Paul's Political Podcast

No discussion will be allowed unless you listened to the podcast.

Sorry guys, not even a simple comment.

I want to re-emphasize that I fully expect that nobody will buy this. I encourage folks to not buy this.

for those that do and wish to share their thoughts here, i would appreciate it if you would not reveal what is in the podcast.

thanks!

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For a while I was hoping you(Paul) were gay, and me too(I'm not)...but then...oh, well...

$25 'cause I was curious, but not bi-curious, and smoked a joint...damn

Use my gift for something good!
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btw...1st post...listened to every FREE podcast and this one...Thanks

~Some comments:
-I would be 100% interested in listening to a software engineering podcast . I don't get why you guys use SVN though, github is sooooo much better.

-I don't remember Ayn Rand saying never to give to charity, just that most of them are scams that don't actually help people to better themselves in any way. She was right as far as that goes. It was more her take on psychology and epistemology that I didn't like. She saw most people as trash who couldn't be helped and was terribly elitist.

-Stop feeding the monster. That should be posted on giant billboards.

-I think you're more or less correct about health insurance. Modern healthcare is like a narcotized assembly line anyway.

-Sorry Jocelyn, I don't think taxes really contribute to anything worthwhile. If you don't believe it, go volunteer to work for FEMA and you'll see within a week where that money is really going.

-3 hours at minimum wage is ~$21, more than what you'd save in that co-op example .

-I don't think building more prison-like buildings will help homeless people etc. One of the big problems in the modern world is exactly that we build crappy prison buildings that oppress the people who view and live in them. Kinda like modern apartment buildings. If you live in a place that makes you feel brutally inhuman, it's just that much harder to pull yourself out of that situation. Rates of schizophrenia are dramatically higher in cities than in the boons for that reason.

-Bleh. Feminism is yucky, but at least Jocelyn is sane about it. I think if you're really committed to equality, then "humanist" would be a more appropriate title. Once you bring gender into the issue you immediately stop treating people as people and start with the 'us vs them'.

-I don't think there's a particular relationship between drugs and stupidity ;P. Often people use drugs as self-medication for anxiety, depression and so on which in themselves reduce your mental capacities. Public school is probably far more to blame since they discourage any critical thinking and teach people to hate thinking in general. Oh, and the sort of torture you get there also drives a lot of people to drugs. If you've got it bad at home, at school they'll do their best to make it worse by as much as humanly possible. It's a shame you've never been to a prison Paul, they're just like public schools in so many sick ways.

Ten people have purchased this podcast.

So odd. I tried to set the price so high that nobody would buy it. And there are all sorts of people out there that eat, breathe and drink these topics all day - surely their comments would be more thorough.

The good news is: I really thought nobody would buy it. The fact that ten people bought it is rather inspiring.

.....

Software engineering podcast: i do that a little with andrew in podcast #100.

Recently a friend had some day job frustrations. I wrote this in a feeble attempt to help:

As people have asked me for career advice the last few years, one person has tagged my advice as "apathy counselling". I could fill a few hours talking about this, and it will probably sound crazy, but i will try to see if I can do this.

1) when you are at a job, you are usually doing stuff that you would not do if you were at home. You are doing stuff for the money. You are a prostitute. So, are you a $2 whore or a $10,000 whore? What is the difference between the two besides money?

2) In the work world, you can find engineers that appear to have about the same skill level, but some are paid far more than others. And with great pay comes great respect and trust. Their life is much easier. Why do they get more? What are they doing that is all that different? The engineer getting paid more has more job security and is valued more.

3) I think there is a long list of reasons. One way to express part of it is professionalism. Professionalism is not all of it, but, I think it is a large part. Somebody that is professional 99% of the time will get a lot more pay than somebody that is professional 98% of the time. Somebody that is professional 99.9% of the time will probably get double the pay of somebody that is professional 99.0% of the time.

4) And this is where apathy comes in. There are many flavors of apathy. So it is important to have/project just the right flavor.

