Lightning Round – 2012/05/22

Remember, your superiors know better than you how to raise your children. (In this case, your superiors are the least competent of those our college system has pumped out).

Government theft can sometimes be more blatant than usual.

The government also hates it when you deprive them of their theft.

Never forget that Paul Krugman, while intelligent, is a complete idiot. From 2002, “Alan Greenspan needs to create a housing bubble to replace the Nasdaq bubble.” And people still listen to him.

Greens have just as much disdain for life as the reds did.

Steyn writes a great article about Geert Wilders. Read it.

CDMN has an interesting conversation with Christian marriage counselors hamster. Spin once and spin again.

(h/t SDA)

 

Feminism: Contributing Factor to Obesity

It looks like it’s fat day over at In Mala Fide with two posts on obesity today.

The first is on the feminists’ contradictory positions on two unhealthy body types: fat and anorexic skinny. Manuel questions ‘why the contradiction?’

My answer: in our modern prosperity, it’s much easier to be unhealthily fat than unhealthily skinny, so people will justify their lack of discipline and condemn those who judge their laziness. Not much different from his.

The second by Frost argues that obesity is a spiritual problem. People eat to fill the spiritual gap in their lives left by consumerist culture.

I’d agree with him on this, but I think there’s more to it.

Everywhere you see discussion of the obesity crisis and everybody decries this, that, and the other thing.

Fast food is often blamed, even though fast food in itself doesn’t make you fat. Consumerism, advertising, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, pop, etc.

One thing that is never discussed is feminism, even though I think it is one of the most self-evident contributing factors of the obesity epidemic.

At one time, mother would be at home: in the morning, she’d make a good breakfast for her children and husband, and send them to school/work with a healthy bagged lunch. She’d cook in the afternoon so a healthy supper was waiting for when everybody in the evening. When the kids got home from school, there’d be some baked goods or fruit for snacks.

The mother would provide healthy, home-cooked food for the family. She would make sure her family ate well (“finish all your peas”) and that her children would develop good eating habits. She’d make sure here kids got enough outdoor play (ie. physical activity) to stay healthy.

Now women work, and mother no longer has the time to bake, to cook meals, and to supervise her children’s eating and play habits.

Breakfasts of bacon & eggs, home-baked bread, or oatmeal have been replaced by sugary cereal. Lunches of sandwiches, fruit, and milk or leftovers have been replaced by cafeteria food (burgers, fries, and pizza) and lunchables. Home-cooked dinners have been replaced by microwavable meals, fast food, restaurants, and easy cook dinners. Snacks of home-baked goods have been replaced with chips and candy.

Mom is no longer home, so kids are unsupervised. Instead of “no snacks until after dinner”, kids come home to an empty house filled with junk food. Instead of mother teaching good eating habits to her children, they learn eating habits from peers (chug! chug! chug!) and TV. Instead of mother yelling at kids to turn off the TV (or video games, radio, books, etc.) and go outside to play, kids lounge around supervised by Mario & Luigi.

Now, obviously feminism isn’t the only factor in obesity, others would include spiritual gaps, easy entertainment, laziness, an overabundance of food due to prosperity, etc, but it is still a factor.

Feminism is likely a leading contributor to obesity; it is hard to see how any discussion of obesity can occur without at least some consideration of this.

Shameless White Male Privilege

So, this post on white male privilege by some sci-fi author has been making the rounds.

If you’ve ever spent time in the race-baiting and/or liberal weenie area of the blogosphere, you’ve probably heard the term white privilege before; it essentially it means that whites (and males) have inherent social advantages over others (minorities and females) that they don’t notice.

The post provides a fairly good analogy of the concept, and the author mostly avoids the moral superiority, butthurt, and male-shaming/white guilt that invariably accompanies liberal’s discussion of privilege. He doesn’t sound at all like the smarmy, self-hating, morally superior Tim Wise.

Now, among the right, conservatives, the manosphere, etc., the concept of white male privilege usually doesn’t gain much traction, and for quite a while it didn’t for me either; but after reading about it some, I’ve decided that I’ve got to go against the grain of my ideological brethren on this topic.

