How Aspergers and Autism Ruined Dungeons and Dragons

Stop Faking Mental Illness

There are three types of people in the world:

Those that are mentally healthy.
Those with legitimate mental illnesses.
And those who fake mental illness for attention and government checks...which also makes them mentally ill.

For example, nearly every American man will date a girl who seemingly is bi-polar.  She will go hot and cold.  She will create drama.  She will rock your world in bed, and then the next day slash your tires.  At that point whether she actually has bi-polar disorder or not is moot.  "Da bitch be crazy" and effectively is mentally ill regardless and you should leave her ass immediately.

But there is a much larger segment of the population that this real-vs-faking mental illness plays out, and that is the two most popular mental illnesses to have today - Autism and Aspergers.

I need to be very clear here because there are two groups of people that are going to get their panties in a bundle and be highly offended. And the reason they're going to be highly offended, even apoplectic, is because I'm exposing their biggest hypocrisy in life. And those two groups of people are:

1.  People who fake having mental illness to garner attention, value, meaning, givemedats, and lower standards in their lives

and

2.  Shitty parents who did a shit job raising their children, and need to RUSH to blame their failure on a made-up mental illness their children don't have.

None of you nor your children have a mental illness.  You are lazy people who did not want to work for a living or put forth the effort to actually raise your children correctly.  You are an offense and an affront to those people who actually do suffer from legitimate cases of mental illness, and you are not fooling the rest of us that 25% of the youth today have "Aspergers," "Autism," "Social Anxiety," or "depression."

You are a sad group of people who lack the work ethic to go forth and accomplish things in life, and instead are so sad and pathetic, you will blame a made-up mental illness for your loser-performance in life because it spares your ego AND conveniently qualifies you for a world of special treatment, government hand outs, lower standards, and a life of sloth.

But, as I pointed out before, whether you have an actual mental illness or are merely faking it, the results are the same - you're mentally ill.

Now because it is "popular" (and I cannot emphasize that word enough, because it is the PRECISE word that describes people's use of mental illness) POPULAR to have a mental illness, this means a larger percent of the population are people faking mental illness who don't have it.  And these people then permeate into society, ruining it for the rest of us mentally healthy people.

Safe spaces.
Uber-nazi politically correct speech.
Irrational and pampering levels of accommodations.
Body mutilation as a substitute for meaning and agency.
Fake rape accusations.
Demanding recognition of a never-ending number of made-up genders.
You even have adults setting up play dates for their "adult" college age children.

Whatever the societal symptoms are of these mental-illness-fakers, the rest of us sane and healthy people are forced to walk around the eggshells they've laid out before society.  And if we don't, they will throw a temper tantrum. They will be offended, file reports, file complaints, drag you in front of an HR/Title IX circus court, all of which is arguably the only thing they have in life - to perceive CONSTANT offense and oppression, allowing them to masturbate and wallow in their self-created victimhood, while "fighting the evil injustices" of society, which is at the core of every pathetic SJW in existence.

Thankfully, my life is minimized to the point I no longer deal with these people.  I'm not in school.  I don't work in corporate America.  I don't watch TV.  I don't even watch the news.  I surround myself on the micro-level where weakling hypocrites who fake and co-opt mental illness to begat pity and an easier life from others are simply not in my environment.  But dare I ever leave the "Cappy Plantation" there are times I occasionally run into them.

Enter Dungeons and Dragons.

Dungeons and Dragons

In the 1980's and 1990's I was no stranger to Dungeons and Dragons.  Matter of fact it is one of my favorite pastimes that I thoroughly enjoyed, and continue to this day.  But admittedly, the caliber and character of young men it attracted to it was not exactly your most sociable or George-Clooney-esque.

RPG's like D&D attracted the nerdiest, most socially awkward boys like moths to a flame.  WITHOUT FAIL, there would ALWAYS be at a D&D game:

The fat guy who had three Mountain Dews he would drink in a 4 hour session, likely getting more.
The long haired, trench coat wearing kid wearing sunglasses indoors.
The also obese "rules" guy who knew the rules of D&D inside and out and would flaunt this "talent."
The guy who stank.
The token nerd girl of questionable attractiveness that every guy would inevitably pursue.
And a smattering miscellany of rank and file nerds.

These were no doubt the rejects of society.  They were the boys nobody wanted to hang out with.  These were the boys who would grow up to become men that would not lose their virginity till their 30's.  But for all their social flaws, psychological flaws, and hygienic flaws, there was one thing they all had in common:

They could keep it together during a game.
They could actually play the fucking game.
Even if they had a genuine mental illness, we were still able to play some fucking D&D.

