The pedantic shit will continue!! At least until post-election polls show they lost 2 election cycles because of it. This is about political power, and they won’t abandon the platform until it’s a loser.
Data to be collected along the way: a) Post-transition suicide rates vs. same age control groups; and b) Matricide/patricide rates in families of detransitioners, especially those with parents who were “so proud” of their 100% “non-cis-het” children.
As the late G. Gordon Liddy used to say on his radio program, there are only two sexes. Gender, on the other hand, is a grammatical term, and at least in German there are three.
It's not random, Mädchen is a diminutive and grammar overrules biology.
Adding -chen or -lein to the end of a noun makes the word both a diminutive ("little") and grammatically neuter; see also die Frau/das Fräulein. In English you'll often get the same effect by adding a -y: John/Johnny, but without the gender thing.
I took German for a year in highschool. The only phrases I remember are "nicht gemacht" and "Mein Hund hat meine hausafgaben gefress" and I had to use AI to fill in the blanks on that last one.
Always good to see the pedantic shit not stopping.
No-one is suited to work standing on their feet for 8-10 hours on end. We evolved in motion, to be in motion, interspersed with periods of (being at) rest.
Also, kids and women being sickly after a 60+ hour work-week? What a surprise. It's a shame the court didn't instead mandate that the owners of the mills also work 60+ hours on the floor of the factory - maybe then they would have realised how they treated their workers.
If you ever wonder where the attitude of today's corporate capitalists and politicians comes from, look no further than the 19th century and how lower classes and workers were treated, spoken about and thought off: as human resources to be exploited, keep their heads bowed and to be grateful for being allowed to work from age 14 to 60 and the die.
That's how you make communism look like a reasonable and palatable alternative, and we know how that plays out.
It's a well-known fact that having a bar to rest alternating feet helps immensely when standing all day. This is what machinists and others who work on their feet have done.
So basically you can't insult the mentally ill by pointing out that they are, in fact, mentally ill.
Our ruling class is a fragile minority as well. For the sake of their mental well being, are we soon not going to be able to criticize their policy deci--
There's a strange equivocation? oscillation? on trans issues between a kind of gender essentialism (e.g. transwomen are women, no matter what sort of sex organs they have) and presenting trans people as a distinct group that needs to be protected in ways that neither men nor women are.
That isn't surprising from activists, but you'd hope the courts would try to be a little more coherent.
I think it’s beyond “non-protection” of women. They’re being outright “non-personed.” I thought we did away with this 💩 with the abandonment of minstrel shows. Apparently not. Instead of black face, the changeling pulls on a one piece bathing suit and voilá, the “black performer” is replaced with Al Jolson. Riley Gaines, please use the rear exit by the dumpsters to exit the natatorium.
I live in Oregon, and the "tolerant woke" fiercely defend trans, gays, and all the rest of the letters of the LGBT alphabet soup. Even questioning what is driving this sudden push towards transgenderism will get you labelled and shunned. But, those same tolerant folks are proud to display their hatred towards, caucasians, men, Christians, Republicans, Trump, or anyone else they don't like. Apparently white, Christian, Republican men are immune from negative psychological impact, and completely deserving of the vitriol. I associate with some that identify as fiercely left-wing, and in many ways like them and enjoy their company. However they will occasionally go on a rant about how terrible white men are, and all I can do is keep my mouth shut. It doesn't make me want to spend time around them, and trying to present a counter point is useless. These tolerant left-wing zealots immediately get angry and threaten violence. The fact that they are unable to see the irony in their response is scary.
I’ve said this a million times and I stand by it. If we use their language or we say nothing, it normalizes their twisted behavior. I will never use Minor Attracted Person, they are Pedophiles! They’re not Immigrants, they are legally Illegal Aliens. Or the latest: It’s not a Front Hole, it’s a Cervix. Language matters, and so does speaking up.
I've done that plenty of times, and all that happens is I end up losing an acquaintance. Some of these people mean well, they are just brainwashed. Keeping my mouth shut for a few minutes to preserve a connection is sometimes more important than saying what I feel. I sure as hell am not changing their minds, just like they aren't changing mine. Even though I disagree with their position, siloing myself off and only surrounding myself with people I agree with makes my world awfully small. Besides, I know plenty of people I agree with ideologically that I can't stand to be around.
