Rules of the Game

For our 36th episode, Jessica and Butch discuss the nature of terms of the intellect. The journey of Jordan Peterson is a big topic, as well as the concepts of fasting and feasting, intellectual humility vs. "skepticism" and of course the proper way to do theology: apophatically. The Rule for the day is: "Tell stories that are True..." ________________________ Independent Education: https://inded....

Jessica and Butch chat about the importance of human connection and how much it's been compromised for the last year. Sure the pandemic is serious, but just like anything else, there are tradeoffs, and the cost of losing human connection has been really high, while the benefit is very hard to define or prove. For weeks we were told how (we're still being told how) to wash our hands and count to 20...

Jessica and Butch spend some time talking about the future of education, in terms of what education means, what its purpose is, and what a teacher is. We talk about how the most important thing to teach kids is WHO THEY ARE; also what our responsibilities are as parents, as a community; and the goal of a multi-generational community which needs its elderly (see Episode 33 ) and it needs its childr...

Butch welcomes Special Guest Stella Morabito, who is a senior contributor at the Federalist to discuss one of her latest articles on the Cuomo nursing homes scandal. We talk about how, in addition to the simple cost of precious human lives, the callous and dismissive treatment of the elderly has an even greater cost in "cultural memory." In addition we connect the conversation with how our culture...

For our 9th episode this season, Jessica and Butch discuss the topic of gun control and gun rights. The goal is to get a grasp on what each side of this debate is not seeing of the other one, and get to the heart of the matter: protecting communities. Our rule is "Be prepared to serve... " and do your duty to your community. The rights are one thing... the responsibility is something else altogeth...

Butch and Jessica are finally digging in and talking about religion (GASP!), and we spend this podcast focusing on the ways in which we access and seek spiritual Truth. Through art and music, through study, and through an ascetic and prayerful approach during the Lenten season as well. The rule for the day is: "Pursue Truth with every tool at your disposal..." We must look for LOVE, and TRUTH, and...

For our first "Independent Education Spotlight" of 2021 Butch has a productive conversation with Tim Gardiner of Gamepoint Athletics. We talk about fitness, both before and during the age of COVID-19; we discuss the importance of character and how coaching for athletics and sports is applied to character in life. In addition to exploring a little bit the role of fathers in education, we land upon...

Jessica and Butch do a deep dive into the concept of "leisure" and specifically the book by Josef Pieper, "Leisure: the Basis of Culture" which came out in 1947 in Germany... a rather counterintuitive approach considering the close of a generation or two of war. Pieper (and we to the best we are able) distinguish between leisure and "idleness"...And we talk about committing to a more intentional l...

Jessica and Butch tackle the topic that is at the top of everyone's mind: the extinction of the human species , and our responsibility (or lack thereof) towards preventing it. It's not that we don't CARE about what is happening on Pennsylvania Avenue... it's just that at this point, we're sort of over it. Instead we talk about Jessica's Rule (as expressed with a twist by Butch): "Embrace the Sacre...

For Season 2, Episode 4, Butch chats with fellow Leesburger, Bill Fox with U.Group. The topic, of course, is our main geopolitical adversary at the moment: China. We talk about some of the security challenges with "smart" technology (including what televisions we probably shouldn't buy), along with what the implications are with the administrations of Presidents 44, 45, and now 46. Bill's Rule is...

In anticipation of our next episode where we are going to finally move on from the travails in D.C. and talk about ... the important things, Jessica and Butch take the hour and talk about the path forward for the citizenry in dealing with such division and turmoil. Who is to blame? A little of that... but mostly a call to stay healthy (Jessica shares some nutrition advice) be good people, and keep...

For our first session back for Season Two....we talk about the riots and protests at the Capitol the previous week. It requires a return to Butch's FIRST rule: "Two things can be true at the same time..."   It can be true that a lot of protesters are legitimately concerned that the Republic is being stolen from them, and it can also be true that the events at the capitol were double plus ungo...

For the kick off to Season Two of Rules of the Game, we have Part 2 of Butch Porter's conversation with Muoki Musau (of the "Growing Pains" podcast) on the topic of masculinity. We take a slightly different tack, whereas we decide to watch "Die Hard" (your host's favorite Christmas movie) and talk about the characters there to discover what we mean when we say things like "The Patriarchy"...and "t...

