gay gossip blogger “outed” Ms. Page in 2011, I defended her right to privacy (“‘Outing’ Ellen Page: The Politicization of Sex and the Sexualization of Politics”). The feminist maxim that “the personal is political” has always seemed to me a formula for divisiveness, to say nothing of its explicit invalidation of any idea of social good that transcends narrow self-interest. In feminism, extreme individualism becomes a justification for collectivism, whereby the personal grievances of any woman are transmogrified into political demands delivered as an ultimatum on behalf of all women.

The fact that a majority of women reject feminism, per se, has been claimed by feminists as proof that most women are too stupid to know what feminism actually is. However, when the convergence of feminist theory with lesbian practice is demonstrable — “Could it be any more obvious?” — we must presume that women comfortable with their own lives are fit to judge their own interests, and reject feminism rationally. Under a limited government that protects the liberty of individuals under the Rule of Law, we have no political need of any theory to explain Ms. Page’s homosexuality. Feminism says otherwise.

“The radical feminist argument is that men have forced women into heterosexuality in order to exploit them, and that lesbians, in rejecting male definitions of sexuality, are undermining the patriarchy. . . .
“Lesbianism is . . . fundamentally a challenge to patriarchal definitions of women.”
— Celia Kitzinger, The Social Construction of Lesbianism (1987)

Some have claimed lesbians are “born that way,” a claim rejected by radical feminists who insist that their lesbianism is a deliberate political act of resistance to male sexual oppression. Some feminist psychologists, notably Lisa Diamond, argue that women’s sexuality is flexible and adaptable, so that shifts in female orientation — straight to lesbian or lesbian to straight, or the endless indecision of “bisexuality” — are not surprising. Yet radical feminists, including psychologists like Professor Celia Kitzinger and Professor Dee Graham, insist that women who “choose” heterosexuality can never do so freely, because heterosexual women are either brainwashed into it or coerced by what Professor Graham called male “sexual terror.”

What would be the reaction of a happily heterosexual woman upon being told that her normal attraction to men is a mental pathology akin to post-traumatic stress disorder? We don’t know, because Professor Graham’s theory has never been subjected to the widespread public ridicule it deserves. Yet when an unhinged feminist blogger declared that normal sexual intercourse “is always rape,” it was Professor Graham’s theory which informed her claim. How many other unhappy women have talked themselves into lesbianism with the assistance of feminist theory?

“Sex, love and romance seem like natural events — instinctive, unlearned, and universal. For example, think about a kiss. Perfectly natural, right? . . . Yet in many cultures, kissing is unknown. . . .
“Strange as it may seem, sex, like kissing, is not a natural act. In other words, sexuality is not something that can be understood in purely biological terms. Instead, it is a social construct.”
— Mary Crawford and Rhoda Unger, Women and Gender: A Feminist Psychology, Fourth Edition (2004)

The etiology of Ellen Page’s lesbian preference (or of any other woman’s preference) presents itself as a subject for political debate only because feminists insist the personal is the political. Radical feminism demands that lesbians must come out of the closet, because a woman’s purely private preferences cannot be useful in the political struggle against male oppression. Having made this young woman’s intimate life a public spectacle, however, feminists insist that no theorizing about Ellen Page’s sexuality is acceptable unless it conforms to feminist doctrine. So it is unacceptable to describe lesbianism as a problem. No one can be permitted to explain homosexuality as a socially harmful maladaptive response in the context of developmental psychology. If Ellen Page had sought therapy to help her understand her same-sex attraction and to attempt to learn coping strategies that would make it possible for her to live a normal (which is to say, heterosexual) adult life, the Southern Poverty Law Center might sue the therapist. It is now evidently a hate crime to say that gay people can live straight lives.

FACT: 97.7% of American women are heterosexual.
They outnumber lesbian/bisexual women (2.3%)
more than 40-to-1. Why do feminists believe
it is wrong to call heterosexuality “normal”
or to say what is normal is also natural?

A free society can tolerate disagreement, but feminism is implacably hostile to freedom. Feminist pioneer Simone de Beauvoir once made this clear, after Betty Friedan remarked that women should have the choice to stay home and raise their children. “No,” replied Beauvoir, “we don’t believe that any woman should have this choice. No woman should be authorized to stay at home to raise her children. Society should be totally different. Women should not have that choice, precisely because if there is such a choice, too many women will make that one.”

