John B. Wells

[b_dubb]

Wasn't Fast And Furious started under the Bush Administration?

[Juan]

Wasn't Fast And Furious started under the Bush Administration?

No, Bush had another program, I've forgotten the name.  The difference, according to reports, is that the Bush program tracked the weapons while Fast and Furious did not.

[RedMichael]

No, Bush had another program, I've forgotten the name.  The difference, according to reports, is that the Bush program tracked the weapons while Fast and Furious did not.

Another similar program, called Operation Wide Receiver, did happen during the Bush administration, and a recent inspector general’s report criticized both operations as ineffective and seriously flawed.


Both programs were bad and both presidents equally frowned upon for their version of the program.


edit: We all know how Fast and Furious was a failure. Here is why Operation Wide Receiver was a failure.


http://www.examiner.com/article/truth-about-operation-wide-receiver-important-to-determine


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-57461204-10391695/a-primer-on-the-fast-and-furious-scandal/


Operation Wide Receiver was a failure in itself. Fast and Furious was a failure because it basically repeated the failed Operation Wide Receiver. There is no "This one was LESS bad"

[Eddie Coyle]

That's definitely one of the populist takes on American politics, one I've heard comedians and pundits suggest.  I think there is more than a grain of truth in the point, too.  It is all very junior high school though, isn't it?  Well, what is the average adult American reading level nowadays -- somewhere around 7th grade?  I heard on NPR a few years ago a statistic that went a bit like this:  the average American spends about 9 hours a day connected to the media -- print journalism, television, the internet, the radio, movies, music (MP3 players, CD's, etc.), books, computer games, etc.  Of that nine hours, approximately 3-4 minutes of it is spent on actual books.  That figure suggests that there are a great many people who do not read books at all!  What do we give up when we shun books?  (That's a rhetorical question....)

So is it any wonder that the body politic is rampant with faulty reasoning, misinformation, fear, anger, resentment, and so forth?  Damn... is it too early to hit the Guiness? 

It's never too early...

         What also is a major problem is what books are being read. "50 Shades of" or detailed biographies of important movers and shakers with august names like Kardashian(s), Jenna Jameson, Glenn Beck, last year's "rookies of the year" in any sport. A fetid pop cultural farrago is on display at any bookstore, where books by Jenny McCarthy outnumber books about Joe McCarthy. All books covering German history seem to begin in 1914 and end in 1945. I'd love to see a list of what gets shipped to the warehouse to make room for  new biographies of the latest American Idol runner up.

        "Alright, let's get rid of the Thucydides to make room for the Bieber"

[West of the Rockies]

         It's never too early...

         What also is a major problem is what books are being read. "50 Shades of" or detailed biographies of important movers and shakers with august names like Kardashian(s), Jenna Jameson, Glenn Beck, last year's "rookies of the year" in any sport. A fetid pop cultural farrago is on display at any bookstore, where books by Jenny McCarthy outnumber books about Joe McCarthy. All books covering German history seem to begin in 1914 and end in 1945. I'd love to see a list of what gets shipped to the warehouse to make room for  new biographies of the latest American Idol runner up.

        "Alright, let's get rid of the Thucydides to make room for the Bieber"

I didn't even consider that angle, Eddie.  Yeah, when we're turning to Jenna Jameson for dating and psychological assistance, we've got problems.  I wonder what percentage of adult entertainment actresses/actors have suffered phsyical/mental/emotional abuse, what percentage have drug/alcohol problems, and such....  And isn't just about time for Kardashian and Paris Hilton to start putting out children's books so that we can raise the kiddies to aspire to greatness? 

America was once a meritocracy (to some degree); now I'm not so sure.

[Yorkshire pud]

for Kardashian and Paris Hilton

You named those two deliberately didn't you? I'm on my second glass of Merlot (That's a silent T for the kardasian lovers) and suddenly it lost it's taste... 

[Mind Flayer Monk]

There is nothing wrong with a little trash sometimes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowbrow_(art_movement)
"Origin of the term "lowbrow art"

In an article in the February 2006 issue of his magazine Juxtapoz, Robert Williams took credit for originating the term "lowbrow art." He stated that in 1979 Gilbert Shelton of the publisher Rip-Off Press decided to produce a book featuring Willams' paintings. Williams said he decided to give the book the self-deprecating title, "The Lowbrow Art of Robt. Williams,"[6] since no authorized art institution would recognize his type of art. "Lowbrow" was thus used by Williams in opposition to "highbrow." He said the name then stuck, even though he feels it is inappropriate. Williams refers to the movement as "cartoon-tainted abstract surrealism[7] ." Lately, Williams has begun referring to his own work as "Conceptual Realism.[8]"

[stevesh]

And isn't just about time for Kardashian and Paris Hilton to start putting out ... 

Pretty sure they have.

[bigchucka]

Here in about thirty minutes John plans to have a probing interview with Whitley Strieber....

