My daughter received an invigorating Christmas gift from her brother-in-law that any one of us might want in our possession to kick start the 2012 election season. As much as I hate to shill the products of people I don’t know and have never met, I gladly do so on this occasion because their products have jolted me out of depression and toward hope. Besides, any group that calls themselves the Unemployed Philosophers Guild is one I surely would like to join before retirement. Their website tagline reads “The unexamined gift is not worth giving.” Yet, luckily for us, they sell their products over the internet anyhow.
Their mode of seeking wisdom is to make coffee jugs that change message when filled with warm festive brew. My daughter was given a mug entitled “Democratic Dream,” with Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” written across the top, and a map of the states below, each colored blue or red, depending on their vote in the 2008 election. When filled with coffee the red states all turn blue! The second mug she received displays The Bill of Rights. The rights, as you’ll probably guess, go away slowly with the infusion of warm fluid, with the exception, of course, of the Second Amendment, which proudly remains. The name of that mug is “Disappearing Liberties.”
They sell several other chameleon mugs, on The Supreme Court, Adam and Eve, Shakespeare, mathematics, mustaches, presidential slogans, and the like. Take a look and see if there is anything you like. It looks like a mug will cost you about $12.95.
Gift yourself some hot humor and hope before 2012 gets underway.
Will Callender
December 26, 2011
profunditiesandabsurdities 
There is a very helpful video on how to use these mugs by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild. I have carefully memorized their ‘PAKE’ guidelines: http://www.philosophersguild.com/Great-Supreme-Court-Cases-Mug.html#!prettyPhoto%5Bmixed%5D/1/
Thank you Cyberloom. I couldn’t agree more; none should attempt to use one of these mugs without consulting PAKE guidelines. These principles certainly apply to all of the mugs noted in the blog entry. It is left unclear whether and how PAKE might apply to a pint of Guinness, although I’d assume that a pint exceeds the capacity of their mugs. Guideline E—the Enjoy guideline—might cover how the drinker is to handle the excess. The Shakespearean insults mug would go best with Guinness in my opinion.