We like to think of ourselves as missionaries in the People's Socialist Republic of Vermont. Maybe we're just gaslighting ourselves, but it keeps us from sobbing uncontrollably.
True, and I admire you Bray for fighting for your home. But I read somewhere that the migration along political lines in USA right now, is the largest migration ever in American history. Larger than the migration of rural blacks to cities in the 20th century. I’m not advocating here. Have some ideas that I am considering.
I lived in the only county in Idaho that consistently voted Democrat for 22 years. I love Idaho, but moving isn't part of my long term plan. There are plenty of conservatives in Oregon, just like there are liberals in Idaho.
More and more counties in Oregon are voting to get Greater Idaho on the ballot. I don't think it will succeed in Oregon, and I am not sure Idaho wants us. I am pretty sure Congress would never allow it. How long has Northern California been trying to split off and become Jefferson to no avail?
You’re right, Congress would NEVER allow it! Think of the chaos that would ensue! The state of California would be a bunch of polkadot liberal cities surrounded by a Red state!
Keep in mInd that of the “LGBTQIIAANBPPK2S + folx,” “LGB” forged the path, and the rest of them are freeloaders. My LGB friends can’t stand these gender assholes.
What have we become? I will have to acquire such a t-shirt for myself. It's unfortunate that I don't go to middle/high school anymore because my peers will wonder why I went to the trouble of a t-shirt to state the obvious.
I was at the bank the other day ... I had to register for a new account ... faced with a gender question ... male female other.... I wondered out loud ... other? What's the other gender?
The bank lady did not find that funny ... no doubt she's had gender bender training at the corporate HQ...
Our local health clinic - I repeat HEALTH CLINIC - asks the same, stupid question. I use my pen to black out any reference to "other" or the idiotic statement "assigned at birth". I'm not sure anyone's noticed; nobody's said anything.
I'm considering upping the ante by adding some sort of statement, perhaps a "duh" after I've checked the box for female or scratching out "assigned at birth" and writing in "determined at conception" or something like that. Wondering if that will alter the health care I get though.
Oh it's even worse in the UK. My 81 year old father in law was asked, with a straight face, by a medical "professional" if there was any chance he could be pregnant.....because here in the UK its your gender identity that's recorded on your medical records, not your biological sex. FFS the lunatics have really captured the nhs 🙄
Very interesting how “Science” seems to ALWAYS support the prejudices of the day and ruling class. Only a fool(Fauci also a criminal) would see Science as fixed
Most people find thinking about serious subjects simply overwhelming. When I was 18 in ‘72 and going to cast my first ballot, I found “who I liked” loomed large in my mind. I had the self-discipline to read up on Nixon’s policies vs. McGovern’s, and the R choice was obvious.
And as one of Chris's exhibits shows, The Science in 1888 considered the pelvises and knees of 50% of the population to be "peculiar." And since those knees and peculiar pelvises weren't designed for standing . . .
I think this literal prostrating of half the population is a little more serious than all Alito's flags combined. All statues of Brandeis must be torn down, the Supreme Court too, and all things named for Brandeis, like that lefty university, must be renamed for Ketanji Brown Jackson, who must also get the Nobel Prize in biology for not recognizing that knee and pelvis stuff.
So, speaking the truth causes psychological harm and must be stopped -- how far does that extend? What if the child wears a shirt that says, "There is no Santa Claus," or "Your parents will die some day," or "You're probably adopted?"
Yes and no. Obviously only a small % of Ivy (& comparable) students actively participated, but an enormous % of students subscribe (or profess to subscribe) to beliefs that are nonsensical. There are probably several causes that tie back to one: As children, they were never taught independence of thought vs. being an intellectual lemming.
Something I observed in school (75-79): Some students tried to really understand the material, while the highest scoring students were tape recorders who threw out the memorized material immediately after the test to make room for the next batch. These were the ones who “crammed” for finals. Essentially, they left school with only the last semester of info in their brains. They had the best grades and least depth of understanding. I strongly suspect Anthony Blinken & John Kerry were such students. They stand athwart history shouting at the past “Thou shalt not confuse us in the present with reality!”
The best lesson parents can teach their child is to intellectually challenge everything told to them by another person. “Doubt and verify.”
