On the Sinatra Effect

          On the Sinatra Effect

          There’s something that I call the “Sinatra Effect”. I once saw a video clip of Frank Sinatra when he was young and cute and charming and appealing. This astonished me, for my whole life I only knew Sinatra as old and ugly and bitter and scary. This disconnect is what I call the Sinatra Effect.

          Likewise, I never knew “conservatives” as conserving the use of government power; nor as prudent rational traditionalists. On the contrary! They may still be running on that reputation, but most people now alive never knew them like that. Thus, a Sinatra Effect.

          In general the Sinatra Effect afflicts anyone or anything that outlives its appeal. For instance, Bill Cosby.

Perversity of Identity Politics

     Perversity of Identity Politics

          A trans-class complaint

Identity politics are perverse and irrational. For proof of this, consider three people: Jenner, Dolezal, and myself. Jenner claimed to be a woman in a man’s body. This defiance of sex-identity was quickly accepted. Dolezal claimed to be black in a white body. This defiance of race-identity was long debated, then derided.

Now consider me. I am a billionaire in a thousandaire’s body. By this claim, I defy the very concept of class identity. I am trans-class!

          What’s that? You laugh? Of course you do. Surely I jest! Everyone knows that money is the realest identity! American society is ready to transcend sex, but not yet ready to transcend race, and a long way from ready to transcend class!

          So according to identity politics, sex is an artifice, race is deep, and class is inborn. Isn’t that the reverse of the truth? Isn’t sex inborn, race skin-deep, and class artificial?

          For aren’t you too trans-class? Aren’t you too a billionaire in a thousandaire’s body?

Why No Paid Weapons Church?

     Why No Paid Weapons Church?

         

In another essay I asked why there are no churches that hire their worshippers. Now I ask why there are no churches that worship weapons.

By this I do not mean worship of Mars or other war gods; I mean worship of the weapons themselves, with their godlike power of dealing death. Put a rifle over the altar, burn incense to a katana, and display other deadly holy relics. The stained glass is mostly red, everyone is armed, and every sermon is about the divinity of weapons. It can claim protection under First and Second Amendments!

          This would work as a paid-worship church. The devout walk in, punch their time card, then chant, dance, speak in tongues, etc.; then punch out their time card and go home; and every second week get paid.

          The worshippers don’t pay, they get paid. Technically, this makes the worshippers prostitutes; an accusation they embrace. "You sheep get shorn, but we bitches get paid." In a sense, then, paid worship is a more honest system than the usual.

          Attendance will be good, but where does the money really come from? The paid-worship church will credit its god. The check cleared; it's a miracle! The real sources will include untaxed charity, plutocratic ego, tax-supported welfarism, video and art sales... and laundering dirty money. The last is where the big bux are, and the hardest to prove.

          Which brings me to the weapons church. This fits shady dealings like jelly fits peanut butter. Paid-worship might work; make it a weapons church, and it'll work even better. Any combination of church, state and market this toxic is bound to be a huge success.

So I think this can work, at least in a fiction story. Maybe a noir detective tale; our hero investigates the Church of Coyote, and shocking truths are revealed. Hmm...