I Pledge To Never Pledge To Pledge,...A Pledge

Hat Tip: Hot Air

America's Got Itself A Homeopathic Presidency

"In the old days, a guy who voted 'present' on 130 bills (or 129 depending on the source) while a member of his state senate was rightly viewed as pusillanimous.

In 2009, thanks to cultural implosion and media bias, his primary deficiency has been reclassified into a transcendent trait. Nowadays indecisive fellows like Obama — should they be Democrats — qualify as symbols of astuteness. After all, anyone can have strong beliefs, but only a New Age hero has the wattage to be uncertain about so many things."

-- Bernard Chapin, proving, once again, not everyone is blind to what's occurring, for Pajamas Media.

A First Black President Wants His First Black Eye

"One can’t get away with that disconnect forever,...Americans can and will forgive almost anything other than hypocrisy."

-- Victor Davis Hanson, pointing out what's becoming an obvious difference between Obama the "Messiah" and Obama the man, on Pajamas Media.

That's "Spiritual Feel Good Poverty Porn" To You

"The plight of India’s child beggars has been thrust into the international spotlight by Slumdog Millionaire, the British-made film tipped for Oscar glory with a staggering ten nominations. It has already won an unprecedented four Hollywood Golden Globes.

Directed by Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal, a boy who escapes the slums of Mumbai and wins a fortune on the Indian equivalent of the TV game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Branded ‘poverty porn’ by some Indian critics, the film has caused controversy in a country that wants to promote itself as a modern economic super-power."

-- Andrew Malone, with more about the latest NewAge cinematic hit, in The Daily Mail.

TMR Saw Chris Matthews Slip Him The Tongue!!!

You can tell from the title - A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media - this is NOT going to be pretty,...

We've Read The Book, Seen The Movie - Lived It

"The German government has never considered the US-based 'Church of Scientology' a religion, refuses to exempt it from taxes and spies on it regularly for 'anti-constitutional activity' because of aggressive recruitment practices.

During a failed attempt to ban Scientology in late 2007, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said; 'Fundamental basic and human rights like the dignity of man or the right to equal treatment are restricted or abrogated by the organisation. It rejects the democratic system.'

Many Germans are upset that Cruise is playing a man in 'Valkyrie' who despised the dictatorship of the Nazis while he promotes a 'religion' that many see as being equally authoritarian, intolerant and sinister."

-- Allan Hall, on the activities of one of the few countries to have paid the ultimate price for cultism - and which is currently putting anti-Scientology stop sign posters (above) outside the cult's offices - now that Berlin is on to Tom Cruise's little game, in The Telegraph.UK.

TMR Would Like To Stress: This Is A Cult!!!

"Everyone has seen them at subway stations, street festivals, shopping malls, and even ordinary city sidewalks: a few friendly-looking people sitting at small, folding tables, with colorful electronic contraptions prominently upon them, and lots of hardbound copies of L. Ron Hubbard books. A sign screams out, 'FREE STRESS TEST.' Naturally, everyone feels a little stressed out in our modern day, so with a chuckle and a smile, the ordinary citizens passing by may sit down 'just to see how this thing works.' It is fun to try out this kind of carnival game. Maybe this gizmo willsay something amazingly accurate. Also, it’s free. What could go wrong?

Well, a lot could go wrong, and often does. The people with the gizmos are Scientology cult recruiters; the machines themselves are Scientology 'E-Meters,' a primitive sort of lie-detector machine; and the Hubbard books are part of a sales strategy that is elaborately plotted out to the point of being bizarre, especially for an organization that claims to be a religion. No matter who you are, how you feel, or what kind of jiggles and squiggles the E-Meter apparatus makes in response to you, the Scientologists will tell you that your life is in a rather precarious situation, and that the best thing would be for you to come down to the 'church' for further interpretation and advice."

-- Lilly von Marcab, telling you what everybody should already know - because the media should have exposed it decades ago - instead of RushPRNews.

Stay Dressed Up (You Might Get Dressed Down)

"But I don't want to be organized!"

-- Ann Althouse, discovering our dapper Community Organizer in Chief has come up with yet another cultish idea - to use his 13-million-person e-mail list "as an instrument of government" - surely to control the Althouse.

Everything Comes From Within (But You're Out)

"Among the set of concerns (let's call them) that led me to start Mystic Bourgeoisie, was the question of why certain New Age types -- especially those who most vehemently deny that's what they are -- seem to believe that the answers to all life's most profound questions are to be found, you know...

{{{ WITHIN }}}

Even if your literary masochism amounts to but a fraction of my own, you can't avoid running into this bizarre concept if you read anything in this genre. Look within, my child, and your questions shall be answered!

I strongly suspect that heading the FAQ Hit Parade in this regard would be:

'Who's the fairest of them all?'

And the #1 most popular corresponding answer:

'Why, you are, Queenie!'

I got thinking about this again today because a reader kindly sent me a link to an interesting post titled Folk Theories Of Guru-Based Spirituality, which included such items as...

• The folk theory of everything being connected
• The folk theory of ancient wisdom
• The folk theory that only the heart knows what is true
• The folk theory that the mind is an enemy of the spirit

In the comments, someone added one of my all-time favorites...

• The folk theory that the Universe has a plan for Your Life"

-- Chris Locke, pondering those really-big-things-to-ponder (as always) and giving TMR a chance to link to him and Guruphiliac at once - which counts as an anti-cult triple play - on the Mystic Bourgeoisie.