[Morgus]

I saw earlier tonight on the Bio (cable/satellite) TV channel they had a new one hour documentary show (Alien Encounters) featuring tonight's c2c guest Whitley Strieber and he told details of his ET encounters which they recreated with actors.

[RedMichael]

Mr. Wells, yes Art Bell had political shows. However I never thought politics when listening to him. Even when discussing government conspiracies. Does that make sense? This is a key difference and what I feel is vital to a show like this. I am exposed to politics when I go to work, hang out with family/friends, open an internet browser, turn on the tv, open a magazine, or read the newspaper. The great thing about bigfoot, UFOs, government conspiracies (for the MOST part), the supernatural, etc is it transcends politics. It allows us to escape the everyday world for a few hours. It is a panacea to the "real world", the everyday world, or the 9-5 world.


When Art Bell hosted, the first things that popped into my mind was: Excellent host, mysterious show, an interesting time. When you host the show I think: Fear Mongering, Caravantomidnight.com, no effort, and politically slanted.



No one is saying the show can't be political, but I am saying the subject matter is above politics.


Edit: Thataboy Whitney, he is filling in for Wells for this segment it seems after Well's unintelligible rambling regarding giants, invaders from mars, and parenting in 30 seconds. Whitney is asking himself some questions haha.

[Morgus]

Whitley just told about the fragments from the Roswell crash sent to Art Bell by a listener back in the mid 90s, later dubbed "Art's Parts"
Whitley and Linda Howe later had some of the fragments analyzed by some labs.

[mombird3]

This is not what I looked forward to. Nothing new tonight. Whitley seems to be the same old stuff.

[Sammi]

is it my imagination or was the woman who called in just now claiming to have implants completely batshit crazy?  especially when she was saying her abilities have been documented by homeland security.. umm sure..

[Yorkshire pud]

is it my imagination or was the woman who called in just now claiming to have implants completely batshit crazy?  especially when she was saying her abilities have been documented by homeland security.. umm sure..

That's easy to explain: The implants are permanently fixed dildos, and her abilities involve being physically flexible, astonishing stamina, and being well lubricated.  Nothing to do with aliens though. 

[Scully]

Mr. Wells, yes Art Bell had political shows. However I never thought politics when listening to him. Even when discussing government conspiracies. Does that make sense? This is a key difference and what I feel is vital to a show like this. I am exposed to politics when I go to work, hang out with family/friends, open an internet browser, turn on the tv, open a magazine, or read the newspaper. The great thing about bigfoot, UFOs, government conspiracies (for the MOST part), the supernatural, etc is it transcends politics. It allows us to escape the everyday world for a few hours. It is a panacea to the "real world", the everyday world, or the 9-5 world.


When Art Bell hosted, the first things that popped into my mind was: Excellent host, mysterious show, an interesting time. When you host the show I think: Fear Mongering, Caravantomidnight.com, no effort, and politically slanted.



No one is saying the show can't be political, but I am saying the subject matter is above politics.


Edit: Thataboy Whitley, he is filling in for Wells for this segment it seems after Well's unintelligible rambling regarding giants, invaders from mars, and parenting in 30 seconds. Whitley is asking himself some questions haha.

Same thoughts here.  I fastblasted Mr. Wells about his latest claim that politics is as much what Coast is about as anything else.


I couldn't take more than 15 minutes of the 1st hour, but I enjoyed Whitley for the full last 3 hours.  And I have sympathy for the callers who claim to have had similar experiences.  There are just too many people who claim the same types of trauma for all of them to be psychotic.

[onan]

There are just too many people who claim the same types of trauma for all of them to be psychotic.

Conservative estimates are about 3% of the population will experience psychosis in their lives.


I have had several conversations with psychiatrists that suggest the definition of hallucination is probably too limited. Take for instance our blind spot. As most if not all of us are aware, there is an area of sight that really isn't vision at all, the so-called blind spot. So what do we call that visual area that our brains fill in for us? If our brain fills in that area with what we expect to see' is that any less an hallucination than seeing something not expected? And if we do see something unexpected how can we trust ourselves to not be hallucinating?


To really be psychosis there is also some level of delusion but again that is not necessarily any easier to ascertain. Sometimes people "gaslight" themselves and that really isn't delusion.

[valdez]

     I liked El Commandante's interview with Whitley Strieber.  I didn't know that the abduction came to light through hypnotherapy sessions, and I forget that he was a writer before the incident.  Wolfen and The Hunger are (at the risk of sounding like George) good movies.  I thought it interesting that he believed his writing career was shot because of his association with the whole abduction thing. I think Wells should continue to pick through George's conveyor belt of guest and flesh out these folks that normally just play monkey in George's circus.  Memo to Wells:  lets not use the term, "absolutely" ever again .  OK?