Instead, he devoted his efforts to developing a stentorian, fact-free drone heavy on fabulism. Kerry is someone who chooses to make an ice tea recipe sound like Moses descending Sinai with the Commandments.
Why are the courts bending the knee to "the science" instead of the clear and objective principles of the Constitution and Bill of Rights? Judges, the courts and the Law lose credibility and thus trust when they bend to the current winds like everyone else.
Because it’s against judicial principles to tell a litigant “I’m not an expert, but even I can tell that you, your purported experts, and your lawyers and completely full of shit. Verdict for the defendant.” The truth of these statements is not the issue.
Our problem is that society does not waste time or resources on documenting self-evident truths (like gravity or 2 sexes), and thus the Left takes the field with little opposition.
The funny thing about this, (not haha funny) is that if the court buys this argument, every single straight white kid can bring the exact same suit using the exact same argument. Pride Month says I am bad because I am straight. Whatever race thing says I am bad because I am white. Basically just change the words at the top of the brief and hand it straight back. Find a school where whites are the minority, and sue like crazy.
Agreed, but in the right state/municipality with the right judges it can work. To the extent that it is cheaper to bring suit than defend against it would give a strong ability to fling suits at institutions without being thrown out as trivial.
Possibly, although in places like CA I wouldn’t be surprised. Still, a litigant could do a lot of suing and not have their case thrown out due to SC precedent, making the defense against such suits pricey. Especially once one suit is won in court (in the right state with the right judge).
Why learn how to cope when the courts shield you from the real world? No boundaries and no wonder kids are confused, easily influenced, depressed and are so gullible as to believe they can change their sex and everything is going to be all right.
After reading the WPATH files published by Public, you realize there is no end to what stupid, evil people will do if you let them. It’s a perfect storm when legal system is infested with stupid, evil people too.
All public high schools should have a dress code (shirt, pants, blouses etc.) with very limited choices and strict rules. It simplifies so many things, and it forces you to, if you want to stand out, do it through personality and actions, not by clothing choice. Any idiot can wear any type of clothing, obviously. Promotes discipline too.
I've spent WAAAYY to much time in my life reading about what HS kids can and can't wear. Why is this ever even as issue, aside from any first amendment concerns? The school has a dress code. You abide by that or you go home. After school, parade around in whatever you want.
And yeah, we've reached peak clownworld with the entire 2 genders thing and so much more idiocy, hence my Substack...
There are two genders. You cannot change your chromosomes. End of argument.
All the rest is purely political to get women to agree with them and then vote for them. This pedantic shit has to stop.
The pedantic shit will continue!! At least until post-election polls show they lost 2 election cycles because of it. This is about political power, and they won’t abandon the platform until it’s a loser.
Data to be collected along the way: a) Post-transition suicide rates vs. same age control groups; and b) Matricide/patricide rates in families of detransitioners, especially those with parents who were “so proud” of their 100% “non-cis-het” children.
As the late G. Gordon Liddy used to say on his radio program, there are only two sexes. Gender, on the other hand, is a grammatical term, and at least in German there are three.
And in German, grammatical gender does not always align with biological sex, a linguistic trap for the unwary. We Germans can be cunning like that.
My favorite is "das Mädchen" - the girl/maiden with "das" as the gender neutral for "the." "Der" for male, "die" for female nouns.
It's not random, Mädchen is a diminutive and grammar overrules biology.
Adding -chen or -lein to the end of a noun makes the word both a diminutive ("little") and grammatically neuter; see also die Frau/das Fräulein. In English you'll often get the same effect by adding a -y: John/Johnny, but without the gender thing.
I took German for a year in highschool. The only phrases I remember are "nicht gemacht" and "Mein Hund hat meine hausafgaben gefress" and I had to use AI to fill in the blanks on that last one.
Always good to see the pedantic shit not stopping.
I hope your dog didn't get a tummy ache. ;)
lol
Only two are human. Mushrooms have upwards of sixty. Humans, I might reiterate, have two.
Only one is specific.
No-one is suited to work standing on their feet for 8-10 hours on end. We evolved in motion, to be in motion, interspersed with periods of (being at) rest.
Also, kids and women being sickly after a 60+ hour work-week? What a surprise. It's a shame the court didn't instead mandate that the owners of the mills also work 60+ hours on the floor of the factory - maybe then they would have realised how they treated their workers.