White privilege probably does exist; so to male privilege.

****

Immediately, many reading those will protest: what of affirmative action, what of political correctness, what of family court, what of chivalry, and so on and so forth. Sure, there are many number of things that are  against males.

In fact, I’ll go further and say that most codified discrimination that still exists in Western society, is either anti-white (occasionally anti-Asian) and/or anti-male. Codified discrimination against minorities and women has been almost entirely eliminated.

But that’s irrelevant to the concept, as white male privilege goes beyond that.

****

So, why do I accept this concept?

I’ll start with male privilege. Yes, females have some advantages over males: family court advantages, being the sexual gate-keeper, chivalry, less chance of prison, etc.

On the other males have so many more social advantages; I’ll just list what I think is the big one:

Unless I go to jail, I really never have to worry about rape. In fact, I almost never worry about my physical safety in relation to other people.

From what I understand, women keep their physical safety in mind quite a bit.

As for white privilege, the big one is this:

White is “normal”, other races are not. If someone describes me it’s based on height or hair colour or some other characteristic. When someone describes a minority to me, race is the first descriptor. In addition, there are no racial expectations placed on me either for bad or good; I never have to think about how I reflect on my race.

There’s more, but you can look elsewhere, this page is not a justification for the concept of privilege. All that’s necessary for my actual point is that I accept the concept of white male privilege.

****

If you doubt the concept of white male privilege honestly consider this:

Would you trade being male for being female if given the choice?

Would you trade being white for being a NAM if given the choice?

Probably not. You know it’s awesome being a white male.

****

Side note.

Don’t act like white males are victims, even if you don’t buy the concept of white privilege. I hate that.

Sure, some there may be some injustices (ie. family court) and these should be fixed, but creating white males as a victim class to rival other victim classes in being victims is just pathetic.

I disdain when feminist activists act like women are victims and I disdain when racial activists act like victims.

Life’s not fair. Deal with it.

You will eat shit; stop pretending that the shit you eat is worse than others’ shit, and because it’s worse it somehow makes you a better person or more deserving. It doesn’t.

Acting the victim only makes you weak and pathetic.

End side note.

****

Of course, white male privilege is not the only privilege there is.

The single greatest social privilege any person can have is parent’s who speak English. Oral and written English is the most useful skill any person in this globalized (ie. anglicized) world can have.

There’s the privilege of being born in North America in the 20th century. The most prosperous and safest civilization of all time.

Not being born a disabled is a great privilege.

Everybody has a wealth of privileges they don’t notice and aren’t grateful for.

As P.J. O’Rourke said to his daughter: “Honey, you’re cute. That’s not fair. Your family is pretty well off. That’s not fair. You were born in America. That’s not fair. Darling, you had better pray to God that things don’t start getting fair for you.”

The focus on white male privilege, and white male privilege alone, is sometimes silly. Rarely do I see the other privileges (except maybe wealth) talked about. That’s besides my main point though. I just wanted to point out that you have other privileges that you may not be aware of.

****

Now, here’s the part where most of those talking about the concept of privilege try to make you feel guilty for having privilege and try to turn you into some bleeding-heart idiot.

I’m not going to do that, because I’m not an emotionalizing liberal; I’m an analytical, cold-hearted conservative.

Instead, I’m going to explain why white male privilege exists.

****

Why does it exist?

Simple: White male privilege exists because white males built the greatest civilization in the history of the world.

In particular, the people of a small island off the coast of Europe created and molded the modern world. The Germans, Italians, French, Russians, and Spaniards had some influence, but English liberalism (not modern progressivist liberalism, but Lockian liberalism and Burkian liberal-conservatism) is the basis for all the greatness of modern society.

English liberalism led to the creation of universal freedoms; allowing people to go about their personal and economic business free from worries of arbitrary exercises of power by those with power.

English liberalism championed and created the ideological basis for the free market, the single greatest engine of economic production ever conceived by man.

English common law created a system of justice where the rule of law prevailed, process was paramount, all were protected equally, and where state power was checked by law.

