[PB PM]

It’s good to see less fan fair, political leaders are over rated anyway. Never understood the hero worship they get.

[turtle]

Originally Posted by PB PM It’s good to see less fan fair, political leaders are over rated anyway. Never understood the hero worship they get.

This is the exact logic I was referring to. Not calling you out, I have a little of it too. Our previous generations held up those leaders as good role models and so there was a level or "worship" that happened. With things having gone the direction they have and distrust at an all-time high, it isn't a surprise to see it just get worse and worse.

Thing is, we have to see that every leader is still just a human and faces the same issues we face. They just get the privilege of doing it with the spotlight on them in a glass house.

[psmith2.0]

I don’t know. I have a feeling when Mr. and/or Mrs. Obama go, it’ll be covered about like Queen Elizabeth’s death…wall-to-wall, nonstop, filmed retrospectives, panel discussions, interviews with anyone they’ve ever made eye contact with, etc.

“Tell us, when Michelle Obama glanced at you from 30 yards away as she entered the vehicle, what did that mean to you?

“Ohmigosh, Anderson…it changed my life!!!”



I’m sure it did, sweetpea. Stick around and CNN may even give YOU a show in their primetime lineup!

Mrs. Carter was quiet/reserved/under-the-radar in life so it makes sense her passing/funeral isn’t a total media zoo. I get that. It will NOT be the case with others. Two in particular, initials “H” and “M”.

The whole 24/7 cable news racket spends so much time making mountains out of every molehill as it is, they often have nothing left in the tank, or aren’t sure what to do, when genuine big, important things happen. They shoot their journalistic wad on every school shooting, even if they’re just repeating themselves, and speculating, after day one.

When EVERYTHING is “news”, after a point, nothing is. These people can’t multi-task. it’s all-in on one story or event, for days/weeks (celebrity death or scandal, plane crash, school shooting, anything right-wing/conservative gone awry, Trump’s latest nonsense, etc.) to the exclusion of other things that affect/impact far more people. It’s weird.

Fact is, we don’t need the 24/7 cable news outfits because, frankly, not enough happens, day by day, hour by hour, to warrant it. You can tell when it’s a slow week, and you can almost see it on the anchor’s faces “damn, I wish some beloved Hollywood figure would die so we’ve got something to over-cover/discuss for the next week or so! Ratings drive the car, and all those airport terminals and doctors’ waiting rooms permanently locked/welded onto CNN kinda creates a false reading/sense of importance, day to day. And it all just kinda feeds in itself, one thing justifying the other.

It’s funny to watch. My TV never - NEVER - lands/stays on cable “news”, yet I feel as informed as I need to be, via the Internet and the radio when I’m driving around.

We were better off, as a culture, when we got a quick shot of our country/the world for 20-30 minutes at 6pm and 11pm, IMO. It’s all you needed. Wallowing in the screeching, disagreeing and snarky talking heads “panel discussions” the big three (CNN, Fox News and MSNBC) all thrive on/overdo isn’t helping anyone or making the world a better, more “informed” place. It’s creating little tribes of misinformed, spoon-fed low/nformation types who can’t/won’t think for themselves or demand better if the profession/industry. It’s showbiz as much as anything. Next time you’re tuned into your outlet of choice - and it doesn’t matter which, they all work off the same template - pay attention to how much real, hard and sober “news” you actually get, vs. how much winking snark, bias/editorializing, flashy graphics/animation/packaging, “experts” screaming at/interrupting each other and endless “ask your doctor about…” prescription meds commercials. You aren’t being informed. You’re being marketed to, at best. And preached/lectured to and scolded.

We’re not one damn bit more informed now, in 2023, than we were in 1983. We can’t be, too many stupid people in the streets, stores, public office, in the media at all levels, teaching our kids, etc.

As often the case, it’s quality vs. quantity. Too much of anything is too much, especially shoddy, lazy and uninformative “news”, dressed up and presented like some tawdry reality show on Bravo or E!

My grandfather, watching one 6:30pm Walter Cronkite news broadcast and reading his local morning paper knew/understood the world more than I ever have, with a near-lifetime of cable news, the internet, 16 years of “A Connected Computer in my Pocket 24/7”. That’s just true. It’s absolute overkill, the Information Age/racket. Just meaningless white noise, job justification and resume-padding, so much of it.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by turtle Thing is, we have to see that every leader is still just a human and faces the same issues we face. They just get the privilege of doing it with the spotlight on them in a glass house.

Which is why I feel the way I do about leaders. They are not special, and don’t deserve any special attention from the public once out of office.

[psmith2.0]

And, right on cue…

Sports Illustrated Writers “Horrified” By Report That AI-Generated Articles Are Being Published Under SI Banner

And it’ll only get worse, as this toothpaste is out of the tube as well, and all over the sink, faucet, mirror, your shirt, etc.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by PB PM Which is why I feel the way I do about leaders. They are not special, and don’t deserve any special attention from the public once out of office.