If you ever wonder where the attitude of today's corporate capitalists and politicians comes from, look no further than the 19th century and how lower classes and workers were treated, spoken about and thought off: as human resources to be exploited, keep their heads bowed and to be grateful for being allowed to work from age 14 to 60 and the die.
That's how you make communism look like a reasonable and palatable alternative, and we know how that plays out.
It's a well-known fact that having a bar to rest alternating feet helps immensely when standing all day. This is what machinists and others who work on their feet have done.
But if I want to work 60+ hours a week, I will.
So basically you can't insult the mentally ill by pointing out that they are, in fact, mentally ill.
Our ruling class is a fragile minority as well. For the sake of their mental well being, are we soon not going to be able to criticize their policy deci--
I think I see where this is going.
Very nice
There's a strange equivocation? oscillation? on trans issues between a kind of gender essentialism (e.g. transwomen are women, no matter what sort of sex organs they have) and presenting trans people as a distinct group that needs to be protected in ways that neither men nor women are.
That isn't surprising from activists, but you'd hope the courts would try to be a little more coherent.
Gender fluidity is by its nature incoherent.
It´s called BLOB coherence.
If that’s an acronym, I need an explanation. If it’s not, I need an explanation.
think of a flowing turd. Solid, but flowing ....
You mean it’s full of…? One way to think of it, I suppose.
I think it’s beyond “non-protection” of women. They’re being outright “non-personed.” I thought we did away with this 💩 with the abandonment of minstrel shows. Apparently not. Instead of black face, the changeling pulls on a one piece bathing suit and voilá, the “black performer” is replaced with Al Jolson. Riley Gaines, please use the rear exit by the dumpsters to exit the natatorium.
I live in Oregon, and the "tolerant woke" fiercely defend trans, gays, and all the rest of the letters of the LGBT alphabet soup. Even questioning what is driving this sudden push towards transgenderism will get you labelled and shunned. But, those same tolerant folks are proud to display their hatred towards, caucasians, men, Christians, Republicans, Trump, or anyone else they don't like. Apparently white, Christian, Republican men are immune from negative psychological impact, and completely deserving of the vitriol. I associate with some that identify as fiercely left-wing, and in many ways like them and enjoy their company. However they will occasionally go on a rant about how terrible white men are, and all I can do is keep my mouth shut. It doesn't make me want to spend time around them, and trying to present a counter point is useless. These tolerant left-wing zealots immediately get angry and threaten violence. The fact that they are unable to see the irony in their response is scary.
Actually you don’t have to keep your mouth shut. You can respond with truth kindly. I refuse to abide lies or racism. I call it out every time
I’ve said this a million times and I stand by it. If we use their language or we say nothing, it normalizes their twisted behavior. I will never use Minor Attracted Person, they are Pedophiles! They’re not Immigrants, they are legally Illegal Aliens. Or the latest: It’s not a Front Hole, it’s a Cervix. Language matters, and so does speaking up.
'Minor Attracted Person' anagrams to 'Satanic trend promoter' among other things. They can't hide from the Word.
Boy, how appropriate!
Isn't it just. And it was the best of my brief look. There are more very suitable.
I've done that plenty of times, and all that happens is I end up losing an acquaintance. Some of these people mean well, they are just brainwashed. Keeping my mouth shut for a few minutes to preserve a connection is sometimes more important than saying what I feel. I sure as hell am not changing their minds, just like they aren't changing mine. Even though I disagree with their position, siloing myself off and only surrounding myself with people I agree with makes my world awfully small. Besides, I know plenty of people I agree with ideologically that I can't stand to be around.
Saying nothing is also a message, one that usually keeps one out of trouble.
Like!
Me, too
Go to Idaho, and shun the transfixed.
We’re quickly running out of places to move. Now what?
This is the question inherent in the "just move" argument, and has to be faced.
We like to think of ourselves as missionaries in the People's Socialist Republic of Vermont. Maybe we're just gaslighting ourselves, but it keeps us from sobbing uncontrollably.
True, and I admire you Bray for fighting for your home. But I read somewhere that the migration along political lines in USA right now, is the largest migration ever in American history. Larger than the migration of rural blacks to cities in the 20th century. I’m not advocating here. Have some ideas that I am considering.
Don’t move.
Stay where you are needed.