The protestant work ethic and individualist values prepared the English individuals to drive the above.

British heterogeneity in language, race, religion, and political culture created an English culture used to absorbing the best of other cultures.

Given these strengths, English civilization became the preeminent civilization for the last four centuries. (The USA is a part of English civilization).

All it’s real rivals, until the current rise of China, were other white European civilizations who shared some values with Englishmen. (No, the Japanese, Muslims, and Ottomans were never/are not a real threat to English civilization’s preeminence).

****

This great civilization was created by Englishmen for Englishmen (and their families); through their blood, sweat, and tears.

Englishmen fought numerous wars against the continentals to keep themselves free and to spread English values.

Rightly or wrongly, Englishmen fought overseas to acquire territory and resources for Englishmen and to spread English values.

The English economic engine was built on the toil, risk, and ideas of Englishmen.

English political culture and law was created and protected by Englishmen.

By doing so, Englishmen created the civilization we currently live in. It is also the richest, most powerful civilization in the history of the world.

****

White, male privilege exists because of this: English civilization was created for Englishmen by Englishmen.

Every liberal writer on privilege ignores this, but it is essential to understanding.

Why should white males feel guilty for enjoying the privileges their forefathers created for them?

Do not white males have the right to enjoy the civilization they created for themselves?

(You may be asking yourself right now, aren’t I conflating Englishmen and white males? Just wait, I’ll explain.)

White males absolutely have every right to enjoy the privileges they have created for themselves.

We owe nothing to no one.

****

So, what did the English do, having created this unprecedentedly wealthy, free, and powerful civilization?

They shared it.

Think about that. Englishmen created a civilization with power beyond anything the world has seen, but instead of doing what almost every civilization in history would do, they shared it.

They invited their conquered to join their prosperity. They shared their freedom with their slaves.

****

What do you mean they shared it? That’s not what I learned in school.

First, they gave it to non-English Europeans: the Irish, Scots, Germans, Norse, etc.  Other than French Quebec, they have been fully assimilated. We allowed them into our country and they adopted English values. They hold to English law, English individualism, English liberty, and identify as English (ie. American, a subset of English). In North America, specific types of European blood don’t matter very much. (As an aside: some interesting maps that may illustrate what I mean). They are all honorary English. Europeans of ethnicities have come to positions of power.

I don’t have a drop of English blood in me, but I am English to the core.

Englishmen gave it to women. They gave the benefits of English civilization to women through the family and mores of chivalry. Then they were extended the vote. Then they were giver more rights and privileges through feminism, affirmative action, the welfare state, etc.

The blacks were fucked over by Englishmen who had them as slaves, yes. (Although, not as much as by other Africans who enslaved them in the first place, but that’s neither here nor there).

But, then Englishmen fought a war to free them. Who else, other than Englishmen and a couple of other English-influenced European countries have freed their own slaves en masse out of morality? Who else other than English civilization fought a bloody civil war to free another group from slavery due to compassion? Then, decades later Englishmen allowed their ex-slaves full legal access to politics and economics. They created affirmative action and the welfare state to redress past wrongs. Until today, where the Englishman’s ex-slaves are in a far better position than they would have been had they never been enslaved in the first place.

Others, such as Asians, Jews, Latinos, etc. all had a similar process where we allowed them to share in what Englishmen have built.

****

Now, these happened over long time-scales yes, and there were abuses by Englishmen, yes.

But how many civilizations, other than Englishmen (and some English influenced European countries) , have willingly and freely given power, wealth, and freedom to ex-slaves, conquered peoples, immigrants, etc.?

The American welfare state is a program for the mass transfer of wealth from Englishmen to everybody else, put into place by Englishmen. Other than Englishmen, who else has created an political-economic system where they willingly transfer vast amounts of wealth from themselves to others?

By the standards of power politics, Englishmen have been downright generous.

****

The more Englishmen shared, the more entitled others became.

Rather than being thankful we allowed others into the prosperity and freedom we built, they demonized us as oppressors.

They demanded more, so we gave them more. Rather than gratefulness, all we earned were more demands.

