BevoAbyss

That's precisely what doublethink is. Here's the key passage from Orwell's 1984. This is purest summary of Carlson and Fox News. "Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. The Party intellectual knows in which direction his memories must be altered; he therefore knows that he is playing tricks with reality; but by the exercise of doublethink he also satisfies himself that reality is not violated. The process has to be conscious, or it would not be carried out with sufficient precision, but it also has to be unconscious, or it would bring with it a feeling of falsity and hence of guilt. . . . To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indisputably necessary. . . . The lie always one leap ahead of the truth.”

Scroll through that Texags thread above. You will see: 1) the sheer power of repetitive propaganda and 24/7 media spectacle. 2) the intellectual collapse of a swath of America as illustrated by those on Texags. 3) the abject failure of educational institutions to counter propaganda, alt-fact culture, and conspiracy theory.

Well, the starting point is that the vast majority are brainwashed from birth by their parents and preachers. Churches exploit their First Amendment right to spew out endless fact-free faith tales. Then there is the fact that no media institution, university, or corporation will dare challenge religion in America. Brainwashing + no overt challenge = massive cultural power. You are correct that religious non-belief is steadily rising, but I am not sure it is turning toward atheism, science, evidence, or even secular sanity. The belief in Ancient Aliens might as well be a new religion. Hell, the History Channel devotes entire days and evenings to Ancient Aliens nonsense— for decades! And there is lots of pseudoscience and warmed over New Age-ism out there filling the voids left by the abandonment of traditional religion. Plus, Jesus has stiff competition from Hollywood's proliferation of superheroes with super-powers. Most will take Batman, Black Panther, and Wonder Woman over Jesus and Joel Osteen any day.

Tucker Carlson is nothing less than a propagandist for Christian fascist patriarchy and conspiracy theory. That's the GQP-MAGA playbook. And 40% or more of this nation is fully on board. Carlson spinning January 6 into something it was not—when he knows he's lying— is the exact doublethink from party intellectuals that Orwell warned us about in 1984. Fox News is a 24-hour loop of segments of "Two Minutes of Hate" that Orwell also explained. We are witnessing the intellectual collapse of a huge swath of America—a full-on descent into an ignorant, fascist, violent, vengeful mob out for blood. What else was January 6 a preview of? Time's up for apologia, minimizing, denials, or thinking all this magically will go away.

Interesting analogy. What follows might be an unpopular take for those who believe football exists outside of cultural-political trends. Can't help but wonder how much of the move to the SEC was also driven by a "cultural alignment" with the Deep South, driven by BMDs and Regents wanting to own the liberals at UT and send a signal to Texans and the rest of America. Yeah, I know the ESPN-media driven propaganda saying that's all about $$$$ and the TV spectacle of "big boy football." That's surely part of the reason. And a good smoke screen. If we add on UT's new right wing "Civitas Institute" being run by a self-described "pro-life evangelical" funded with $6 million from the state and $6 million from the BOR (all according to Texas Tribune), then we get a clearer picture of where the BMD-BOR want UT going. Given everything happening in Abbott's Texas and MAGA America, it's hard to believe creating Civitas and joining the SEC are just an unrelated coincidence in a cultural vacuum. After all, Texas and Florida are the SEC leaders in right wing (fascist) politics. I wonder if any of that SEC $$$ will be going to Civitas? But... Which state and football conference have global companies with factories and skyscrapers in Austin—Apple, Facebook, Google, Tesla—and has high-tech, scientific, and cosmological research universities much like UT? Last time I passed through Austin several years ago, I didn't see any companies from the Deep South with skyscrapers or factories in Austin. We all know there ain't no freaking way Abbott and BMD-BOR (and many vocal alums) let UT align with liberal universities on the West Coast. Here's another anecdotal but revealing example. Head out to UT's McDonald Observatory and you don't see any SEC universities listed as telescope/research partners (other than A&M tagging along with big brother). Same with the "Giant Magellan Telescope" that UT is helping fund in Chile—university partners include A&M, Harvard, Chicago and Arizona, and Arizona State, plus many science institutions from around the world. This is a key way forward for the human species and it makes me super-proud that UT is one of the true global leaders. And no SEC in sight. Just sayin'.

I thought brisketexan was the committee! My user name definitely checks out. I am halfway over the ledge and peering into the abyss. Only the cosmic spirit of Bevo is preventing the free fall into oblivion!

