Category: TBT

TBT: The Post-Boomer Collapse

The Portly Politico3 Comments

Lately I’ve been reading more pieces about the approaching succession crisis that will be the long-delayed hand-off of power from the seemingly eternal Boomers to the rapidly aging Gen Xers and Millennials.  That will release a massive bottleneck of jobs and wealth that should—if AI doesn’t put us all out of work—lift those generations to higher levels in the corporate and academic worlds, while also allowing the unfortunates of Gen Z a chance to get a job.

Writer Aaron Renn has covered the topic:  https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/the-boomer-paradox-jeff-giesea

He also helpfully linked to a trilogy of essays by Jeff Giesea detailing the ramifications of what I call the “Post-Boomer Collapse“:

Each of these essays gives a sense of what will come as the Boomers continue to grow older and, ultimately, die off.

For all the vitriol poured on this generation (and I’m guilty of it as well), their passing will bring with it major shockwaves.

It’s why I advocated a year ago that the Boomers still lingering in leadership positions should go ahead and step down.  If they do so thoughtfully over the course of the next few years, they could groom successors and assure a smoother transition.  If they stubbornly cling to their roles (“I just love to work!”), I fear that we’ll experience a competency vacuum on an unprecedented scale.

We all know stories of post-colonial African nations in which, having ousted the colonizers, the local people don’t know how to maintain the advanced infrastructure left to them.  Maybe a few folks know how to keep existing systems running, but as they retire or die off, no one is proficient enough to keep things running.  The power plant coasts for a few weeks with whatever coal was shoveled in last (I don’t know in detail how power plants work, so don’t crucify me over this illustration), then people wonder why their lamps don’t work anymore.

Heck, if all the nuclear engineers disappeared today, I wouldn’t know how to run a nuclear power plant (see the prior paragraph, which used a coal-burning plant, but you get the idea).

Similarly, if we lose huge amounts of institutional knowledge over the span of ten years without trained successors, we’re doomed.  Thankfully, many organizations have engaged in succession management, but I suspect we’re in for a world of pain—or, at the very least, some unpleasant ruptures.

All the more reason for the Boomers to loosen their grip and let the next generations have a turn at the wheel.

With that, here is 26 April 2025’s “The Post-Boomer Collapse?” (original on SubscribeStar):

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TBT^2: The TJC Challenge

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Two years ago I issued to my readers The TJC Challenge, a challenge to listen to all of my music on either Apple Music or YouTube/YouTube Music (you can do it on Spotify now, too).  At the time, The TJC Challenge took about three hours to complete.  Last year it took around seven-and-a-half hours.

Now it takes (approximately) eight hours and fifty-five minutes—let’s call it nine (9) hours to listen to my full discography.  Note that only includes the stuff on the streaming platforms (twenty-three releases, although Electrock Music and Electrock II: Space Rock are combined as a double-album on streaming platforms, so technically it’s twenty-four releases); my Bandcamp page has thirty releases (use promo code challenge to get 90% off any purchase there through 11:59 PM UTC on 30 April 2026).

So, need some unusual instrumental jams (plus my singer-songwriter comedy EP, Contest Winner) to get you through the workday?  Then take The TJC Challenge!

Instructions for how to do so are below, but here’s the YouTube instructions, as they’re probably the most accessible for most readers/listeners:

YouTube Method

Don’t use Apple Music?  No problem.  The cheapest method (no monthly subscription to a streaming service) is via YouTube.  The only downside is that there’s no way to play through all albums without having to select individual releases.

Still, here’s the YouTube method:

  1. Follow this link to my “Releases” on my YouTube channel

  2. Hover over one the album you’d like to listen to first and click “Play All”

  3. Rinse and repeat for each album

Whatever you listen to, I hope you enjoy!  If you do listen to my tunes, please let me know what you think.

With that, here is 24 April 2025’s “TBT: The TJC Challenge“:

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TBT^16: Go to Church

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Any churchgoing Christian will understand that feeling that sometimes hits on Sunday mornings—even though you typically want to go to church, you just don’t want to that Sunday.  The week is long and hard; the weekend is short (and usually full of the stuff you couldn’t get done during the week).

My brothers and I used to joke with our dad—a man who was borderline giddy as he’d wake us up for a marathon session of church (we were Pentecostal in the 1990s and early 2000s, so church was pretty much an all-day affair)—that we would “worship God in our own way” by staying home and playing Nintendo.  Thank goodness he had a sense of humor and understood we were lampooning the milquetoast cultural “Christians” and New Age spiritualists who framed staying home and washing their cars as an act of piety.

But the struggle is real.  I sincerely believe that Satan and his minions attack us the hardest right before church.  Like most things, the justifications are reasonable:  “I really need the rest”; “I have a crazy week ahead and need to get prepared for it.”  Sometimes those things are legitimate concerns; more often, though, they’re just lame rationalizations, and we know it.