****

Now, you might think to yourself, didn’t others help create English civilization? What about black slaves? What about the Chinese railroad workers? What of Gurkhas? What about English women?

Yes, they did. Black slaves helped build the Southern economy. Chinese immigrants did help build the railroads. Gurkhas, Sikhs, and other such “warrior races” helped expand and defend English territory.

But so what?

These are all exceptions. The vast majority of the blood, sweat, and tears expended building this civilization was that of the Englishman. This no more invalidates what I have wrote, than the average white male not having an easy life invalidates the concept of white privilege.

As for Englishwomen, they helped preserve English culture and pass it on to the next generation. In the main, they did not build it. This is not to invalidate the importance of preservation and transmission, they are essential, but they are different.

****

So, next time some emasculated liberal, rabid feminist, or race-baiter starts going on about white privilege this, male privilege that, just put on a smug smile and tell him/her:

Damn right we have privilege and we Englishmen earned every last bit of it. Instead of whining about it, how about some gratitude? We created unimaginable wealth, unprecedented freedom, and a fair legal and political system for ourselves. We created all this, then we willingly allowed you to partake in it. Stop whining about a couple small advantages we still have for creating all this and enjoy what we gave you instead.

Do not let them make you feel white guilt. Do not let them make you feel shame.

You’re privileged. That’s awesome. Enjoy it.

The Bookshelf: The Spartan Entrepreneur’s Guide to Making $100 per Day Online

This is a review of The Spartan Entrepreneur’s Guide to Making $100 per Day Online by Victor Pride.

The guide is short (27 pages) and written in the same straightforward, matter-of-fact matter as the author’s blog. It communicates the plan it lays ou t simply and without wasted effort. Other than that, there’s not much to say on the writing style: it’s functional, but you aren’t reading it for entertainment, you’re reading it for the plan, so functional is good.

So onto the guide itself: it is exactly what it is advertised as, a step-by-step plan to making a livable (you won’t get rich off this plan) income through affiliate marketing without SEO manipulation. The entire plan is laid out in easy-to-follow steps that show you exactly what you need to do. The plan is realistic and simple to follow. Although, simply does not necessarily mean easy, this will take a couple hours of work each day.

I haven’t started the plan, but I’m pretty sure if you followed it and put the effort in,  you would make a decent income off this. Even if your first attempt doesn’t net as much as you want, it would be fairly simple to simply do the plan again for more income.

So, why haven’t I started the plan if I’m sure it would make money?

Simple, I’m uncomfortable with the plan. While I’m fairly sure the plan would work, I don’t really care for the method as is; it isn’t productive. It would make money, but following the plan you wouldn’t create anything of value to anybody. It’s above spam, but only by a bit.

As the guide itself says:

Remember: This is not a method to save the world, it’s a method to make you some money.

This just kind of rubs me wrong way: I don’t like feeling unproductive. If I go into business for myself, I want to be somewhat productive and create something of value. My largest complaint about my current employment is the lack of feeling productive, and simply switching to something else that leaves me feeling unproductive, would not be much of a gain.

On the other hand, after thinking about it, I figured out a way to do something moderately similar that will produce something of value. It will require more work on my part and will be slower to get off the ground, but I’ll feel like I’m adding value, so I don’t mind. So, as a start-off point with some thinking and rejigging, this problem can be overcome and the guide can be used as a base to work from.

Conclusion:

This guide does exactly what it says it does. If you want to make $100/day (or so) from affiliate marketing within a month or two, this will likely get you there. If this is all you want and you’re willing to put in some work, buy the guide.

I don’t like that the plan doesn’t create anything of value, so if you want to feel productive or suffer from the Protestant Work Ethic, the guide might not be for you. You may want to buy it anyway, as it can provide an intro to affiliate marketing without SEO or be used as a base for something more productive, but it may rub you the wrong way.

If you are not willing to put in the work necessary or are incapable of self-motivation, this guide will be a waste of money.

Lightning Round – 2012/05/15

Roosh shows an intro program to learning game. Bookmarking it for if/when I attempt to learn it in earnest.

