How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Last week while away from Reason, I was busy guest-blogging up a storm at Andrew Sullivan's place. And between the "libertarian moment" backlash, the events in Ferguson, Robin Williams' death, and a flurry of sex work-related articles at The Week and Time, I had plenty of material to work with. So here's a quick roundup of my recent posts at The Dish, should you be so inclined to take a look. 

On libertarianism: 
- What 'Libertarian Morality' Looks Like
- Where Are the Libertarians on Ferguson? Here, LMGTFY
- What Everyone Misunderstands About the Libertarian Moment

On Robin Williams & mental health:
- It's Okay Not to Feel Anything When a Celebrity Dies
- Depression, Success, & Lies of the Mind

On porn and prostitution: 
- Every Sex Worker Is Somebody's Daughter
- Playing the Prostitution Shame Game, With a Little Help From Hyperbole & Fear
- Playing the Prostitution Shame Game, Part II

On sexual assault and consent: 
- What Could Actually Prevent Campus Rape?
- Consent, California Style

On food & drugs:
- Improving the FDA
- Improving the FDA, Part II
- Peer-Reviewed Produce? 
- Who's Really Making Marijuana Users 'Lab Rats'?

Miscellaneous: 
- Ohio Abortion Clinics Fight to Stay Open
- This Is Why Men Need Feminism
- Where Are These Kids' Parents? Ask the Cops
- The Mom Behind National Sex Offender Registries Wants to Scale Them Back
- You Might Be a Millennial If…
- The Nanny State Shouldn't Baby Working Parents 

Comments

[Heroic Mulatto]

Every Sex Worker Is Somebody's Daughter

What about those sex workers who are somebody's son?

[Hugh Akston]

If your credit limit is high enough, they will be your daughter too.

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

Ugh, got so many criticism based on this title. But I was specifically responding to someone who asked "What if your DAUGHTER was a porn star?"

[Warty]

I'd be more or less OK with it, I think. I think I linked this a while ago. It was unexpectedly sweet.

[Heroic Mulatto]

I didn't sit through two semesters of symbolic logic to put up with an existential fallacy from the likes of you!

[GILMORE]

I'd sue for a portion of her earnings.

is it really such a tough question?

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I was specifically responding to someone who asked "What if your DAUGHTER was a porn star?"

It is a lousy situation in most cases, for sure. My question: is it more or less fucked up on average than that of your average Mickey Mouse Clubhouse child star?

[Mongo]

My yellow-dog Democrat colleague is an avid reader of The Dish. I'll have to ask him if he's read your stuff. He's very anti-libertarian as he doesn't grasp the concepts, for some reason.

[Warty]

I expected poolside pics of ENB. Humph.

[Heroic Mulatto]

No money, no honey.

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

This is as close as it gets - http://instagram.com/p/rvAyUxQqUh/?modal=true

[Warty]

NOT GOOD ENOUGH

[Episiarch]

Well, that's more than Jesse gives us, so it's a start.

[Warty]

Jesse hasn't even shown us his camel toe. What a dick.

[Episiarch]

Jesse's a complete tease.

[Tonio]

Yes.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

This is why there are no large-labia'd libertarians.

[Hugh Akston]

Two things:

1) I promise not to make fun of you for majoring in theater, unless you insist on spelling it 'theatre' in which case all bets are off.

2) I have never been clear on the whole 'depression lies' meme. How can your conception of life, your plans, your worth etc. be a lie if it is based on facts and events as perceived? I can see how some conceptual schemas can lead to conclusions that you don't like, but that's not the same thing as a lie.

[Episiarch]

Lighten up, Hugh. I mean Francis.

[Hugh Akston]

Yet another Game of Thrones reference that goes right over my head.

[Almanian!]

Yeah, me, too. Epi's like our Big Toe (or Big Tow), Hugh. And we're gonna miss him when he's blown up.

/end Game of Throne references

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

Oh God, I wish I was a loofah!
-Tywin Lannister

[hotsy totsy]

I can see the strong link between depression and suicide, but it seems that a lot of suicides aren't depressed.

In some cultures, such as Japan, it's considered by some to be honorable. Or think of suicide bombers who don't seem to be depressed. Killers pursued by police will also commit suicide probably because they see it as a way out.

[RBS]

I just want to put it out there that it is also ok not to have any feelings when something bad happens to a celebrity.

Glad I'm not the only one who feels this way.

[GILMORE]

This Is Why Men Need Feminism
Aug 15 2014 @ 6:42pm
by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Love, love, love the response from actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt when asked about calling himself a feminist:"

"Coming out against the label? Wow. I guess I'm not aware of that."
...then insert his defining feminism as "you can be who you want to be, whether you're a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, whatever. However you want to define yourself, you can do that and should be able to do that, and no category ever really describes a person because every person is unique. "

which is nice. I too am shocked anyone is "against" that.

I think we used to call that 'individuality' before people started insisting it was an 'ism' of some sort.

....and that that MEN NEED IT BECAUSE UHM FUCK THEY DONT HAVE IT ALREADY?

Words: how do they work?

I recall reading Carol Gilligan, Helene Cixous et al in college, and i'd bet a bucket full of phallocentrism that they wouldn't find *cute little JGL's* warm-fuzzy ideas too convincing.

[The Immaculate Trouser]

That's a very idiosyncratic and broad definition overly favorable to feminism. It would be like defining Christianity as "the belief that humans should reach their maximum potential, whoever they are". I'm sure that most Christians would agree with that broadly, but it's a dishonest definition intended to attack those outside the fold as being in disagreement with that statement, rather than with the particular doctrines of Christianity which are its true core.

[Notorious G.K.C.]