Beauvoir said this in 1975, and you might think that her declaration of feminism’s totalitarian aspirations — seeking the power to abolish the traditional family by decree — would be more widely known. Yet if that 1975 quote is taught in any Introduction to Women’s Studies course, it has escaped my notice. The fact that Women’s Studies textbooks are edited by lesbians has not escaped my notice, but this potentially significant correlation is not generally acknowledged by college administrators. One suspects that American University’s proficiency at indoctrinating “raging lesbian feminists” isn’t something they advertise to the parents of prospective students. Honesty is perhaps not the best policy if your business model involves charging parents $20,000 a year to fill their children’s heads full of radical ideology.

Yet we return to the chicken-and-egg question of Ellen Page: Which came first, lesbian sexuality or feminist ideology? You think about this when you see lesbian feminist Carmen Rios describe herself as someone who “failed at being normal.” This is the sort of frank admission I truly appreciate; feminists are rarely so honest. Did Ms. Rios earnestly try to find happiness in heterosexuality before she became a Women’s Studies major? Has she ever tried, outside the framework of feminist theory, to explain her failure to become normal? It is vain to ask for such an explanation; feminism has long since become the only framework within which anyone talks about female sexuality. Even the defenders of “traditional family values” often speak the rhetoric of feminism, however unwittingly. You’re more likely to find a college student fluent in ancient Greek or Latin than to find one who can discuss sex in a way that doesn’t conform to feminist ideology. To speak of romantic love between men and women nowadays requires us to learn a lost language.

Thanks to the tip-jar hitters, today I ordered from Amazon ($98.24) five more books about radical feminism, including Theorizing Sexuality, a recent academic textbook by two British feminist professors, plus Michel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality, Volume 1, An Introduction, which is essential to understanding Judith Butler’s theory of gender. My intention to dismantle Professor Butler’s theory presents a challenge that is both daunting and mystifying.

On the one hand, it is daunting in the way that any multi-thousand word writing project is always daunting. My career as a journalist required me to orient myself to cranking out daily bylines in a hurry, not spending several days on one massive treatise. However, what is mystifying about the challenge of dismantling Professor Butler is that no one has ever debunked Gender Trouble before, as the key to doing so seems to me so obvious. Three key sources — Foucault, Monique Wittig and Gayle Rubin — form the intellectual crux of the theory that Professor Butler turned into a 200-page bestseller.

Each of these sources is flawed and biased and, except as a sort of special pleading for the social and political acceptance of homosexuality, Gender Trouble cannot be viewed as a useful contribution to the understanding of “gender” (sex roles) or human sexuality. Certainly, Professor Butler’s Big Idea about the performativity of gender is an intriguing concept, but it is really only a restatement (in gay-friendly terms) of what any careful student of developmental psychology has always known. To be a man or woman, to take on the adult duties and responsibilities of manhood and womanhood — especially as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers — requires young people to psychologically adjust themselves to those roles. Conversely, if one wishes to avoid these adult roles, to find a justification for not marrying or becoming a parent, then your psychological need must find an argument to rationalize your unwillingness or inability to perform those socially necessary duties. And this is what Gender Trouble really is, a psychological defense mechanism (rationalized self-justification) dressed up in intellectual theory.

Because the fundamental problems of Professor Butler’s theory seem so glaringly obvious to me, and because Gender Trouble is one of the most influential texts of the past 25 years, I am mystified that no Ph.D. — a psychologist, biologist or anthropologist — has undertaken the task of dismantling her argument. To say that “gender is a social construct” (as Professor Butler’s insight is usually phrased) is really no different than saying “sex roles are socially necessary.” That is to say, if we wish men and women to form stable families through marriage, to procreate and care for their young, then boys and girls must learn the behaviors and attitudes necessary to success in this work. Adulthood requires us to escape the egocentric selfishness of childhood. We cannot be successful adults if we are unwilling to suppress infantile narcissism and do what is good for others (for society), and the responsibilities of adulthood — marriage and parenthood — are certainly incompatible with reckless sexual hedonism. Because the social good conflicts with our immature selfishness (the imperious “I-want-it-now” demands of our inner Veruca Salt), then what society requires of boys and girls in their growth to becoming men and women can be said to be “socially constructed.” However, it is an error to say that, because the duties of adulthood limit our egocentrism, society is wrong and our ego is right.

Once upon a time, people sought psychological counseling to help them cope with the demands of adulthood. Nowadays, the hopelessly maladjusted enroll in Women’s Studies courses, where professors teach women they are unhappy because they are oppressed.