Advice for learning social skills, for those of us who are not so socially. Combine with above.

Another good question to ask yourself. What do you want?

Uxuriousness is an awesome word I didn’t know before. Avoid it.

Worship: Jesus is King not Boyfriend.

An inspiration to us all.

Not sure what I think on it, but I’ve seen some convincing arguments for not voting recently.

I went to a nightclub/bar (I’m not sure which) once, but I didn’t care for it. Seems others don’t as well.

Good news on the oil front.

How much longer can the statist myth continue? (More)

More evils from the War on Drugs.

Free thought is only allowed if you think the proper thoughts. (More)

(h/t SDA, Private Man, InstaPundit)

30 Days of Discipline Update

I’m now half-way through my attempt at the 30 Days of Discipline, so I figured a status report is in order to keep me honest.

Of the 12 points (I’m not going to outline them, buy the book and support Victor).

For disciplines #1, #2, #3, #6, #8, #9, and #12, I’ve been following them pretty good; a mistake or two here or there, but overall I’ve been fairly good on following through on the disciplines.

I must say though, cold showers suck hard.

I did #5 for the first week and a half, but the last half of last week I fell off in discipline. So, I recommitted myself to it Monday, and will follow through with it for the rest of the 30 Days.

#7, I’ve mostly followed, but just kind of forgot about it for the second half of last week. Out of all of the disciplines, this is probably the easiest, but I simply forgot for a couple days. The list is very useful, I’ve finished a number of smaller tasks I’ve been meaning to get to for months.  I recommitted myself to it on Monday and will follow through for the rest of the 30 Days.

As I thought going in, #4 was and is the hardest. I followed it for the first week, but fell on the Sunday. I then succeeded for the first half of the second week, but fell completely off for the second half of the week. I’m recommitting myself to it today and plan to follow through for the 30 Days. I plan to get around to Ferd’s books on the subject this week.

As for #11, as I stated previously I switched my goal a week into the 30 Days after buying Victor’s entrepreneur book. I’ve started the project and got it going, but may have made a mistake and may have to start over.

So, overall, I’ve been doing good, but I should be doing better.

Tuition Bubble

Here’s the New York Times running only a bit behind in reporting on the tuition bubble. I thought this would be a decent time to weigh in on the issue.

the average debt in 2011 was $23,300, with 10 percent owing more than $54,000 and 3 percent more than $100,000

To be honest, this is not that bad. $23k is a lot, but livable, even 54k is not insurmountable, but for the 3%, $100k is a serious commitment. In some areas equivalent to a mortgage on a starter home.

The problem though, is that these are ok only if there is employment for those taking the loans. The NYT doesn’t cover this in this article, but the real problem is half of these people graduating are not going to have jobs or will be underemployed.

$23k in debt is doable if you make $40k a year, even $120k ($900/month according to the article) is doable if you make $60k a year coming out of university and live frugally for a few years.

But, if you are unemployed or working part-time as a barrista, there is no way to keep payments up on much more than a few thousand dollars worth of debt and still be able to advance in life.

****

The NYT misses that the tuition bubble is not a bubble because tuition costs are high; an expensive degree can be an excellent investment for both the lender and borrower if it increases future earnings.

The whole article is off-base as high tuition costs are irrelevant if the economic benefits of the degree match or exceed the cost of the degree.

The tuition bubble is a bubble because a lot of these degrees are worthless.

So why are they worthless? Part of it is simply the transition to post-scarcity, even highly educated and skilled people may simply be replaced by machines. Some of it is because these degrees teach no useful skills, such as Master of Puppetry, an awesome album but a crappy degree. But there is another, even more fundamental, problem that the NYT ignores almost completely.

****

The main problem is touched upon later on in the piece, but only very obliquely:

the main job of the admissions staff, after all, is to admit students

An off-hand reference in the second half of a sentence at the bottom of a paragraph is all the NYT devotes to the  crux of the tuition bubble.

****

Huh? Isn’t admissions staff’s job to admit students?

