The Z-man blog


Posted On: Thursday - June 25th 2020 4:54PM MST
In Topics: 
  Websites  Pundits



Due to a recommendation by commenter Federalist, seconded by commenter MBlanc46, I took a look at the Z-Man blog, hosted on Wordpress (not his own URL, which may end up an unfortunate thing for him). I greatly appreciate the recommendation, as I see that he is a good writer and one I'm very much in agreement with.

I had heard of this guy, but I believe there were a couple of comments by this pundit on threads at unz that I didn't agree with (about Socialism maybe?), so I figured I'd skip his blog. Well, please don't do that folks! (That kind of thing has probably turned a lot of people off from Peak Stupidity, in fact.)

It looks like the Z-Man writes almost daily, with posts that could be called polemics, not statistical or other analysis of the world, the latter of which don't often get us very far anyway. It's some very good writing, from what I've see over a week. I have not tried the podcasts yet. I know that I can read 5 to 8 times faster than listening, even to folks that speak fairly quickly. However, it may be that there is material in the podcasts that isn't on his daily postings.

This guy is a modern-media-savvy, especially compared to Peak Stupidity. He's on this, that, and the other, sources of information, including youtube (for now). I don't know if the Z-man site is a hobby for him, but with all that going on, it seems like perhaps this is his main gig. More power to him on this effort.

Now, my only problem with the site is that the commenters are very good too, both in style and content. WTH? I know, it's just that I have this obsession with finishing comment threads, such as the ones under Steve Sailer and other writers that I like on unz. Well, dang, the Z-man has over 100 to well over 200 comments by his posts as soon as I've seen them, it seems. I read through half of one thread, and see, that's my problem. These were no idiotic back-and-forth insults or historical trivia arguments (the latter such as I'd see back on Takimag, when there were comments). This is good stuff, so I could not blow off the Z-man's comment section as not worth reading.

It would take me 1 to 2 hours, in my estimation, to read through each daily thread. Worse yet, knowing this is Wordpress, so I believe I can get on with little information given as on the Hail-to-You site (also on Wordpress), I'd likely want to comment myself a bunch of times. It's a shame, but I'll really have to limit myself from the Z-man comment threads unless I have hours to kill and no posts to write.

That brings up the only other point of this post. I have some major deal to do over the next 3 days at least for my work, so there may be no posts, or just a video or two, through the weekend, possibly even through Tuesday. I apologize for that, as it's not like there isn't plenty to write about these days, when your specialty is stupidity. You've got the Z-man in the meantime and the world of unz, but please come back. Thanks for reading.


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[Updated 06/26:]
Oops, Z-man's blog is not ON Wordpress. I looked at the URL too quickly. Yes, as per Newrouter's comment, and others trying to tell me, the site is just on his /wordpress directory. As for the commenting, it is perhaps "powered" (I hate that term, actually, in this context) by wordpress, but I really don't know if that means the comments are held on their servers, and can be censored accordingly. I'm not saying the censorship is harsh yet, but on Mr. Hail's blog, one has to cut out all cusswords.

Anyway, I used the strike-through, so the other comments on this would make sense. Thank you, Newrouter, for pointing out my mistake.
**********************************

Comments:
Adam Smith
Saturday - July 4th 2020 12:14PM MST
PS: Good afternoon Mr. MBlanc46...

I thank you again for another thoughtful, reasoned response.

As you have little interest in theorizing about the state, I will refrain from channeling my inner Bakunin. It seems to me that the self-identified Libertarian who you had acrimonious discussion with never learned that with “rights” come responsibilities or that one should not go (or stay) where one is not welcome. The person you describe sounds like a jerk. Someone who wants rights for himself but not for others. Perhaps this person was young or naive or just retarded.

I agree with you that the state is indeed a prima facie evil. My only disagreement is in the necessity of that evil. Once a people acquiesce to an evil, necessary or otherwise, they seem all too eager to embrace that evil, often leading to popular approval of actual evil committed here in meatspace. Is this not how evil perpetuates?

