September 25, 2023

"I've been super-critical of Trump, obviously."

78 comments:

tim maguire said...

I made it to the line about Trump being an evil Chauncey Gardner. That was ironic since the man he replaced--Barack Obama--was exactly Chauncey Gardner. He even hinted at it himself with the blank screen line.

Gahrie said...

The thing that pisses me off the most about TDS is that if Trump had run as a Democrat, none of it would be happening.

Jersey Fled said...

So funny

Aggie said...

Always sad when intelligence gets eclipsed by its own sense of pretension.

Original Mike said...

The obsession the left has with Trump must fulfill some need.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

That's the entire MSM. NON-STOP Trump Obsession. TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP.
They need him.

CNN MSNBC + PBS "news" = All Trump/ all the time. .. with a short sprinkle of "Biden is safe and effective."

tim in vermont said...

lol

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

The left need Trump.

MadisonMan said...

Excellent! (Though I've never heard of the guy!)

So many commenters -- TV, podcast, etc -- should be sending money to Trump because he's been their cash cow.

wild chicken said...

Trump trumpety trump!

That about sums up the entire left now.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Every time Trump is indicted - Rachel Maddow get a pay raise.

Gusty Winds said...

Sam Harris is the most disingenuous, arrogant, self-proclaimed "intellectual" in America. COVID paranoid. Unethical. Coward. Sam Harris is a line dancing nurse. I don't want him censored. Broadcast his bullshit far and wide.

He even said lately that if it turns out to be true that 1) the "vaccine is dangerous and not safe and effective, and 2) that Ivermectin and HCQ are effective against COVID...you shouldn't be given any credit for being right.

What an asshole. It's not even about being right. It's about 1) not being a lab rat or pushing dangerous experiments on children, and 2) wanting to hold politicians, journalists, and medical quacks accountable for denying patients effective, affordable treatments. How many died? How many were unnecessarily put on ventilators and died? How much extra money did the quacks make?

Harris just keeps digging a deeper hole. He knows he is now irrelevant. Now he doggy paddles to defend his bullshit, while still looking down his nose at the working class that are obviously much smarter than him...and his ilk.

Ann Althouse said...

"Though I've never heard of the guy!"

Wow! He's pretty important.

Click on my "Sam Harris" tag.

The Crack Emcee said...

It is simply breathtaking, how much trouble Hillary Clinton can cause for this nation, but no one dares say "Pied Piper strategy" or "Russia hoax" in front of her, while we're forced to watch her win awards, get asked about current events - even recieving a teaching engagement - as everyone's focussed on Trump, just as she intended.

It reminds me that Christopher Hitchens said the Clinton's "eerie" hold on the press is their ugliest feature.

Bob Boyd said...

TDS is very real. Sam's case is particularly glaring because it's so in conflict with everything else he tries to teach.
Seems like so many of our intellectuals and our institutions have gone to war with their own legitimacy.

rehajm said...

Ann Althouse said... Wow! He's pretty important. Click on my "Sam Harris" tag.

You know when you post these things everyone can see them, right?

The Crack Emcee said...

Ann Althouse said...

"Wow! He's pretty important."

So important I had him nailed for a fool all the way back in 2008.

In the NewAge, America's a country where being a fool makes you important, and the ability to spot a fool does not. That talent gets you attacked for decades, until the fool exposes himself, and then everybody gets quiet and either changes the subject or slinks away, on their "never-ending search" for the next fool.

John Lennon laughs.

glam1931 said...

Wow! He's pretty important.

To who?

Owen said...

They (the Left) need Trump? Well, yes. He's their Emmanuel Goldstein; the "man they love to hate." The Left purports to be a political/cultural movement or position, but that stuff is just surface decoration, pretension, deflection, for the reality. Which is neurosis. Neurotics need black hats and hate-objects to drive the drama of their anxious pointless lives. How else are they going to feel useful, fulfilled, valuable? And if they can fixate on a hate-object and bash it (and anyone suspected of associating with it), they can make others suffer while enjoying that sweet, sweet thrill of virtue and solidarity with their fellow neurotics.

