Outlaw country vs. ganster rap

The boys drink and review Black Sheep Ale, then discuss ganster rap, outlaw country, and what’s similar and different about them.

In outlaw country, the emphasis is that mama tried, but the singer ended up bad anyway. In gangster rap, there seems to be a celebration of being on the bad side of the moral code.

And now we have ganstagrass, a band who made the theme song for the hit TV show Justified.

By the way, when bluegrass gets mixed with rap, who’s appropriating whose culture?

The first Americans

P&C drink and review their own pale ales, which were made from the same batch, but used different dry hops. The differences are very interesting.

Then they discuss the first Americans — their history in Beringia, and how they may have migrated into North and South America.

The boys discuss some of the strange details of the ice age, and how early humans lived in the “Mammoth steppe” of Beringia for tens of thousands of years before a passageway opened up to allow travel onto the continent, where they quickly spread across all of the Americas.

They discuss “Clovis first” and some newer evidence that humans may have been in the Americas before then.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day — Great idea, but why does it have to replace Columbus?

P&C drink and review Rasputin, an imperial Russian stout from North Coast Brewing Company, then discuss Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day.

The U.N. designated Aug. 9 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 1994, but nothing much has been done with it since. Instead, people want to replace Columbus Day with a celebration of indigenous people.

Why can’t we honor Columbus and indigenous people?

Do people have to be perfect before we can honor them? If so, we shouldn’t honor Columbus or anybody else.

Right-wing terror groups

The Justice Department and federal law enforcement foiled a plot, apparently by a right-wing militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen, against the Governor of Michigan. 13 people charged with plots against MI government, including 6 who planned to kidnap Gov. Whitmer

There are ways things are done in the civilized world. When you don’t like a statue of Christopher Columbus, you petition the government to take it down. You don’t go out with chains, pull it down and throw it in the river.

And when you’re upset about the Governor’s rules for fighting a pandemic, you go to court, or you vote her out. You might even organize peaceful resistance against the rules and risk getting yourself arrested. You don’t try to kidnap and kill the governor.

Detroit U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider responded to the plots saying that Michiganders “can disagree about politics, but those disagreements should never, ever amount to violence.

Well, not really. America is founded on the idea that there is a time and a place for armed resistance to the government.

Governor Whitmer has imposed some strict rules on Michigan, but they don’t come anywhere near the level that would justify violence.

If what we’re hearing about this plot is true, and if they’re found guilty after a fair trial, I’d be in favor of hanging them. This kind of thing can’t be tolerated in a stable, lawful society.