The Texas GOP must have a “T problem”
Talarico takes the right tone in responding to accusations by Texas Republicans.
“He says you’re not manly enough to actually — this guy says you’re not manly enough to represent the people of Texas,” Scarborough said. “And he’s concerned about your Low T levels! Your manliness. Oh, yeah. Is this, is this a parody?”
As all three laughed, Scarborough asked his guest if he understood “their obsession with low-T.”
“I had to look it up,” the smiling Texas Democrat replied.
He then got his own dig in, adding, “Guys my age aren’t really worried about that kind of thing.”
Talarico then spoke seriously.
“People are really tired of this kind of professional wrestling in our politics,” he said. “These old guys who are lathered up in their fake tans, throwing these corny nicknames at each other. People are wanting serious leaders who are going to get this economy back on track, who are going to start to lower costs, who are going to start to raise pay. And people are catching on to the fact that these corny nicknames don’t lower the cost of groceries, don’t lower the cost of of prescription drugs, don’t lower the price of gas.”
I have to add that guys my (69) age don’t really worry about “T-levels,” unless a doctor recommends supplements in response to specific symptoms.
This is reminding me of a certain politician who keeps taking and reminding us all of his ability to take cognitive tests. We old people don’t generally worry about taking these tests, and we definitely don’t brag about passing these minimal evaluations of basic functions. We’re similarly not going to race in to our doctors to ask for extra testosterone, unless we’re experiencing difficulties. Are Ken Paxton and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick confessing to something?
“The guy on My Side said the guy on the Other Side was stupid! Ha ha, how clever!”
What a way to spend your life, devoting so much attention to stuff like this.
@ #1
Only one side is yelling “stupid”. It’s not Talarico.
I feel like ‘testosterone’ can be replaced by ‘masculine energy’ in most contexts[1] when used by conservatives and the meaning is still preserved. It just sounds more empirical when it’s a hormone that does exist, and does cause problems when out of whack.
[1] Again, there are legit medical reasons to supplement testosterone, but a cis man ‘feeling unmanly’ is the sort of thing that is usually better addressed by some self-reflection or a good therapist, because it’s more down to the person’s interactions with society and internalized beliefs about men and masculinity than their hormones.
That was a sick burn. At 57, I don’t worry about those things. My body is falling apart just like doG intended it to do, but my junk still works somehow (for now, anyway…)
@3 Becca Stareyes
I’ve read a translation of Journey to the West a few years ago. Demons in that book were very interested in masculine energy, or as the Chinese call it, yang. The priest they were hunting to eat his flesh and become immortal has incredible yang energy because he has been a virgin for several reincarnation cycles.
@lasius #5:
Might it be possible to redirect those demons towards incels? At the very least they should make for a good snack.
@6 Rich Woods
I am afraid that wouldn’t work. You see, the act of ejaculation, not necessarily from sex, is what actually robs you of your masculine energy, according to that form of daoism.
@lasius #7:
I thought a lot of incels denied themselves bodily pleasure, but maybe that’s just the intersection between incels and Proud Boys. Then again, incels do strike me, collectively, as being a right bunch of wankers.
Hmm… I think there should be a research project to look at whether male Daoist adepts have higher than normal rates of prostate cancer!
@1: You don’t think the whole testosterone obsession is intrinsically silly and childish?
“Women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake… but I do deny them my essence.”
– General Jack D. Ripper, in Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb .
This is what happens when you are a stupid troll.
Sinuousrills keeps stalking and insulting PZ Myers on his own blog, without ever coming up with anything intelligent.
Which would be a waste of his life except, clearly he is unable to think of anything worthwhile and interesting to do with his pathetic life.
Try looking up “projection” and find someone who can teach you how to look in a mirror and see just who has no life.
You obviously care deeply about PZ Myers and I’m sure he barely knows you are alive and cares less.
Being “manly”, in at least parts of Texas, also means being impressively ignorant and profoundly stupid.*
In 2012 the Texas GOP publically stated that they were against the teaching of critical thinking. Such thinking leads to doubting the veracity of flat Earth writings like Noah’s big box, disease is caused by demons, magic really works, etc. Professional idiot Virginia Foxx insists that the Noah fable is actual history, and she is not alone in that level of profound stupidity* in congress.
