<Denis Leary Mode ON> I've got two words for ya. Ponzi-f*$#@-ing-Scheme. <Denis Leary Mode OFF>
Are there no MEN left in American politics? We are so conflict averse. Ask the hard questions. Tell people the hard truths. Do the hard things. Reap the benefits and satisfaction of a job well done. No, instead we watch a propaganda machine re-flating the confidence bubble with nothing but hot air. Watch the markets move on 50-75% of average daily volume on the Dow. Goldman Sachs plays the program trading card Anyone paying attention should have no confidence in our financial markets and banking system. It is all smoke and mirrors at this point. But the media will have you believing it's all rainbows and butterflies over a canvas of green shoots. Oh, how easy it seems to be to mislead the sheeple. In the meantimes, the wolves devour future generations and the sheepdogs are still in shock, unable to mount an effective response. Will they (we?) snap out of it before it's too late? DO we need to get past the stage where we fear losing what we have spent a lifetime building? If we wait too long, will it all become worthless anyway?
I hope the economy does pick up again "later this year." It's just sad that the unemployment rate is expected to continue to rise. Hopefully we can get through this time though and learn some valuable lessons.
Remember when Bush was president, every positive economic sign was reported as 'unexpected'? Now that the Obama administration has begun talking up the economy, reporters are uniformly predicting up-turns on the basis of talk alone. Similarly, whenever Bush announced anything positive relating to the ‘war on terror, he was roundly mocked by the press and on late night talk shows. News organizations spared no expense finding a caveat to discredit what Bush had said (the mispronunciation of a word will do nicely, thank you). Every death in Iraq, New Orleans or anywhere became Bush’s personal failing. Every criticism of Bush by the likes of Chavez and Ahmadinejad; Krugman, Gore, etc. received instant headline treatment and, where at all possible, a Nobel Prize.
What a difference an election makes! The country is going to hell in a hand basket and it is roundly dismissed; ignored. Comedians who have built their reputations on sharp and uncompromising political witticisms are suddenly tongue-tied. They’ve been compelled to adopt the ‘hero worship’ template to validate their existence.
By the way, CBS’s Mark Knoller’s apologia for why the White House press corps rises for Obama and not for Bush was nothing short of pathetic. It would have been far better to say nothing.
Peter-- I agree 100%. It is clear to you and myself and many (but not enough others) that the media is completely tanked. not just that, I believe intentionally so. they're not just emoting because a tingle is going up their legs, they like what's happening and are out to reinforce it, protect it from disconfirming information.
Somehow those of us will some sanity need a way of showing the many this situation. that the "news" is no longer really news but propaganda.
the video of White House press room behavior is just unbelievable.
What do we know about personality cults? How do they end? what is their undoing? what reinforces them? there's a whole career in here for conservative social psychologists. I think the tactic is not just arguing back. this requires something less obvious, more counter intuitive. Perhaps, honesty. I believe most of the conservative cause has become PC. for example, why beat around the bush about illegal entry into the country. we try to address this without offending the latino street. what would happen if we let the chips fall? of course we'd be pilloried by the lefties. so what, say it again. yell out the facts. emphasize the absurdity. this is a hail mary tactic perhaps but it might get some of the "sleeple" to attend to what is really going on.
This is 1984. How does one unwind 1984? Or is this disease too far metastasized?
Alot of folk seem to have much faith that the press has, in some way, found what is called "loyalty." I'm not so sure about this. To assume that individuals of journalistic pleasure will sit still and allow any story of import to slip through their fingers gives them credit for some self- imposed, self- control that, in the past, has been shown to be non- existent and a trait they do not possess.
At this time, there are some new dynamics in play which have a different texture, feel, and look. To the extent that this motivates and drives the collective "word" that filters out to a perceived audience who is desirous of being in the know may explain at least a portion of what we see as flattery and bias. Undoubtedly, this will diminish with time as the message becomes more and more redundant and the appetite for "new news", that's worthy of consumption, demands more resourceful research and endeavor.