What's more important than believing that God — the Creator of the entire freaking universe — is guiding me personally? What could be more important than the Creator ordaining me and my tribe to purity, conquest, salvation, and eternal destiny—after an apocalyptic struggle of "good" versus "evil"? That is the ultimate existential promise of the Bible. It all begins with Genesis and ends with Revelations. Beginning: God created the universe. End: after apocalypse and death, me and my tribe get eternal destiny with God in a 6,000 year old universe. Back in the day at UT, I discussed/debated all this with PhD religious educators, Bible thumpers, creationists, and even the students running the Christian tables and passing out pamphlets in the "Free Speech" area of the West Mall in the 1980s-1990s. So NASA and 21st century cosmology say the universe contains two trillion galaxies spread across 100 billion light years and is 13.75 billion years old. And we are a tiny species that evolved on a tiny planet in a remote part of one galaxy. Does not matter! It's all a bunch of pre-scientific fables. And it gives total existential comfort to the believers, especially in a scientific universe in which we are all utterly insignificant in the larger scheme of things. Believing that your destiny is ordained by the Creator of the universe is the most epic form of narcissism and imaginary self-importance. Osteen and other mega-preachers are merely the best at tapping into existential fears with self-important narcissism. Prophets, prayers, profits, and personal destinies. For me! All perfect for the screens of TV, social media, and 21st century capitalism. ....... As for the so-called Christian tenets of peace and charity, those come only after the bloodbath of colonization, conquest, and conversion. That's exactly what was imposed by the Euro Christians upon Native/Indigenous Peoples in South, Central, and North America. Peace after violent conquest. How the hell did the Lone Star State get its hands on the Permian basin that funds our great university? You know the answer. As for their version of "freedom," it is limited to freedom within religion — not outside it. All those GQP-MAGA narcissists brandishing AR-15s, that's the history and future of religion in America. And that's our warning of violence to come.

I get your point. Well taken. But GQP-MAGA are also shining the light on their selves. Very bright lights. Fox, Twitter, all across social media. And those lights only empower them to champion more fascism and theocracy. Like Trump, negative press doesn't stop them. In fact, they think it only proves how right they are. They know the mainstream media will never stand up to religion. Never!

In the world of a fascist Flat Earth America ruled by GQP-MAGA. It's the world emerging right before our eyes.

Nope. For GQP-MAGA, there is no "too far." The one-time "fringe" is the ruling center of the party. Trump just got 60% of the straw poll at CPAC. Time's up for denialism. It's very clear what GQP-MAGA are doing. They are implementing a fascist theocracy. They are serious, they are dangerous, and they cannot be reasoned with or accept any evidence that contradicts their Biblical worldview. They have the Supreme Court, they have many lower courts, they have news stations, they have billionaires, they have Elon's Twitter, they have most of the police (military?), and they have 35-45% of the US population on their team. They are making it harder for non-MAGA to vote and 2024 might well be the last free election in America. Oh, and they are armed to the teeth with AR-15s. And Disney is gonna put Desantis/MAGA in their place with a lawsuit. Lulz.

Spot on. Disney is just the first iconic powerful target. Wait till these fascist theocrats target NASA. Think that's crazy? — They came for women in Hobbs. They are coming for LGBTQIA+. They've come for nurses, doctors, Fauci, and biological science during Covid. Still coming after vaccines and mRNA science. Sooner or later they are coming for NASA and the massive telescopes ... and all the godless discoveries that refute their little 6,000 year-old universe. A fact-free universe they imagine they are center of. Pathetic cosmic narcissists.

Just wait till they come after the rest of the First Amendment, which protects six rights. 1) The right to have no religious belief 2) Freedom of religious belief 3) Freedom of speech 4) Freedom of press 5) Right to peacefully assemble 6) Right to peacefully protest Given the fascist-theocrats on the Supreme Court and various lower courts, few of these rights are safe. Especially the one at the very top. Yeah, the very first one atop all the Bill of Rights—the right to no religious belief. That first right is the basis of the Establishment Clause, the "wall" separating church and state. That will be attacked sooner or later by the GQP fascist theocrats. Count on it.

I long ago realized that "school choice" is code for "school Christian." The family's goal is kids raised on creationism and all kinds of anti-science idiocy, fact-free faith, and bogus world history. The GQP and Christian leadership goal is a nation ruled by the Bible, not the Constitution or any other secular ideas. Soon they'll be teaching that Jesus lassoed dinosaurs and convened with "Ancient Aliens" in the "Garden of Eden" on a flat earth created by "God" 6,000 years ago—all for the Christians to rule. Hell, that's probably on page one of their "history" book. The attack on secular education began with Reagan and Falwell and the "Moral Majority." The trajectory goes like this: Moral Majority (1980s) >>> United We Stand (1990s) >>> Tea Party (2000s) >>> MAGA (2010s-2020s). We can laugh and roll our eyes, but make no mistake: GQP's end goal is an iron-fisted fascist theocracy for Flat Earth America.

Denialism. Look. The system is working. There is plenty of rain forest left. Rains will come. People will stop setting rain forests on fire. Checks and balances. Fire is not winning. Look again. The system is working. There is plenty of rain forest left. Rains will come. People will stop setting rain forests on fire. Checks and balances. Fire is not winning. Keep looking dammit. The system is working. There is plenty of rain forest left. Rains will come. People will stop setting rain forests on fire. Checks and balances. Fire (fascism) is not winning.