Interestingly I have never heard of “necessary wickedness”, “necessary immorality”, “necessary perversion”, “necessary depravity”, “necessary corruption”, “necessary deviance” or “necessary degeneracy”.

Does evil or an evil deed cease to be evil if 51% of the voters approve of the deed or of evil in general?

I like your idea about pluralism. What works in one community may not be right for the next. Most of the problems that you describe about whore strolls, drug markets and zoning seem like urban problems to me. I tried to imagine prostitution or drug dealing on my street. It is laughable. Simply couldn't happen here (in the way you describe) for the same reason we have no trick or treaters on Halloween. The houses are too far apart, not numerous and the mountain is too steep for most Americans to climb. It's not that there isn't prostitution or drug abuse happening here, it's just much less common and different than what you face in the city.

You mention Chicago and Boston. Chicago has a population density of 11,943 per square mile. Boston has a population density of 13,841 per square miles. The “city” nearest to me has a population density of 300 per square mile. The county in which I live has a population density of 40 people per square mile. Our community is 95%+ non-hispanic white. It would be foolish of me to think that the lack of restrictions and zoning that we enjoy here could work in a vibrant, diverse, highly populated urban center. City mice really are different than country mice.

It's none of my business how you and your neighbors take care of the problems facing your neighborhood. If you and your neighbors decide that zoning is the answer, so be it. Communism is very popular among the city dwellers of America these days. Have a red light district and regulations if you think that will somehow help. If the people of Chicago think strict thou shall not ever possess a fire arm for any reason ever rules are good for them (second amendment be damned!), that's fine by me. I have no business being in Chicago anyway.

While I have not interacted much with AnotherDad, I have read plenty of his comments. He seems like a sensible, intelligent, well meaning guy. “Does it work if you just leave me alone?” I think this is a great idea and good advice. I wish more statists felt this way. There should be a more easily exercised opt-out option. Perhaps we can have a “Just leave me alone!” checkbox on all “government” forms in the brave new future.

Thanks again for your thought-provoking comment...

I hope you have a great weekend Mr. MBlanc.