I lived in the only county in Idaho that consistently voted Democrat for 22 years. I love Idaho, but moving isn't part of my long term plan. There are plenty of conservatives in Oregon, just like there are liberals in Idaho.
So you don’t think “Greater Idaho” will happen?
More and more counties in Oregon are voting to get Greater Idaho on the ballot. I don't think it will succeed in Oregon, and I am not sure Idaho wants us. I am pretty sure Congress would never allow it. How long has Northern California been trying to split off and become Jefferson to no avail?
You’re right, Congress would NEVER allow it! Think of the chaos that would ensue! The state of California would be a bunch of polkadot liberal cities surrounded by a Red state!
I had never heard of that scheme. Thanks
Keep in mInd that of the “LGBTQIIAANBPPK2S + folx,” “LGB” forged the path, and the rest of them are freeloaders. My LGB friends can’t stand these gender assholes.
It is a 'clear and present danger.'
https://baldmichael.substack.com/p/clear-and-present-danger-part-2?utm_source=publication-search
What have we become? I will have to acquire such a t-shirt for myself. It's unfortunate that I don't go to middle/high school anymore because my peers will wonder why I went to the trouble of a t-shirt to state the obvious.
I was at the bank the other day ... I had to register for a new account ... faced with a gender question ... male female other.... I wondered out loud ... other? What's the other gender?
The bank lady did not find that funny ... no doubt she's had gender bender training at the corporate HQ...
Our local health clinic - I repeat HEALTH CLINIC - asks the same, stupid question. I use my pen to black out any reference to "other" or the idiotic statement "assigned at birth". I'm not sure anyone's noticed; nobody's said anything.
I'm considering upping the ante by adding some sort of statement, perhaps a "duh" after I've checked the box for female or scratching out "assigned at birth" and writing in "determined at conception" or something like that. Wondering if that will alter the health care I get though.
Oh it's even worse in the UK. My 81 year old father in law was asked, with a straight face, by a medical "professional" if there was any chance he could be pregnant.....because here in the UK its your gender identity that's recorded on your medical records, not your biological sex. FFS the lunatics have really captured the nhs 🙄
With insanity like that, the quicker such folks exit the gene pool.
One anagram of 'medical professional' is 'classified lampooner'. I haven't had anything as stupid as your F-in-L but then again...
https://alphaandomegacloud.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/b-is-for-more-blood/
https://baldmichael.substack.com/p/nhs-covid-19-vaccine-advice?utm_source=publication-search
Priceless 😂
The NHS was lunacy from the start.
Should have filled out the Other portion with “Cat”. I hear that’s acceptable.
I always want to check "other" just for the hell of it, but then I read Genesis and we all know what the truth is.
But your peers would not be “woke” and thus perhaps unable to fathom the issue at all.
Very interesting how “Science” seems to ALWAYS support the prejudices of the day and ruling class. Only a fool(Fauci also a criminal) would see Science as fixed
This is exactly it. I don't understand people who don't see this. It's so crushingly obvious.
Because half of humans are below average intelligence, mathematically speaking, and "intelligence" doesn't always correlate with wisdom.
Most people find thinking about serious subjects simply overwhelming. When I was 18 in ‘72 and going to cast my first ballot, I found “who I liked” loomed large in my mind. I had the self-discipline to read up on Nixon’s policies vs. McGovern’s, and the R choice was obvious.
And as one of Chris's exhibits shows, The Science in 1888 considered the pelvises and knees of 50% of the population to be "peculiar." And since those knees and peculiar pelvises weren't designed for standing . . .
I think this literal prostrating of half the population is a little more serious than all Alito's flags combined. All statues of Brandeis must be torn down, the Supreme Court too, and all things named for Brandeis, like that lefty university, must be renamed for Ketanji Brown Jackson, who must also get the Nobel Prize in biology for not recognizing that knee and pelvis stuff.
So, speaking the truth causes psychological harm and must be stopped -- how far does that extend? What if the child wears a shirt that says, "There is no Santa Claus," or "Your parents will die some day," or "You're probably adopted?"
"How far does that extend?" is the question we all need to be thinking about, because it ABSOLUTELY extends.
Then it shall not be limited.
Amen
Astute comparison. How do you always manage to find these counterpunches!?
Well, maybe because TL;DR never entered your daily habit pattern.
cheers
This is what genetic decline looks like.