No, the admissions staff’s job is to screen out students for whom university (or college) is not appropriate.

****

Doesn’t admissions already do this?

No. It doesn’t. 68% of high school graduates go to college.

Thank about that for a second.

The average graduate is going to college

Remember back to your high school graduation; think about your average classmate.

The guy who wasn’t particularly bright or particularly stupid.

Do you think he would benefit from spending 4 years learning political theory or reading Rousseau?

Do you think it would benefit anyone else that he “learned” this?

****

The evidence says he doesn’t.

One-third of those entering college drop-out.

They pay the expense of a couple years of college and do not even get the dubious benefits of a degree.

The college system is taking advantage of these people who shouldn’t be in college.

****

One-third of college students are dropping out, at the same time, grade inflation is running rampant.

College is becoming increasingly easy, yet still a third of students still can’t hack it.

The admissions people are failing their job. One-third of people entering university are not capable of completing even the dumbed-down modern university curriculum.

Think about how many more would not be capable of completing college if standards were similar to those 50 years ago.

****

Look at this post from Adacious Epigone on IQ by intended major from a few years ago.

Look at education, public admin, business, psychology, legal professions, health professionals, etc.

The average incoming student for all of these is only around average intelligence. About half of them are of below average intelligence.

This is why there is a tuition bubble.

****

It used to be that a college degree meant you were a cut above the rest; that you were a competent, intelligent individual.

Now all a college degree shows is that you are able to stomach a university’s bullshit for a few years and are not a complete dullard.

That’s why your degree is worthless.

It doesn’t signal you’re a superior intellect with a strong knowledge of your specialty.

All it shows is that you’re not completely incompetent and are able to parrot BS back to the BS’ers. How much is not being completely incompetent worth to an employer?

Even a high GPA doesn’t mean much. With grade inflation everybody’s GPA is fairly high, how can an employer trust that you actually earned yours?

****

As an aside, look at public admin and social services: 96.3.

Do you want to know one reason why your government doesn’t work very well? The people in public admin are being educated to run the government. Do not think that these are not going to be the front-line clerks at the DMV, or even their supervisors; these are actually the people who are going to university to learn how to create public policy. They are the ones who will be creating government policy and regulations that will control your life.

Most of them are of  below average intelligence.

Think about that for a minute. Please don’t weep.

Of course, the average business major is not much better, barely scraping by at 101. 2.

And we wonder why the US economy is stagnating?

Teachers are at 99.3. Half of all teachers are of below average intelligence. Here’s where you can start weeping for the future.

Your kid is likely being taught by someone of average or below average intelligence.

If you’re reading a post about the economics of post-secondary education on a blog for leisure (like say, this post you’re reading right now), it’s highly likely the large majority of these teachers, bureaucrats, and businessmen running things and teaching your children are much more stupid than you.

Aren’t you feeling comforted?

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Thankfully the drop-out rate is so high. I’d hate to think what the school system and government would be like if a third of these sup-par students didn’t fail to finish their degrees.

****

So, after all that, you’re probably understanding why the tuition bubble exists.

It exists because too many people are getting a degree.

Everybody wants to enter the road to the professional, white-collar, middle-class, which is what university is thought of as now.

But not everybody is capable of being a white-collar professional.

Of course, modern liberal dogma can’t admit that some people are just not capable of being white-collar professionals, after all, we are all equal. The Bible (or Stephen Gould, depending on your religious beliefs) and the Constitution (or your sociology professor, depending on your political beliefs)  say so.

So those in charge, those who would read the NYT, can not and will not prevent those who shouldn’t be going to college from going to college.

Instead, they’ll encourage them to go. They’ll give these marginal students huge, government-backed loans they’ll never be able to pay back. They’ll lower academic standards as far as they can go, then lower a them a bit more, destroying any academic, economic, or signalling value of your degree in the process.

Doing otherwise would expose their ideology for the lie it is and their ideology takes precedence over the good of these marginal students, not to mention the other students whose degrees are made worthless.

So, as these marginal students flood colleges, demand for college education increases, so tuition goes up.

