Rand Paul is a dick.
I feel like that could be the post, but I want to get that said before we move on.
Rand Paul is a dick.
Now, I invite you all to read this Twitter thread about last week’s protest at the Oregon capital, while I wait for this salted caramel stout from Breakside to warm up a little bit.
If you drink this beer when it’s too cold it will taste muted, but too warm and the subtleties get wiped out. Usually about five minutes does the trick. Which should be long enough for you to read that thread-or get the salient points.
Because what’s noteworthy about that right-wing rally is that they’re clearly as upset about a dysfunctional government as any leftist. That they’re treated better by the cops is, white understandable, you know?
Though I’ve read that the reason they didn’t get tear gassed is that it would make working in the capitol building impossible. So…yay?
Right about now, this beer is perfect. A little nutty, a fine ribbon of caramel and chocolate going though it, with a touch of saltiness to offset everything. I’m telling you, if you drink this beer at the right time, it’s one of the best things you could ask for.
Back to what I was going for, though; what I found interesting about this story was how often the reporter remarked about where the complaints of those people overlapped with left wing complaints-but not quite like the right wing fellows thought.
I wasn’t the only person to notice this of course, which brings me to The other thing I found a little troubling. In the responses to this story-and in the subsequent discussion on Reddit, were people remarking that once you get far enough left/anarchistic, guns really weren’t a problem anymore. Just like the right-wingers.
As soon as I read that, I could hear my Dad saying “That’s true, but not quite like the leftists think.”
Because once you’re comfortable with your murder symbol…well, you’re likely going to get the world you want-but not like you think. If you’re going there, you’d better have a concrete vision of what your better world looks like. The right wingers don’t, not really-they look at the past and obsess over it, a past that never really existed but can exist in unsullied glory, so long as you don’t actually look at it.
Who’s looking to the future, and how that manifests? No cheating: How do you actually get to that better world via force?
It’s a critical point, because the line between defense and offense gets obliterated without it.
Today’s second pint goes to the Oregon Energy Fund, which helps people heat their homes during the winter.
A pint for Dionysus 
I must try that beer. Wonder if it’s here.