XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism, alt.politics.socialist.nazi   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv   
   From: mail-a-long@hmn.com   
      
   After all, the USA is only a great powerful economy with a massive military   
   thanks to MAGA, southern red states and our glorious President Epstein!   
   President Epstein and Vance are why America is what it is today and   
   everybody knows they deserve credit.   
      
   Seduced by the Louis XIV Treatment   
   What JD Vance and his entourage in Milan teach us about Epstein's magnetism   
   Paul Krugman   
   Feb 9   
      
      
      
   JD Vance ridiculed for 40-car motorcade taking him down tiny Italian street   
   : r/europe   
      
   Charts and numbers are my comfort zone, and even my political writing is   
   usually analytical in style. But today I'll take a break and write   
   something looser and more self-indulgent: Some meditations inspired by JD   
   Vance's visit to the Olympics in Milan.   
      
   There are many stories floating around about Vance's visit, some of which I   
   can't confirm from credible sources. But the Daily Mail reports that he and   
   his entourage arrived "on multiple aircraft carrying staff, security   
   personnel, food supplies and vehicles" and that "His ground convoy, made up   
   of dozens of Chevy Suburbans, struggled through Milan's narrow streets. "   
   Like many others who've been there, my first reaction was "He brought food   
   to Milan? " (No grazie, dammi il risotto allo zafferano. )   
      
   My second reaction was to ask why he would bring such a massive presence to   
   a city like Milan, snarling traffic on its ancient streets. His enormous   
   fleet of SUVs caused so much congestion that US figure skater Alysa Liu   
   almost missed her first event.   
      
   The answer is that JD Vance is being swaddled in a golden blanket of   
   privilege and luxury. After all, perks like these are standard fare for   
   Trump cabinet members. For example, in 2025 the DHS purchased two private   
   jets for use by Kristi Noem, as she lives rent free in a waterfront home   
   that is normally reserved for the Coast Guard Admiral. Kash Patel flew on   
   an official FBI jet to see his girlfriend perform. And Trump received a   
   little gift from the Qataris – a private jet that he intends to have   
   retrofitted at government expense and then keep once he leaves office. Oh,   
   and he's larded the White House with gold and is trying to build a ballroom   
   that rivals Versailles in scale, though not taste.   
      
   I'm not a stranger to the seductions of privilege. True story: I was once a   
   keynote speaker at a fancy-schmancy conference in Sa~o Paulo, Brazil. (The   
   Swedish thingie opens some doors. ) My flight from New York was very badly   
   delayed, and the conference organizers were worried about the city's   
   notorious traffic. So I was met at the airport and given a ride in a   
   helicopter that landed on the hotel's roof.   
      
   When the conference was over, I was provided with a car and driver to take   
   me back to the airport. And just for a moment, I found myself thinking,   
   "What? I have to take a car? "   
      
   So I know that it's extremely easy to become addicted to privilege and   
   luxury. And Trump has surrounded himself with privilege addicts, knowing   
   well that such people will be unwilling to sacrifice their perks for things   
   as paltry as principles and basic decency.   
      
   Which brings me to the Epstein scandal.   
      
   Obviously the most important aspect of that scandal is the lurid elite   
   corruption revealed by what we already know (and what is still being   
   covered up? ). The backlash against Me Too and cancel culture takes on new   
   meaning now that we know that some leading figures in that backlash were   
   having sex with underage girls.   
      
   But the corruption we're learning about wasn't just deep. It was also   
   broad: A remarkable number of people were involved with Epstein years after   
   his 2008 conviction as a sex abuser, including, I regret to say, quite a   
   few academics. I believe (and hope) that only a small minority of the   
   hundreds and hundreds in Epstein's extended circle received sexual favors.   
   A larger number of people were probably receiving financial favors, but   
   most weren't. And as someone who has been on the speaking circuit and knows   
   academics in the consulting game, I can tell you that the sums of money   
   we're hearing about are small potatoes.   
      
   So what was the secret of Epstein's influence? I'm speculating here, but I   
   believe that a lot of his reach came from his skill at seducing people by   
   providing them with a sense of exclusivity and privilege. To be associated   
   with Epstein meant receiving invitations to participate in fancy dinners or   
   to stay at one of his many luxurious residences in all the best places,   
   including his private island. If you were chums with Jeffrey Epstein, you   
   felt that you were a member of a glittering set of insiders. And that was   
   enough to make you look away when the young woman pouring your drink looked   
   just a little bit too much like your teenage daughter.   
      
   So what does all this say about politics and policy? It says to beware —   
   beware in particular of a president whose lifestyle is saturated in   
   dictator chic and who invites his officials to share. Because just as those   
   in Epstein's circle looked away when the "help" looked a little too young   
   and nubile, Trump's cabinet members look away when ICE is gunning down and   
   terrorizing people in the streets.   
      
   And with that, it's time to jet off to a super-fancy event reheat some   
   leftovers for dinner.   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)