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In the old television series MythBusters, there was a scene where the crew was doing something disgusting. The setup of the show was to explain the “myth” they were testing then follow them along as they set up their tests. A big part of the show was sight gags, so this meant putting the hosts of the show in foolish situations. In one of these setups, the camera is following one of the hosts and he looks at the camera and says, “there is no dignity in show business.”
It was a memorable moment because we live in an age where performers are treated like conquering heroes. For most of human history, performers were at the very bottom of the status ladder. They were treated worse than slaves in many societies, as it was assumed that people willing to humiliate themselves for the entertainment of others were people of low moral standards. If someone has no respect for himself, then he is unlikely to respect the standards of society.
Today the opposite is true. We worship celebrity. The Republican Party is running three celebrities in big elections this year. Hershel Walker, the former football star, is running for Senate in Georgia. Doctor Oz is running for Senate in Pennsylvania. In both cases, their reason to be in the race is they are famous. In Arizona, Kari Lake was a local TV anchor before running for governor. Her party switching suggests she is willing to do anything for applause and your vote.
Of course, politics in a liberal democracy is just entertainment. It is like the talent shows where the viewers are asked to vote for the performer they liked best, but only after hearing the opinion of celebrity experts. Naturally, most people follow the lead of the celebrity experts, which is why they are there. Politics works exactly the same way, except the celebrity experts are called pundits. Their job is to shape public opinion around the two party system.
That line about there being no dignity in show business still applies. It is why our politicians look more like carny trash than serious adults. The coin of the realm is attention and eventually, you have to degrade yourself to get it. People who have no qualms about making themselves the object of mockery just to entertain the masses will be naturals in the political game. Politics in a democratic system naturally selects for people willing to trade their dignity for applause.
This is most obvious in the pundit class. These are people who dream of one day being an extra on a good television show. In other words, unlike the people who run for office, these people think even less of themselves. It is why their opinions can easily change from one election to the next. If this season the smash hit is angry black guy, then they will sign on for a role in angry black guy. If next season the show is strong female, then they will audition for that show.
You see this with so-called conservatives. Fifty pounds ago, S. E. Cupp played the role of naughty female libertarian on Fox. She would show a little skin, put on the glasses and repeat libertarian lines about socialism. That show closed so she is now playing the role of matronly MAGA hater on CNN. Many of the people in this
declaration of war against Trump voters switched to being Trump supporters. There is no dignity in show business, so they had no trouble with it.
There is a funny thing about a world of no standards. In addition to drawing in people willing to play any role just to get on stage, it seems to draw in people who seem to enjoy degrading themselves in public. Self-declared super genius Tom Nichols is probably the best example. He seems to get a weird thrill out of making an ass of himself in public. It does not appear to be just about getting attention. He really likes to humiliate himself on-line.
Just look at the first line of that Twitter post. “In forty years of studying Russia the thing I always struggled to get my arms around is that this remarkable and immense nation, a source of cultural and scientific genius, is also so riven by ignorance and insecurity that it is incapable of living in peace with the world.” This is a man who lives in a country that has been at war with the world for most of its existence. His cult is responsible for more dead people than Genghis Khan.
That whole series of posts is like someone had decided to lampoon the Trotsky cult we call neoconservatism by conjuring an absurd character that embodies an exaggerated version of its qualities. That ridiculous person then does ridiculous things to highlight the absurdity of his group. Tom Nichols is the Mr. Bean of neoconservatism and he is thrilled to play the part. One gets the sense that if Bill Kristol says the role could use some clown nose, Nichols is dressing as a clown.
It is possible that Nichols is so devoid of self-awareness that he does not see the absurdity in his act. In fact, this is a possible clue to why many celebrities seem to think highly of themselves, despite what they do for a living. Ocasio-Cortez, for example, thinks she is a world historical figure. It could be that a total lack of self-respect rests on a total lack of self-awareness. If you cannot tell when they are laughing at you rather than with you, then it does not matter.
The Founders never imagined that the country they were creating would one day lead to rule by circus freak, but they understood the risk of democracy. They knew that a system that relied on the shifting opinion of the masses would attract those who are good at appealing to the masses, but not good at governing. We see this today as our political system looks like a bad TV show. It is full of people who are good at getting public attention, but they are not good at anything else.
What no one anticipated is that rule by circus freak has degraded all of society, along with the people on the stage. To sit in the crowd, applauding as a man humiliates himself for your amusement, debases you as much as the performer. You cannot seek to raise yourself up from your base condition when you are simultaneously cheering for others to reduce themselves to their base condition. In a democracy, we all sink into the ooze together because there is no dignity in democracy.