4a) Expect your bosses and co-workers to be .... human (infinite flavors of flawed, many of which you have yet to experience). Universally. In this company and in all other companies that might hire you. Sometimes (as it sounds in this case) they will be wicked, sometimes they will want you to do silly things and sometimes it will be something weird which the english language has no words. After all, if they were truly awesome, you would gladly work there for free. Imagine that you are the $10,000 whore. You are to please them and get them to shell out another $10,000 later. And possibly tell others about the amazing quality of service. If you expect them to be professional, you will sometimes have your expectations met, but the rest of the time you will be frustrated. But being frustrated is less than professional. If you expect crazy and sometimes see professionalism, things get easier (but watch out, that professionalism you see might sometimes be a flavor of crazy you have not yet figured out). The key is, your job is to enter into a pool of odd people, do awesome things despite the crazy obstacles and then go on to the next gig. If you are apathetic about the crazy and the obstacles because you expected it ... you earned your $10,000. If you get frustrated due to the crazy, then that is very understandable and you don't get $10,000.

4b) Because you are a $10,000 whore, you have lots of money in the bank and a line of new gigs waiting. So you have no fear for getting fired. So if there is any suggestion that your work is less than optimal then the response is not one about defending your work but "If my work is not meeting your standards, then perhaps it is time for me to move on?" If it is a peer then the message is "If you think that my work does not meet the standards of this organization, then I think you need to persuade the director to fire me."

4c) Ever watch "rivers and tides"? The guy creates art then walks away. The art is destroyed by the elements. If you create good engineering and then try to protect it, that is a sign that you care. Instead, create good engineering and know, within yourself, that you did excellent work. Be perpetually prepared to walk away and let it be destroyed by ... people being entirely human.

I gotta go. I am making a feeble attempt to suggest that you consider trying on the right flavor of professional apathy. If you like the feel of it while you are at work, then you might find far greater enjoyment of your workday and you might find that you have become far more valuable - so greater pay, more job security, etc.

None of the things I have said above are absolutely true. These are things to consider in an attempt to find a path where you can enjoy your job more and possibly improve your career path.

~Best $25 I have spent recently!!! It was a fun podcast - politics, code, feminism, and drugs, what a blast!

I especially think politics is important, and I'm happy to have a chance to discuss it in this space. I understand Paul's reticence to include it, because the topic causes a lot of dissension and friction.

Wikipedia says:
"Politics (from Greek politikos "of, for, or relating to citizens") is the art or science of influencing people on a civic, or individual level, when there are more than 2 people involved."

So, three friends deciding what to have for dinner is politics. If you want to avoid it, you have a long, hard, lonely life ahead of you. Making decisions is work, and the more people involved, the harder it is. Anyone who tries to avoid politics completely is leaving that work there for someone else to do on their behalf. Then, they usually complain about how it gets done in their absence.

I have worked with several groups in vastly different areas, from mutual aid and support to Transition. It is so easy to get excited about working on projects together, then comes the question, "How do we make decisions?". I have never heard an answer to that question that turned out to be perfect. I think we will always be tweaking that process.

I agree that labels confuse the issues of politics. If I say I resonate strongly with the Libertarian Party platform, I end up defending myself from my friends while trying to keep silly people from slapping me on the back. Ayn Rand is a similar rabbit hole. It is much better to talk about what you mean rather than trying to have other people's conversations, because you will find yourself married to ugly things.

I believe our Federal government is extremely inefficient, corrupt, and way over the limits of what can be effectively done at that scale. There is a theme of decentralization and "empowered committees" in nature, quite the opposite of central control, and it seems to me a better way to approach governance. Why should someone get to take my money and decide how it should be spent?

If you think I need something, ask me. I see health care, poverty, hunger, and most other social welfare issues as community-centric. They cannot be solved the same way in every place, and I have seen far more progress made by localities and community groups than any state or Federal government program. When I hear someone say "food is a human right", it sounds like "free lunch over here". I would prefer to say "the capacity to produce or earn food is a human right", but even that sounds wrong.