I don’t think so either, but it’s interesting, those who decide such things and their sliding scale of criteria. “Okay, let’s talk about that guy from Friends, or Taylor Swift’s new NFL boyfriend!, for two weeks straight. Former First Ladies? Meh…”.

That’s all I’m saying. Somebody is making those calls. And it’s goofy/out of whack. When Jacqueline Onassis died, it went exactly as you’d expect, because people of a certain age, many in positions of power or influence, can’t/won’t stop slobbering about JFK, “Camelot”, November 1963, etc.

That’s them, not me. Queen Elizabeth II had no direct impact on me, but for 7-10 days straight, every media/news outlet did their best to try and convince me otherwise!

Hey, I watched The Crown. That’s enough, and about all I’m good for, thanks.

I certainly don’t think our elected leaders are automatically “special”. God knows I don’t. Some are far worse, as people, than others, but, for the most part, they’re the same glad-handing, practiced-smile hucksters and chronic “overachievers” you wanted nothing to do with in high school. The type constantly running for class president, prom king, etc. It requires a certain personality type to put yourself on the public/world stage, and, on balance, it’s not a type I usually go for or enjoy being around. But they wouldn’t dig/understand me either, so it all levels out in the end.

But we always honor our dead, fallen leaders. It’s just weird that some get the full program and others barely get a blip. If Jimmy Carter acted like Bill Clinton for four years, and Mrs. Carter like Hillary, it would be a different story. We all know that. Quiet, humble dignity doesn’t buy you much of a going away party these days. :

Clinton will get a 21-BJ salute, Monica Lewinsky will squeeze into her stained blue dress and make the morning show rounds, etc. and feminist authors/media figures will show up to explain how him acting that way is somehow totally okay/acceptable, but nobody else!!. Let the rhetorical pretzel twisting commence! That one will be the media zoo/circus to end all media zoos/circuses!

“Anderson, I’m a hyper-feminist, and avowed, hardline lesbian, as everyone knows. But even I sampled the First Dick at the White House in spring of 1994. I did it as a way to say “thank you, Mr. President, for your stance on abortion!” :lol; (again hard to parody the already-absurd/twisted).

The Man from Hope, indeed. As in “hey, ah sure hope that chick over there in the black dress wraps her lips around my little cabinet member after dinner!”

[chucker]

If Americans are so desperate to have a monarchy, why did they leave the Brits? You don’t have to worship politicians. Especially not spouses of politicians.

[psmith2.0]

Nobody's "worshipping" anyone, knock it off. I don't know the answer to the first part. Not sure which is worse at this point.

If you think the complete lack of coverage over a deceased former First Lady, or that doing so equates to making them special or "worshipping", that's kinda on you and how you're choosing to hear/take things. Maybe stop trying to stir a pot that doesn't need it. We finally got rid of(?) the one person here who does/did that, and nobody needs to take over his spot. Least of all a likable person who isn't known for being that way.

Long before this autumn, presidents, or their wives, who've passed are honored. I didn't invent it or put it into place, it's something I've seen my whole life. Johnson, Ford, Reagan, Bush, Sr. and, to a smaller degree, their wives. That's not some weird, crazy 2023 kinda thing that just popped up as an Instagram challenge/trend.

Worshipping politicians, or their spouses, is about the last thing I'd ever do. I can't think of any I even really like or admire/respect, let alone the other part. Perhaps the most "unworshippable" people going. A necessary evil, I suppose, vs. that whole "king" business.

Nobody here wants a damn monarchy. Least of all me, I make too much fun/light of the ones already in place around the world. Not gonna be a hypocrite, because, no...we wouldn't do it any better. I know a couple of folks who wouldn't mind the idea, as long as they were the ones sitting on the throne. One is orange, and he ain't ever gonna lead anything ever again. I'll make one of those reverse celebrity claims. Every four years, the same 5-6 celebrities make some horseshit claim that if the Republican nominee (Bush, Romney, etc.) wins the presidency, they're moving elsewhere (Canada is always the popular, go-to choice). Yeah, yeah...blah, blah, blah. Not one of them, to my knowledge, has ever followed through on it and kept their word, despite my offerings to help them pack, drive them to the airport, buy them a coffee, mow their yard, feed their fish, etc.

Well, despite not being a liberal/progressive Hollywood type, I'll thrown in on this go-around. If Trump wins in 2024, I will move elsewhere because, while I can handle him well enough (just ignore/switch the channel, or just say rude, awful things when he's on), what I don't have in me for another four years are all the bellyachers, handwringers, pearl-clutchers, sky-screamers and crybabies who let everything the man says or does wreck their lives, and hearing them squawk and caterwaul and come unhinged/unglued for four straight years is something I want less than that idiot sitting in the Oval Office again.

