Arianna Huffington: Cultist

We all know how much Baby Fatt loves to deride right wing nuts (redundant phrase) who are in thrall to one of the various christofascist cults, but am I just as willing to deconstruct some liberal also possessed of a religious delusion? You betcha. Let's talk about Arianna Huffington.

Arianna first came to prominence as the Greek wife of a Republican candidate for U.S. senate. At that time she started appearing on various talking head cable shows and she always espoused a right wing conservative point of view. Her husband, Michael (millionaire rich boy formerly from Texas) lost his senate race and used the occasion to come out of the closet as a homosexual.

Bully for him, I say. This was followed by their divorce, which occasion Arianna used to come out of the closet as a liberal (politically speaking--with regard to her sexuality one can only guess but the likelihood is that it is for the most part Onanistic in character--this is virtually always the case with media personalities and media personality wannabes).

Bully for her, but political turnabouts for me always seem to me to be more about marketing than philosophy--thus, for example, southern Democrats converted to Republicanism in the eighties because that's where the votes were--and so I also suspect her of having no core values (this is virtually always the case with political personalities--they too are Onans, casting their seed barrenly upon the media in the desperate hope of getting elected to something). Then there's the matter of her religion.

Arianna follows a pseudo-eastern cult led by a pudgy white guy named "John-Roger". John-Roger started out in Eckankar (another pseudo-eastern cult led by another white dork who considers himself to be the godhead), but then decided he could do better by starting his own cult (Baby Fatt has considered this himself from time to time--hey it beats a day job--but unfortunately I am cursed with a conscience). He started out in the sixties giving out spiritual advise in his home for pocket change, and gradually built a cult out of upper class yuppies who are willing to hand over major coin in exchange for being told that they're enlightened.

His cult is formally called the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, or MSIA ('messiah', get it?). John-Roger's claim to spiritual enlightenment is that in 1963 he went into a coma while trying to pass a kidney stone (you really can't make this stuff up) and while in the coma was taken over by a spiritual being, the "Mystical Traveler Consciousness".

The Mystical Traveler Consciousness (aka John-Roger) comes to earth once every twenty five thousand years and is able to help individuals clear their karma so as to achieve salvation. Of course the Mystical Traveler Consciousness only provides this service in consideration of certain fees (how else to separate the damned from the saved?). These fees are significant (hey, enlightenment doesn't come cheap), and so the Mystical Traveler Consciousness lives in an opulent palace in Los Angeles.

Of course the Mystical Traveler Consciousness also has certain earthly needs--he has become, however temporarily, flesh after all--needs that can only be met by young male acolytes who are willing to submit to the Mystical Traveler Consciousness. Unfortunately, the Mystical Traveler Consciousness becomes easily bored with a given male acolyte, and so is always seeking out new ones. Several of the old ones have been quite put off by this and have sued John-Roger.

I mentioned he was a pudgy white guy right? He's short with a little pot belly and he puffs up his hair to make it look like there's more to it and to give himself another inch. Imagine a caucasian version of Kim Jong Il.

So now we have Arianna Huffington, who took the money she got in the divorce after her husband came out of the closet (keeping a sex secret during a senate campaign? priceless!) and bought her way into the Washington cocktail circuit (actually pretty cheap to do). She used her wealth and minor fame to fund a popular left wing blog and get herself invited to all the cable talk shows where, she's allowed to bloviate to her heart's content. She's treated as a serious thinker by all her fellow gas bags (thank you, Calvin Trillin for a phrase that sums up so much), and by many on the left because of her apparently sincere embrace of progressive politics.

Progressive? Like hell! She's just another sheer opportunist with no core values who wants to get out in front of as many people as possible. She talks progressive politics but don't doubt for a second that she doesn't yell at the help (whether it be the lawnboy or an editor of her blog). She's allowed herself to be conned by an idiot like John-Roger, whom she rewards with cash and entree into her circle in exchange for being reassured that this is just the beginning, that she gets to be Queen Arianna for all of fucking eternity.

What utter crass stupidity. What a shameless evil tool (both of them).

Totalitarianism For Christ, part Duh

I previously indicated (post of 08/12/09) that I would follow up on my research into "The Family" the christofascist cult that operates a rooming house on C Street in Washington DC for right-wing politicians (David Vitter, John Ensign, Mark Sanford, John Thune, Pete Domenici, et al). I've conducted a bit more research (when time allows--the world is falling apart faster than a mortal Fatt can keep up). So here's what I've learned so far.