And that is no longer the case today.

Meetup Groups

I winter down in Las Vegas at my "Southern Command."  I can afford to do this, not so much because I have the money, but because I have the freedom.  I have no kids.  I have no debt.  And so for some annual house maintenance, I am allowed to stay for free at a buddy's place in Las Vegas.

But once the work is done, or the golf courses golfed, the sun sets and I have to figure out something to do in the evening.  And a couple years back I decided to go dust off my dice, buy the 5th edition rule book for D&D, and attend several of the many Dungeons and Dragons games being offered on Meetup.

It had been a while since I played in person and was getting kind of excited about playing D&D in person again.  There would be intellectual banter, some sharp joshing, an intriguing story, some clever strategizing, and good old fashion getting my geek on.  Yes, I'm sure there would be the Mountain Dew guy, the Stink Guy, Rules Guy, and the token 4 on a scale of 1-10 girl, but that is what made D&D endearing and I would expect nothing less.  But what manifested in actuality can be summed up in one word:

Impossible.

The first D&D game I played indeed did have the retinue of Rules Guy, Stink Man, Mountain Dew Guy, and Marginally Attractive Girl.  I was almost excited to see these stereotypical, classical D&D characters that I saw in the late 80's.  But when we started to play the game, it quickly became apparent these were not the same people that played some 30 years ago.

Instead of playing the game, everybody placed their role and themselves above the game itself.  Rules Guy did not care about the game, as much as he cared about singling people out on their technical errors and mistakes.  This made for a start and stop, lethargically slow and jarring pace to the game. Every decision, every dice roll, every perception check was went over by this anal retentive creature with a fine tooth comb.  The Token Girl was married to a rank and file nerd, but they forced their cute little inside jokes on the game and the players.  Trench Coat guy and his equally scrawny friend would just do the dumbest shit imaginable in the game, making any kind of team work impossible.  And Mountain Dew guy had to make a joke out of every fucking thing possible that was not funny.  It became quickly apparent that "we" were there to play D&D, but "we" were there to showcase our shitty talents through a D&D catalyst because we had no real other talents in the real world.  This was a stage, not a game.  And the play fucking sucked.

Figuring it could have just been a bad batch of people, I tried another D&D meetup at the other end of town.  This was even more of a shit show than the previous one as NOBODY was actually playing the game, but cracking inside jokes about the previous campaigns they had played.  The dungeon master (referee) had no control of the players, people were spending more time talking about "crazy" moves they could make rather than sitting down and strategizing legitimate ones, the number of potty and food breaks (cheesy nachos of course) slowed the game to a snail's pace, and the only progress that was made in the game was when we left the tavern.  It had gotten so bad that when it came to my turn and the token "Rules Guy" started to open his mouth I looked at him and said "Shut your god damn mouth," and then turned to the dungeon master and said "You, roll your dice and tell me if I hit."  The table went silent not because I went stern, but because I was the only one who insisted on playing the game.

If you didn't think it could get any worse it did.  And this time I was back at home in Minnesota.  Hoping it was something to do with Vegas, I quickly found out it was not when I tried my third and final time at a physical D&D game.  This time it was at a comic shop in the Twin Cities suburb.  Dice bag, rules book, and character sheet in hand, I found the table advertised on Meetup and sat down.  Immediately, I was beset by one of the regular players who was saying I had to sign up online to register a slot so I could get assigned a seat so I could draw from the pool to get put on a list, until the dungeon master pulled him aside and said, "I should be able to get you into this game."

I was kind of hoping this dungeon master had control of the game, but it quickly became apparent it was more of a baby sitting operation.  Across from me was the 7th grader who weighed 80 pounds and had his headphones in.  To my right was the high school kid who wanted to talk instead of play the game.  To my left was one guy who might have actually seen a vagina and had his own apartment.  But then there was the 27 year old who was on the verge of tears because we didn't let him cast his spell first.

The game was a complete and total disaster.

The DM, rightly, let these "kids" play the game to see if they could figure out team work on their own.  They simply could not.  A logical course of action was recommended and each person would nitpick every possible detail as if they were all "Rules Guy."  Outlandish, irrational course of action were recommended which only begat further laughter and mockery of such ideas, rather than sitting down and playing the game.  Spells were being cast which had no bear on the game, simply because somebody wanted to cast the spell.  And meanwhile the DM had been hinting very clearly at a course of action that should be taken.