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It’s always amusing to see the people who take the moniker of a clown, and don’t have the self-awareness to realize they are a clown. Another example is Crenshaw’s schtick. He really believes himself to be this tough guy veteran who says things how they are, and consistently makes of fool of himself. The contrast is pretty stark when you have a person who is fully aware he is playing the clown, and still comes across more serious than the person he is mocking.
It won’t be long before someone says point blank to his face that he wishes the IED finished him off, to riotous applause.
Exhibit A: Alex Stein and Crenshaw, part deux
https://twitter.com/DanCrenshawTX/status/1570214602482544641
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Headline-
“Cyclops Dan blindsided by attack from the right…”
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My first thought upon reading today’s essay was Stein’s work exposing these goofballs, particularly Eyepatch McCain. Alex isn’t likely on our side of the great divide but he’s doing a great job humiliating people who are very much our enemies, so kudos to him. His technique of accusing them of their nastiest misdeeds while simultaneously laughing in their face and giving them no chance to catch their breath and respond is really effective. In just the last few weeks he’s got both AOC and Eyepatch McCain to completely lose their cool. One of these days he’s going score a really big hit when he causes some carny or other to have a public meltdown.
Maybe he didn’t start out as a celebrity but this Fetterman character running for PA senate is a another level of idiocracy. Even after All I have seen, read and experienced this one astonishes me. And seriously, what is that thing on his neck? I have seen the funny memes but really, what is it?
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I agree. I have been on this one for a while because it is reaching a level of absurdity that even I thought was unattainable. “Our democracy” is offering up a TV clown from Turkey and a brain damaged stroke victim who still lives with his parents.
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All of these actors and actresses were chosen to play the roles they are playing in this artificial unnatural surrealistic soap opera.
And they were chosen precisely because of the nature of their personalities.
It’s all scripted, and all controlled by Central Casting.
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“It’s all scripted, and all controlled by Central Casting.”
Dear God, I certainly HOPE so!
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Which begs the question, is Fetterman the best they have? Really??
I guess it could be worse. We could have a brain damaged stroke victim in the White House.
Oh, wait….
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People really underestimate how much a stroke wipes people out, even small ones. You’re never going to be the same person again, no matter how good your recovery was. Add this to the fact these guys weren’t that bright to begin with, the extra 10-20 point drop in IQ is going to put you at having difficulty with simple tasks.
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Like Biden, for example. He had a small stroke years ago. The media memory-holed it.
“the extra 10-20 point drop in IQ is going to put you at having difficulty with simple tasks.”
But it’s a sure-fire vote-getter. And remember: The subject here is democracy.
This is a good example of the difference between Democrat primary voters and republican primary voters. Democrat primary voters are the far-left and they want the good narrative. Give them the good narrative and they will never question it. Fetterman kitted himself out as a working man, learned how to talk like a working man and adopted the working man message that is in the mythologies of the Left. That is why they never bothered to look beyond the narrative.
Republican primary voters tend to be the mostly moderate middle-class types who care more about bread and butter issues like taxes, but want a soft message. Middle-class white people have been conditioned to never offend the Left on the “moral issues” so they go for what they are told is the electable option. There are exceptions, but this usually occurs in states where the Democrats run the system or when there is no electable moderate option.
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Yes. He (like Biden) is perfect for the role he performs. They both reinforce the idea that the time of the old order is through.
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“They both reinforce the idea that the time of the old order is through.”
What they both reinforce is that democracy is now in its full flower.
It’s possible that the more multi-cultural a society becomes, the more such clownish behavior of public figures is a feature of civic life. It allows different ethnic groups to take pot shots at one another and mitigates any one group – ethnic or otherwise – feeling especially humiliated.
Of course, our society has been none-to-subtly encouraged to debase ourselves as the morality of postmodern age has supplanted the morality of the prior culture. Anglo-dominant Heritage America and Europe valued decorum (see the lavish praise for Elizabeth II) but the new movers and shakers have tagged decorum as oppressive and opprobrious. Taking pride and care in one’s appearance and behavior is old-fashioned, nationalistic even, but taking care not to step on the toes of novel identity groups is the currency of the new realm.
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With respect, Dr Oz didn’t need to end up as a clown. At the risk of doxxing myself, maybe you will trust me that I ran across his path in school. That’s the bigger tragedy. Our system now takes people who could have been serious men and encourages them to be clowns (e.g. Oz) or turns them into clowns (e.g. Ted Cruz). Of course, they are responsible for their individual actions. But at a systemic level, it’s a failure.