I’m preaching to myself here.  I know from experience that missing one week of church makes it that much harder to return the following week; missing two weeks in a row or more is lethal to regular attendance.  Due to our current living situation and Dr. Wife finishing up residency, we often find ourselves out of town on Sundays, but we try to attend one of our churches.  Indeed, there have been times I’ve proposed staying home so we can “rest,” and she’ll insist we go to church.  She’s a good woman.

Again, I understand there are exceptions.  Some people—even here in the South—work on Sundays.  People travel.  Family events and the like sometimes interfere.  Look, I’m not a Catholic—I don’t believe your salvation is contingent upon checking off the “I attended Mass so I’m good for another week” box.  I do, however, believe that Scripture Instructs us to be part of a body of believers.

Going to church is beneficial spiritually first and foremost, but it’s also an opportunity to build Christian community.  In an age of economic isolation and social atomization, folks are desperate to be part of something bigger than themselves.  What’s bigger and better than the Bride of Christ?

Here in the South, there a sometimes more churches per square mile than people.  I know other parts of the country are not so fortunate, but churches are not hard to find.  Find a good one and start going!

With that, here is 17 April 2025’s “TBT^4: Go to Church“:

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TBT^4,294,967,296: End the Income Tax

The Portly Politico3 Comments

Once again it’s tax season in the United States.  I won’t bore you—again—with the details of our bizarre, nightmarish tax situation, but to suffice it to say that, at the time of writing, yours portly and his dear Dr. Wife are about $5500 poorer and Uncle Sam is probably paying for a federal inmates gender reassignment surgery.  Next year will be much easier, but it’s always a pain.

I think what I resent most is that the federal government is now party to every economic exchange I make outside of purchasing a brownie from a sidewalk bake sale.  Any money I earn gets reported.  Indeed, I probably report more than I really need to, because I do take seriously Jesus’ instruction to “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.”  I just wish Caesar was spending my money in the national interest, not in the niche interests of some special interest group or immigrant group that got here fifteen seconds ago.

But it is—for another year, at least—done.  Now I’m free to enjoy Spring Break and to wait, watchful and eel-like, for next year.

With that, here is 10 April 2025’s “TBT^65,536: End the Income Tax“:

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TBT: Held Hostage by a Trans Autist at McDonald’s

The Portly Politico10 Comments

In looking for a piece to reblog for this installment of TBT, I stumbled upon this piece involving some late-night McDonald’s shenanigans.  I really should compile a short collection of essays about my various misadventures at McDonald’s—and other fast food joints.  Slapping together fifty pages musing about fast food in the 2020s would be much like the food itself—cheap, reprocessed garbage that costs too much and is unfit for human consumption.

And yet, the cheap flavor and saltiness of such a volume would entice just as a nocturnal cheeseburger might.  What say you, dear readers?  Should I put together such a lofty tome?  Leave a comment and let me know.

With that, here is 2 April 2025’s “Held Hostage by a Trans Autist at McDonald’s“:

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TBT^256: The Joy of Spring

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Spring has sprung, and we had a gloriously toasty weekend in South Carolina.  Then temperatures plummeted again, so who knows what’s going on.

Of course, spring is a time of renewal and rebirth.  It’s a fitting season for Easter, which is coming up quite soon.  Dr. Wife has been wearing beautiful floral dresses to church and for the various family get-togethers we’ve been and will be attending, and I’m making the slow transition from long-sleeve button-ups to breathable polos.

The koi are also far more lively now that temperatures are rising.  We’ve had great fun catching glimpses of them, and I think we have at least nine or ten.  I’ve seen a few of the rosy red minnows, too.

Let’s hope the weather stays warm but not humid for awhile longer.  Spring in South Carolina really only lasts for about two weeks in April (even in March we get snatches of winter again) before it gets hot and sticky, and it stays that way until at least November.  I’ll be dreaming of autumn soon enough.

With that, here is 20 March 2025’s “TBT^16: The Joy of Spring“:

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TBT^2: Support Culture, Not Political Machines

The Portly Politico4 Comments

This week I’ve really been banging the drum (really, really banging it) about folks on the Right supporting their fellow conservatives who create art—books, music, long-form essays, fiction, etc.  We are phenomenally bad about supporting anything that isn’t bog-standard conservative commentary (which is kind of what I used to do here on a more regular basis).

It was serendipitous, then, that when looking back for today’s TBT, I found this piece, which I’d reblogged from a prior piece.  In the original, I argued that donating to the RNC is a waste of money, and that dollars are better allocated to conservative creators.

I stand by that assessment.  Indeed, the intervening years have only deepened that conviction—the conviction for you to send your money to me (and other awesome conservatives), not Mitch McConnell.

With that, here is 27 March 2025’s “TBT: Support Culture, Not Political Machines“:

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TBT: Short Sax Starter Pack Recommendation

The Portly Politico5 Comments

Note:  this post contains several Amazon Affiliate links.  I receive a portion of any purchases made through these links, at no additional cost to you.