Running out of patience I simply took command and said, I'm going this way, I don't care if anybody else comes with.  People came with, but nobody wanted to get with a game plan or do what I recommended.  Every possible permutation and possibility of the course of EACH of our individual actions were hemmed and hawed over.  Irrational question that had no bearing in reality were posed.  And what would have only take about 2 minutes in the real world (had the game been played out in reality), took 90 minutes just to knock on a door and find out that, yes, indeed "thar be monsters."

I left more pissed off than when I walked in.  And when I realized that attending physical D&D games was not making me happier or more relaxed, but angrier and desiring nothing more than to physically beat people, I decided I would never attend a physical game of D&D ever again.  Life is too short to NOT to play D&D.

Aspergers and Autism - Faked or Not - Ruined D&D

Just as my psycho-ex may or may not have had bi-polar disorder, it doesn't matter.  Her behavior was unacceptable

And just as modern day physical players of D&D may have a mental illness, are faking it, or were just raised really shittily by really shitty parents.  It doesn't matter, their behavior is unacceptable.

Because whether you have a mental illness or are faking it, you can't play Dungeons and Dragons, let alone any other strategy RPG.  Because if you actually DO have a mental illness, well then it's obvious you're not going to be able to play a social game effectively since you are indeed mentally impaired.  But if you're faking mental illness for attention, you're also not capable of playing Dungeons and Dragons (let alone anything else) because playing a strategy game requires team work and selflessness.  And people who fake mental illness are 100%, completely self-absorbed, weak hypocrites, incapable of team work because they value themselves above all others.  It's why everybody at modern D&D games are "on stage."  It's why they're always trying to impress other people with shitty jokes or antics.  It's why Rules Guy tries to lord his supremacy of the rules over you.  It's why some players obsess about their "non-binary" gender of their characters over the game.  And it's why some dipshit players will do the dumbest things possible in the game.

It's all to garner attention.
It has NOTHING to do with the game.

Alas, if you're a mentally healthy individual, and you would like to play Dungeons and Dragons, there is really only one place for you to play D&D - the internet.  You can choose who you play with.  You can choose people who have jobs.  You can choose people who are there to play.  And you can choose people without Aspergers or Autism, faked or not.  It will result in an enjoyable game and a lot less stress than if you show up in person.

But sadly, gone are the days of physically showing up with your Tahitian Treat, dice bag, character sheet, and rule book.  Gone are the days of creating a character and sparring with others.  The world of D&D is filled with dysfunctional people who abuse the game for their own self aggrandizement.  Please do not be one of them.

________________

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The Clarey Podcast #293 - The "John Steele's the Show" Episode

Join Cappy and John Steele as they talk about "piss" "our team" "Blood Shekels" and more.
Officially at 4PM CST, but we're probably starting closer to 330.

Guest Post from Glorious Karl

Glorious Karl of Ushanka.us was kind enough to write a guest post.

Lost Trust, by Karl Ushanka

I’d like to think I have a good poker face. It has worked for me the few times I’ve sat across from Cappy. But if you pick up a copy of the second edition of my book, Trade the Ratio, you’ll see right through me. In Chapter Two I list, in 56 pages, the many old and several new reasons for considering an investment in precious metals. Thirty-nine of those pages are on the subject of lost trust. Want to guess what motivates my financial planning, including my silver and gold purchases?

I have lost trust in institutions that should never have lost my trust. From corporations, to all levels of government to quasi-government entities, these organizations have accelerated their race to the bottom in recent years. I have been reduced to only trusting friends and family, and to trusting the one-ounce silver American Eagle coin I’ve been carrying in my pocket for the past six years still weighs one ounce.

One could chalk this attitude of mine up to age-induced cynicism. No doubt that is a factor. But the degree with which these institutions have fallen is only lost on those within, and those blissfully ignorant. Unfortunately for us, they make up the majority of voters and they will win once they nominate a viable presidential candidate. Is there a bottom? If so, what will it look like when we reach it? Specifically, what can we do now to protect our assets when the looters take over?

I’m not the first to explore this concept. Aaron was out in front with this topic six years ago with Enjoy the Decline. He presented the topic of Non-traditional Retirement Plans in Chapter Five:

“While they may not provide benefits like matching, tax deductions, and an absence of capital gains, non-traditional investments may still prove to be the wiser investment. They are harder to confiscate, they will keep their value during an economic melt-down, they will have higher rates of return than any kind of “Solyndra,” and even if an economic doomsday scenario doesn’t play out, they at least serve the function of insurance.”