I think the supposed worship cultism implied here is being confused with the real religion. That being the love of the "WORD" in all its power and the ability to distinguish oneself with its use.
This is 1984. How does one unwind 1984? Or is this disease too far metastasized? What do we know about personality cults? How do they end? what is their undoing? what reinforces them?
For the individual, it requires either a trauma so horrible that they awake from the trance or an intervention, in which they are grabbed and thrown in a van and confronted by loved ones until the trance is broken. In the large, there is no stopping them. They stop themselves by suicide. On a small scale. reference Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate. When practiced on a national scale, the end comes when they face unconditional surrender in a war of their own making. Look back on the 20th Century.
Unwinding this will be a bloody and tragic affair. More so, the longer it goes. The question is what will be the trigger. Will it be intranational or international? One of the most ominous predictions I have read is Richard Fernandez' Three Conjectures written nearly six years ago. We are taking our eye off the ball. Perhaps Israel will save us from ourselves and postpone the threats that are gathering by attempting an intervention.
The real question is how does the country react if the recovery is one of slow growth from a markedly lower baseline. If this is apparent by 2010, it will be a bad year for the Democrats, but there are no signs the Republicans understand the problem either.
Novanglus - Fascinating! I like the idea of 'trance' to describe where we currently find ourselves. I like the idea of recognizable language that tries to explain that which I've never seen explained properly before. Savage's 'mental disease' analogy seems to fit, but somehow misses the ultimate point. I also like the idea of an 'intervention'. It's definitely needed and it will come in one way or another. The parameters need resetting if we are to survive as a nation. Historically, wars have served the function - not foreign adventurism (like Iraq or Vietnam), but all-out existential war. In our case, a government-led assault on talk radio may suffice in spawning widespread acts of passive resistance like refusing to pay taxes, sit-ins, marches (a la Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha). I have no doubt that Americans will take their country back. The question remains: when?
I'm no economist, but it appears to me that in order to balance out the last peak in the chart home sales will have to go below zero.
<Denis Leary Mode ON>
I've got two words for ya. Ponzi-f*$#@-ing-Scheme.
<Denis Leary Mode OFF>
Are there no MEN left in American politics? We are so conflict averse. Ask the hard questions. Tell people the hard truths. Do the hard things. Reap the benefits and satisfaction of a job well done. No, instead we watch a propaganda machine re-flating the confidence bubble with nothing but hot air. Watch the markets move on 50-75% of average daily volume on the Dow. Goldman Sachs plays the program trading card Anyone paying attention should have no confidence in our financial markets and banking system. It is all smoke and mirrors at this point. But the media will have you believing it's all rainbows and butterflies over a canvas of green shoots. Oh, how easy it seems to be to mislead the sheeple. In the meantimes, the wolves devour future generations and the sheepdogs are still in shock, unable to mount an effective response. Will they (we?) snap out of it before it's too late? DO we need to get past the stage where we fear losing what we have spent a lifetime building? If we wait too long, will it all become worthless anyway?
I hope the economy does pick up again "later this year." It's just sad that the unemployment rate is expected to continue to rise. Hopefully we can get through this time though and learn some valuable lessons.
Remember when Bush was president, every positive economic sign was reported as 'unexpected'? Now that the Obama administration has begun talking up the economy, reporters are uniformly predicting up-turns on the basis of talk alone. Similarly, whenever Bush announced anything positive relating to the ‘war on terror, he was roundly mocked by the press and on late night talk shows. News organizations spared no expense finding a caveat to discredit what Bush had said (the mispronunciation of a word will do nicely, thank you). Every death in Iraq, New Orleans or anywhere became Bush’s personal failing. Every criticism of Bush by the likes of Chavez and Ahmadinejad; Krugman, Gore, etc. received instant headline treatment and, where at all possible, a Nobel Prize.
What a difference an election makes! The country is going to hell in a hand basket and it is roundly dismissed; ignored. Comedians who have built their reputations on sharp and uncompromising political witticisms are suddenly tongue-tied. They’ve been compelled to adopt the ‘hero worship’ template to validate their existence.