Trump, I can handle. He's a doof who has zero impact on my day-to-day. The "go crazy" crowd, not so much...I don't need another four years of strangers screaming in my face and killing me to death with buzzwords/concepts they heard on TV. "Hey, I'm trying to have dinner. STFU, this ain't the time or place. You idiots weren't compelling or persuasive the last time around, and I'm far more out of patience now than I was in 2018 or so..."

Please, Donnie...do it for me. Don't run, just to spare me the noise. I'll give you $10 bucks to throw it/take a dive.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 And, right on cue… Sports Illustrated Writers “Horrified” By Report That AI-Generated Articles Are Being Published Under SI Banner And it’ll only get worse, as this toothpaste is out of the tube as well, and all over the sink, faucet, mirror, your shirt, etc.

AI-generated hotties?

Bring it on!

Hell, they're all Photoshopped anyway. So, as soon as models stop asking to be photo-shopped to perfection, then I'll get on board with them not being … um … Photoshopped?

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by chucker If Americans are so desperate to have a monarchy, why did they leave the Brits?

I've never understood this either, but there are a growing number of Americans that want to be ruled over by a single, despotic, narcissistic, self-indulging dictator with a crown on their head. You could name that person Hillary or Donald, it matters not.

Morons, the lot of them.

[turtle]

Have none of them watch Star Wars and seen what happens when Palpatine gains power?

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by chucker If Americans are so desperate to have a monarchy, why did they leave the Brits? You don’t have to worship politicians. Especially not spouses of politicians.

As a Canadian, in a country that for some stupid reason is still a constitutional monarchy, I don’t get either. Why we waste our tax dollars on those chumps is beyond me.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by turtle Have none of them watch Star Wars and seen what happens when Palpatine gains power?

Problem is a growing number of people want that. They see democracy as being broken, because the person they like/party want in office isn’t there, so it must be fake, cheated etc. people are dumb.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Nobody's "worshipping" anyone, knock it off. I don't know the answer to the first part. Not sure which is worse at this point. If you think the complete lack of coverage over a deceased former First Lady,

But it's literally the top story if I go to us.cnn.com right now?

Originally Posted by kscherer I've never understood this either, but there are a growing number of Americans that want to be ruled over by a single, despotic, narcissistic, self-indulging dictator with a crown on their head. You could name that person Hillary or Donald, it matters not. Morons, the lot of them.

I don't even mean that; I mean the weird honorifics Americans give to current or former politicians or their spouses. A former POTUS is not a "President" any more than a retired baker is a "Baker". The whole "First Lady"/husband thing is weird and uncommon in other countries, especially half a century later. She wasn't a politician, just a celebrity.

[drewprops]

Moses goes up the mountain to talk to God.

Comes back down and they're all worshipping a golden statue they whipped up.

It's apparently hard-coded into us to direct our fealty to SOMEBODY or SOMETHING.

...

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by drewprops Moses goes up the mountain to talk to God. Comes back down and they're all worshipping a golden statue they whipped up. It's apparently hard-coded into us to direct our fealty to SOMEBODY or SOMETHING. ...

I don't know. Because, secretly (and beneath our machine guns and placards) we're really just a bunch of spoiled babies with daddy issues!

[drewprops]

Still, Jimmy and Rosalyn did their greatest work after politics. They are saints to many here. It was touching to see Jimmy so frail in his chair.


...

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by drewprops Moses goes up the mountain to talk to God. Comes back down and they're all worshipping a golden statue they whipped up. It's apparently hard-coded into us to direct our fealty to SOMEBODY or SOMETHING. ...

As I said, people are dumb.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by drewprops Still, Jimmy and Rosalyn did their greatest work after politics.

Habitat for Humanity has been great in its day. Still, I've been wondering about the road ahead.

Here in Toronto, hotels are full, rents are exploding, and churches are reluctantly housing refugees in crowded and dangerous conditions.
On tonight's news, we are seeing fires in outdoor encampments becoming a semi-regular thing. People are being seriously hurt.

I don't know where exactly the housing market went completely off the rails in the last decade. Prices were high for a long time, but housing was at least attainable if you wanted to pay for it. Now not so much. International students are paying $500 a month for a mattress in open basements with 4-5 others. It's insane. I've suspected the situation has something to do with short-term online home rental market. And the fact that environmental regulations means there's less vacant land for new development. Further exacerbated by the rich parking their money in real estate, hedging against a banking collapse.

My sense is that something much bigger will have to take Habitat's place, or at least supplement its work. Toronto alone needs tens of thousands of units built right now. And North America is going to have to do something big about the social problems in Central America driving migration. We can't absorb a whole lot more refugees at this rate, and there seems to be an inexhaustible supply of them.