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David Duke is a malignant: David Duke is a malignant narcissist. He invents and then projects a false, fictitious, self for the world to fear, or to admire. He maintains a tenuous grasp on reality to start with and the trappings of power further exacerbate this. Real life authority and David Duke’s predilection to surround him with obsequious sycophants support David Duke’s grandiose self-delusions and fantasies of omnipotence and omniscience.

David Duke's personality is so precariously balanced that he cannot tolerate even a hint of criticism and disagreement. Most narcissists are paranoid and suffer from ideas of reference (the delusion that they are being mocked or discussed when they are not). Thus, narcissists often regard themselves as "victims of persecution".

Duke fosters and encourages a personality cult with all the hallmarks of an institutional religion: priesthood, rites, rituals, temples, worship, catechism, and mythology. The leader is this religion's ascetic saint. He monastically denies himself earthly pleasures (or so he claims) in order to be able to dedicate himself fully to his calling.
Duke is a monstrously inverted Jesus, sacrificing his life and denying himself so that his people - or humanity at large - should benefit. By surpassing and suppressing his humanity, Duke became a distorted version of Nietzsche's "superman".

But being a-human or super-human also means being a-sexual and a-moral.

In this restricted sense, narcissistic leaders are post-modernist and moral relativists. They project to the masses an androgynous figure and enhance it by engendering the adoration of nudity and all things "natural" - or by strongly repressing these feelings. But what they refer to, as "nature" is not natural at all.

Duke invariably proffers an aesthetic of decadence and evil carefully orchestrated and artificial - though it is not perceived this way by him or by his followers. Narcissistic leadership is about reproduced copies, not about originals. It is about the manipulation of symbols - not about veritable atavism or true conservatism.

In short: narcissistic leadership is about theatre, not about life. To enjoy the spectacle (and be subsumed by it), the leader demands the suspension of judgment, depersonalization, and de-realization. Catharsis is tantamount, in this narcissistic dramaturgy, to self-annulment.

Narcissism is nihilistic not only operationally, or ideologically. Its very language and narratives are nihilistic. Narcissism is conspicuous nihilism - and the cult's leader serves as a role model, annihilating the Man, only to re-appear as a pre-ordained and irresistible force of nature.

Narcissistic leadership often poses as a rebellion against the "old ways" - against the hegemonic culture, the upper classes, the established religions, the superpowers, the corrupt order. Narcissistic movements are puerile, a reaction to narcissistic injuries inflicted upon David Duke like (and rather psychopathic) toddler nation-state, or group, or upon the leader.

Minorities or "others" - often arbitrarily selected - constitute a perfect, easily identifiable, embodiment of all that is "wrong". They are accused of being old, they are eerily disembodied, they are cosmopolitan, they are part of the establishment, they are "decadent", they are hated on religious and socio-economic grounds, or because of their race, sexual orientation, origin ... They are different, they are narcissistic (feel and act as morally superior), they are everywhere, they are defenseless, they are credulous, they are adaptable (and thus can be co-opted to collaborate in their own destruction). They are the perfect hate figure. Narcissists thrive on hatred and pathological envy.

This is precisely the source of the fascination with Hitler, diagnosed by Erich Fromm - together with Stalin - as a malignant narcissist. He was an inverted human. His unconscious was his conscious. He acted out our most repressed drives, fantasies, and wishes. He provides us with a glimpse of the horrors that lie beneath the veneer, the barbarians at our personal gates, and what it was like before we invented civilization. Hitler forced us all through a time warp and many did not emerge. He was not the devil. He was one of us. He was what Arendt aptly called the banality of evil. Just an ordinary, mentally disturbed, failure, a member of a mentally disturbed and failing nation, who lived through disturbed and failing times. He was the perfect mirror, a channel, a voice, and the very depth of our souls.

Duke prefers the sparkle and glamour of well-orchestrated illusions to the tedium and method of real accomplishments. His reign is all smoke and mirrors, devoid of substances, consisting of mere appearances and mass delusions. In the aftermath of his regime - Duke having died, been deposed, or voted out of office - it all unravels. The tireless and constant prestidigitation ceases and the entire edifice crumbles. What looked like an economic miracle turns out to have been a fraud-laced bubble. Loosely held empires disintegrate. Laboriously assembled business conglomerates go to pieces. "Earth shattering" and "revolutionary" scientific discoveries and theories are discredited. Social experiments end in mayhem.