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“But at a systemic level, it’s a failure.”
It’s prostitution is what it is.
I suppose that at least theoretically there could be such a person as a dignified whore, but Dr Oz and Ted Cruz don’t rise to that level, theoretical though it be.
I’m actually not surprised. Just look at the retards amongst us. The next time you’re out and about, take a few minutes to look around and observe.
For instance, I’m in a car dealership waiting room and I see two retards wearing paper masks. There are probably 50 people in the room with customers and staff and no one is wearing a mask. Yet these people believe that a paper diaper is “keeping them safe”. The level of stupid has proven too much for me to handle at this point.
This is why we have people like fetterman getting elected. This is why allowing retards to “vote” will never work in a healthy society.
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Oh, Strokey was playing the role long before he hit the national stage. He was a minor celebrity in Pittsburgh, playing the Yinzer to rapturous applause by the local media outlets, who never failed to showcase the then mayor of Braddock at every opportunity as a true working class hero.
That was the audition, and it led to Strokey being chosen as Lt. Governor in Tom Wolf’s Administration of Misfit Toys, who also gave the country the gift of Admiral Dick Levine.
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Fetterman looks like the illegitimate offspring of anton lavey and an ape. He looks like someone who would steal power tools out of your garage.
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Realizing that there are no legitimate ape human unions. whatever you get it
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” He looks like someone who would steal power tools out of your garage.”
Nailed it as far as appearance–that’s spot-on, but stealing is hard work for a dude like Strokey.
Pennsylvania is a state that is a total enigma. It elects people who piss on them gleefully (“clinging to their guns..”). Then again, this seems to be a White trait.
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I’d never seen him before and someone on Fedi linked to a video I was like “cool, they got this guy who does roofing when he’s not strung out on pot to introduce the gubernatorial candidate…..why is he still talking and not introducing the candidate?”
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“That was the audition, and it led to Strokey being chosen as Lt. Governor in Tom Wolf’s Administration of Misfit Toys, who also gave the country the gift of Admiral Dick Levine.”
STOP, okay?
Just … don’t
It’s cruel and unusual.
Well, cruel, anyway.
Now I’ll have that mental image in my head all day.
That thing on his neck is the alien parasite controlling him….He has two convicted mass murderers on his campaign staff..https://www.takimag.com/article/fettermans-murderous-campaign-aides-how-it-really-happened/
The same is true in academia where the participants are even more craven. But “though this be madness, yet there is method in it.”
“What do I need to say or do to achieve my goals?”
Debase yourself.
“Okay.”
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Speaking of people with no dignity, Ace of Spades is reporting a rumor that Fatty Williamson is leaving National Review for the Dispatch to join Jonah Goldberg and David French. This has to be a financial move, and he was already getting grossly overpaid at NR. Across the political spectrum, among both candidates and pundits, I keep asking, who is paying to put these people in influential positions?
https://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=400931
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There is a Persian underwriting the Dispatch and The Bulwark. I am pretty sure the Wilkes Brothers paid Sloppy Williamson for his anti-Trump screeds back in 2016. It was obviously a pen-for-hire deal. I would not be shocked to learn that they are now paying the Trotskyites too. There’s Koch money in there too. Of course, the MIC throws money at these guys.
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Speaking of debasing oneself for attention, our “democratic” hero Zelenskyy, to whom we send tens of billions, is an actual clown who played piano onstage with his dick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oua0Puihrkc
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Just for the record: I did not click the link.
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That’s exactly what someone who clicked would say.
Dun dun DUNNNNN.
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There be no dignityin democracy, but there is money and power for those willing to degrade themselves.
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“There be no dignity in democracy, but there is money and power for those willing to degrade themselves.”
Gosh. That’s the dictionary definition of prostitution.
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Hence the origins of the US limiting the franchise to men of property..Women are much more vulnerable to hucksters and other charlatans, and those who own nothing have little skin in the game…
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Kari Lake worries me. There is something off about her. Maybe it’s because she seems a little too polished, like an actress playing a former TV news anchor. I don’t trust her, but we shall see.
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Probably because it is the same tired playbook that started with Sarah Palin- present yourself as a rootin’ tootin’ tough mama from the West with a pistol strapped to your hip. Bonus points when you do a sexy pose on a horse, or at the range with an AR. Basically, it is the white woman equivalent of the Black Conservative the Vichy Right loves so much, along with the Wounded Warrior, that they hire from central casting.