The Family was founded by Abraham Vereide, an immigrant (from Norway) who started the religious group in the 30's in order to oppose Roosevelt's New Deal. The founding principal of the group is what Vereide termed "biblical capitalism". Biblical capitalism teaches that salvation goes first to those who have risen through capitalism to amass wealth and power, and that the weak, the poor, and the humble just don't make it into heaven.

According to The Family it is wealth and power that are to be worshiped as a path to salvation, not the usual christian precepts of humility, charity, chastity, etc. Those who amass wealth and power are automatically given entree into heaven, even if they are not, technically speaking, christian (for example, the current House whip Eric Cantor, who is a jew, is a member of The Family). It is the elite to whom glory accrues, not the working class (who, by virtue of their peasantry are per se not redeemable). When it comes to getting into heaven, the poor need not apply, no matter how virtuous they might otherwise be.

What this also means is that the elite are excused from ordinary (i.e., bourgeoise) morality. Thus, when one of these elite breaks what are taken by many religious people to be god's laws (you know, do not commit adultery, don't be greedy, do not kill, etc.) the member of the elite gets a pass. Neat trick.

The Family cultivates the rich and powerful in Washington DC, mostly right-wing Republican politicians. It flatters them and subsidizes their housing and treats them to all manner of perks. It uses its influence to destroy any legislative initiatives that might help the working class (in particular they oppose and seek to destroy any legislation that might help organized labor) in order to maintain the stratified class system that it believes reflects the will of the god it worships.

Haven't heard much about this secretive right-wing christofascist cult at the heart of Republicanism? Wonder why? While Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck stir up all manner of conspiracy theories about the dark forces operating at the heart of progressive politics, neither has raised a word about the christofascist cult--to which many of their powerful friends and supporters belong--that is actively working to oppress the legions of "dittoheads" who are conned into attending "tea parties" or signing petitions protesting Obama's alleged lack of a birth certificate.

The rich go to heaven, while workers are organized for the purpose of working against their own interests. Now that's a conspiracy.

The Genius of the Ruling Class

Though I detest the ruling class, I do admire its genius. The Oligarchy that runs America and the rest of the world brought us to the brink of financial ruin in the last couple of years, but what is the hoi polloi busy arguing about? Socialized medicine (i.e., healthcare reform), ACORN, tea parties, and birth certificates.

Think about this works out with regard to healthcare reform for example. Healthcare reform will help working families and so one would think that the working class would naturally be behind it, right? Nah, thanks to the Oligarchy's control of the media (and refined understanding of the psychology of resentment), working people have been enlisted in the fight against something that will help their own families. Neat trick.

How was this accomplished? By paying shills like Rush and Glenn Beck et al to stir up resentment over "big gu'ment" and our black president, and then using the resultant dissonance to distract us from the fact that we lead lives of increasing social and economic desperation. The folks who show up for the "tea parties" are exactly the working people who would be helped by progressive economic policies, but instead they've been enlisted by the business class to do combat against their own interests.

See, the Oligarchy doesn't have to fight progress, it uses its power and money to enable the working class to defeat itself. The fact that the American people have allowed the economic elite to use our resentments and prejudices against us is a stain on our national character that will long persist in ignominy.

It also speaks to the genius of the ruling class--an evil genius, to be sure, but genius nevertheless.

Thank You Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter could not be more right: of course the reason Obama drives the right absolutely nuts is because he's a black man. It takes a Southerner to understand and explain this, because what one learns growing up in the South is the absolute primacy of race. It is not that race matters most of all in political or economic or cultural conflicts, it is that race is the only thing that matters, especially to white Southerners.

White Southerners can never accept the fact that a black man has achieved greater glory and power than a white man ever could. White Southerners can simply never accept that a black man could "better" them in any way. This is why Fox News and the right-wing echo chamber are creating all sorts of bogus issues--birth certificates, flag pins, Obama as socialist and Antichrist, etc.--with which to question the legitimacy of Obama's presidency: he can never be legitimate in their eyes, no matter what. Obama could cure cancer in the morning, and bring lasting mideast peace in the afternoon, and all that would happen would be the right wing would consider him to be even more uppity than usual.

This is not to say that all criticism of Obama or of his policies is racist--far from it. There are many wingnuts who hate healthcare reform or financial regulation because they are philosophically opposed to government programs of any kind. The problem is that these non-racist wingnuts have done nothing--absolutely nothing--to separate themselves from the Obama haters whose hatred is animated by race.