*Perhaps moon volcano fan “sinuousrills” would prefer we use the words moron and moronicity.
It is not possible to educate people who reject education and consider education and reason to be the works of the devil. In 2012 the Republican Party of Texas openly stated that they were against the teaching of critical thinking in the public schools. Claiming that “life origins” and “global climate change” should be subject to challenges in public schools, and the schools should not be allowed to undermine parental authority or religious beliefs. In other words, do not educate our children, we want them to be just as ignorant as we are. And numerous GOP apologists have tried to explain how this GOP platform is not really anti-education, etc.
https://truthout.org/articles/texas-gop-declares-no-more-teaching-of-critical-thinking-skills-in-texas-public-schools/
“Reason is a whore, the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but more frequently than not struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God.” — Martin Luther (an early religious fanatic.)
With all that ignorance in Texas, they should have more Darwin Award winners, amirite?
Texas has lower life expectancies compared to the US national average, coming in at 31st.
In general, people in the Red states are less healthy and die younger than people in Blue states.
I always wondered where the “semen retention” zealots got that harebrained idea from. Now I know. Still don’t know how the daoists came up with it…
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ICYMI, I’m relinking this because it’s too funny and still on topic. :)
https://bsky.app/profile/cwebbonline.com/post/3mqv6dsn7p22y
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if you can’t view it there try here:
https://xcancel.com/cwebbonline/status/2078227817305944173
As has already been pointed out, these guys are seriously weird.
zetopan @13, quote-mining is not admirable.
Your claim:
The truth (my emphasis):
(https://s3.amazonaws.com/texasgop_pre/assets/original/2012Platform_Final.pdf)
That’s what Zetopan said: they opposed teaching critical thinking. Their justification, all that nonsense said about opposing behavior modification”, which is not what critical thinking is, does not change the fact that they oppose teaching critical thinking.
You’ve been doing a lot of this irrelevant hair splitting lately. I’m not impressed.
John Morales @ 18
“have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority”
The way I interpret it, they think “challenging fixed beliefs” must be evil.
“Undermining parental authority” – fundie thinking . Kids are the property of the parents. The father is the religious and secular authority of the family.
They are using more words, but it can be boiled down to the kind of flexible thinking countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia are famous for.
(BTW after the religious authorities clamped down on thought in the muslim world, the torch for early science passed elsewhere. Just saying)
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I assume the author of the passage has no problem with Jehowa’s Wirnesses (and other groups) parents denying necessary medical treatment to their children because of religious dogma.
Pointing out that others’ claims are misstated is not hair-splitting, rather, it is not being dishonest about others’ claims.
The intimation was that they didn’t want any critical thinking at all.
But they were quite specific. Leaving out the qualification is misleading.
That claim was then followed by this one: “In other words, do not educate our children, we want them to be just as ignorant as we are.”
No. That is not what was said. Basically, it’s a false claim.
The quotation I adduced makes that plain.
How it is irrelevant to expose misleading claims is left unstated.
Birger, yes.
Plenty of ground upon which to mock and puncture the actual silly claim in that platform without resorting to non-truthful claims.
I don’t think the phrase, “…which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority” was referring to a subset of Outcome-Based Education. It was just their way to diss of all OBE.
I don’t see anything untruthful in zetopan’s statement.
‘Are Ken Paxton and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick confessing to something?’
I mean, they’re right wingers making an accusation, so almost certainly yes.
charley, fine.
Nothing untruthful about “In other words, do not educate our children, we want them to be just as ignorant as we are.” in your estimation.
Paxton is apparently so corrupt his fellow Republicans dislike him. This will make it harder for them to recruit volunteers. Talarico might drop the fact that Paxton has “credibility” issues into the conversation without making it Trump-level tacky.
from a translation of a book called “The Tao Of Sex” which explains that the goal was to live forever. To do that the “adept” would have sex with many women a day giving them orgasms “pleasure” with out climaxing. To do that were described ever more elaborate positions of intercourse.
if I was able to have sex with numerous women every day it would likely feel like I was living forever.
The practices are however are useful in being a considerate lover. The essence in common vernacular without the poetic language of the Chinese is practicing “edging” without ejaculation which does leave a more energetic feeling. but probably eternal life
Frankie went to Hollywood to relax.