Plus, you should never trust a woman with a stripper name.
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Kari has the advantage of running against a Cabal bot who refuses to even debate her…But give Kari credit..she wants to close the border and get rid of electronic voting machines…
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Yep. There are the bad tell-tales for Lake. However, many of us are converts too, and she could be legit. Of all of the new gen Cons, she is by far the best at putting the media in its place – ironically enough.
Maybe it is best if the strong men are in the background for a bit longer. Then when the financial storms wash ashore, the men step forward. We’ll see if she is legit or if she is there to neuter other folks who are on our side are emergent.
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I think we need a little more to go on than “something off” about her”. Let’s give her a chance. Who else is there? I can count on one hand, not including my thumb.
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Agreed. She is the only pol who not just supports questioning the election, her counter-attacks on journalists who attack her on it are very poised yet vicious. She could be a great ally. I remember where I came from and where I am now. She is a force. If we push potential friends away with purity spiraling we’ll forever be alone at the margins. Let’s see.
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Nichols conitnues to embarrass himself on Russia in The Atlantic, the necon joke operation funded by Mrs. Jobs.
https://www.theatlantic.com/author/tom-nichols/
Assuming it’s not a typo, pray tell what does “cou7ntry” mean? Google can find a reference.
Those who have read the patristic theologians and works such as the Apostolic Constitutions will know that in the Early Church, actors were forbidden membership in Christian assemblies.
Actors were specified in writing. They were forbidden both instruction and baptism. They were not allowed to convert without first abandoning their theatrical lives totally and permanently.
And this proscription was rigidly enforced.
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I stayed at the Lizzie Borden bed and breakfast a few times. Our tour guide told us that actors were considered to be the lowest of the low in those days. They had it right the first time.
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In medieval England, actors were ranked below prostitutes…apparently because prostitutes didn’t pretend to be someone they weren’t…
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On the other side of the scale, we have John Wilkes Booth. Surely we shouldn’t be so hard on all those who trod the boards?
Wow! Everyone’s comments today provide some great laughs. Very good pillories of our clown world. Well done everyone. (That Crenshaw clip looks like it is fully staged.)
A few episodes ago I posted that the Republican party was going to be more femmy and BIPOC than the Dems. I had that on a 5-10 year timeline. I was wrong. It is already here. I donated a bit of money to DiSantis a while back and am just hammered with emails and bot calls from Con Inc. In the last 4 days I have gotten messages from them like:
– An email from the Republican’s historic youngest ever woman elected to Congress from NH if we just give her enough money. It went on to inspire me with comparisons with AOC and how she could be even younger than AOC was when she was elected.
– An email from Daily wIsRaEL with a hunking black guy special ops warrior leading a group of white guy special ops warriors. I didn’t bother to read it.
– Emails from multiple emergent black conservatives begging for campaign contributions – their platform seems to be they are hated by the left for being black and conservative. This is the new grift – it has morphed from handout seeking poor black guy shunned by society to suited up, handout seeking poor black “conservative” shunned by The Left.
– Emails from multiple emergent Hispanic Women(TM) who are going to fight against The Left and destroy the country they came here (probably illegally), to enjoy.
It is already here. The Republican party is more Democrat than the Diverse and Inclusive Democrat party of the Leftist’s most pitched diverse fever dreams.
How many votes will these guys procure from the Dem Diversity Political Machine? None. They will just obtain the votes of now replaced heritage Americans.
In more clown news, the Chip act web site is a good one to look at. It seems the biggest part of that Act (pun intended), is a photo op for hoody wearing black youth posing as scientists and doctors operating state of the art equipment while a forlorn white girl operates a soldering iron and a couple of white women fill out spread sheets. I didn’t realize that the ranking congressman on science and technology is a black female former RN. On the site it also lauds that we are fighting climate change. No mention of semi conductors – much mention of fighting climate change. Not a single Asian in the literature nor a single white man.
It is almost as if China wrote this legislation and gave it to the Black and Green caucus to promote.
Well, while others are posing in photo shoots and role play race swapping let’s get smarter and better and make our kids smarter and better too. Someone needs to design and build the next gen clown cars and equipment used to present it. This is a great time to turn off the TV and bury ourselves in skill development for building the future.
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“The Republican Party is running three celebrities in big elections this year. “
There is also Mark Ronchetti, a TV weatherman who is the GOP nominee for governor of New Mexico
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One look at Fetterman and I think of the character “Karl Childers” in the movie Sling Blade. Except, Karl is much smarter and can work a job.
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