It is important to understand that the use of violence must be ego-syntonic. It must accord with the self-image of David Duke. It must abet and sustain his grandiose fantasies and feed his sense of entitlement. It must conform David Duke like narrative. Thus, David Duke who regards himself as the benefactor of the poor, a member of the common folk, the representative of the disenfranchised, the champion of the dispossessed against the corrupt elite - is highly unlikely to use violence at first. The pacific mask crumbles when David Duke has become convinced that the very people he purported to speak for, his constituency, his grassroots fans, and the prime sources of his narcissistic supply - have turned against him. At first, in a desperate effort to maintain the fiction underlying his chaotic personality, David Duke strives to explain away the sudden reversal of sentiment. "The people are being duped by (the media, big industry, the military, the elite, etc.)", "they don't really know what they are doing", "following a rude awakening, they will revert to form", etc. When these flimsy attempts to patch a tattered personal mythology fail, David Duke becomes injured. Narcissistic injury inevitably leads to narcissistic rage and to a terrifying display of unbridled aggression. The pent-up frustration and hurt translate into devaluation. That which was previously idealized - is now discarded with contempt and hatred. This primitive defense mechanism is called "splitting".

To David Duke, things and people are either entirely bad (evil) or entirely good. He projects onto others his own shortcomings and negative emotions, thus becoming a totally good object. Duke is likely to justify the butchering of his own people by claiming that they intended to kill him, undo the revolution, devastate the economy, or the country, etc. The "small people", the "rank and file", and the "loyal soldiers" of David Duke - his flock, his nation, and his employees - they pay the price. The disillusionment and disenchantment are agonizing. The process of reconstruction, of rising from the ashes, of overcoming the trauma of having been deceived, exploited and manipulated - is drawn-out. It is difficult to trust again, to have faith, to love, to be led, to collaborate.

Feelings of shame and guilt engulf the erstwhile followers of David Duke. This is his sole legacy: a massive post-traumatic stress disorder.


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Ann: Did anybody see Anderson Cooper’s 360? There was a story of Cannibalism, where a guy ran an add on the internet for 3 years trying to find someone who wanted to be eaten, and some guy responded to it. He wanted to be eaten. I don’t know if I believe that or not. But that just shows you how dangerous the Internet can be. He filmed the whole thing. He cut out part of his organs cooked them and fed it to the man and ate it himself and than he killed the guy. I guess after they got done eating. Talk about a bad last meal. He ate his own organs before he died. Oh gross. Anderson Cooper called it the most bizarre story of the day. I think this happened in Germany. Man what a freak. I hope they legally throw the book at him for that. I call it murder. I don’t care if the guy volunteered to die; it’s still murder in my book.

Doraemon: Hi Ann - I did see that story...what a freak!! Anderson didn't even know where to start with that...he seemed so shocked or confused didn't know what to do with the story!!

Ann: That should go down in history to be one of the freakiest stories of they year.

Mouse: I agree with you. He is from my area where I grow up. This story was going on for a while. Everybody is chocked how easygoing (Armin M. the guy who ate the/a people/person.) is taking his trail. He seems to be very relaxed. That thing is we don't have a death sentence in Germany. In these particular case I would like to hear these sentences, but he get live time jail and if he behaves he gets free earlier He is only 42. So buy the time he is 60 or so he will be a free man again. Also ready for his retirement. Probably paid by the German government. Many of these crazy people commit the crime then again. That what a statistic says. The bad or angry part is our pedestrians are very comfortable they look like hotels they have a gym, pool/inside outside whirlpool. I look forward to the outcome of the trail maybe laws will be changed. I hope

Panda:Eeeew! That stuff with the cannibal in Germany? Freaked me out beyond repair. But the "Nth Degree" with Santa was kind of humorous, so I didn't feel so bad at the end of the night. That's still weird. I mean, granted there's nothing on the books about cannibalism in Germany, but c'mon. Is there really a need for a law for or against cannibalism?