The Captain started his list of nine non-traditional retirement investment options with gold and silver. In Trade the Ratio I show how one can both hold these preferred assets and achieve a modest ROI by trading the silver-to-gold ratio. Loss of trust is the constant in these books, as is the realization that our world is not what it once was.

Instead of rehashing the examples from my book, here are two trust-losing events that have happened in the four months since I published my second edition: Mueller and the NRA.

We now know that the Mueller investigation lasted two years and was led by one of the most trusted investigators in DC. We know it cost the tax-payers over $25 million. We know that not a single FBI agent, of the 40 FBI agents who participated in the investigation, resigned in protest. The investigation risked the legitimacy of an elected president. We know it factored in the level of cooperation from the other side of every domestic and foreign policy debate and negotiation – all at a cost to us. And, as of last week, we now know that every person involved knew in October 2016 that the investigation was based on a politically motivated lie – a dossier paid for by the opposing political party.

We now know the FISA judge accepted the phony dossier without asking for independent verification, and authorized the FBI to run surveillance on an incoming president and his team. Every FISA warrant with any political nuance is now questionable. The integrity of every FISA judge is forever in question. To regain its standing, the FISA Court must be reorganized, starting with a full purge of existing personnel.

We now know the media had access to the dossier and knowledge of the investigation from the start. We now know the media would leak details of this classified information in order to then run stories on these leaks on their networks 24/7. Not that we would ever assume journalistic integrity exists, but now those on the other side have even lost trust in the media.

There is no one in the FBI that can restore trust in that organization. It is full of posers and quota-hires who put politics and pension above oath and duty. It must be dissolved. To save the FBI, to save us, we must burn it and scatter its ashes.

Because no congressional investigation will right this wrong, we suffer the realization that our representatives do not represent us. Because no attorney general’s investigation will right this wrong, we now realize the rule of law is optional. Jail time, if any is ever ordered, will not right this wrong because the participants all chose the risks and are proud of their efforts. Nor will it deter their fans from trying it themselves. To them it was a noble calling.

No FBI agent will ever command the same respect a Bureau agent received during the Cold War. Every FISA court decision, no matter how important it is to our national security, will be in question. And now even leftists will join us in suspecting the media is a tool of the elites rather than a so-called fourth pillar of democracy. In fact, the only positive from this investigation is the undeniable fact that President Trump is, by far, the purest man to ever hold the office.

Trust these clowns? Nah. I’ll just keep clinging to my Bible, my guns and my bullion.

The NRA is rotten to its core. A few weeks ago, then-NRA President Col. Oliver North announced he was leaving the organization. This week we find out why - the organization is in financial trouble and has a serious leadership problem.

At least part of the NRA’s financial problems have been caused by the CEO and long-time face of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre. He racked-up $542k in stupid expenses. These include $39k in a single trip to a clothing store, and more than $200k in one month of air travel. We wouldn’t know this if an NRA insider hadn’t leaked the expense reports.

But it is not just LaPierre. NRA President, Carolyn Meadows, says the “entire board is fully aware of these issues. We have full confidence in Wayne LaPierre.” But Meadows doesn’t stop embarrassing herself there. Like the untrustworthy fraud that she is, she is upset “some people would resort to leaking information to advance their agendas.” Fuck her.

Previously a member, I always bragged that that NRA was the only lobbying group in the United States whose members didn’t view themselves as victims. It has had the largest membership of lobbying firms, now at five million. It has its shortcomings, the primary one being their priority of hunting and marksmanship over other forms of shooting sports and activism. But now their behavior has attracted the attention of the NY Attorney General’s office, which is looking into the NRA’s tax-exempt status. Thanks Wayne. Thanks Carolyn.

What bothers me is the NRA’s mission. It is the most noble: To protect the Second Amendment. It is no secret that the Second Amendment protects, and makes possible, all the other parts of the Constitution. Which makes LaPierre’s actions, and the rest of the management team’s callousness, unforgivable. They were trusted and supported by American patriots, and they discarded that trust. Their mismanagement might not qualify as a crime, but their actions have betrayed many, and perhaps given the gun-grabbers the edge in the next gun-control debate.

Betrayal is as old as man, but the pace and severity seems to be accelerating. It hasn’t touched you or me yet, but someday soon we will be told to “be patient, as we restore your account balance,” or “the FBI will not allow this to happen again,” or “we’ve made some mistakes in the past but we (the same people) will do better going forward.” Ya, thanks. But as part of enjoying the decline I’ve decided to sit here with my cigar and my poker face, and remove part of my life from a system that looks more fragile and more corrupt than ever before.