I am a compassionate person, and I believe in care of the people, the earth, and return of surplus. I hate to see the waste, and the corruption, and hearing everyone fall for the whole dog and pony show like it is American Idol. I see our Federal government as an inseparable appendage of the monster we are feeding. I want big government to protect us from big bad guys, to provide for the common defense, protect the air and water and soil we all share, and lay the frameworks for fair trade and business. Not tell me what frakking milk I can drink, whom I can marry, or whether I need health insurance. And the problem is not solved by picking someone who agrees with YOUR views, and will shove them down all our throats. It is OK for people to live their own way, and it is healthy for different places to find different solutions. I believe enlightenment, awareness, and the models of nature will lead us toward a more decentralized power structure - that is to say, I believe our current system is crashing around our ears, in slow motion, because it does not recognize its own entropy.

Yup, totally worth $25.

A dozen have been sold.

At 40 i would have a thousand dollars. For one podcast on a topic that I feel terribly unqualified to say anything.

Well .... for those that have bought this podcast, what would be the topics for a second podcast? When and if this podcast gets to 40, I will record a second.

You should have known better Paul, sometimes a warning on things makes people more curious.
Its like when someone says "don't look I'm naked"

~For what it's worth, I listened to the podcast a week or two ago and surprisingly found myself in agreement with 99% of what was said, only had a little quibble about some perceived stereotyping on the last subject discussed, but even on that point I can understand from Paul's stated personal experiences why he feels that way.

Actually, the podcast inspired an opinion change on a few subjects, which is something I tend to do when presented with reasoning and logic that supports a change. ~

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Proud to be a supporter Paul! $25 is a small price for all the wisdom bestowed upon us in the hundreds of hours of podcasts. Don't get to excited about these though...I could probably only afford one or two more.

I come from a christian (biased) background regarding many of these things but try to keep an open mind as I move through life I appreciate. and was somewhat enlightened by the perspective you presented regarding gay marriage...Well done.

potential topic:
I am in the midst of starting my own empire (I lost my job and the wife found one...a small taste of what that sex-change might feel like...uncomfortable). While my wife is winning bread, I am home now, on the ranch, homeschooling the children, baking bread, and chasing the cows and chickens around.

I would be interested in what it takes to make your empire function...more specifically what I could concentrate my time on to make our home permaculture based business thrive. What are those first steps to get off the ground and bring my wife home in a year or so. I've been gleaning from various resources and still need to generate a more concrete direction.

I guess I'm saying I would be willing to pay for a Paul Wheaton business plan. Any other takers?

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~I was hoping to find your views repulsive, I guess to shatter my dream of making it to the 'Land' someday. Didn't happen.

~I think I'll take your "dont buy" advice next time and spend the money on seeds and plants for a new guild.

~After listening to the podcast I thought maybe you had used some kind of Jedi mind trick to see who would disregard your instructions.

~Because of my past, you already knew what this post was going to say? or do your powers only work in conversations?

paul wheaton wrote:
Well .... for those that have bought this podcast, what would be the topics for a second podcast? When and if this podcast gets to 40, I will record a second.

~Religion, I was a little disappointed it wasn't touched on in this one.

Something came up and I thought "Did I cover that in the political podcast?" So I went back to skip through it quickly to see if that was covered. I ended up getting distracted by other things and it kept playing.

I got to thinking about the word "should". I started to wonder if this word is what makes a difference between politics and permaculture. Does the word "should" come up mush in permaculture? Discussion seems to be more about what we are gonna do as individuals. In talking about politics, it seems to be about forcing people to comply with something.

I feel like there were several times in the podcast where Jocelyn said something and I thought "I take issues with 27 points in what you just said." I would then address one.

I also feel like there were quite a few things where I was just scratching the surface. Or I was just getting started on my point - and never quite finished it. But, these topics are rather massive.

the podcast inspired an opinion change on a few subjects

Then it was totally worth doing!

was somewhat enlightened by the perspective you presented regarding gay marriage...Well done.