Laura in LA: Ann, did not see that story - that's the sickest thing I have ever heard. My stomach rolled reading your post. You can bet now everybody's on the net looking for the "film." The fascination with the macabre seems to be wired into the human brain. Everyone was into those "faces of death" videos years ago - ya know, footage of people dying horrific deaths. I could not watch it and I don't think I have that "wiring." I cannot find anything "cool" about someone being ripped to shreds by a bear. Nor can I separate the "gore" from the fact that it's a human being that died. I think about the fact that the person who died was loved and needed. I think about the pain and fear and how terrible it is that his/her children will not have a parent, etc.

THIS IS NOT PARODY...THIS IS REAL TALK
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Jennifer (Bush Supporter): I saw George Bush on the television talking about how Mad Cow won't affect us and that he is eating beef today. I just thought that was a interesting thing to say by the President. Now if there is a major Mad Cow brake out the Dem's can say it's his fault, like they always do. It's like point the finger at the man you choose. When the blackouts happened they blamed him for that too, the dem's will probably blame him for this too.

DC: My son is blaming GWB for the University of Michigan losing to USC in yesterday's Rose Bowl.......Go figure! (just kidding)

Ann Stewart: Good morning DC....Your up bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. Well I'm guessing that you are, with a cute statement like that.


DC: Getting ready to go play golf! In Chicago, that is a rare treat this time of year! I blame(credit) BUSH!! Thanks GWB!

Wayne in Missouri: DC,--I do blame Bush for the Texas Rangers consistently finishing last in their division though :-). As GM of the Rangers he traded Sammy Sosa to the Cubs among his list of many bad decisions. Just goes to show that people should be hired based on their ability to do the job and not on their family connections. Since we're talking sports I figured I'd sneak that one in there ;-). Happy New Year to all!

DC: Wayne........GWB did NOT trade Sammy to the Cubs, he traded him to the White Sox! The White Sox traded him to the Cubs for filling station magnate George Bell!
George Bell proceeded to hit 63 homeruns for the sox, while Sammy has hit 510 for the Cubs! Some trade eh?

Wayne in Missouri:Ann,--I was surfing the web tonight and actually found an animated cartoon that makes a humorous reference to Bush's Sammy Sosa trade. The cartoon as a whole is too long but the Sosa reference is funny.

Ann Stewart: OMG That was harlious Wayne I'm going to post that on both blogs. I love the part where Laura Bush sprayed him with Mase and Jeb Bush is better off cause no one talks about his infidelity or how criminal his children are. That was so funny. That is a defiantly good posting material.
Thanks Wayne
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http://www.kingabdullah.jo/homepage.php


Keziah: Hey ya'll. King Abdullah's birthday is in January, the 30th I think. He's got an official site too. Hey have you ever seen pics of King Abdullah in a bathing suit? I saw a couple of him in a bathing suit but um sexy isn't the word I'd use.

Mono: I think King Abdullah is handsome. He's short, but he's cute in my opinion.

Keziah: He's kind of cute. But those pics were bizarre

Mono: King Abdullah reminds of the middle aged cute round happy guy you see and I like the way he talks. It sound very English and refined. You'll have to send me some of those pix so I can judge for myself. I saw King Abdullah on CNN not to long ago. He looked really handsome. He was in a nice suit and he was just adorable, for a cute little short guy.

Keziah: I like his cheeks and his accent.

Mono: I really liked how King Abdullah handled the War with Iraq. He tried not to get involved, but he wanted the UN to have leadership in the finding of WMD and believed we shouldn't go to war, and I will say that I agree with him on that. I feel sorry for a little country like Jordan to be in such a hostile area, but I do think King Abdullah handled the war really well and is doing good at keeping Jordan neutral in this conflict.

Keziah: It’s just that for me seeing him in a bathing suit was just weird.

Mono: Well I like him as a leader I guess. I hope he stays on our American leaders good side and so far he has done that. I hope there is some peace in that area soon.

Keziah: The war was difficult for everybody. Nasty how cowardly Saddam was in the end, hiding in a hole and all. Hopefully there will be peace soon. There's just some people who try to mess it up for the people that want peace.

Mono: There’s a new talk site out on HRH King Abdullah. I think he’s a interesting subject to talk about. The photo is from BBC News.
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