ConCon: THE CON MAN'S CONFERENCE

http://audiobookstoday.blogspot.com/search/label/Humor "It was a bright and shining lie, and people bought it," former Lehman chairman Richard Fuld confessed to NEN reporter Ryback Solomon today. "Even me." Fuld is referring to the secret hidden message contained in the runaway bestseller THE SECRET, which swept the nation during its "feeding frenzy of unmitigated greed." The book told people upfront that if they opened their minds and hearts (and credit cards) to the idea that the universe (ie. luck) is attracted to positive thoughts (instead of actions), they will be rewarded by material wealth of all kinds (which they "deserve,") plus popularity. The backstory (ie. message), however, was a kicker: you can get something for nothing (by just sitting there, watching TV). Certainly the writer and producers of The Secret "moved to the next level," especially when talk show host/bling Queen Oprah got on board. And it's true the idea of "something for nothing" has been popular on TV talk shows and game shows for a long time, especially among criminals, con men, and televangelists, always seeking a shortcut (and wanting the other person to pick up the tab.) But like the vampire genre, the concept went into overdrive in the 80s and has been clawing its way into everyone's living rooms ever since, so that now there are vampires everywhere on Wall Street and Main Street (not just Capitol Hill and Beverly Hills), producing nothing and sucking the blood of everyone they encounter. In Fuld's case, when the courts pounded a silver stake through his heart at Lehman's collapse, he woke up to the truth, which is that "there's no free lunch, after all." Casino operator Steve Wynn concurs: "I've never met a single gambler who came out ahead in the end." Where does that leave luck? "No such thing," says the author of SuperSense, Bruce Hood. "The supernatural is a childish myth."

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The shock and awe of this "end times" revelation is just now starting to sink into the America psyche, (although song and dance shows continue unabated, along with our belief in Tiger Woods.) If there is no such thing as magic and superheroes, who's going to save America from the laws of physics? More importantly, who's going to buy tickets to cartoon movies like Cowboys & Aliens? Yet we must learn this truth. We must, before clouds of doom form into raging hurricanes of frustration, sweeping the country with gangs of firebombing rioters, and leaving only emerging markets to rise from the ashes (since they never believed in entitlements or the Tooth Fairy.) And until we do, Congress will be called back again and again to Washington to debate the validity of "something for nothing," . . . alas never term limits or flat taxes.

Category:

Comedy

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• Rockford Files
• James Garner
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• Stuart Margolin
• Dermot Mulroney
• producer
• tv
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• convention
• con man
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• Beau Bridges
• Larry King
• the secret
• oliver north
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• Stephen J. Cannell