It erodes behaviours, instincts, and thoughts first, because these are the most complex systems, and so they have the most points of failure.
Remain steadfast. People like this cannot successfully reproduce or function over a long period of time.
We can outlast them.
But they have the schools and thus the children. This year’s anti-Semitic college riots demonstrate that insanity can be taught.
. . . . or paid for.
But can it be taught to people who were healthy to begin with?
Yes and no. Obviously only a small % of Ivy (& comparable) students actively participated, but an enormous % of students subscribe (or profess to subscribe) to beliefs that are nonsensical. There are probably several causes that tie back to one: As children, they were never taught independence of thought vs. being an intellectual lemming.
Something I observed in school (75-79): Some students tried to really understand the material, while the highest scoring students were tape recorders who threw out the memorized material immediately after the test to make room for the next batch. These were the ones who “crammed” for finals. Essentially, they left school with only the last semester of info in their brains. They had the best grades and least depth of understanding. I strongly suspect Anthony Blinken & John Kerry were such students. They stand athwart history shouting at the past “Thou shalt not confuse us in the present with reality!”
The best lesson parents can teach their child is to intellectually challenge everything told to them by another person. “Doubt and verify.”
Kerry specialized in the "gentleman's C" at Yale.
https://www.npr.org/2005/06/07/4684384/bush-beats-kerry-by-a-point-at-yale
Zero academic engagement -- pure box-checking.
Instead, he devoted his efforts to developing a stentorian, fact-free drone heavy on fabulism. Kerry is someone who chooses to make an ice tea recipe sound like Moses descending Sinai with the Commandments.
Why are the courts bending the knee to "the science" instead of the clear and objective principles of the Constitution and Bill of Rights? Judges, the courts and the Law lose credibility and thus trust when they bend to the current winds like everyone else.
Because they’re corrupt as hell!
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Me: "Ooo, how I hate people who make sweeping generalizations."
LOL
Because it’s against judicial principles to tell a litigant “I’m not an expert, but even I can tell that you, your purported experts, and your lawyers and completely full of shit. Verdict for the defendant.” The truth of these statements is not the issue.
Our problem is that society does not waste time or resources on documenting self-evident truths (like gravity or 2 sexes), and thus the Left takes the field with little opposition.
Presumably the Founders were too ignorant to add that there were, of course, exceptions to the First Amendment to be determined by the Government? /s
The funny thing about this, (not haha funny) is that if the court buys this argument, every single straight white kid can bring the exact same suit using the exact same argument. Pride Month says I am bad because I am straight. Whatever race thing says I am bad because I am white. Basically just change the words at the top of the brief and hand it straight back. Find a school where whites are the minority, and sue like crazy.
Calvinball. The maneuver only works for the right parties.
Agreed, but in the right state/municipality with the right judges it can work. To the extent that it is cheaper to bring suit than defend against it would give a strong ability to fling suits at institutions without being thrown out as trivial.
You wish. This madness only goes one way and serves but one master.
Possibly, although in places like CA I wouldn’t be surprised. Still, a litigant could do a lot of suing and not have their case thrown out due to SC precedent, making the defense against such suits pricey. Especially once one suit is won in court (in the right state with the right judge).
Why learn how to cope when the courts shield you from the real world? No boundaries and no wonder kids are confused, easily influenced, depressed and are so gullible as to believe they can change their sex and everything is going to be all right.
After reading the WPATH files published by Public, you realize there is no end to what stupid, evil people will do if you let them. It’s a perfect storm when legal system is infested with stupid, evil people too.
Yet another reason to homeschool. Self-imposed segregation from the insane and setting up parallel systems of education may be the only way forward.
100%
All public high schools should have a dress code (shirt, pants, blouses etc.) with very limited choices and strict rules. It simplifies so many things, and it forces you to, if you want to stand out, do it through personality and actions, not by clothing choice. Any idiot can wear any type of clothing, obviously. Promotes discipline too.
I've spent WAAAYY to much time in my life reading about what HS kids can and can't wear. Why is this ever even as issue, aside from any first amendment concerns? The school has a dress code. You abide by that or you go home. After school, parade around in whatever you want.
And yeah, we've reached peak clownworld with the entire 2 genders thing and so much more idiocy, hence my Substack...