The Older Brother Podcast - The "Cappy's in a Bad Place" Episode

Cappy and Chad talk about:

MGTOW's vs Ghosts.
Roosh's epiphany or Operation Evil?
Setting up LLC's'.
Prom is a waste of money.
Graduation is a waste of money.
Renting rims in Atlanta.
Super Chats

AND MORE!

In THIS EPISODE of The Older BRother Podcast

Direct MP3 here.
Youtube Below:

Sponsored by RDK Legal

How to Get Revenge on the Left

By leaving them alone
and encouraging them to continue being leftists.

The Natural Law of Guidance - By Adam Piggott

Guest writer, Adam Piggott, helps Cappy out for this Memorial Day week.  Visit his blog and podcast at Pushing Rubber Downhill.

"The Natural Law of Guidance"

One of the hardest challenges about traveling for work is the difficulty in finding a suitable gym so that I don’t fall behind on my lifting schedule. I’ve been powerlifting now for about three years and at the age of 47 you discover that your gains have a habit of dropping faster than Triggly Puff shot out of a cannon at a fairground attraction if you miss a few sessions. So I’m very happy with the lifting gym that I discovered down here in Louisiana. It’s well set up, the people are friendly, and the music selection shows a definite bias towards tunes from long hair 80s power rock bands.

I’ve gotten to know some familiar faces at the gym in the short time that I’ve been here. There’s the guy who makes a lot of noise whenever he does a lift; the girl with the long straight hair who always wears the same lime green outfit; the guy in his seventies who would be in amazing shape for someone in his twenties; and there’s the three young guys who I have dubbed, the three musketeers.

The three musketeers are undoubtedly new to the gym world. They’re new because they don’t know what they’re doing and it’s painfully obvious. They’re around the age of 19 from the look of them, although it’s hard to really tell these days. There’s the fat one with the scraggy beard, the thin one with the scraggy beard, and the one without a beard who pretends that he knows what he’s doing. The trio move from one exercise to the next under the direction of the beardless one. They perform an exercise with varying degrees of ineptitude, although the fat one tends to drop a set here and there. This process is repeated as they do a continuous circuit of the gym.

I admire the fact that they are still hard at it after three weeks; the toughest part about coming to the gym is the act of turning up on a continual basis. But they won’t last much longer for the simple reason that they are doing it wrong. And if you’re doing it wrong you’re not really going to get anywhere, which means that eventually you will give up.

I am in the best shape of my life at the moment, and this is a guy who rafted professionally for 15 years. I have gone to the gym off and on my whole adult life and therein lies the problem. Off and on doesn’t count for shit; it’s consistency that counts, and the only way that you achieve consistency is by doing it right. And the only way that you do it right is by seeking out an industry professional and getting some guidance.

So my approach to the gym for most of my adult life has been stupid, and if there’s one thing that I really hate it’s being caught out as a dumb-ass. It’s ironic because on the one hand I will sigh and roll my eyes at someone who wants to get into a raft with no experience and take off and paddle the Yukon River. If they ask my advice I will tell them to take a goddam professional with them. I will then give them a list of very good reasons as to why this is a very smart idea. They will then thank me for my advice, go and do it by themselves anyway, and get eaten by bears on the first night.

But on the other hand when it comes to my own actions I’m more or less as dumb as the rest of them. I’m not dumb enough to think that I can scuba dive the Mariana Trench without some help, but I am on the same level of stupid when it comes to doing other stuff. Like lifting weights, or buying a house, or divorcing my wife.

Like I said, I took to lifting in a serious way a little over three years ago, but it was only about three months ago that I finally bit the bullet and paid a professional to fix my core lifts. I did this because I had plateaued out and I wasn’t seeing any more gains on any of my lifts. With just a couple of one on one sessions with a really good trainer I’ve increased some of my lifts by 25% in just three months. My bench press is now double the weight that I was doing when I was 30. There’s just one word for that:

Sad.

If I had done what I’m doing now at the age of 18 I’d probably look something like The Rock right now. Because progress begets itself as success becomes intoxicating. But most people don’t progress because they’re stupid, and I am as much at fault as anyone. I am highly skilled at several disciplines and in all of them I have had professional guidance. But the disappointing thing is that I did not understand the correlation earlier in my life. The sooner that you learn the basics of a discipline through expert guidance then the higher the chance that you will make good progress and become an expert yourself. After all, what is the point of doing anything if you don’t aim to be the best out there? Beating everyone that has gone before you is as good a starting point as any.

The most frustrating thing about this is that you cannot instil this knowledge in other people. They have to come to the realization themselves. That is why it is so incumbent on fathers to guide their children correctly from an early age.