The academic value of the degree erodes, as grade inflation and lowered academic standards become necessary to keep these people in college, and maybe (hopefully) let them graduate.

The economic values of these degrees plummets. Your degree no longer signals competence, knowledge, and intelligence to an employer; all it signals is a lack of incompetence. Why should he pay well for that? Why should he hire the marginally competent at all?

Thus a bubble. Paying more and more for less and less.

One thing though, bubbles can’t last forever. Reality always wins in the end.

Eventually, the post-secondary education system will run into reality.

****

Economists do not predict a collapse of the student loan system, which would, in essence, mean wholesale default.

NYT’s economists never fail to be amusing. I wonder if this was Krugman or Friedman, maybe both?

Those who are blinded by ideology will run full tilt into the wall of reality. They will then act surprised.

****

With more than $1 trillion in student loans outstanding in this country

$1 trillion, that’s almost 7% of GDP. If a large percentage of these loans default, this will be a major economic catastrophe. It may be possible for the US government to forgive them, but that will be a significant increase in national debt.

Students are likely stuck with this debt.

****

So what can we do?

Short answer: nothing.

Long answer: That’s a question for another post.

****

One last note:

Leaders of the for-profit industry defended themselves

I’m usually a staunch defender of the free market, but in this case, all I can say is:

Fuck them.

The for-profit college industry is a brood of blood-sucking parasites taking advantage of students who should never set foot near a college for their own benefit, and the student loans programs in a disgusting display of parasitic corporate welfare. May their whole industry rot.

For Mother…

For mother, who will probably never see this,
and for those other mothers who may.

Thank you.

Thank you for being there for me when I came home,
it meant so much to be greeted after a rough day.

Thank you for making our house a home.
A place of safety and love to which I could come.

Thank you for asking about my day.
I may not have responded and may have acted annoyed,
but it meant a lot to know someone cared.

Thank you for being there for me.
You could have had a career, we may had more stuff,
but instead you were home, which was worth so much more.

Thank you for those meals you prepared.
I may not have looked after my health, but you did for me.

Thank you for staying with dad.
I know there were fights, there was unhappiness, and at times
it may have been easy to leave or have him leave, but you stayed.

Thank you for your prayers.
I may not have always sought God’s help,
but you sought it for me.

Thank you mother for birthing me.
I know it was painful and I know it was hard.
You could have ended me before I even was,
but instead you let me experience life.

Thank you mother for the love and acceptance you provided,
even when I was unlovable, you loved.

Thank you mother for the work you did for us.
I was often ungrateful, but still you worked.

Thank you mother for all you have done for me.
Without you I would not be the man I am today.

Thank you mother.

“Mother o’ Mine
If I were hanged on the highest hill,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine
I know whose love would follow me still,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!

If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine
I know whose tears would come down to me,
Mother o’ mine, O mother o’ mine!

If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o’ mine, 0 mother o’ mine!”

– Kipling

The Bookshelf: Married Man Sex Life Primer

I finished Athol Kay’s Married Man Sex Life Primer 2011; at the same time I read his How To Answer “Do These Pants Make My Ass Look Fat?”: and get laid like tile! (hereafter referred to as MMSL and HTA).

MMSL

MMSL is essentially a book on using game in marriage. Athol lays out the biochemical reactions that underlie love and underscores the concept of sex ranks and how they work in the sexual marketplace and in marriage. He gives out all the good red pill information on how to be alpha and keep your wife happy and sexually charged, but, unlike most game guides, he applies this to creating longer-term relationships and marriage rather than just scoring lays. In doing this he emphasizes the importance of displaying beta traits in maintaining a marriage.

His Male Action Plan (MAP) lays out the steps you need to improve your marriage or to secure the best post-marriage deal should your wife be unwilling to help improve the marriage. He lays out what you need to do to get your wife (and other women) to desire you. He also has advice on how to get your wife to try naughty things with you that you may not know how to introduce otherwise.

MMSL is a softer red pill. If you want to introduce the red pill to someone who you don’t think would be receptive to it or is more traditionally inclined, they would probably be much more likely to accept the information from Athol than say Roosh or Roissy. I would highly recommend this book as a gateway to red pill thinking.