Thanks! I think this approach would make lots of things in our lives much simpler. Gay or not.

I would be interested in what it takes to make your empire function...more specifically what I could concentrate my time on to make our home permaculture based business thrive.

I thought I would make a podcast on residual income streams. I asked Jack to join me on that and he never responded. There is somebody else on permies that I think would be good for that, and the delay is entirely my fault. I agree that this would be a good one - although I'm not sure if it is a permaculture thing. So I probably shouldn't put it in the permaculture podcast channel. So that leaves the question of where does it go?

Right now I am scrambling with lots of stuff, but .... once the high speed internet is rolling, then the quality of using skype might go way up. And I could try to squeeze this in before the first folks show up on the land.

Religion, I was a little disappointed it wasn't touched on in this one.

I do have one podcast that explores that a little. Try this one:

http://www.richsoil.com/permaculture/420-podcast-071-being-noble/

I do have some pretty strong thoughts. But I cannot help but think that sharing those thoughts will get some people to really hate my guts.

I do have one podcast that explores that a little. Try this one:

http://www.richsoil.com/permaculture/420-podcast-071-being-noble/

Ahh, I had forgotten about bob and brad. Wonderful podcast, I felt better after listing to it the first and the second time.

R Ranson emailed me today and said that we should draw attention to this.  Only she thinks we should raise the price to $75.  

paul wheaton wrote:A dozen have been sold.  

At 40 i would have a thousand dollars.  For one podcast on a topic that I feel terribly unqualified to say anything.  

Well ....  for those that have bought this podcast, what would be the topics for a second podcast?  When and if this podcast gets to 40, I will record a second.

Currently, 35 people have purchased this podcast.  Which still seems bizarre to me.   And then I reread a lot of the posts here.  Surely, the gibberish I said in that podcast is not that profound.

I can't remember which came first, the podcast or this meme:



I predict a clown that is a bit more orange and much more distracting.

People parted with $875 to listen to this dreck.  So, I have received monies for talking about politics.   More money than I have paid to deal with the podcast itself.   Normally, all of my podcasts run me way into the red.   But the important part is:  I was paid to talk about politics.  Does this make me a professional political pundit?

In the last year, two people have bought this podcast.   If five more people buy it, then I need to record another.  So ... maybe in a couple of years?

~I paid, I paid, I paid!  Not to listen to Paul's Drivel, but know he's hungry and it was time for me to feed the empire a little, or perform a religious sacrifice of sorts (money is saintly, right?)

I also ponied up the cashola's to see if could find anything, anything at all (other than Java), that I could truly DISLIKE about Paul....  I failed~

~When you reach 40 people who paid money for this, I would also like to vote for another "controversial" one on Software Engineering.

While there were juicy tidbits had expected more about politics, then realized this was recorded in 2013...  ~

~Really did enjoy this podcast, wonderful topics

Since do have permission to talk about political things!~!~!~!~!~!~ (boy, could I say a lot)

~Really enjoy what Hippocrates supposedly said.  "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food", which is where Permaculture is a perfect fit!  It won't solve all ills but helps with a majority of them.  What Americans currently have to deal with is truly a mess and thanks for keeping that part short'ish!

~Thanks Paul for a super podcast, was full of juicy bits and bobs that I think most everyone would agree with~

Jocelyn is awesome!  She has valid viewpoints too!

Four people bought the political podcast in the last 24 hours.  So that means we are one purchase away from doing this again.

For the next one, the suggestions so far are:

-  another "controversial" one on Software Engineering  (not sure what we might do there; lots to say about SE, just nothing worth putting behind a paywall)

- Religion (I do have some things to say about this)

- what it takes to make your empire function (I think I put quite a bit of that into the regular podcast)

- a Paul Wheaton business plan (I think I would be okay with putting that into the regular podcast stream.  Although I do have some thoughts on professionalism that don't fit there)

I think the default would be to explore the politics of the last few years.  Maybe make a list.  Then we need to listen to the first one before recording the second to make sure we don't duplicate content.  But now that we are so close to 40 ....   of those that bought the first podcast, any more thoughts on what you would like to hear for another?