A few days ago the three musketeers were doing their stuff right next to me. They were attempting to do the standing shoulder press, a core lift which was good to see but they were doing everything wrong. At one point I was concerned that one of them was going to suffer an elbow injury. Finally I couldn’t help myself any longer, and in an off-hand way I asked them if they were following a specific program.

The leader of the three answered me. “Yes sir, we are.”

“What program are you following?” I asked out of genuine interest as nothing that they were doing made any real sense from a lifting perspective.

“My mum wrote it out for me, sir.”

I stared at him. “Your mum wrote it out for you?”

“Yes, sir.”

I resisted the urge to ask him what his father had to say as I didn’t want to open a potential can of worms. So on his phone I showed him one of the more popular lifting programs that are available and which I thought would be a good fit for them. I said a few words on the importance of technique and I explained how they could use the app on the site to track their progress and then I let it go and I wished them luck.
They thanked me and we all got back to our separate routines. A couple of days later I saw them in the gym again. They were still more or less making it up as they went along. I didn't’ interact with them, I had given it my one and only shot. But now I know that they’re definitely not going to get anywhere and that they’re wasting their time. They’ll get frustrated and quit and it will be one more thing that they’ll suck at, one more thing that they tried and failed.

But it never has to be that way. All you have to do is to realize that you need some guidance and then go get some. The problem is that you can’t reverse that order. You can’t receive guidance when you’re not open to it and then somehow follow it. My bad. What did I think I was doing screwing with the laws of the universe like that? I must be stupid.

The Clarey Podcast #292 - The "Just Uber" Episode

Cappy had a little health collapse and has taken some time off.  Was able to get this podcast out before I hoofed it to the bus and the airport.  Cappy will still be on sabbatical for the near future.

Podcast located here.
MP3 here.

Oh, an Marijo provided another pin up for you guys who are patrons at my Patreon Page.

Trumps Tax Changes: And What They Mean for You

From our resident CPA and guest blogger today - Chad Elkins:

I've got a slight lull today from my busy season so I thought I'd share some insights into how my clients here in the U.S. have been affected by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (a.k.a. tax reform) this tax season so far. For those who aren't familiar, 2018 was the first year of major tax law changes here in the U.S. and it's been interesting to say the least. I've prepared about 150 individual tax returns and around 50 business (S-Corporation, Partnership) tax returns so far, and here are some of the winners and losers from my observations:

WINNERS

1) Small Business Owners. Whether you have a Small Business Corporation (S-Corp), an LLC, or are just a sole-proprietor (Schedule C), the new tax regulations are a boon. There is a new 20% deduction for QBI (Qualified Business Income) under section 199A, which is a bit complicated but is essentially the net profit you make on your business, among a few other factors. So if your net profit is $100,000, you can generally take a $20,000 (20%) deduction ON TOP of all of your other business deductions, resulting in only $80,000 in taxable income. Many of my business clients are seeing some great results from this new feature and it should really help increase small business growth, which is never a bad thing. The media likes to hype up how large corporations (C-Corps) benefited from their permanent tax rate decrease (from 35% to 21%) as a result of the new laws and while I have some mixed feelings about that, one thing that can't be denied is the net positive it will have for small business corporations going forward as well.

2) Real Estate Investors. People who earn real estate (rental) income generally have it categorized as passive income, meaning it's subject to various limitations concerning deductions and losses. The new tax regulations allow real estate investors a "safe harbor" designation that basically requires 250 hours of work a year on each set of rental real estate activities for it to qualify for the 20% section 199A QBI deduction (see above). So many of my clients who are landlords have been taking advantage of this new clause, resulting in an extra 20% reduction in rental income just like the business owners I mentioned above. Also, the work hours required for this safe harbor designation may be performed by the owner or agent, and logging of work hours must be maintained but only starting in 2019 so a number of my clients are seeing some great write-offs for 2018 as a result of this. There is also no limitation for state and local real estate tax deductions on rental properties, which is very important (keep reading to find out why). 

3) Those With Children in Private Schools. Parents who have children in private schools can now use 529 plans to pay for them (up to $10,000 per year). This includes K-12 education tuition and related educational materials and tutoring, and it's a huge benefit because it's tax free. These used to be reserved for college tuition payments, but tax reform allowed many of my clients to pay for their children's 2018 private school tuition expenses using 529 distributions, totally tax free. It makes a difference when you live in a high-cost area with lousy public schools such as where I am, and I've definitely seen a number of my clients take advantage of this benefit since the regulations took effect last year. 