The right has embraced every opportunity to portray Obama as "the other". They questioned his citizenship and patriotism. They portrayed him as arrogant and uppity (as someone who thinks he's better than 'us'). They openly entertained the idea of having their state secede from the union because of Obama's programs (memo to Texas race baiter in chief Rick Perry: eat shit, get hepatitis, turn yellow, and go straight to hell you worthless traitor and bigot). They called him a socialist and from the floor of Congress shouted at him "you lie".

"Uppity" by the way is code for the "n" word (for my non-Souther readers). So is "arrogant", "socialist", "urban" and "you lie". If you have any doubt about any of this visit any country club in the South and ask the patrons what they think of our president.

Time to call these racists out for what they are: ill-mannered boors and troglodytes who hate America; idiot louts who willingly allow their petty resentment to cloud their reason; in other words, just good old boys (who are destroying our country and our future).

Why You Can't Argue With A Conservative

Because they are delusional. I mean that in a clinical sense: they are clinically insane and you cannot argue from a reality-based perspective with a person whose world view has no relationship whatsoever with reality. I previously discussed the dark cancer eating away at the heart of conservatism (see post of 06/24/09) so let's talk today about the mental health of conservatives--as in they ain't got none cuz they stone cold batshit crazy, and you can't argue logically with a person who lives in Crazy Town.

This is hard for liberals to understand. Liberals are wonks: we love to argue policy and philosophy and how to make government more efficacious. We want to think that if we could just sit down with a conservative and reason together then we can come to some sort of consensus about how best to make the world a better place.

Doesn't work like that. I spent much of my life in the behavioral health field (i.e., I worked with crazy people). I remember one client I had at the Austin State Hospital who was convinced that his brother was the Secretary of War. I mean totally convinced. You could point out all you wanted that there was no more Secretary or War (it was replaced by the Secretary of Defense, the current one of whom was demonstrably not his brother) but his delusion was so fixed, so rigid, so part and parcel of who he was as a person that he would acknowledge all your points and then go right on talking about his brother the Secretary of War.

So why try and argue with someone part of whose core belief system is that there is reasonable doubt about evolution? How can you be logical with someone who believes in a supernatural explanation for how the world came to be? Who believes that the world is five or six thousand years old and the reason dinosaurs do not walk is the earth today is because Noah could not fit them on the Ark? Why should we take anyone seriously who believes that Jesus is going to come back at any minute go take him/her away into the clouds?

These supernatural beliefs are evidence of a deep and rigid delusional system against which no amount of logic or consensus could ever penetrate. And yet these crazies control much of our nation and, by simple reason of their obstinacy control most of our civil discourse. I say stop the insanity!

These right wing idiots are crazier than shit-house rats, and should be treated as such. Just as with my guy who thought that his brother was the Secretary of War, we should listen patiently, behave respectfully, and then give them a big wampus injection of anti-psychotic medication and send them to their room. Maybe, if they promise not to blather their nonsense to strangers, they can earn enough points to be allowed "off campus" on a Saturday afternoon.

We must take away their power to rule our lives with their insanity. We must marginalize them. The one thing we must not do is treat them like they are somehow sane and worthy of civil discourse. Civil discourse is the purview of the reality-based community, and conservatives live someplace else entirely.

Republicans: Low Class America Haters

We already know that Republicans hate America--they care only about accruing power for themselves even if it is to be done at the expense of the American people. At last night's presidential address they also proved that they are just a bunch of low class rubes.

A Republican member of the House of Reps Joe Wilson heckled President Obama. This is the first time a president has been heckled in a speech to the congress. Despite the disrespectful behavior by a southern rube (pardon the redundant phrase) it was the president--our black president--who showed class and grace.

Black people know what this is all about--why it is that the first president to be heckled while giving a speech to a joint session of congress also happened to be our first black president (and his heckler a rich white man from South Carolina). One suspects that people of color are keeping track of all these racial slights, and stupid white southerners should perhaps exercise a bit more discretion before mouthing off and expressing their hate.

Abraham Lincoln was the greatest president in American history, but sometimes I think the rest of us would have been better off had he just let the South go its own way, because the South has been nothing but a drag on the rest of the country ever since.

The Problem(s) with Quentin Tarantino's "Bong Noir"

I was sitting around last Saturday night trying to figure out a good movie to go see. This hasn't been a very good year for movies (for several years now movies have really sucked), and so the pickings were slim. My quest finally came down to a choice between Inglorious Basterds or District 9.