[Juan]

I have had several conversations with psychiatrists that suggest the definition of hallucination is probably too limited. Take for instance our blind spot. As most if not all of us are aware, there is an area of sight that really isn't vision at all, the so-called blind spot. So what do we call that visual area that our brains fill in for us? If our brain fills in that area with what we expect to see' is that any less an hallucination than seeing something not expected? And if we do see something unexpected how can we trust ourselves to not be hallucinating?

So is the brain something like a .jpg or mp3 file - some bits of information are not there and the algorithm fills in?  I've read the theories that the brain is a hologram.

[Mind Flayer Monk]

Yeah, since the world is in 3D but your retina and vision are in 2D, there is some data loss and the brain compensates for that.

[onan]

So is the brain something like a .jpg or mp3 file - some bits of information are not there and the algorithm fills in?  I've read the theories that the brain is a hologram.

The brain does so many things. It can under the right conditions be a very accurate historian... take Eddie Coyle for example (sorry Eddie). But for the most part memories are confabulations. Think back to some of your more detailed memories. Usually people see themselves interacting in their memories. Seeing their full bodies. And as real as those memories are they can't be real. A person's senses, especially sight can't possibly have captured themselves from a side view yet that kind of memory is very common.

[RedMichael]

Think back to some of your more detailed memories. Usually people see themselves interacting in their memories. Seeing their full bodies. And as real as those memories are they can't be real. A person's senses, especially sight can't possibly have captured themselves from a side view yet that kind of memory is very common.

Holy shit. My mind is blown.

[McPhallus]

There's an old Neuro-Linguistic Programming technique where you picture yourself in a theater watching a memory of yourself playing in black and white on the screen.  Then you add a layer of yourself watching yourself and keep adding layers to get distance from the replaying memory.  It's pretty wacky stuff.

Holy shit. My mind is blown.

[Juan]

Usually people see themselves interacting in their memories. Seeing their full bodies.

I'm astounded as I have never had such a memory.  All of mine are from my point of view, as I saw them (or would have seen them if my memory is accurate) - It never occurred to me that one would see a memory full body.

[onan]

I'm astounded as I have never had such a memory.  All of mine are from my point of view, as I saw them (or would have seen them if my memory is accurate) - It never occurred to me that one would see a memory full body.

I have no doubt to what you post. I am willing to bet however if you were to get into a lengthy discussion about some of your past endeavors some of those memories would come to the forefront. Memories are not concrete representations of the past. As we age our memories gain information. Information from others giving insight and from ourselves adding the perspective of our gained wisdom. When we reconstruct our additions often blend those thoughts. And the memory takes on more of a story aspect.

[West of the Rockies]

I have no doubt to what you post. I am willing to bet however if you were to get into a lengthy discussion about some of your past endeavors some of those memories would come to the forefront. Memories are not concrete representations of the past. As we age our memories gain information. Information from others giving insight and from ourselves adding the perspective of our gained wisdom. When we reconstruct our additions often blend those thoughts. And the memory takes on more of a story aspect.

One aspect of memory I find fascinating (and have never heard discussed on Coast, by the way) is how smell triggers incredibly vivid and immediate memories.  A scent can put me back in a 9th grade classroom or even a kindergarten room!  I can look at a photograph of a girl I pined for in high school, for instance, and recall loads of things, but if I catch a hint of some smell I associate with her (a certain perfume or shampoo, for instance) -- wham! -- I get a flood of memories and am a love-struck 14-year-old again.

[Eddie Coyle]

I have no doubt to what you post. I am willing to bet however if you were to get into a lengthy discussion about some of your past endeavors some of those memories would come to the forefront. Memories are not concrete representations of the past. As we age our memories gain information. Information from others giving insight and from ourselves adding the perspective of our gained wisdom. When we reconstruct our additions often blend those thoughts. And the memory takes on more of a story aspect.

      The Rashomon effect seems to be contagious as well, each individual's memory fitting their ideal. It's frighteningly common in political discussions, the "good old days" revisionism. Recently,I had a relative of mine insist that Dukakis was leading Bush by 20+ points in the national polls in mid-October 1988. This is wrong. Dukakis did lead by 15 points or so in July, 1988 which was in the immediate aftermath of the Dem Convention, where poll boosts are common and often viewed with skepticism.


          So my uncle was remembering something factual, but was errant in the chronology. And of course, that's extremely significant because it completely changes his narrative. Yes, Bush trailed by nearly 20 points, but it wasn't three weeks before the election.

[PB the Deplorable]

Interesting stuff.  One can assume advertising folks (on behalf of anything from products to politicians) are aware of and use this information somehow.

[onan]

Interesting stuff.  One can assume advertising folks (on behalf of anything from products to politicians) are aware of and use this information somehow.

bet your bottom dollar and the others on top.

[Morgus]

In the last half hour with Whitley Streiber last night, I heard longtime frequent and annoying caller Bill from West Hartford, Conn. called in yet again and of course started off introducing himself as an amateur astronomer and athiest. Then he proceeded to ask several long questions that Whitley said were questions that were not answerable...