Come on, guys, Christianity means "be excellent to each other" and "party on, dudes!" I have more in the back of my van, if you'd like to come take a look...

[Sudden]

So I'm sitting in a waiting room at the dentist's office and they're playing a daytime talk show, "The Wendy Williams Show." I swear I'm losing brain cells by the second.

[Dances-with-Trolls]

DwT Rule #1 for appointments: Always bring a book.

[GILMORE]

Wendy Williams? The transvestite synthesizer composer?

*love* her stuff

[GILMORE]

meh, this is what happens when you mix up walter carlos with william carlos williams

and a transvestite named wendy.

[Dweebston]

I've given up taking lunches in the staff room because of Wendy Williams. Women here love that insipid Alzheimer's inducing crap.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

So, ENB, do you have to subscribe over there to see the comments? I'm curious what the response to libertarianism was...but not $1.99 worth of curiosity.

[GILMORE]

For half price, i'll tell you.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

I'll g as high as 50? but that's it.

[GILMORE]

For you, $.75

and i throw in this box of adult diapers, only used once.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

Deal! Just send me your checking account and routing number and I'll wire the money over.

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

And, um,,send the diapers to Epi's mom. She told me she's running low since he started giving her used grocery bags since they aren't as absorbent.

[Episiarch]

Depends cost money!

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

So now that Nadal is out, are you putting your money on Jokerman in the US Open?

[Sevo]

I know a guy...

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

No comments? It's almost as if they want to keep people from challenging their articles.

Seriously, though, that sucks. Why would an opinion-oriented site not want to create a robust debate among their readership? Especially one that charges.

Meh!

[GILMORE]

"Why would an opinion-oriented site not want to create a robust debate among their readership?"

Vox has an explainer-piece about this

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

Wait, wait,wait. You mean to tell me that EZRA fucking Klein is saying that the reason they don't have comments is because they're smarter than me and think my comments are going to take away from my ability to learn from him?

Get.
The.
Fuck.
Out of here.

[Tonio]

No, there are* no comments at all on Sully's blog. He wants to avoid both griefers and sycophants which is understandable.

Also, he does* occasionally float libertarian ideas, have libertarian(ish) guest bloggers, etc. He is actually our best asset in mainstream liberalism.

(*)Or were/did circa 2010 when I stopped hanging out there.

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

Well, part of the Dish model is publishing a ton of reader emails, so they do publish a lot of dissent. I feel like more and more sites are going comment-free actually. Have you guys noticed any of that?

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

I've noticed a lot of it from the local news stations, but maybe they close comments off when they have a somewhat controversial subject, like a cop shooting somebody, which is when I tend to go to the stories.

I've also noticed the NYT is pretty selective in how many comments they post and when they cut them off (usually right after Drudge links to the story).

[hamilton]

THIS WAS A HINT SHE IS PUSHING TO BANISH US ERMAGERD!!!

[Skip]

Is Mr. Power Glutes thinking of switching to Team Not-Democrat because the gay marriage thing is almost over and the progs aren't praising him like they were a couple years ago?

[Tonio]

He was never truly popular with actual progs.

[userve32]

Sometimes dude you jsut have to roll with it.

http://www.AnonWays.tk

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

One last thing, ENB, since you're entertaining us all by engaging in the open forum: when is there gonna be a DC meetup where, you,knows some of you guys actually attend? Cause I gotta tell you, Shackford and some of the foundation staffers from LA are showing you guys up!

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

When you guys hold one in DC and not Northern Virginia. 😉

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

Were gonna hold you to that. I'll let you know when the next one is gonna be...and it'll be within a 10 minute walk of the office.

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

I vote for Big Hunt!

And I will totally come when you guys do one closer, and try to drag some other Reason DC staff with me. Can't let Shackford show us up...

[sloopyinva (previously -inca)]

Wow,that place looks pretty sweet. Although there are a great many creep shots on Yelp...which is odd.

Ok, I'll work on something for the next week-ish.

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

In my first round of DC, when I first started hanging out with Reasoners (like, Sanchez/Weigel/Howley era), Reason used to frequently hold happy hours at the big hunt. It has cheap & good house beer and a nice outdoor area. Everyone in the world was a smoker then

[Tonio]

ENB, thanks for your outreach efforts to the gliberatti. I'm going to work through your pieces over at Sully's. I can only imagine some of the hate mail you've gotten.

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

I've actually gotten mostly positive feedback! I did get one fun hate email, though. A sample of it:

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

Hmm, don't know what the rest of that comment didn't post. Trying again...

"Enough already from ideologic apparatchik lightweights masquerading as reporters. Let alone as responsible curators of an enterprise with the intellectual and cultural currency of The Dish.

(...) After nearly a week I am ready to say this woman has no efficacious personal voice as a reporter. She is for some amorphous thing called 'libertarianism,' which actually means a lot of things she seems unprepared to acknowledge; and seems to be in disavowal of things uttered by lions of libertarianism that have come before her."

[GILMORE]

"(...)"

This seems to suggest that what you've excerpted is the *thoughtful, content-rich* part.

ha

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

No, it was just the boring part. Tried to include but comment character limit thwarted me.

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

It included a "fuck you" though

[The Immaculate Trouser]

I'd like to know how you can have an "efficacious personal voice". Is it anything like having an "efficacious sexual position" or an "efficacious taste in snacks"?

[New Balance M577GWT]

How do you usually spend your summer vacation ?go hiking? travel to some place?or just stay at home and watch tv?i think people can make a plan early and just relax yourself

[Elizabeth Nolan Brown]

Ha, I know. It was kind of the saddest vacation ever. BUT I was excited to get to rant about libertarian stuff (for $$) at The Dish. And I did get to blog while laying out by my parent's pool at least...