Dtbb
Tuesday - June 30th 2020 4:49AM MST
PS:Ignore, brain fart!
Dtbb
Tuesday - June 30th 2020 4:44AM MST
PS:Devo is Real?
Moderator
Tuesday - June 30th 2020 4:23AM MST
PS: I won't insert myself into every discussion (it's great having so many comments!), but to Mr. Blanc, I agree that AnotherDad is one of the best commenters under Steve Sailer's posts on unz. I don't agree with him 100% though, but maybe 98%.
Moderator
Tuesday - June 30th 2020 4:22AM MST
PS: Devo is Real, I think you are right that the Commies figure they've finished the Long March a while back and are winning in every way, so they don't need to hide their intentions. Personally, I think they really f___d up having not taken or at least registered the guns by now. One can hear talk (by Beto before and lots of them) about "taking the guns", something one wouldn't have heard when they had to take elections seriously and in a civil manner, only a few years back.
Moderator
Tuesday - June 30th 2020 4:18AM MST
PS: usNThem, I was wondering about that too. That "Z-man" on unz did not have a website link either. I'd have thought the real Z-man would have.
usNthem
Monday - June 29th 2020 6:47PM MST
PS - I've noticed a Z-man commenter who occasionally posts on Unz, but I'm pretty sure it isn't the Zman. I've been reading and listening to his stuff since early 2019, as well as his GAB feed and it doesn't seem like the same person. He's as good a mind as I've run across on the DR.
MBlanc46
Monday - June 29th 2020 3:15PM MST
PS Adam Smith: As I’m pressed for time at present, this will be even more of a quick sketch than it would have been had my desk not been piled with work. I’m not much interested in theorizing about the state. There are bad actors in the world (most of us to some extent and a few of us to a great extent) and institutions are required to keep them (and us) under control. There are also bad, socially corrosive, actions—prostitution, substance use, homosexual behavior—that have to be controlled. The state is a prima facie evil, but it is a necessary evil. My concern is much more with the right* of ordinary people to take collective action to create and maintain the sorts of communities that they want to live in. This sort of collective action is what Libertarians wish to deny us. Not too long ago, I got into what turned into a rather acrimonious discussion (I don’t recall exactly, but I think that at the end of it I was called a fascist) with a self-identified Libertarian about the right of the people of a neighborhood to prevent their street from becoming a whore stroll or a drug market. The Libertarian’s view was that since the whoring or drug dealing wasn’t harming the people of the neighborhood, they had no such right. They could, of course, keep the whores and drug dealers off their little individual patches, but otherwise, they were should be powerless to keep their streets free of such nuisances. Zoning is one answer to these questions, at least some of them. I vaguely recall that back in the 1970s, Boston set up a demarcated zone where “adult” businesses could operate. They called it the Combat Zone. Some Chicago-area jurisdictions have regulations regarding how far away from schools such enterprises have to be.
But Libertarians hate zoning. What’s their answer? Create joint stock companies and buy the neighborhood. The problem with that is that it’s not how most people want to live. It’s why Libertarians get on 1% or 2% of the votes when they run for office. People don’t want what the Libertarians are selling. Unfortunately, too many people think that they want what the Left are selling. You ask if there’s any “ism” that I do find appealing. I suppose that the answer is pluralism. Just as there’s more than one way to skin a cat, there’s more than one way that people want to live. I think that the best world is one where the most people have an opportunity to attempt to live the way that they want to live. And suffer the consequences; good and hard, as Mencken put it. Leftists want to build their socialist utopia? Fine, let them knock themselves out. Just as long as I don’t have to be part of it. Libertarians want to build their free-market utopia? Fine, let them knock themselves out. Just as long as I don’t have to be part of it. There’s a commenter over at unz.com, AnotherDad, one of the best commenters there. He says that when someone tries to sell him some sociopolitical scheme, he asks them, “Does it work if you just leave me alone?” That probably shouldn’t be the only question we ask, but it ought to be at the top of the list.

*I’m not keen on rights talk, but this is a normative question, and “rights” is what the English language gives us to talk about normative questions. Ideally, a discussion of what makes rights rights would precede this discussion.
Adam Smith
Sunday - June 28th 2020 8:23AM MST
PS: Good morning Mr. MBlanc46...

Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

I agree with you that libertarianism can indeed seem like a utopian fantasy. It's difficult for some people to imagine a world without “state” violence and bureaucracy. And you're probably right, a libertarian society is probably only possible with a population of highly principled, decent, moral and honest people. A people better than most Americans. I don't call myself a libertarian, but I too favor the optimization of individual liberty. I am as strongly in favor of freedom of choice and voluntary association as I am skeptical of “authority” or “state” power. I don't see the abandonment of family, community and clan as essential elements of libertarianism any more than I see the elevation of the market to god like status as necessary for the expansion of liberty. However I fail to see how the organs of coercion have any real legitimacy or how they will ever help slow or stop the globohomo agenda. In the current sociopolitical environment democracy, socialism, communism and capitalism all serve globohomo and are very much in favor of globalization and multiculturalism. I don't see how the power of the state can be used to oppose globalization and multiculturalism when the people of the state have been the driving force behind globalization and multiculturalism, often against the will of their subjects. The “state” has been running rogue for so long I do not see how “the people” will ever take control of it. I would love to see the feral beast returned to it's cage, declawed, defanged and shackled by the constitution.

You say that you reject Libertarianism as an impossible ideological dream.
Is there some other ism that you accept or prefer that isn't also an another utopian abstraction?

I hope you have a great day Mr. MBlanc46...


