Featured

Nov 25, 2024

Don Hall

Nov 25, 2024

Don Hall

...that intense and deep aren’t the same thing even if you’ve convinced yourself they are. Intense is momentary and fleeting; deep is the result of time and energy.

Nov 25, 2024

Don Hall

Featured

Dec 16

Dec 16, 2024

BUGHOUSE!

Dec 16, 2024

It’s BACK! Chicago’s most entertaining debate show—Six debaters, three topics, the art of the dialectic!

Five bucks at the door (Cash or Venmo)

Haymarket Pub & Brewery, 737 W. Randolph (the corner of Randolph & Halsted)

Dec 16, 2024

ARCHIVE OF ARTICLES

Don Hall 7/24/21 Don Hall 7/24/21

The Double-Edge of Propagandistic Journalism

"Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." becomes "Condemn them, Father, for they know not what is true."

Don Hall 7/19/21 Don Hall 7/19/21

I Believe… [Universal Sociopaths]

...that when the vast majority of Americans are on the spectrum of sociopathy, calling someone a sociopath is sort of like saying “He’s just like most of us.”

Don Hall 7/17/21 Don Hall 7/17/21

Acknowledging Privilege and Bias Without Shame

It’s possible to recognize that in-your-face racism exists in the United States and to also believe that the “white privilege” framework is misleading and a counterproductive way to discuss it among intelligent humans. In fact, the harder the DiAngelo model of self flagellation is pushed, the less traction for actually finding meaningful solutions to racial disparities in both outcomes and equality of opportunity is gained.

Don Hall 7/15/21 Don Hall 7/15/21

Commie Puke-Faced Panty-Waisted Girly Man

In 236 words, you manage to include some excellent Trumpian putdowns (soyboy, MANGINA, thong-wearing pajama boy, hocker that manages to crawl all the way up the side of a toilet bowl, and the classic Commie Puke-Faced Panty-Waisted Girly Man), you also adhere to some fantastic (but erroneous) GOP talking points like a champ! "Kavanaugh was framed." "Biden is an illegitimate president because Trump really won." "The Chinese are defrauding our elections (as opposed to the Russians)."

Don Hall 7/12/21 Don Hall 7/12/21

I Believe... [2022 ElectionMania!]

...that, with the full-on mouth-breathing, drooling crop of idiots on fire about the last presidential election, the 2022 midterm elections will resemble nothing if not a WWE Tournament of Retards. At least it’ll be entertaining…

Don Hall 7/10/21 Don Hall 7/10/21

They Learned it from the Wolverines

I hadn't viewed 1984's Red Dawn, directed by ridiculously pro-military/anti-government shill John Milius, since, well, 1984 when I graduated high school. I decided to take another look these thirty-seven years later to see how that film may have cemented that Unabomber Paranoia into the Gen X mindset.

Don Hall 7/6/21 Don Hall 7/6/21

The Therapeutic Approach to Nationalism

Truth without pragmatic action is meaningless.

Don Hall 7/5/21 Don Hall 7/5/21

I Believe… [Language Policing]

...that in our further policing of language, we should definitely move away from the term “asshole” and use the less oppressive term “outward facing anal pore”.

Don Hall 7/3/21 Don Hall 7/3/21

A Bad Landing Destroys the Entire Trip

It is a fundamental truth that no matter how solid the ride is, if you can't stick the fucking landing, the landing is the only thing anyone remembers (except your mom because she loves you and will lie to you to make you not want to eat a bullet).

Don Hall 6/28/21 Don Hall 6/28/21

I Believe… [Reward for Responsible Behavior]

...that creating lotteries and prizes for people getting vaccinated is no different than giving your kid a dollar for eating his broccoli. It wastes the dollar and sets up expectation for extortion for basic common decency. Next Up: state-sponsored Visa Gift Cards if you wear a self belt or refrain from beating up an old Asian woman.

Don Hall 6/26/21 Don Hall 6/26/21

The MCU Should Issue an Indeterminate Number of Apologies

Hardly as inclusive as they could be, the MCU (and Disney) owe every fringe group and subculture identity a genuine apology and a promise to "do the work" to expand the universe as a safe place for every human (and those who identify as Moon people, Soulbonders, and Lycanthropes) on the planet.

Don Hall 6/24/21 Don Hall 6/24/21

Crisis Resets Our Default Settings as Human Beings

Adversity seems to bring out not necessarily the best or worst in people, but the very essence of people.

Don Hall 6/21/21 Don Hall 6/21/21

I Believe... [Being Seen]

...that the cost of being seen is that you might actually be seen.

Don Hall 6/17/21 Don Hall 6/17/21

Who Says Intent Doesn't Matter? It Matters a LOT

In a courtroom, intent is a key factor that must be proven in order to prosecute someone for a criminal act. Known as mens rea, a prosecutor must prove the defendant meant to do what they did. According to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, “the mens rea requirement is premised upon the idea that one must possess a guilty state of mind and be aware of his or her misconduct.”

Don Hall 6/15/21 Don Hall 6/15/21

The Workforce Hasn't Changed, Valuation on Quality of Life Has

I'd argue this shift in perspective of a critical mass of people is the tipping point of true change in paradigm. The most effective form of protest is not marching in the streets en masse (which is great for visibility of the cause but traditionally pretty lousy at changing things) but simply opting out of a system you find objectionable.

Don Hall 6/14/21 Don Hall 6/14/21

I Believe... [Going Nuclear]

I believe… that, if we truly want to turn back climate disaster, an embrace of nuclear power is absolutely necessary. It’s clean, abundant, and contributes a zero sum carbon footprint.

Don Hall 6/12/21 Don Hall 6/12/21

The Intolerance of Tolerance and Why Being Uncomfortable Sometimes Helps Us All

"The irony is that in order to practice tolerance, you must be willing to sit with things that upset you or make you uncomfortable. Yet, if your adopted ethic is that no one should ever be upset or uncomfortable, then you make any sort of tolerance impossible."

Don Hall 6/10/21 Don Hall 6/10/21

The Need for More Placebo Buttons

You know those buttons you press to indicate you need to walk across a busy intersection? They do not affect the "walk" sign in any way whatsoever. They are placebo buttons that gives us the illusion that the stoplights are somehow under our control.

Don Hall 6/7/21 Don Hall 6/7/21

I Believe... [Same Culture Wars, Different Decade]

...that the culture wars ongoing are no different than the culture wars fought in the 90s except with social media the exponential growth of extremist crackpots makes it seem so much more pressing. We didn’t know how many idiots were out there in the 90s because we weren’t subject to their crazy yet.

Don Hall 6/5/21 Don Hall 6/5/21

Centrism: Not an Embrace of the Status Quo But of Pragmatic Solutions That Reject Rhetoric

Today's centrist is, according to the billions of fucking surveys done in an attempt to explain how a failed real estate trust fund baby and has-been reality TV star managed to be elected president, more Left than Right and more inclined to disagree with tactics than goals.