Oprah Winfrey Helped Create Our Irrational Pseudoscientific American Fantasyland - Slate
https://slate.com/health-and-science/2018/01/oprah-winfrey-helped-create-our-irrational-pseudoscientific-american-fantasyland.htmlForty-eight hours ago, after watching Oprah Winfrey give a terrific, rousing feminist speech on an awards show, millions of Americans instantly, giddily decided that the ideal 2020 Democratic nominee had appeared. An extremely rich and famous and exciting star and impresario—but one who seems intelligent and wise and kind, the non–Bizarro World version of the sitting president.
Some wet-blanketing followed immediately, among the best from the New York Times Magazine writer Thomas Chatterton Williams in an op-ed headlined “Oprah, Don’t Do It.” “It would be a devastating, self-inflicted wound for the Democrats to settle for even benevolent mimicry of Mr. Trump’s hallucinatory circus act,” he wrote. “Indeed, the magical thinking fueling the idea of Oprah in 2020 is a worrisome sign about the state of the Democratic Party.”
Despite the “magical thinking” reference, neither Williams nor other skeptics have seriously addressed the big qualm I have about the prospect of a President Winfrey: Perhaps more than any other single American, she is responsible for giving national platforms and legitimacy to all sorts of magical thinking, from pseudoscientific to purely mystical, fantasies about extraterrestrials, paranormal experience, satanic cults, and more. The various fantasies she has promoted on all her media platforms—her daily TV show with its 12 million devoted viewers, her magazine, her website, her cable channel—aren’t as dangerous as Donald Trump’s mainstreaming of false conspiracy theories, but for three decades she has had a major role in encouraging Americans to abandon reason and science in favor of the wishful and imaginary.
Long article well worth the time to read.
Sid
= new reply since forum marked as read
Nice to see you.
"vaguely non-dismissive of her possible presidential aspirations" Orrex
You keep responding to me in a way that makes me smile. I appreciate it.
You go vet big bad Oprah as her "inner circle is vaguely non-dismissive of her possible presidential aspirations."
That is a great line.
Last edited Sat Jan 13, 2018, 05:04 AM - Edit history (1)
I see a lot of resentment here and I don't think it's all about the content of her shows. 
<a href="https://imgflip.com/i/22o4en"><img src="
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and I'm not getting the Oprah Hate here.
Um, no, but it is more than the "lack of skills" you offered.
Do take your surly, deliberate misreading of my post elsewhere.
I don't give a flying who you want or don't want as a candidate.
and Oprah, while in no way a first choice, is not someone whose presidency I would "weep' over, nor should any other democrat.
.. knowing how appropriations work, knowing the powers and responsibilities of the justice department, or the regulatory power of the executive branch w/r/t Immigration and Customs. Knowing how other countries' governments work, knowing what treaty obligations the US has, knowing how import and excise taxes work.
Not 'technical' my ass.
so maybe you should be spending your time dealing with that instead of Oprah. Just sayin'.
is the extent that I will post in opposition to it.
No POTUS Oprah? No longship response. It's really simple.
Hope everything is well with you.
and, for your sake, at least, I hope that "opposition" draws a bit more interest
than 36 recs. 
In the face of overwhelming disinterest, I guess that's all that's left.
That's a funny one.
As always. My best to you.
She is head-over-heals better. Rather compare her to competent presidents. There she utterly fails. And on medical science, and science in general, she is woefully ignorant. That's a big deal killer for me. Her history on the subject is absolutely horrible.
One cannot ignore her record on these issues. She doesn't get a Get out of jail free card merely because she just so happens to be on the right side of the science on climate change.
She is 180 degrees wrong on science and medicine.
That should be a deal killer for any rational person.
My best to you.
No one will convince me there's not at least some level of misogyny coupled with jealousy going on. So she's not an absolute empiricist, so what?
By the way, no one here has the right to tell you to "keep your mouth shut". What gall.
Every article that I read so far a man had written it.
You do understand the term 'so far' don't you? It was just an observation.
I WILL NOT SELF DELETE.
Sorry if it bothers your eyes.
I don't want an inexperienced person for the presidency, but she beats out any and all
Republicans, and most certainly Trump.
Basically a whole 'nother thing. 
She is the magical answer for 2020.
Ask no questions.
Cast no doubt.
Just get in line.
Oh, one more thing :
And John Solomon will interview her hairdresser.
before Oprah came along. She "created" magical thinking. Wow.
before Oprah came along.
And she was awesome.
So the Republicans were all, "Oh, you want a Woman ? Ok, here is Sarah Palin!" and we all and made fun of them for thinking "Just give them any Woman" and we were all "LOL they just don't get it."
And then we had a Black Guy, and he was awesome.
So the Republicans were all "Oh, so it's Black Guys now ? Ok, here is Herman Cain!" and we all and made fun of them for thinking "Just give them any Black Guy" and we were all "LOL they just don't get it."
And then on a fluke the Republicans won with an Inexperienced Celebrity, and...
...this feels like that. 