As a substitute for therapy, perhaps feminism is useful. As politics, it’s divisive. As a basis for public policy, it’s insane. Believing you’re a victim of heteronormative patriarchy — “gender roles,” “the male gaze,” etc. — may help unhappy women feel better about themselves. Yet their sense of entitled victimhood leads them to denounce the rest of us as haters for not joining their feminist pity party, and these denunciations require a response. What we say in response is likely to hurt their feelings.

My response? Baby, I get paid to bring the pain.

HIT THE FREAKING TIP JAR!





 

 

Category: Feminism, Sex Trouble

LIVE AT FIVE: 09.30.14

Posted on | September 30, 2014 | 6 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Leung To Protesters: Beijing Won’t Back Down

Protesters flood Hong Kong’s central financial district Monday

Urges protesters to clear the streets for public safety
Hong Kong Police defend handling of protests
State Department reacting cautiously to protests
Protesters turn deaf ear to Leung, pep up “Umbrella Revolution”


All Eyes On The Outcome Of PM Modi’s Visit With Obama
India Inc. has high hopes

Ghani’s Administration To Sign US/NATO Troop Deal
Would allow allied troops to stay in-country after this year



POLITICS
Intel Community Refuses To Go Under The Bus Quietly

Sources say Obama was told about ISIS threat 18 months ago

Swift backlash from lawmakers, intelligence officials to Obama’s 60 Minutes blame-shifting


Mayor De Blasio To Expand New York’s Living Wage


DOJ To Ban Religious, Ethnic Profiling In National Security Cases

VA Settles With Phoenix Whistleblowers

Tax Breaks Worth Billions Set To Expire Without Congressional Action

Supremes Uphold Ohio’s New Limits On Early Voting

Report: IRS Bungles Collection Of Unpaid Taxes



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Ample Supplies, Weak Demand Continue Pushing Asian Crude Lower: WTI $92.82. Brent $96.39
Asian Stocks Follow Wall Street Down
Ford Shares Tumble On Lower Profit Outlook For 2014-5
Supervalu Reports Fresh Hacking Incident
American Apparel Names New Interim CEO
Gold Poised For Worst Month In Fifteen On Strong Dollar
Behind Ello Hype, A Facebook Rebellion Brews
Alleged Mobile Spyware Sellers Cuffed In US
FCC Expected To End Sports TV Blackout Rule
Is HP’s $200 Stream Laptop The Future Of Windows Computing?
Samsung Courts Gamers With 27″ Curved Monitor



SPORTS
Party Like It’s 1985: Royals Make Playoffs For First Time In 29 Years

Not football season yet in KC

Facing the slumping A’s tonight for the AL wild card


Patriots Embarrassed By Chiefs On Monday Night Football

Astros Hire A.J. Hinch As Manager


Chiefs’ Husein Abdullah Penalized For Touchdown Prayer

Neutral Arbitrator To Hear Ray Rice Appeal

Twins Finally Fire Ron Gardenhire After 13 Years

Dover Installs Catch Fence For 2015 NASCAR Season

Amway Coaches Poll: Alabama Takes #1 From Florida State #rolltide

US Prospects Could Dominate 2015 NHL Draft

American University To The Rescue: College Sponsors Late-Night Metro Service For Playoffs



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
The Girl Next Door Finds Her Edge

Reese Witherspoon stars in “Wild”

Vogue’s October cover girl – the real Reese?

Amanda Bynes Arrested For DUI

Robert Pattinson’s New Girlfriend Subjected To Racial Abuse Online

Brad Pitt On The Cover Of UK GQ In November

Walmart Blames Tracy Morgan’s Injuries On His Failure To Wear A Seat Belt

Rapper’s Father Gunned Down, Hospitalized In Atlanta

Matt Bomer Joins Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe In “The Nice Guys”

“Kitchen Nightmares” Star Threatens Restaurant Patron With Knife

Avril Lavigne Celebrates Birthday Without Chad Kroeger Amid Marriage Woes



FOREIGNERS
India’s Central Bank Holds Interest Rate Steady For Fourth Straight Meeting As Inflation Fight Rages On
ISIS Jihadis Within Two Miles Of Baghdad
Netanyahu Links Hamas, ISIS
Spain’s Constitutional Court Nixes Cataloonies’ Independence Referendum
Japan Suspends Search For Volcano Victims At Mount Ontake
Rebel Attacks Threaten Ukraine Truce
Australian Police Arrest Man For Funding Syrian Terror Group
Modi: Indian Muslims Will Fail Al-Qaeda
Japan PM Shinzo Abe Vows To Keep Close Watch On Tax Hike Effects
Sunday Mirror Facing Probe Over “Sex Sting” Of Tory MP