I don't even play a shrink on TV but c'mon, people: this is pretty obvious.

Narayanan said...

Ann Althouse said...
"Though I've never heard of the guy!"

Wow! He's pretty important.

Click on my "Sam Harris" tag.
==========
LOL >> I clicked and found out he has garnered 11 tags over 17 years.

who has done more?

Pianoman said...

More proof of the old maxim that everyone will believe in "something". Harris abandoned God, but accepted the cult of TDS.

R C Belaire said...

AA : "Wow! He's pretty important." To whom?

Ironclad said...

Sam Harris is important to the intellectually pretentious is more accurate. He made his name being the intellectual atheist point man for the left - but lost the plot when Trump popped the liberal “divine right” to rule bubble and is just now a hate filled husk. Rogan popped his bubble a month ago on his show - showing that Harris has nothing but contempt for anything that doesn’t amplify his world view. Despicable man.

But hey, it’s a truism that it’s the most “Intellectual” people that can delude themselves into the most insane ideas. See 1930s academia and communism.

Enigma said...

Sam Harris was on the original pre-Trump "intellectual dark web" team along with Jordan Peterson and others. They were fighting against woke colleges, censorship, and the sharp decline of "liberalism" among "liberals." He is therefore one of the saddest victims of TDS.

He and the whole TDS crew should read Carl Jung about repression and the sense of evil lurking within. The stronger the external TDS, the more likely that they are in deep agreement with Trump. But, they cannot accept this because it will tear down a whole lot of other (false or conflicting) beliefs in their worldviews.

https://hackspirit.com/carl-jung-and-the-shadow/

And so it has been with religious and political revolutions across history. Some will die with TDS, some will be "converted," and some cultures will alternate back and forth across generations. We are all just dumb, instinctive, predictable apes.


gilbar said...

Ann Althouse said...
"Though I've never heard of the guy!"

Wow! He's pretty important.
Click on my "Sam Harris" tag.

Okay, i just spent the last 20 min, clicking through your "Sam Harris" tag..
Wow! for someone to think he's "pretty important" is kinda scary.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

I know some Trump fans are sensitive to criticisms, but - Trump let Hillary off the hook. In hindsight - it really is a big deal. And he broke a pretty large campaign promise.

If you do not kill the poisonous spider - the poisonous spider kills you.

Chuck said...

So it's a video mashup of Sam Harris (who I heard of, but never paid any attention to) talking about Trump. Doing the edit to repeat the name and every mention of the name. It's a remarkably base level of editing humor. I honestly don't get it. We could do nearly the same editing game with a segment of Sean Hannity, or Dan Bongino, or Greg Gutfeld. What would be the point? What would the humor be? Are they obsessed with Trump?

I want to suggest a much, much, much more significant podcast. From the Bulwark's webpage comes Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell (former Republican pollster), doing her series, "The Focus Group." She begins with a sparkling interview with Jake Tapper of CNN. But then the two of them turn to what Sarah has been doing lots of for many months; playing parts of polling-style recorded interviews with (in the case of this show) two-time (2016-20) Trump voters.

FREE LINK HERE.

I know of nothing more devastating to Trumpism than letting Trump base supporters talk, without interruption or argumentation. Just let them say what they are thinking, based on the media that they consume.

Chuck said...

I'm a little curious how Althouse found the Mythinformed X post. I had never before seen the Mythinformed feed. That is one seriously disgusting, disturbing, annoying pile of shitposts.

Michael E. Lopez said...

Madison Man sayeth: (Though I've never heard of the guy.)

On the contrary, Prof. Althouse sayeth: "Wow! He's pretty important."