Butch starts this podcast episode out with a public service announcement warning people NOT to go see the new Wonder Woman movie. It's... horrible. After that, Jessica and Butch tackle the issue of vaccines and whether it should be mandatory, and parsing out what is good for society and what is good for families and individuals. _______ Independent Education: https://inded.us   Great Conversa...

Butch has a chat with his friend and theologian, Muoki Musau, one of the co-hosts of the "Growing Pains" podcast. The topic of the day is masculinity and fatherhood. What does it mean to be a man in the modern age. One of the focuses is of course how it's looked at generationally, as Butch being a Generation X guy looks at it differently than the Millennials of the world. We also connected it to M...

(This is our first LIVESTREAM on FB and YouTube. We're hoping to add some Q&A opportunities, so stay tuned for our next LIVESTREAM next Tuesday, December 29.) Today we'll be discussing Butch's recent article regarding Ellen/Elliot Page. It's not simply about respect and care for those who are different, but also for those who THINK different, and most importantly how we treat reality and histo...

We had a chance to visit with a couple fellow Virginians, Flor Flores and her son Fernando, in their home, where we discussed their fine collection of Nativity Scenes (“we stopped counting after 200”)… We apologize for the less than perfect audio, but either way this is of course best experienced through the video, where we highlight some of the nativities discussed: https://vimeo.com/491308861 Fl...

SO enjoyed visiting with Sophia over the weekend. She's right. It starts with us. Host Sophia Nelson sits down for a two part interview with Virginia Conservative, political activist, businessman, educator, and PODCAST creator Butch Porter. This is a NOT To miss dialogue on what over 74 Million Trump voters are thinking, how they feel about our politics, America, Race, the rise of "socialism"...

Butch and Jessica take a stab at Thanksgiving, at the draconian regulations of numerous state, county, and city executives in limiting the number of people gathered in a private home for the holiday. They talk about the latest article on the "Great Conversations" blog ( https://www.greatconversations.us/p/lord-we-thank-you-for-lines-not-to ) regarding what lines would you not allow the government...

This week's rule is an inverse of the rule from Episode 16, which was (courtesy of General Bugs Forsythe):  "Don't let anybody ever tell you you can't do something." Wayne Estes instead takes a look at his responsibility as a teacher and says, "Never underestimate what someone else can do." Kids will surprise you...adults will surprise you, too, in what they can do if they put their mind to s...

Jessica and Butch take some time to discuss the results of the election, and the implications of Donald Trump's efforts to fight the results. They also talk about what they look for in a President, what we should for, and how that applies to State and local positions. #elections #trump #biden #politics #election2020 ___________ Independent Education: https://inded.us   Great Conversation(s):...

For the 8th and last #LoudounRules episode for 2020, we're back in the Library at Dodona Manor, with General Hugh "Bugs" Forsythe. We talked about Veteran's Day, the state of the military in the U.S., a little foreign policy, and the challenges of leadership. The General's Rule is: "Don't let anybody ever tell you you can't do something." Veteran's Day is tomorrow (Wednesday November 11). If you'r...

We're back at Kahvilla Coffee House with local legend, Suhile Alami, creator and Chief Hands Bringer at the Real Husbands of Loudoun County (RHOLC) group. We talk about Suhile' immigrant experience, the Foundation that RHOLC created, as well as (again) things that Butch is really bad at, like dieting, working out, and playing golf. We also touch on what it means to be a man in the modern age. Suhi...

Butch and Jessica reconvene over various topics, including Covid, local races, and of course... the big decision this coming Tuesday, and that is who we are going to vote for and why for President and Vice President. Both Jessica and Butch voted third party in the previous election, but now we have to make a choice....and own it. (This is the free to the public half-hour version of the episode......

What do you get when you get a guy who is fairly obsessed with politics and also sees it as his sport, and a guy who is obsessed with sports and sees politics as his reality television? Butch Porter, your host, and special guest Geoff Crawley, host of "Voice of the Fan," (formerly and soon to be rehabilitated). We talk about sports, politics, the politics of sports, and a LITTLE about the sport of...