Did you ever know one of those geeky guys who saw every movie that came through town? Who loved to get stoned and spend all Saturday watching movies and then arguing about them with his friends? I have--hell, I am one of those guys. Now suppose you gave one of those stoners fifty million dollars and told him to make a movie, what you would get would be a Quentin Tarantino movie. It's a style of movie-making I call "bong noir".

No one films a scene better than Quentin Tarantino. Take the scene in Reservoir Dogs where one of the hoods tortures the cop, while that cheesy song by Blue Swede plays in the background, for instance. It's beautifully realized. Or the scene in Pulp Fiction where John Travolta and Samuel Jackson are driving around talking about Big Macs--stoner dialogue at its best.

The problem is that his movies as a whole just don't hold together because a movie is more than the sum of a few really cool scenes strung together. His movies don't make sense. I tried to sit through one of the Kill Bill movies, and just couldn't make it all the way through because its plot was nonsensical (also it was too long--one of the biggest problems with films today is insufficient editing).

Tarantino's movies are hollow at their core: they lack humanity. I'm not referring to the gratuitous violence he films so beautifully, because I love "a bit of the old ultra-violence" as much as anyone. I'm referring to the fact that there is no human element, no sense of tragedy or emotion or character to his films. His films are just empty aggregations of scenes without a human story to bind them.

Take Pulp Fiction for instance. Aside from being one of the most over-rated films of our time, what is the film about after all? Man's inhumanity to man? The redemptive potential of violence? Nah, it's just a bunch of scenes thought up by a stoner and strung together to make a movie. Contrast this with another recent violent film: A History of Violence.

In A History of Violence the violent scenes are held together by the tension of the protagonist's attempt to reconcile his past life with his current life and family. It's a human story driven along by the violent scenes (which are really cool by the way). The movie has a center and is wholly realized, unlike a Tarantino movie.

Here's a thought experiment: name one character in a Quentin Tarantino movie that you actually care about. His characters are one dimensional people for whom it's hard to have empathy or sympathy or disgust or any other human feeling--they're just flat, cardboard people around whom the violent scenes are strung like Christmas lights.

Don't get me wrong, I think Tarantino's a very interesting film maker, but it takes more than that to be a true auteur. I'd love to sit around with him and smoke some lamb's bread and talk about movies all afternoon, but I also suspect it would be a lot like hanging out with the friends I already have and doing the same--Tarantino's just got the Weinstein's to bankroll his bong fantasies into movies.

So, last Saturday I went to see District 9. A really terrific science fiction film (I'm not usually much of a sci-fi fan) that had excellent effects and lots of really cool violence but more than than was actually about something: it was political and human and brought a wealth of feeling to its subject. In other words, it was everything bong noir is not.

Stockholm Syndrome My Ass

So now there's been another of several recent incidents in which kidnap victims have been recovered many years after their abduction. These incidents always cause the idiots among us to ask, dopily: "Well, why didn't they try to get away from the kidnapper, surely they had lots of chances, right?"

Sure they had lots of chances, but they didn't try to escape for the same reason people everywhere follow orders to do things that are totally bad for them: they've been trained since birth to do what they're told, and to like it.

One of the greatest of the many bright and shining lies that defines America is the lie that Americans are an independent-minded people, deeply individualistic, who cherish their personal liberty above all. Nah, we're mostly a bunch of scared sheep, led hither and thither by various authority figures, feeding the narcissism of our idiot leaders with our blind obedience (Tea Baggers: I'm lookin' at you).

We're taught as children to obey our parents, to genuflect before political and religious leaders, to be respectful to teachers and the police, and to be happy while doing it. Those who resist this indoctrination are treated as bad seeds, malcontents with bad attitudes who don't know what's good for them and who will only encounter problems in the lives that await them.

Our schools give lip service to the need to develop critical thinking skills in students, but students who actually demonstrate critical thinking (by, for instance, questioning the precepts of American history and culture) are punished and ostracized. Our media celebrate as individuals people (e.g., 'Joe the Plumber') ostensibly for their individualism when in reality what is being celebrated are these idiots ability to suck up to the elite.

Americans hate critical thinking. Americans detest those who question the fundamental values of our empire (obedience as patriotism; exploitation as enlightenment). American values are herd values: glory be to he who subverts his own will to the will of his leaders and community; praise be unto she who relishes the opportunity to do what she's told.

Is it any wonder that some sex monster can kidnap a little kid and tell the kid what to do and the kid goes along with it? How can any adult question a child's subservience when that same adult happily carries out every order or direction given with a smile on his or her face?

America: land of the weak, home of the naive.