My students and I are back at the SCISA Music Festival this morning, and yours portly has a saxophone gig tonight.  As such, it seemed like a good time to look back at my “Short Sax Starter Pack Recommendation” post from 12 March 2025—one year ago today!

The thrust of last year’s post was that, for under $400, you can purchase a decent—not great, but serviceable—alto saxophone.  Indeed, I’m playing at this very same saxophone tonight:

Here are the updated prices for the items I listed last year; remarkably, the price is lower than a year ago; however, Slade seems to be phasing out the horn, as there is only one sax available at the time of writing:

Grand Total:  $290.67 (down $33.18 from the typical price in 2025) before taxes

With that, here is 12 March 2025’s “Short Sax Starter Pack Recommendation“:

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TBT^65,536: Nehemiah and National Renewal

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It’s interesting to consider that since I first wrote about Nehemiah in 2019, the concept of an overtly “Christian nationalism” has become more mainstream (or, at least, “mainstream” in the fringe circles of the Internet I inhabit).  What exactly “Christian nationalism” looks like or entails is unclear, but it’s a concept that sounds pretty sensible:  a predominantly Christian people should have a nation governed by broadly Christian principles.

Of course, the thorniness of the concept crops up as one enters the thickets and weeds of the particulars.  But isn’t that the case for any civic arrangement?  “Republicanism” and “democracy” are pretty broad terms that take on various permutations depending on the culture, peoples, and places that adopt them; America’s constitutionally-limited federal republic and Nigeria’s are pretty similar on paper, but vastly different in implementation.  The labels just give us a broad idea of the kind of government and civil society at play, not the detailed particulars.  As such, one could reasonably expect “Christian nationalism” to look quite different in, say, Italy than it would in the United States

Regardless, it certainly seems as though, in most states, tribes, kingdoms, empires, etc., throughout history, religion and government were inextricably intertwined.  If a nation-state is a collection of a particular people within a particular geographic region, it would make sense that their faith would play a major role in their political, cultural, and national decision-making.

It’s an interesting concept to ponder, and brings to mind a religious revival that resulted in a political revival for the ancient Israelites as they rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem under the faithful guidance of Nehemiah, who trust God deeply and fully.

With that, here is 6 March 2025’s “TBT^256: Nehemiah and National Renewal“:

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TBT: Midweek Mongol Madness

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It’s my second consecutive year teaching World History (I taught it last school year for the first time since the 2011-2012 school year—whoa!), and I’m pleased to see that I’m two weeks ahead of schedule compared to where I was last year.  That’s likely due to having a bunch of my lessons done this year, so I’m not trying to pad out lectures with a bunch of riffing.

So it is that, as of the time of writing, I’ve just covered the Mongols in detail (minus a couple of slides before we talk about medieval Japan).

The Mongols are wildly fascinating, in part because they were wild—nomadic horsemen who would drink the blood of their horses when they were low on supplies; wore silk underwear that served as protection against arrows; and would switch horses mid-ride, spending as much as ten days in their saddles.  Under Genghis Khan, they spilled an immense amount of blood, slaughtering an estimated 40,000,000 (that’s forty million) people, equivalent to low-end estimates of those who perished in the Second World War.  Again, these are estimates—numbers from the thirteenth century aren’t necessarily reliable—but that comes to roughly 13% of the global population at the time.  Indeed, while writing these numbers, they seemed fantastically large; I had to go back and consult my World History textbook (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link, at no additional cost to you).

Genghis Khan’s conquests, as well as those of his successors, brought an odd peace, the Pax Mongolica (also an Amazon Affiliate link), to Eurasia for about 100 years.  It was the peace of the graveyard, as so many people were killed in the course of these invasions, there was no one troublesome enough left to cause a ruckus.  It also marked one of the few times in human history that a single political unit (sort of) controlled the great Eurasian steppes, allowing for the (alleged) journeys of Marco Polo and doubtlessly thousands of other unsung but intrepid merchants, missionaries, and explorers.

Naturally, the largest land-based empire ever to exist in the world could not long survive.  The Mongol Empire was probably never anything as such—a single, unified political unit—but more of an amalgamation of tribes, peoples, and regions swearing allegiance to the Great Khan.  After Genghis Khan’s death, the empire was divided into four khanates, with an ostensible Great Kahn ruling over the four, but with the regions going their own ways in practice.

Nevertheless, there is something captivating about the sheer scale of these conquests, and the way a nation of clannish, nomadic horsemen swept across the world, spreading their terrible fury and bloodlust as they went (and, it seems likely, the Black Death that would depopulate 25% of Europe).

Will another horde arise from the Eurasian steppes?  If so, let’s pray they fall far short of ambitious conquests of the Mongols.

With that, here is 5 March 2025’s “Midweek Mongol Madness“:

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