“Quote mining” is the practice of taking a quote out of context to misrepresent what was being said. Nothing I said contradicts the reality of the situation, no matter how much it bothers Morales. I am quite curious, how many forums (science based, or not) have banned Morales and his continually lame obscurantism and apologetics?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quoting_out_of_context
We can always count on an obscurantist to make lame excuses. For them, any excuse will do. Creationists want everyone to be just as ignorant as they themselves are. That is why they have been so determined to destroy public education. Reagan was a feeble-minded, creationist, B movie actor and over 100 people in his department of education were indicted. Mango Mussolini is completing what the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 planned for the US after their takeover. They have been working on that plan for decades. Creationists also tried using the court system to force their flat earth thinking into public schools, but they failed badly there as well:
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/06/us/judge-overturns-arkansas-law-on-creationism.html
Making their “crocodile-tears” appeals asking for “equal time” in public school classrooms have largely failed. They don’t want “equal time”, they want ALL THE TIME. Here is another quote from Asimov for Morales to whine about: “It is these ignorant people, the most uneducated, the most unimaginative, the most unthinking among us, who would make themselves the guides and leaders of us all; who would force their feeble and childish beliefs on us; who would invade our schools and libraries and homes.” — Isaac Asimov
So they turned to using politics since all other attempts failed. Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson is a creepy (redundant) young earth creationist. He was instrumental in getting former Australian young earth creationist Ken Ham* public tax money and tax breaks for building his fake Ark** Park “museum” in Kentucky. That structure can’t even float, it has steel and concrete in its construction and is not even remotely seaworthy, being solidly anchored to the ground as well.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90973625/mike-johnson-house-speaker-noahs-ark-encounter-theme-park
The origin of that stolen, revised fable have been traced back at least 5,000 years, long before the mutated Israel tribal version ever existed. Here is a merely 4,000-year-old reference:
Besides, the Orange Führer, who claims to “stand for nothing”, is there any member of this administration who is NOT an idiot creationist?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2025/11/24/trump-isnt-first-president-try-break-ed
Here is a suitably serious “documentary” cartoon about the Ark:
https://americasbestpics.com/picture/it-was-a-shitty-cruise-rained-a-lot-but-they-Itvehmu5C
*Who was laughed out of Australia, so he came to in the US for more fertile ground in finding the stupidest, ultra-credulous members of society.
**An Ark is a chest or a box, it is not a ship, despite the religionist’s pretensions otherwise. As described, it only had a single window at the top. The members of the ancient Israel Canaanite tribe were not seafarers, and it clearly shows. Of course, there never has been a worldwide flood in historical times, despite the idiot claims of Virginia Foxx, and other creationists both inside and outside the WH.
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.” — Seneca (5 BCE to 65 CE)
Nothing untruthful about “In other words, do not educate our children, we want them to be just as ignorant as we are.” in your estimation, as you claimed on that basis as your alleged paraphrase of Texan Republicans’ attitude, you and others claim.
(How they still send their children to school is just a puzzle, no? Quite mysterious)
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Their attitude is actually kinda the converse: they do not want their children miseducated, as they see it.
That is what they clearly seek. Not making sure their children get no education, as you claim, but that their education does not inculcate them into badthink.
Kinda like some parents not wanting their children taught religion, but the other way around.
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Several. They can’t cope with truth.
[BTW, used to be ‘lame’ was deprecated here. But times change]
Compare and contrast.
The gist of John’s point is entirely correct, but he wraps his comments in his trademark autofellating smugness wherein he strokes himself as he proclaims his (quite true) cleverness.
John comments to correct bad takes and quibble about footling linguistic infelicities, but above all he comments to demonstrate his smuglime superiority. Technically correct is the best kind of correct and the best way to be smugly correct is to be an irrelevant hair splitter.
Re. PZ’s post, if the likes of Dan Patrick and Rafael Cruz are leaning into ‘low-T’ messaging it’s a pretty clear sign that sharks have been jumped. Mockery is the best response to this despairing bullshit and Talarico nailed it beautifully.
@ 31 Morales
Either condemn abelist language or don’t Morales, stop pussyfooting around. It’s utterly irrelevant what “used to be deprecated”. Where did you get the impression Pharyngula was a conservative blog?