I answer that.... I'm a bit of a political junkie -- and not in a "I follow Fox News from a trailer park" sort of way. I'm an attorney (with a Ph.D. **IN PHILOSOPHY**) who follows all sorts of legal and political news sources, reads all sorts of magazines, and the first thing I thought of when I heard the name "Sam Harris" was the guy from Jurassic Park (whom I quickly remembered was Sam Neill).

None of this is to toot my own horn... just to say I'd not heard of Sam Harris (at least not in any way that left an impression) before, either. And he's apparently a philosopher of sorts.

I've looked over his bio. I think it's a mistake to say that he's "important", full stop. He probably qualifies as important within a very particular niche (one in which I have, I fully confess, very little interest).

rcocean said...

Sam Harris is a famous name. I've listened to him on several programs but cant remember what he said. His atheism seems to a dumbed down version of Bertrant Russell.

He's one of those "smart" people who occassionally says dumb stuff that makes you go "I thought this guy smart" - and then you realize you cant remember any smart things he ever said.

BTW, Trump seems to have destroyed internet atheism. I'm seeing fewer and fewer comments starting out with "As an Atheist,"

The Crack Emcee said...

Sam Harris is no atheist - he's too "spiritual" for that term to be accurate.

The Crack Emcee said...

I am an atheist who likes Trump, and could never stand Sam Harris.

Big Mike said...

See 1930s academia and communism.

@Ironclad, not to mention academia for the past quarter century or more, and communism.

Quaestor said...

Althouse writes, "Wow! He's pretty important."

Was. Harris is a single bean in a large pot of soup. When Christopher Hitchens, a far more entertaining and accomplished writer, was alive to stir the pot Harris floated to the top. Now that he's gone, Harris has sunk once more to mingle with all the other undistinguished legumes.

Harris loves to talk about his hatreds, especially Trump, because his fellow psychoneurotics will listen for a while, about 49 seconds to be precise. Listening to Sam Harris is like attending a group therapy session as a student-observer. Ya say ya wanna be a therapist, eh? Drive a Mercedes. Have a nice paneled office and a cute receptionist? This is what it's like, forty hours a week of Sam Harris disgorging. A Mercedes just a car, pal.

Ficta said...

I literally had to Google him. Which I did. And then I clicked on the Sam Harris tag. I'm still kind of baffled. As far as I can tell, he seems to be famous for being famous. Sort of an upscale Kardashian.

Gusty Winds said...

Sam Harris is just one of a shitload of shitheads that blew all their credibility during COVID. Add Piers Morgan to that list. Sadly this list includes many doctors and teachers at all levels. They swallowed ALL the propaganda. Worse...they then pushed the propaganda for personal gain and self-preservation.

They were ALL wrong on the "vaccine", Ivermectin, and HCQ. Shit even the Mayo Clinic now admits HCQ can be used to treat COVID.

Facebook has died. It's now boring. All your liberal family & 'friends' threw their credibility out the window as well. Libs on every level preached and insulted those that were right all along. Masks, lockdown bullshit, stay home save lives, the nauseating virtue signaling. "I got the vaccine" profile outlines.

Now, like Sam, they can all look at the Ukrainian Flag in their profile and realize shyster Zelensky just got the Canadian Parliament to applaud a for SS Waffen soldier.

Sadly the double down is part of human nature. These people aren't changing.

hombre said...

If Sam Harris were not a raging atheist no one would have heard of him. It seems incredible that someone can build a career on anti-theism.

Just another incredulity defining our time like the QuidProJoe presidency, the open border and the climate change hoax.

mezzrow said...

The problem is that Trump believes in himself. He's hard to stop.

Sam Harris: "Gotta stop that man..."

"Or He'll Stop Me"

Bryant said...

I had so much respect for Sam and really enjoyed his debates with Jordan Peterson and I use Sam's waking-up app most days. But it seemed like he just lost his mind when Trump came on the scene and I can hardly listen to anything he does (except the morning meditation which is apolitical).

Joe Smith said...

Am I supposed to know this guy?

From the screen shot I first thought it was a Jewish John McEnroe...

Joe Smith said...