Spot on, that's the right word for it. The term "climate change" is far too insufficient to describe what we are doing to the Earth's ecosystems. Climate cataclysm is far more accurate. It's not just C02 emissions in the air. Humans are disrupting life in the oceans. — Coral reefs are bleaching due to ocean acidification from C02 entering the ocean via acid rainfall. Thus, humans are disrupting the food systems of the oceans at the basic level. — With our trash, humans are polluting and plasticizing the rivers and oceans of the world. Plastic is now in the fish of the oceans and seafood we eat. We are disrupting life on the land. — With sprawl and endless consumption/pollution, humans are eroding biodiversity and destroying nature around the planet: forests, wetlands, water tables, the list goes on. — Humanity is likely effecting a 6th mass extinction event. Amidst it all, the mighty little humans sit in the narcissistic glow of our screens all day and electric light bubbles all night. When not breeding, shopping, and worshipping celebs/jocks/billionaires, most humans are waging verbal war or violent war against each other all across the globe. Almost always in the name of national borders, cultural purity, and imaginary Gods. Sooner or later, those nukes will get used, unless ideologies and philosophies coalesce around a shared destiny on this planet. That was the great hope of Earth Day. Meanwhile, the Voyager space probe will still be traversing the Milky Way and the Webb telescope will be peering into deep space and perhaps sending the pics down to a few survivors of a mostly failed species. All despite the proliferating wonders and lessons of the sciences—medical, biological, geological, astronomical—which show us to be a tiny, but brainy and curious species, the product of billions of years of cosmic evolution. Too bad, our species is too damn narcissistic to get the big picture. Darwin was right. TLDR. Some of those Hollywood future dystopias got it essentially right.

What's happening in Florida is exactly what fascism looks like in GQP America. And zero corporations will "shrug," Ayn Rand style (as WhatTheBuck noted). When push comes to shove and profit conflicts with human rights, the corporations will take the profits ... and let someone else deal with human rights.

You made some solid points. But you left off the protected Christian class ... who are never challenged by any media/educational/political institution in the US. That's why theocracy is on the march in America.

Hey, I said all burnt uniforms would never happen. Now I am getting Psycho murder memed ... dredging up scary dreams from seeing that movie on TV as a kid. Better make sure my car is not in quicksand with me in it some day. Thanks Surly!

IMHO: I think an all burnt orange uniform would look very cool. The burnt orange jersey with burnt orange pants and burnt orange helmet (white longhorn logo), socks, shoes. It would the opposite of the all white uniforms. I know it will never happen.

This map shows what the GOP theocracy and patriarchy are doing in America. The minority are imposing their Biblical edicts on the rest of society, especially women by overturning Roe. This is what happens when, across decades, no educational or media institutions stand up the the anti-science idiocy spewing out of the evangelical-creationist-fundamentalist pews, pulpits, and Christian law schools. Of course, their views are protected by the First Amendment, but freedom of thought does not mean freedom from critique or freedom from rejection. Anyone who thinks the they will not gain more power is naive, the theocrats already own the Supreme Court.

The Fox News "truth hurts our brand" is just another example of the full-on intellectual collapse in 40-50% of the US population, illustrating: — the failure of basic educational systems — the failure of mainstream news outlets (local and national) at multiple levels. — the failure of science education and teaching logical, evidence-based thinking — the failure of social media and news media to deal with conspiracy theory, pseudoscience quacks, Ancient Aliens, etc. — the failure of secular society to counter the power of the church and televangelists to prime the pump by attacking reality with endless evidence-free claims about the power of faith, salvation, and the sacred scrolls, and so on. Been building for decades, at least since the Apollo 8 astronauts read Bible myths to the world while orbiting the moon in 1968. The bottom of the collapse can only be measured in direct proportion to how far the James Webb Space Telescope can see into deep space. 93 million light years? Well, that's bottoming out point, 93 million light years deep!

True. But it's only a step toward keeping the masses out of any schools ... that are not run by Christian fascists. The long game is a fascist theocracy ruling the educational systems in Texas.

Correction. According to Time magazine (1988), the Reagan's lost faith in Dixon and turned to another quack named Joan Quigley, daughter of rich GOP donor. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,967410,00.html

Jeane Dixon, America's and Hollywood's favorite astrologer of the 1970s and 1980s. Just another quack grifter ... not too different than America's televangelists. Selling dreams and delusions.

Am I the only one tired of the endless hype from the Tennis Channel (and elsewhere in the media) regarding the current batch of American men's tennis players—and their alleged "greatness" and top shelf quality? An American dude hasn't won anything significant since Roddick's 2003 US Open. None of the current dudes have come close to winning a slam. Getting to quarters/semis doesn't count. Let's see an American dude win a slam. Ain't happening any time soon. (I guess Taylor Fritz beating a obviously injured Rafa Nadal at Indian Wells last year counts for a little something.) Once Roddick retired, American men's tennis has been like UT football.... mostly irrelevant for going on 15 years.