Getting Really In Touch With Your Full Potential

"At age 36, I found myself in a medium security prison serving 3-5 years for destruction of government property and public intoxication. This was stiff punishment for drunkenly defecating in a mailbox but as the judge pointed out, this was my third conviction for the exact same crime. I obviously had an alcohol problem and a deep and intense disrespect for the postal system, but even more importantly I was ignoring the very fabric of our metaphysical reality and inviting destructive influences into my life.

My fourth day in prison was the first day that I was allowed in general population and while in the recreation yard I was approached by a prisoner named Marcus who calmly informed me that as a new prisoner I had been purchased by him for three packs of Winston cigarettes and 8 ounces of Pruno (prison wine). Marcus elaborated further that I could expect to be [...] raped by him on a daily basis and that I had pretty eyes.

Needless to say, I was deeply shocked that my life had sunk to this level. Although I’ve never been homophobic I was discovering that I was very rape phobic and dismayed by my overall personal street value of roughly $15,..."

-- Anonymous, telling us "how The Secret changed my life," in an Amazon review of the book and DVD now-abandoned by everyone (except hardcore NewAgers and the fine folks looking for scams) at Counterknowledge.

Democrat? Check. Berkeley? Check. Sanity?

"Rep. Ted Hoskins, a Democrat from Berkeley, will speak at an anti-psychiatry exhibit sponsored by a group affiliated with the Church of Scientology."

-- Jake Wagman, telling us everything we need to know, in The St. Louis Dispatch.

Lady, You Sure Got A Hitch In Your Get-Along

Think Christopher Hitchens' voting for Barack Obama was a fluke? We don't. You can trace the change in America's most prolific writer to this very photo.

It was after this demoralizing episode in October 2007 (for the aptly-named Vanity Fair) that he gave up smoking and declared he wanted to live "longer." (Longer than what? And why? He's on his second wife, so he knows betrayal of one kind or another, what's the attraction?) Nothing the great man has said, since then, has made much sense, so we've had to watch him back-track fairly regularly - but now he's being accepted on the talk shows!!! And anyone who's paying attention knows we don't just mean the ones on FOX.

Sigh.

This is life as High School all over again; Jr. High even, except now, instead of being instructed by drug-addled kids who wear tight pants without underwear, he's being instructed by "open-minded" fitness fanatics in looser pants - but with tight asses - and, somehow, in true hippie fashion, what's supposed to be underneath has still escaped being included. You know, the little things, like self-awareness and common sense. Otherwise someone of Hitchens' Olympian gifts would have already taken notice of the most glaringly fatal flaw in this feminized (and quite NewAge) reconstruction of his visage, and what's left of his so-called reasoning:

Dude, this is not a photo of a man.

Yes: The Law Of Quantum Failure Strikes Oprah

Why can't America's self-help queen help herself?

Oprah, writes [scholar Eva Illouz, author of the book, "Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery"], 'has regularly revealed "secrets" that all had one thing in common: they bore the mark of a failed psyche and failed relationships,...'

..."Eighty percent of self-help books - especially the spiritual, new-age ones - are purchased by her demographic: Women. I'm not saying Oprah is venal, but there are plenty of people who are duplicitous when it comes to making money."

Which brings up the next logical question: Does Oprah really believe this stuff? She was one of the earliest champions of "The Secret" - the book and DVD which preaches positive thinking results in a great life; conversely, if you're a failure, it's your fault. Yet when she suffered public backlash, she dropped all mentions of and associations with the book. Is that a true seeker, a shrewd businesswoman, or a bit of both?

And: If Oprah - a self-made multi-millionaire and a genius businesswoman - does believe all this stuff, how is it that she hasn't yet asked herself, "Why it hasn't worked?"

"I find her model of self-help deeply troubling," says Jennifer Harris, co-editor of "The Oprah Phenomenon." "She's always said that you can't depend on others for your happiness, not letting others define you - this is the discourse of the Oprah show. Meanwhile she's surrounded by all these people telling her she needs to control her authentic self, as if it's an unruly child."

Among the soldiers in Oprah's army of self-help: Dr. Phil McGraw, overweight author of diet books and unlicensed TV therapist; Eckhart Tolle, who speaks of the "pain body" and charges $40-$150 a pop for lecture tickets; the aforementioned "Secret" gurus; and Marianne Williamson, who had as a mentor a spirit named "Seth," channeled via a psychic.

How can a woman of such obvious native intelligence, who has publicly said she has never had therapy, and doesn't believe she needs it, opt for this kind of stuff instead?

"At some place along the line, good common sense took flight," says [Kitty Kelley], who notes that Oprah spent her childhood as a dedicated churchgoer in the South. "She both believes it and knows it sells. But it's a constant quest with her. I think the hunger for food, for some kind of meaning - that's where you get the constant reaching-out to the quacko-wackos." Oprah's gurus tend to fall into two categories: maternal white women (Williamson, Elizabeth Gilbert) and authoritarian men who brook no challenge, defiance or nuance (Dr. Phil, Bob Greene). "It's like they're spanking Oprah," Harris says.

-- Maureen Callahan, trying to understand why Oprah's advice of NewAge self-help is unsuccessful at everything - except fooling the public into making bad choices - in The New York Post.