MBlanc46
Saturday - June 27th 2020 11:06AM MST
PS Adam Smith: The reason that many of us have a problem with libertarianism is that it looks to us as simply another utopian abstraction. Something like the mirror image of socialism. A fantasy land where everyone plays nice so that no organs of coercion are required. The market suffices to govern human behavior. The only legitimate form of human organization is the joint stock company. The family, the community, the clan are abandoned in favor of the market. I call myself a libertarian because I favor the optimizing individual liberty within the context of family, community, clan. But I reject Libertarianism as an impossible ideological dream, and one that in the current sociopolitical environment serves as a cover for Globohomo to strip us of the means to oppose globalization and multiculturalism.
Adam Smith
Saturday - June 27th 2020 9:01AM MST
PS: Good morning Dtbb...

I too thank you for the "Those who can see" blog suggestion.

Unfortunately plenty of people seem to despise libertarians.


Devolution Is Real
Saturday - June 27th 2020 7:28AM MST
PS-One of the best comments sections on the www.
How long until the true believer purity thought police purge the Z-Meister?
The CPUSA comrades consider the conquest phase of Amerikwa the Kwanstain complete which is why they no longer hide the burn it all down plan.
Prepare for the time is short.
Moderator
Friday - June 26th 2020 7:17PM MST
PS: Thank you, Dtbb, for the "Those Who Can See" recommendation.
Moderator
Friday - June 26th 2020 7:07PM MST
PS: Ah crap, thank you for the correction, Newrouter. I looked too quickly at the URL up top. I'll put a correction in, because I hate to see this stupid mistake sitting up there.
newrouter
Friday - June 26th 2020 6:09PM MST
PS

Wordpress is a subdirectory at Zman's site. He uses the software but doesn't rely on Wordpress for distribution.

http://thezman.com/wordpress/
Hail
Friday - June 26th 2020 10:51AM MST
PS

I agree with Dtbb that Those Who Can See is a great site.

http://thosewhocansee.blogspot.com

in a better age, the author would be a major journalist rather than an anonymous blogger. She is an American in France. I see she is back to active writing, after a long hiatus, and is in her typical form writing on the George Floyd Riots.
MBlanc46
Friday - June 26th 2020 7:15AM MST
PS Zman has a day job, to which he occasionally refers. I think that he’s some sort of business consultant, so he has some flexibility. I don’t agree with him about everything—I don’t agree with anyone about everything, even myself—but he usually has something interesting to say. Some of his commenters are pretty good, but, as you say, there are a lot of comments. It’s too easy to fritter away the day reading Internet comments.
Dtbb
Friday - June 26th 2020 5:38AM MST
PS:Try the "Those who can see" blog if you haven't already. Z-man despises Libertarians!
Moderator
Friday - June 26th 2020 3:33AM MST
PS: Federalist, there is the Wordpress software, but his site is on thezman.wordpress.com. However, now that you mention it, I did get to the site via thezman.com one time, and it just "redirected" to the wordpress hosted site. This means that he has the non-Wordpress URL if he ended up needing it. (He'd just have to set up his blog his own way with his own hosting, maybe even WITH Wordpress software still being used - could they stop him? - if they got to censoring what he writes).

However, if you have kept up with VDare, you may know that there are other methods of banning you from being found easily (at least) on the web. There are the Domain Name Server people who have the URL (which they pay for too) "vdare" itself connected up to the proper server that hosts it when someone types it in or clicks a link.

I'm getting to the point at which I would be bullshitting on any more of this.

Thanks for the comment(s), Federalist. I'll try the podcast sometime, BTW.
Federalist
Thursday - June 25th 2020 8:25PM MST
PS-
He does his podcasts on Friday (so, tomorrow). At first, I just read the blog posts and skipped the podcasts. But the podcasts are excellent and really do a better job of getting his point across (or at least that's how it worked for me).

"Wordpress (not his own URL, which may end up an unfortunate thing for him)." As I understand it, he just uses the Wordpess software but hosts it himself. I'm probably not putting it in the correct terms. I'm pretty much a caveman when it comes to technology.

"..but please come back. Thanks for reading."
I certainly will. Thanks for writing your blog. I read every post.


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