'Wow! He's pretty important.'

I'm sure he thinks he is.

We don't all have the same interests dear professor.

I could throw out names of people who interest me greatly that you've never heard of in your life...

Temujin said...

I refuse to get caught up in any 'Sam Harris' debate. I've tried to listen to his pap a few times over the years. I don't get it. I don't get the attention he receives, the oohs and aahs of his thoughts. Maybe I've just missed the good moments. Or...

This cutup of his TDS seems pretty typical of some of our most popular 'thought leaders' today, which tells you more about us than it does about them. Sam has figured out how to make a living doing what he does. So...good for him. That said, I feel like I've read more about him apologizing over the years for things he's said, then remembering anything he's actually said.

PS- I didn't realize he had a 'Waking Up' with Sam Harris app. Honestly, I prefer waking up to my dog. More uplifting.

Maynard said...

My ex-wife was a big Sam Harris fan because of his "intellectual" atheism.

It does not surprise me that Sam developed TDS because atheists seem to have intense hatreds for things that normal people either like or simply dislike.

Kevin said...

"I've been super-critical of Trump, obviously."

Not a courageous position these days.

He could help the country by pointing out what Trump is bringing that the establishment does not.

But again, that requires too much courage for Harris.

JK Brown said...

Trump is the word....

Original Mike said...

Oh, he's that guy who gave people the idea that atheism is a religion.

Yeah, I don't like him.

Original Mike said...

Blogger The Crack Emcee said...
"I am an atheist who likes Trump, and could never stand Sam Harris."


That makes two of us.

MadisonMan said...

Wow! He's pretty important.
Click on my "Sam Harris" tag.

Well, I will note that in 2021, you wrote: "he has made a distinct impression on me as the person who makes no distinct impression"
That's when he got a tag!

Earnest Prole said...

Like an AI response to the prompt, “What does ‘living in my head rent-free’ look like?”

Jupiter said...

I remember my father used to say "What in the Sam Hill ...". I intuitively recognized it as a harmless phrase used in place of an offensive one, like "Gosh!" or "Dang!
". But I was never sure what the implied offensive phrase was. Is that what "Sam Harris" is? What in the Sam Hill is Sam Harris?

rmarkob said...

I clicked on the tag, but I still have no impression of who Sam Harris is - other than a TDS poster child.

Luke Lea said...

Tedious is the word I would use to describe Sam Harris.

gspencer said...

Harris sorta gets the Islam-as-pretty-bad-when-it-comes-to-Western-values thingy. But that's about it with Harris. Otherwise, useless.

M Jordan said...

Ann, your “Wow, he’s pretty important” was one of those moments when you let the mask slip. I see that everyone picked up on it. My complaint is that you “ignorance shamed” the commenter. Second, you left out a word: “Self.” As in “He’s pretty self-important.” (Okay, it’s a word functioning as a prefix). Third, he’s an idiot. Really, it’s true and that’s being kind. Read his debate stuff about God … he makes Christopher Hitchens look scholarly.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It's possible Sam Harris TDS had such a grip; it did not allow him to publicly question the health authorities Covid response. The resistance to masking and lockdowns was, rightly or wrongly, associated with Trumpism. Sadly, once something, whatever it is, is tainted by Trumpism, in the eyes of Trump detractors, that thing must be disavowed and resisted come what may.

That's TDS in a nutshell.

Big Mike said...

I looked him up on Wikipedia. (He’s important enough to have an entry, which beats me by a lot.) It says he’s an atheist, but is he a proselytizing atheist like Richard Dawkins (“everyone who isn’t an atheist is a stupid poopy-head — except Muslims, because Muslims will effing kill you for being an atheist”) or is he a non-proselytizing atheist like me (“you could be right — I’ll find out sooner than I probably wish”).

Butkus51 said...

I used to wonder how Nazi's came to be.

Not anymore.



Readering said...

TDS tag should have been retired long ago.

tim in vermont said...

