[MD] Gun smoke in the shape of a fake letter and not a mushroom cloud

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Khaled]
You wouldn't say, I want my heart surgeon to be an average everyday Joe, and
have him do my bypass as opposed to some elitist, rich, college educated
Cardiovascular specialist. Would You?

[Arlo]
Good to hear from, amigo. Yeah, the whole "elitism" thing is nothing more than
distraction. Its representative of the low-register dialogue of modern American
politics. What's funny is that the Hilton/Spears imagery used by McCain sums up
exactly the tenor of the dialogue. That is what we WANT, a "E-News" gossip hour
about fist-bumps, arugula and tempers rather than a substantive dialogue. Our
"news" channels (including both the "main stream" and "right-wing" outlets)
cater to our desire for fluff over substance. In this sense, McCain is
absolutely right, only missing that in our modern circus he and Obama are both
every bit as much clowns as Hilton and Spears. 

The whole arugula thing is the best example of this. What is arugula? A healthy
green that packs more nutrients than iceberg lettuce, is better for us, and yet
if one eats it one is "elitist". Its as if making a bad nutritional decision is
something we should be proud of (there's that "pride in their ignorance"
thing). Question, does eating Romaine lettuce make one an "elitist"? What about
spinach? What about "baby spinach"? What about collard greens? Would eating
arugula be elitist if instead of "arugula" it was named "nascar lettuce"?  Are
there no "common folk" who eat arugula? I get mine from our local coop farm,
about as earthy as folk come. 

Does vegetable elitism hold over to other vegetables? If I prefer Yukon Gold
potatoes to Idahos, am I elitist? What about sweet potatoes? Yams? What if I
prefer baby redskin potatoes? Elitist? 

But again, this is all just moronic theatre to keep the dialogue off
substantive points.

And it does remind me of an old Dilbert exchange.

Dilbert: I believe it's what's inside a person that counts. 

Dogbert: How can you get respect for hidden qualities?

Dilbert: You have to act humble while generating as many clues as possible.

Dogbert: So, you recommend being a deceitful, manipulative, hypocritical,
braggart?

Dilbert: It's a funny world.

Yes... it is.