LOSERS

1) Salaried (W2) Employees Who Have Unreimbursed Employee Expenses. Prior to 2018, if you worked for a company and had a lot of out-of-pocket expenses required for your job you could claim these as deductions on your tax return. They would first be reported on Form 2106, which would then flow into Schedule A miscellaneous itemized deductions (subject to 2% of your adjusted gross income). Tax reform completely eliminated this and I've had a few clients get absolutely screwed as a result. It's usually those in sales who have to travel a ton and pay for gas mileage without any employer reimbursement who got crushed with this. They used to be able to claim thousands worth of mileage deductions on Schedule A to help get them sizable refunds, but now....nothing. Raising the standard deduction to $12,000 (single)/$24,000 (joint) would seem to offset this, but....see the next few paragraphs.

2) Married Property Owners in High-Tax States. Tax Reform now limits state and local tax deductions to $10,000 on Schedule A (itemized deductions), which means you get royally fucked if you live in a state like California, New York, or Illinois. I live in one of these states and so do my clients, and many of them are feeling the burn from this new regulation. 

Let's say in 2017, you had $7,000 in state income taxes withheld/paid from your W2 and your spouse had another $6,000 in state tax withholding, and you own a house with total annual real estate taxes of $15,000 (very common where I live). You add this up and it results in $28,000, a healthy chunk of state and local tax deductions to write off on Schedule A. Under the new 2018 regulations, this deduction gets capped at $10,000 and you are now out $18,000 in Schedule A deductions. 

The common retort to this is that the standard deduction was doubled to $24,000 under the new regulations for married couples (as I mentioned above), but when you combine high mortgage interest payments (tax deductible) with all of the above these couples are now getting a raw deal compared to prior years. In my example here, the married couple paid mortgage interest of roughly $13,000 so they would have exceeded the $24,000 standard deduction limit regardless, but now they have to claim $18,000 less in itemized deductions compared to 2017. Funny how the Republicans knew this would screw over people in high tax states. I wonder what those states have in common with each other.....

3) Those Who Are About To Be Divorce Raped. Some of you on this forum will undoubtedly already know what I'm talking about here. Taxpayers who get divorced after 12/31/18 will no longer be able to deduct alimony payments. That's why there was an uptick of finalized divorces towards the end of last year - not only are alimony payments not deductible starting in 2019, but those who receive alimony still have to claim it as ordinary taxable income so that side of the equation didn't change at all. 

I've already had a slew of (male) clients come in telling me that they divorced their spouses since I last saw them, and this regulation was one of their major reasons why they knocked it out as quickly as they could once they determined a separation was inevitable. If you are currently married and foresee a divorce that will involve alimony payments in your future, Sorry....I don't know what to tell you. You missed the boat. 

One other note - many of my clients are getting smaller refunds this year, and they think it's because the new tax regulations increased their taxes. This is not usually the case, because in most instances their employers withheld less in taxes throughout the year (in response to the new regulations) so their paychecks were subsequently increased throughout 2018. Keep in mind that your refunds are only one part of the equation, so don't freak out if you're getting less back than you did in prior years. 

Lastly, don't believe the CNN/MSNBC/NY Times, etc. hype about taxpayers getting screwed due to smaller refunds. That's just typical NPC media hysteria trying to cause an uproar so don't pay any attention to it. As I outlined above, some people were worse off, but many, many regular American citizens benefited from the new tax laws and it remains to be seen what will happen in the future as a result of these changes. 

Why Leftists Fear the Gym

New Patreon Pin Up

The Lovely Marijo has another pinup at my patreon page.

Yes, unfortunately you have to be a Patron to get access to it, but it also grants you access to her previous pinup and that "Sanity is the Future of Wealth" post.

Somehow when it comes to "Pretty Girls" vs. "Brilliant Economic Philosophy" I know you guys are going to do the right thing and choose a cute set of tits over intellectual genius.

The Clarey Podcast #291 - The "Sam Rockwell is a Parasite" Episode

Cappy's last broadcast from the Original Northern Command
Don't let women build a house.
Minneapolis Banning Drive Thru's
Sam Rockwell, the amazingly worthless person behind it.

AND MORE!!!

in THIS EPISODE of The Clarey Podcast!

Direct MP3 here.
YouTube here.

Sponsored by:
Don't be like a Baby Boomer.
ACTUALLY HAVE THE MONEY TO RETIRE!

"Divorce for Never-Married Men"

Had Rich Cooper and Terrence Popp on the Older Brother Podcast today to talk about divorce.  Specifically, what's it like going through divorce for those of us who have:

Never been married.
Never had kids.
Never been divorced.