What the MMSL is not is a primer for those looking to pick up women. He will occasionally talk about how his advice applies to pick-ups, but this is generally tangential to his main focus: marriages. So, if you’re looking for a game guide, look elsewhere.

Similarly, if you’re currently looking for a wife, this guide will not really help you find one. It will help prepare you for improving yourself to maximize your value on the sexual marketplace and has some good advice on choosing a wife, for which it is invaluable and highly recommended, but it will not have much information on the finding a women or going through the whole dating/courtship thing.

As for the writing itself, Athol’s style is both straightforward and fun. He doesn’t mince words or sugarcoat things, but is very frank. The book is also filled with levity, while the topics and writing are serious, you will still enjoy yourself and have the occasional laugh. It’s an informative and engaging book.

I will note, conservative religious folks may have some moral problems with this book. Athol does lay out a defence of divorce if a wife does not meet her husband’s sexual needs. He also seems to advocate some mild flirting with women who aren’t you’re wife and the use of porn in marriage, which may not strike some as entirely moral.

On the other hand, Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation himself, made similar arguments concerning divorce. Luther’s advice of when divorce is appropriate: “Then it is time for the man to say: If you are not willing, another woman is; if the wife is not willing, bring on the maid.” is very much echoed by Athol’s advice. So, I wouldn’t judge Athol’s advice on this too harshly.

The big question you’re probably asking though, is does his MAP work? The answer: I don’t have a wife to practice it on, so I really can’t tell you. I can say that a number of people have claimed Athol has saved their marriage, so take that as you will.

For myself, when I do enter a long-term relationship, I will be applying the MAP. I will also be trying to apply what I can of it in my singleness.

If you’re married or looking to be married, I would highly recommend this book. If someone you care about is having marriage/sex problems, buy them this book.

HTA

HTA is a collection of posts from Athol’s blog. They’re all great posts, and the writing is and information is good.  All the praise of MMSL just as easily applies to HTA. The problem though, is that a much, if not most, of the information in HTA is in MMSL, so if you have read the MMSL, a good portion of HTA will be rereading what you’ve already read.

Of the two, the MMSL has more information and is better organized, as it is written as a book, in a logical fashion by rather than as a collection of essays written in chronological order.

There is some information in HTA that is not in MMSL, but usually it is not really the important stuff you’re buying these books for. There are a number of essays in HTA talking about his own personal life and relationships that is not in MMSL; these can be used as illustrations for his larger points, and if you’re interested you may want to pick it up.

But overall, the HTA is unnecessary if you have or will be reading the MMSL (which you should be), so I can’t recommend it. On the other hand, there’s something to be said for supporting Athol in his endeavours to help others’ marriages, so you may want to buy it to support the cause.

Recommendation:

I would highly recommend buying the Married Man Sex Life Primer 2011. Although, Athol is currently finishing up his 2012 primer, so you may want to wait a month or two, or however long and get that instead.

As for How To Answer “Do These Pants Make My Ass Look Fat?”, buy it if you want to support Athol or if you really liked MMSL, but if you buy the MMSL, you won’t miss very much if you don’t get the HTA.

Lightning Round – 2012/05/08

A good question to ask yourself.

Something else to keep in mind: nobody cares.

Since when did Frost start writing for the New York Times?

Be good, not nice. Good advice for the Christian man. A bit more on the same topic.

In Soviet America… (insert Yakov Smirnoff joke)

The internet needs the UN like a kulak needs stalinism.

Wonder how feminists will respond to this?

Maybe stagnant wages are caused by Americans nearing maximum productivity.

How to buy happiness.

Nothing we didn’t already know about environmentalism.

We can hope, but Hayekianism does not benefit the state, so I doubt it.

How to retire at 27 (and screw over the next generation).

You mean fighting climate change and overpopulation may hurt people?

Why our generation is screwed.

How true. One of the things I like most about Harper is how much all the wrong people hate him.

(h/t Instapundit, SDA)