By the way, CBS’s Mark Knoller’s apologia for why the White House press corps rises for Obama and not for Bush was nothing short of pathetic. It would have been far better to say nothing.
Peter--
I agree 100%. It is clear to you and myself and many (but not enough others) that the media is completely tanked. not just that, I believe intentionally so. they're not just emoting because a tingle is going up their legs, they like what's happening and are out to reinforce it, protect it from disconfirming information.
Somehow those of us will some sanity need a way of showing the many this situation. that the "news" is no longer really news but propaganda.
the video of White House press room behavior is just unbelievable.
What do we know about personality cults? How do they end? what is their undoing? what reinforces them? there's a whole career in here for conservative social psychologists. I think the tactic is not just arguing back. this requires something less obvious, more counter intuitive. Perhaps, honesty. I believe most of the conservative cause has become PC. for example, why beat around the bush about illegal entry into the country. we try to address this without offending the latino street. what would happen if we let the chips fall? of course we'd be pilloried by the lefties. so what, say it again. yell out the facts. emphasize the absurdity. this is a hail mary tactic perhaps but it might get some of the "sleeple" to attend to what is really going on.
This is 1984. How does one unwind 1984? Or is this disease too far metastasized?
Alot of folk seem to have much faith that the press has, in some way, found what is called "loyalty." I'm not so sure about this. To assume that individuals of journalistic pleasure will sit still and allow any story of import to slip through their fingers gives them credit for some self- imposed, self- control that, in the past, has been shown to be non- existent and a trait they do not possess.
At this time, there are some new dynamics in play which have a different texture, feel, and look. To the extent that this motivates and drives the collective "word" that filters out to a perceived audience who is desirous of being in the know may explain at least a portion of what we see as flattery and bias. Undoubtedly, this will diminish with time as the message becomes more and more redundant and the appetite for "new news", that's worthy of consumption, demands more resourceful research and endeavor.
I think the supposed worship cultism implied here is being confused with the real religion. That being the love of the "WORD" in all its power and the ability to distinguish oneself with its use.
This is 1984. How does one unwind 1984? Or is this disease too far metastasized?
What do we know about personality cults? How do they end? what is their undoing? what reinforces them?
For the individual, it requires either a trauma so horrible that they awake from the trance or an intervention, in which they are grabbed and thrown in a van and confronted by loved ones until the trance is broken. In the large, there is no stopping them. They stop themselves by suicide. On a small scale. reference Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate. When practiced on a national scale, the end comes when they face unconditional surrender in a war of their own making. Look back on the 20th Century.
Unwinding this will be a bloody and tragic affair. More so, the longer it goes. The question is what will be the trigger. Will it be intranational or international? One of the most ominous predictions I have read is Richard Fernandez' Three Conjectures written nearly six years ago. We are taking our eye off the ball. Perhaps Israel will save us from ourselves and postpone the threats that are gathering by attempting an intervention.
The real question is how does the country react if the recovery is one of slow growth from a markedly lower baseline. If this is apparent by 2010, it will be a bad year for the Democrats, but there are no signs the Republicans understand the problem either.
Novanglus - Fascinating! I like the idea of 'trance' to describe where we currently find ourselves. I like the idea of recognizable language that tries to explain that which I've never seen explained properly before. Savage's 'mental disease' analogy seems to fit, but somehow misses the ultimate point. I also like the idea of an 'intervention'. It's definitely needed and it will come in one way or another. The parameters need resetting if we are to survive as a nation. Historically, wars have served the function - not foreign adventurism (like Iraq or Vietnam), but all-out existential war. In our case, a government-led assault on talk radio may suffice in spawning widespread acts of passive resistance like refusing to pay taxes, sit-ins, marches (a la Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha). I have no doubt that Americans will take their country back. The question remains: when?
I'm no economist, but it appears to me that in order to balance out the last peak in the chart home sales will have to go below zero.