25 crazy, brilliant, boring, exciting, insightful, inappropriate, timely, and misguided things I said in December 2023
#1
I have this new thing I do. Whenever I want to say something naughty I speculate that Norm MacDonald would have said it if he were still alive, and then I scold him for it.
#2
Peter Zeihan thinks military power is a key factor in world affairs, but when was the last time any country made a clear profit by using such power? It’s economic and cultural power that really matter.
#3
Much of the world is worried about job loss due to automation. Then there is Peter Zeihan who is worried about productivity losses and the collapse of world trade due to demographic changes. One of these concerns is wrong. They cannot both be right.
#4
It turns out that every old movie I ever watched had Anthony Hopkins in it, but I didn’t realize it until I rewatched those movies, years later. And lo and behold, there he was in every movie, Anthony Hopkins, as big as day. I exaggerate of course, but not by much.
#5
Javier Millei continues to kick ass. He has accused the Argentine legislature of acting slowly on his emergency decrees because they are seeking bribes! This guy has no fear!
#6
Cancel not that you be not canceled. For as you cancel others so shall you be canceled.
This of course entails that the person or group canceling someone else will also be canceled, and so on ad infinitum. Reality is a bitch.
#7
Merry Christmas everyone. I’m skipping it for my third or fourth year in a row, but I hope it brings joy to others!
I don’t dislike Christmas. I’m happy for those who love it. It’s great for children and I’d make the effort if I had kids. It’s just no longer worth the stress for me at my age (63). But I do love free-riding on other people’s Christmas lights.
#8
Do you know who would have done exactly what Israel is doing in Gaza? The United States of America. No matter who was in office. And the same is true of every other country on Earth.
#9
Leftists think they can apply the words capitalism and fascism to anything they don’t like, without regard for real meaning. In fact, I’ve yet to meet a leftist who demonstrated the slightest clue what the words capitalism and fascism actually signify.
The Right has similar issues, of course. For instance, whenever they use the term “national security” what they seem to mean is “Let’s go create some more unneeded enemies for the American people.”
#10
The Matrix told me that Claudine Gay is a plagiarist. I don’t know for a fact that this is true because I don’t have time to look at the primary evidence. But…
I provisionally accept that The Matrix has it right this time. This is what Claudine Gay gets for being an anti-Jewish bitch. She gets the penalty of the doubt.
#11
I apologize in advance to people who love it and who might feel triggered by what I’m about to say, but…
I am fascinated by all the different aesthetic responses people can have to things. For instance…
I am now past page 300 in “The Lord of the Rings,” and I still think it’s the most boring book I’ve ever read. It’s so boring that I’m absolutely stunned it ever got published, let alone that millions of people consider it a classic of world literature.
Your mileage will almost certainly vary.
#12
To me, the Navy is a tool politicians use to carry weapons to foreign countries. The politicians then use those weapons to make unnecessary enemies for the American people. I think we’d be more secure if we didn’t let the politicians have a navy.
And the shippers who don’t want to be hit by drones in the Red Sea can afford to take their own defenses with them. Using the tax-funded Navy for that purpose is both corporate welfare and wasteful overkill.
#13
Diversity, equity, and inclusion come from the heart, not from ethnic and gender checklists.
#14
I think the Harvard president got her position because of her skin color and genitals rather than the content of her scholarship.
#15
I think Taylor Swift should start an OnlyFans page.
#16
My favorite joke of all time…
What do dyslexic agnostic insomniacs do at night? They stay awake, wondering if there is a dog.
#17
This may be my second favorite joke of all time…
One French intellectual says to another, “I can see how that will work in practice, but will it work in theory?”
#18
I’ve been under oppressive occupation by the U.S. government for 63 years, but no one seems to care.
#19
When you think your primitivism is dictated by God it becomes very difficult to stop being primitive.
#20
When you live in an honor culture it’s almost impossible for you to accept the criticism that’s necessary for you to improve.
#21
When you combine primitive religion with honor culture it creates a condition of profound self-imposed social stuckness.
#22
Flat Earth is for people with flat brainwaves.
#23
It turns out the Democrats are the threat to democracy the Democrats warned us about.
#24
The Democrats call them super-delegates. I call them aristocrats.
#25
I think the mainstream debate that takes place inside the mythical Overton Window is extremist. Nearly all of it involves people using threats of state violence to impose their personal preferences on other people. No thank you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thank you to John McAlister for making my work possible. None of my heretical opinions should be confused with his sober and wise positions.
Copyright © Perry Willis 2024
Perry Willis is the co-founder of Downsize DC and the Zero Aggression Project. He co-created, with Jim Babka, the Read the Bills Act, the One Subject at a Time Act, and the Write the Laws Act, all of which have been introduced in Congress. He is a past Executive Director of the national Libertarian Party and was the campaign manager for Harry Browne for President in 2000.