BLOGS & STUFF
Doug Powers: Who’s Up For A Human Rights Lecture About Ferguson From The Ayatollah Khamenei?
Twitchy: “Dear Bestie” – Ace Gives Lefties A Taste Of Their Own Creepy Medicine
American Power: Dead Dunkin Donuts Worker Touted As Symbol Of America’s Low-Wage Workers
American Thinker: Poverty In The Black Community Is The Result Of Culture, Not Racism
BLACKFIVE: The Paradox Of The “Advisor”
Blackmailers Don’t Shoot: Rule 5 Monday With Anna Kendrick
Conservatives4Palin: Governor Palin – “Obama’s Praise Betrays Us”
Don Surber: Obama Realizes He Was All Wrong
Jammie Wearing Fools: Oklahoma Headchopper’s Family Speaks Out – He’s A “Good Kid” And A “Great Person”
Joe For America: How’s That “Yemen Strategy” Working Out, Barack?
JustOneMinute: Who Didn’t Let The Dogs Out?
Protein Wisdom: MSNBC’s Harris-Perry Cruises Down That River In Egypt
Shot In The Dark: Liberal Math
The Gateway Pundit: O’Keefe Strikes Again – Drops Election Fraud Investigation, Promises More October Surprises
The Jawa Report: Second Oklahoma Beheading Threat And Firing Is Utter And Total Coincidence
The Lonely Conservative: Nearly $100 Million Spent On Stage Production For One 18-Minute Obama Speech
This Ain’t Hell: Fighting Ebola
Weasel Zippers: NC Democrat Overcome With White Guilt Says He’s Ashamed Of His “Whiteness”
Megan McArdle: Obamacare’s $73 Billion Question


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Category: Live at Five

Rule 5 Monday

Posted on | September 29, 2014 | 6 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Welcome to another edition of Rule Five SundayMonday; I wish I could claim that it’s late because I went out and partied too hard after Jordan Zimmerman pitched a no-hitter for the Nationals yesterday (it was the first time I’d seen one, live or on TV) but the truth is I was just too tired by the time I got home. Insert standard disclaimer about scantily clad women, responsible link clicking, etc.

First Street Journal leads off this week with Our Secret Weapon Against ISIS, followed by Goodstuff’s examination of Asian women and their non-GMO melons. Ninety Miles from Tyranny has Girls with Guns, Hot Pick of the Late Night, and Morning Mistress; while Animal Magnetism recovers from server issues with Rule 5 Friday and the Saturday Gingermageddon.

EBL’s herd of heifers this week includes PJTV’s Michelle Fields, a Mermaid Parade, Rule 5 Trifecta, Die schönste Zeit des Jahres, Fly Viet Air, and Week 4 NFL Cheerleaders.

At A View from the Beach, it’s Rosario Dawson – Because I Owed Her One, Ladies Night, Fight On, Fight On, Redskins!, Morning Concert – Sarah Jarosz, Curses, Fooled Again!, Let Me Think About It, Women In the News, New Boring Fish Fossil Found Nearby, Canadian Taliban Object to Lady Sports Fans, Beware the Polygamous Ninjas, and, from an alternate universe: Redskins to Ground the Eagles, “It Was Me”.

Soylent Siberia brings your morning coffee creamer, Monday Motivationer Lynna, Speaking of Clams, The Future Ex-Mrs. Soylent, Humpday Hawtness Lifeguard, So Then I Shouldn’t Order Fish?, Overnighty Lenka, Fursday Fleur-de-lis Julia, Fursday Afternoon Art Awesome, Corset Friday Harvest Festival, T-GIF Friday Candy Is Dandy, Overnighty Reflection, Weekender Tail, and Bath Night Weekender.

Proof Positive’s Friday Night Babe is Denise Quinones, his vintage babe is Polly Bergen, Sex in Advertising is covered by Adriana Lima, and of course there’s the obligatory 49ers cheerleader. At Dustbury, it’s Danielle Dax and Viola Davis.

Thanks to everyone for their linkagery! Deadline to submit links to the Rule 5 Wombat
mailbox for next week’s Rule 5 Sunday is midnight on Saturday, October 4.

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Category: Rule 5
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