Not that we didn't know it was bad, but if you're thinking about getting married today THINK AGAIN.

Yes, it is that bad.
Yes, it is a money making industry against you.
No, you will not get a fair hearing or trial.
And no, the divorce court system does not operate in the best interests of your children.

Avoid divorce by avoiding marriage.

Podcast located here.
Direct MP3 here
YouTube here.

THINKING OF DIVORCE?
THINKING OF MARRIAGE?
VISIT!!!

Reparations for Women vs. Reparations for Slaves

An interesting request from Asshole Consulting.  What is the true nature of reparations, and some predictions Cappy makes about how the "professional left" will continue to bleed producers to bribe the parasites.

Terrence Popp Makes 100,000 Subscribers and Celebrates

Bad Popp made 100k and put together a celebratory video.  Ole Cappy even makes a couple appearances.

Older Brother Podcast #44 - The "Don't Become a Teacher" Episode

We were never prepared to have kids.
Women love their careers more than their kids.
"Mary Kay" is not a real business.
Chad rants against jogging.
Vascetomy talk
Business schools screw over East Indians
Andersen Accounting and Consulting
Teacher expects banker-style bail out of her student loans.
Dad Loves You.com
Do Millennials Have ANY Value?

AND MORE!!!

in THIS EPISODE of The Older Brother Podcast!
Direct MP3 here.
Youtube here.

DO ALL YOUR SHOPPING BELOW!

It Will Be the Democrats, Not Republicans, Who Break Up Big Tech

Because like gay rights, the republicans will also continue to let this opportunity go to waste.

Speaking of Kavanaugh, remember to buy "The Pence Principle" aka "How not to get falsely accused of rape."

An Important Conversation About Entrepreneurship

I was on the Donovan Sharpe show a couple days back.  Though my audio is ass, we had an important conversation about entrepreneurship (among other things).  DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP IF YOU HAVE TO ASK PEOPLE HOW TO DO IT.  It is a sign you were simply not cut out for it.  More below, we start at the 2 HOUR 30 MINUTE mark.

Burger King Goes Full Millennial SJW

Burger King was already on the corporate social justice virtue signaling bandwagon a while ago.

This latest commercial is just hilarious pandering to the new reality we've created for millennials and Gen Z'ers.  That reality being your accomplishments, achievements, and successes do not define you, but the perpetual malaise and victimhood society forced upon - you AND YOU CHOSE TO ACCEPT as your identity and purpose in life - does.

There will be more of this sickening coddling and poor-babying in the future because the people in the future will have nothing BUT their mental illness, their self-pitying, and pet-politics/mental disorders to define them.

And it's not so much that Burger King is capitalizing off of it, as much as it is a generation of people have allowed themselves to decay to this point.

A Three Week Hiatus

Greetings All,

Due to a confluence of events, the Ole Capmeister is going to have to take a three week hiatus to deal with moving, selling a house, building a new one, a ton of backlogged projects, some cross country travel, a doctor's visit, a dental visit, and absolutely no pleasure or fun.  I simply will not have the time to write for Cappy Cap or any of my books.

However, I will still be doing Asshole Consulting, the Clarey Podcast and the Older Brother Podcast, it's just writing takes too damn long.  So still tune into the YouTube Channels and the Soundcloud feed for those.

In the meantime I will be enlisting the help of other bloggers to write and post on my channel in the meantime.  They will be good writers, good bloggers, people you'd want to read, TRUE authors...and Adam Piggott.  I might stop by to drop in an occasional post, but epic thought pieces like this one will not be the weekly norm.

In the meantime if you'd like to get your Captain Capitalism reading fix I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you read the "best of" books I have published which are merely compilations of my best Captain Capitalism blog posts.  They are:

Captain Capitalism Top Shelf
Captain Capitalism Reserved, and
Love Letters to the Left

Or, you could just maybe go buy one of my SUPER AWESOME BOOKS that should all be best sellers, but unfortunately are not.

Thank you for your patience and we shall see you come June.

Cappy

The Clarey Podcast - The "Hot Flight Attendant" Episode

Cappy and Chad talk about:

Hot flight attendants...and not so hot flight attendants
The Amazing Atheist
Nobody cares you're a teacher
Bachelors in "General Studies"
Webcam Girls make more than College Girls
The Price of Truth

AND MORE!!!!

in THIS EPISODE of The Clarey Podcast

Direct MP3 here
YouTube here

Seeking Arrangement Might Just Burst the College Bubble

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