Purchase #40.

Okay, will get on this ...  

Any more thoughts on what to make this new "behind the paywall" podcast about?

Jocelyn and I talked about this yesterday.   And before you know it, we started making lists of what to put into a religion podcast.

paul wheaton wrote:
-  another "controversial" one on Software Engineering  (not sure what we might do there; lots to say about SE, just nothing worth putting behind a paywall)

- Religion (I do have some things to say about this)

As long as you use Allman indentation and vi, what is there to talk about?

~I give this podcast 7 out of 10 acorns.

At the end of it all, I still think $25 is far too cheap for this.  Paul is probably right, a lot of people are going to be disillusioned about him if they listen to this.  Paul has strong opinions about many things, but woe betide anyone who tries to slap a label on him.  I don't think he fits in any political school of thought.

I put off listening to this for a while because I was afraid I wouldn't like him after it.  I've listened to the end and I'm still here.  There are many things I agree with like not feeding the monster, the eat dessert first approach to learning permaculture (aka, learn the practical fun stuff before the ethics), and that many of the problems in the world could be solved with permaculture techniques.

There are some things here I don't agree and rather than argue about it, I knock off one acorn.

Loss of another acorn because it wasn't solution focused.   The other podcasts, I feel like I learn something useful that I can apply to my life.  This one not so much.

The last acorn went because this one didn't flow as well as the other podcasts I listened to.  

Who do I recommend listen to this podcast?  Probably no one.  

And yet, I found it interesting, but I'm a glutton for punishment - I like learning about points of view that contrast my own.  I was surprised that I agreed with so much of it.  

(oh and a word of advice, this podcast contains some seriously not safe for work content.)

~I give this podcast 8 out of 10 acorns.

Would again enjoy being entertained though not actually offended.

~This podcast was worth both my time and my money.  I was not offended.

Of course; I've never actually been offended in my life, so I'm not entirely sure what that would feel like.

So I suppose that I could have been offended, but I just don't care.

~I listened to this podcast again, to refresh my memory.  And I was wondering if there's been any kind of changes in perspectives over the past 7 years.

I ask this, because I personally have changed a lot over my lifetime; although less so over the past 7 years than any of the 7 year periods that preceded it.  I started off as a full blown Green.  My father would occasionally make light fun of that, probably because he was wiser than myself at 17.  But as I learned more and more about the actual science, I realized that the motivations of the Green party had less to do with preservation of the natural world and a lot to do with the political careers of particular people.  I started calling them Watermelons; for green skin deep and red turtles all the way down.  Eventually, I left the Green Party and thought I'd fit in with the Democrats; after all I was in a labor union.  I actually became so active in the Democratic Party of Kentucky that I was once a state elector.  I was actually shocked by how truly un-democratic the internal party process was.  Then I was politically adrift for a time, couldn't imagine myself as a Republican; until I discovered Ron Paul, who isn't really a Republican either except out of convenience.  But I didn't understand that yet, so I ended up joining the Republican Party; and ended up becoming a "youth chair" and representative at the state convention in the Republican Party as well.  While I was no longer prone to shock at politics by this point, the Republican Party's internal process wasn't much better than the Democrats (although it was, definitively, more democratic.  An irony that I've never gotten over)  Ultimately I discovered what a libertarian was, and realized that's what I am. Specifically, I'm an Agorist; as I no longer consider the official channels of politics to be an effective path towards change.  Of course, Jack Spirko is also an Agorist.

Speaking of Agorism; this political philosophy doesn't have much to say about how we (as a society) should set up health care other than to say "more market driven";  which, honestly, is a cop-out.  So if there's another pocast where you went into details about your perspectives on how a community based on permacultre and individual production would handle health and mental care, I'd love a link. (and yes, I know about the recent cancer podcasts; I mean besides that)