I only heard about Sam Harris from the little clips that appear on Twitter from time to time for the purpose of being mercilessly mocked.

JaimeRoberto said...

Harris may not believe in God, but he sure seems to believe there's a devil.

JaimeRoberto said...

Harris may not believe in God, but he sure seems to believe there's a devil.

Rocco said...

Being an Intellectual is like being Cool; if you have to call yourself one, you ain’t.

Rocco said...

Being an Intellectual is like being Cool; if you have to call yourself one, you ain’t.

Joe Bar said...

Poor Lex.

Iman said...

“Wow! He's pretty important.”

To some, perhaps. To others he’s just a partisan hack.

He’s pretty much a legend in his own mind.

Jim at said...

TDS tag should have been retired long ago.

Yes. It should've, but not for the reasons you think.
Stop with the TDS and I'm pretty sure the tag will go away.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

My earliest memory of Sam Harris was on Bill Maher, sometime around the time of the Paris terror attack and dared to say out-loud what reasonable people were thinking but abstaining from saying. There was a problem with the religion of Islam that being hijacked by its extreme adherents to justify heinous acts of terror. And the eloquence and clear thinking of Sams rhetoric was such that I, and what seemed like the majority of his listeners, came away with the impression that it was possible to condemn the terrorist using the religion and fault their clerics for not disavowing terror in the name of Ala.

The Sam Harris of today, appears incapable of parsing the complexities of Covid and the emerging censorious industrial complex. And the saddest part is that we could use the Sam of old.

Jupiter said...

"Sort of an upscale Kardashian."

Well. Only not as good-looking. And why "upscale"? Is he heavy?

farmgirl said...

Readering, just drink the koolaid.
Mmmmmm, blue koolaid.

farmgirl said...

Wait, Readering…
you already have.
I misread the intent of your comment- hah.

farmgirl said...

Wait, Readering…
you already have.
I misread the intent of your comment- hah.

jim5301 said...

Now do the same with just about any Republican congressperson and “Hunter Biden”. Sam Harris is not a political hack and has criticized many on the left over the years. He argued even after Jan 6 that domestic terrorism was not as big a worry as the international kind. He is very anti woke. And more. And he hates Trump like any responsible citizen.

madAsHell said...

I've never heard of the guy, and suddenly his opinion is important.

This is like Dylan Mulvanney. Suddenly, he's influencing my thinking, and look how that turned out.

Maybe I'll look him up on Facebook...........I doubt it.

Cameron said...

"He even said lately that if it turns out to be true that 1) the "vaccine is dangerous and not safe and effective, and 2) that Ivermectin and HCQ are effective against COVID...you shouldn't be given any credit for being right."

Scott Adams said much the same thing when he was starting his revising of the history of his own opions. He basically said if you thought it was dangerous you just got lucky on a coin flip because there was "no evidence" to support that view..... Absolutely clueless about how others reviewed all evidence, scientific, behavioural and circumstantial.

Cameron said...

"Now do the same with just about any Republican congressperson and “Hunter Biden”. "

Know the difference between Hunter Biden and Trump ?

(a) Hunter actually did the things he's accused of, and the media and government has protected him from any scrutiny or consequence.

(b) Trump did not do any of the things he's accused of, yet its been prosecuted by the media and government at every level and opportunity.

Get it ?

The Crack Emcee said...

"I used to wonder how Nazi's came to be. Not anymore"

Amen to THAT.

Rusty said...

Butkus51 said...
"I used to wonder how Nazi's came to be.

Not anymore."
Be the guy in the crowd who isn't giving the Nazi salute. Whatever you do. Don't be the one who stops clapping first. It has caused me to wonder if the left has any moral grounding at all. And if we go further back. What is the psycological make up of people who must constantly have an enemy? Who must constantly have someone to vilify? Is leftism /progressivism a clan? It's alright ass long as the other members of your clan say it's alright? That it's moral?

PM said...

T.
The unsecret password to the unsecret clubhouse.