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Yes. Where he was saying uh the outcome of the mayoral election as a data stats guy, I’m telling you, is one in trillion. And it was just the most sort of like seventh grade assessment of of stats and and figures to to come up with the idea that it was impossible that Spencer Pratt wouldn’t have made it into the top two in a city of 75% Democrats. The these are people who nobody around them seems to ever say like, “Hey man, uh you may want to double check that.” Well, part of it is that they’re dumb about politics. They’re really dumb about things they don’t know about, but nobody tells them that because they’re rich. And this is a a general affliction of the wealthy that adds to their psychosis and delusion is that everybody wants to plate and please them and be sycophantic. So, no one ever says, “You know what? That’s totally wrong. You’re an idiot.” You can’t say that, right? It’s all finding a way to nod along. But the more grim side of this is that this is part of their propaganda game. They know they’re lying. They know they’re not telling the truth. They’re engaged in what some call fifth generation warfare, the new era of propaganda, where you fight over what is basic reality, what is basic facts itself. So, they’re playing the old Trump game of just completely fabricating a reality. You know, there’s 15% registered Republicans in Los Angeles. Very unlikely you’re going to get a Republican mayor in Los Angeles anytime ever again. In fact, anybody who is a Republican becomes a Democrat to run because that’s just the way it works now. the Republican party is pretty much dead in California. But so I don’t think it’s necessarily that they’re stupid. I think the other possibility is that they’re just lying because this is part of their their strategy to create a parallel reality and to operate from that. They’ve seen with X that you can create these economies of false information that have real world impacts. You know, Elon Musk got like 50,000 retweets for also making false claims about the LA election. So on a certain level, they know what they are doing and they’re doing it on purpose. And that makes it more nefarious. And I would say that’s a hallmark of fascism is the creation of an unreality1 where people can no longer distinguish between fact and fiction and you can manipulate them from that position of radicalized ignorance.
Uh the the the um age-old debate over stupid and evil and sometimes it could be both. Um, let’s talk about uh Peter Thiel, who is sort of the um one of the the the godfathers of this uh I guess movement or I don’t can you call it really a movement? I mean, it’s a crew of it seems like just like literally a dozen or two people. Um they just have so much money. They’re everywhere. Um, Peter Thiel, it was just expo had um, one of his like I guess I don’t know societies was just exposed. Have uh, have you seen much about this dialogue?
Yeah. Well, the word that Peter Thiel likes to use is cult. And that’s also the word I use in my book. Peter Thiel has created a cult of powerful men who think it is their destiny to overthrow democracy in the 21st century using technology and money. And for about 20 years now, Peter Thiel had this secret cult society called dialogue where they have these weird off the record conversations with wealthy elites. Sort of like a Bilderberg or an Eyes Wide Shut for dorky intellectual subjects as far as we know. Uh, and this list was just revealed because apparently they had it in the coding of their website. This secretive list, these tech geniuses have this massive security flaw that allows some activists to figure out who’s on the list. Now, it’s not clear who’s a member yet to some of the members are clear or who’s just participating, but there are some pretty stunning names on the list. You know, Ezra Klein, uh, Nicholas Thompson of the Atlantic. And, you know, I have to say, I’ve wondered why certain people with very large platforms have ignored criticizing these tech billionaires in the way that they should. And no, I’m I’m wondering if we’re getting toward an answer here, but let’s let the rest of the story come out. But the point is that Peter Thiel in his book Zero to One says, “The way to run your company, the way to run anything is to create a cult.” because that’s where you get people who are obsessed and who are dedicated. And the other word he says for cult is a mafia. So you want a cult or a mafia. And that means getting a core group of people to become true radicalized believers and spread the message and carry out the project from there. And he actually names Jim Jones and Charles Manson as examples of people who have done this saying, “Well, that’s kind of bad. You know, uh, you don’t want to do that necessarily.” At the same time, I’d say that, you know, Manson and and Jones killed, you know, over a thousand people under 1500. These guys will are already on track to kill millions through the US aid cuts. And if they get their way, they’ll kill billions. So, we are dealing with a dangerous cult of radicalized venture capitalists who want to destroy democracy. And and what I like to say is that trying to explain what’s happening to our country without talking about Peter Thiel’s anti-democratic cult is like trying to explain 9/11 without talking about al-Qaeda
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QUESTIONS:
What bad assumptions were Californian Twitter users making about Spencer Pratt and the mail-in ballots?
To what extend do political programs involve “reality distortion”?
How does Fascism employ reality distortion?
Have the Republican Doge supporters reconsidered their support for USAID cuts? Are they defending the cuts? How do they view Dogue?
Footnotes:
Q: How does Fascism employ reality distortion? (Gemini)
A: Fascism relies heavily on controlling, reshaping, and distorting reality to gain and maintain political control. Rather than relying solely on military or state force, authoritarian regimes often build a psychological framework where objective facts become secondary to the regime’s goals.
Here is a breakdown of how fascism distorts reality:
1. The Erasure of Objective Truth
In a fascist system, truth is not based on observable evidence, scientific consensus, or verified facts; it is defined by the regime.
“Alternative Facts”: Information is evaluated strictly by its utility to the state. If a factual statement undermines the regime, it is labeled a lie, treason, or foreign propaganda.
Infallibility of the Leader: The leader is presented as the sole arbiter of truth. What the leader says is correct today—even if it directly contradicts what they said yesterday.
2. Exploitation of the “Us vs. Them” Binary
Fascist ideology simplifies complex social, economic, and political problems into a dramatic struggle between two distinct groups:
The In-Group (”Us”)The Out-Group (”Them”)Pure, victimized, and morally superior, Corrupt, malicious, and inherently dangerous Deserving of total power and restoration Responsible for all societal failures
By framing societal issues through this binary lens, complex realities—like economic recessions, systemic inequality, or geopolitical shifts—are distorted into a black-and-white battle against a scapegoat.
3. The Paradox of the Enemy
To keep the population in a state of perpetual fear and mobilization, the regime creates a paradoxical narrative about its designated enemy:
The Enemy is simultaneously strong and weak.
Extremely Strong: The enemy is portrayed as a shadowy, omnipotent force threatening to destroy the nation at any moment (justifying extreme security measures and the suspension of civil liberties).
Extremely Weak: The enemy is portrayed as decadent, inferior, and easily defeatable by the “superior” nation (instilling confidence and zeal in the regime’s followers).
4. Controlled Information Ecosystems
To prevent alternative realities from penetrating the public consciousness, fascism aggressive shapes the media landscape:
Monopolizing Media: Independent journalism is dismantled, harassed, or outlawed, leaving state-approved channels as the only source of news.
Censorship and Revisionism: Books, artwork, and historical records are rewritten or destroyed to align with the regime’s preferred national myth.
Repetitive Slogans: Complex ideas are replaced with short, easily repeated slogans that shut down critical thinking and debate.
5. Appeal to Nostalgia and Palingenetic Myth
Fascism often uses what scholars call a palingenetic myth—a narrative of national rebirth.
A Mythic Past: A distorted, romanticized “Golden Age” where the nation was prosperous and pure.
The Present Humiliation: A distorted view of the present, framing the nation as totally ruined or humiliated by internal traitors or external forces.
The Glorious Rebirth: A promise that following the leader will restore the nation to its former glory.
By convincing people that they are living in an existential crisis that threatens their very survival, reality is distorted to make radical, authoritarian solutions seem like the only logical path forward.