Not too many readers will remember the words in the title above. It is from 1970, and the words are attributed to Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. He acted as a distractive force for President Nixon, and was dispatched regularly to grab some headlines. The nabobs in question here were the sad lot of pundits known as “journalists”, said to be one of the easiest college degrees to attain.
Natter: To talk continuously for a long time without any particular purpose.
Nabob: An Indian ruler within the Mogul empire; someone of great wealth or importance; a person with a grandiose style or manner.
Agnew certainly did his homework on this one, drawing out two obscure words and making them memorable, so much so that I still remember the quote 54 years later.
Below the fold are some more quotes from the 31 pages I have preserved:
“When I was young I used to pray for a bike. Then I realized that God doesn’t work that way. So, I stole a bike and prayed for forgiveness.” (George Jessel)
“It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have these three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence to practice neither.” (Mark Twain)
“Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough not to quit.” (George Carlin)
“It’s too early to tell“. (Chou En-lai, asked what he thought of the French Revolution)
“Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.” (Groucho Marx) (It’ll catch if you think enough about it.)
“I’m originally from Iowa. It took a long time for me to realize that we were free to go.” (Jake Johannsen) (My thought exactly about Billings, Montana.)
“Whoever fights a monster should see that in the process he does not become a monster. When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you.” (Nietzsche)
“To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.” (Flaubert)
“Churchill’s famous speeches about their “finest hour” and so forth didn’t have much effect either. He delivered them in the House of Commons and when the BBC asked him to rebroadcast them on the radio, he refused. So, the BBC secretly used an actor called Norman Shelley to read them out, pretending to be Churchill. Shelley’s usual role was to play Larry the Lamb on “Children’s Hour.” Most people didn’t actually know what Churchill’s voice sounded like, and those who did thought it sounded funny, letters pouring into Number 10 Downing St. asking what was wrong with the PM.” (Alexander Cockburn) (This reminds me of our friend Tyrone McCloskey, who has said that the fiery speeches given to large crowds by Hitler were actually performances by a Bohemian actor, whose name he gives and that I have forgotten.)
“‘Cynical’ is always the word used to put down someone who is telling the truth.” (Gore Vidal)
Piece of Mindful 
Hitler was played by Gustav Weler (sometimes listed as Weber). It is said he was under the control of Martin Bormann but I think he dates back to the 20’s and Dietrich Eckart, the Prussian playwright and director whom “Hitler” dedicates Mein Kampf.
Agnew’s speech writer, William Safire, actually came up with the nabob quote. A fact Safire never tired of pointing out in his later publications and columns. As actors go, Spiro was plausibly stiff whereas Weler was shot out of the frenzy of German Expressionist theater. It’s all about cultural context. Churchill and Hitler had similar triggering effects but the British public would likely not respond to such an ongoing harangue.
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I know you somewhat, sir, and I think you will like this reference: Hitler as played by Weler reminds me of Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet.
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Frank Booth does drink a German beer.
https://youtu.be/snhiofL2Rh4?si=ScEKeV2Zl-KbvXRa
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Heineken? F@ck that sh!t, Pabst Blue Ribbon!
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Would not have taken you for a big David Lynch fan 😆
What induced you to watch Blue Velvet? Have you seen his other movies and TV series? Or followed his whole persona and public character? I remember him promoting TM – transcendental meditation. At one event in a large hall in Germany, there was an outburst or incident with an audience member, that might have been some kind of stunt. And in the midst of Covid, when things were very weird, Lynch released a “weather report” that seemed like a cryptic message of some sort – albeit somewhat tongue in cheek about itself.
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I’ve only seen Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet, and was probably triggered to watch Blue Velvet after seeing Mulholland Drive. I needed to have that one explained to me, and after it was, I still didn’t get it, so you’re right not to take me as a DL fan.
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I can relate, he confuses me more often than not. I’m almost finished with his latest sequel Twin Peaks series. A very mixed bag. Some episodes are entertaining, when they’re slightly more conventional and just seem to be riffing on genre tropes. Other episodes are so arty and obscure, I might as well be watching static for all the sense I can make of them.
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I feel like I may have shared this before- still, Lynch is on the board so here it is: https://youtu.be/FYuI4SFw4g0?si=G0RK1eLpXcmUZMVd
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The Blue Velvet clip starts around 30 minutes, tho the whole thing is worth a look, if you can follow the host’s circumlocutions. Not sure where the clip I posted starts in this link.
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I stuck with him for over two hours because I liked watching the clips and have seen many of the movies he uses. I have to say that that singing scene in Mulholland Drive, where she drops dead and the music goes on, was troubling.
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https://harpers.org/archive/2024/06/what-goes-up-andrew-lipstein-401k-doomsday-index-fund-catastrophe/
I found this interesting, curious if anyone has opinions. Just skip the intro section if you don’t care to read the author being witty and clever – the case for index collapsing is buried further down.
I can see both sides. Indexing was sold based on past market returns, in a system where indexing was not prevalent. So, obviously its rise could create massive distortions or be incomparable.
OTOH I can see it working as long as new entrants coming into the labor force are funneled into that option, thus supporting the inflated stock prices, and allowing older savers to sell down without crashing the market / confidence game. It’s similar to pensions or social security in its structure, maybe. But seems more vulnerable to panic and volatility. Or the issues the article raises from skeptic Green.
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I see that Trump is busy trying to forestall a government shutdown, and even wants to eliminate the debt ceiling to forestall use of that as a shutdown weapon. In modern monetary theory, the national debt is but an illusion and could be paid off tomorrow with the bubble behind it popping, leaving us exactly as we are now except more savvy. And “savvy” people is one thing that scares government and fund managers alike. Better if we suffer illusions.
I liked the article, and have my investments in Vanguard and Ameriprise and have no idea if they have me in passive index funds. I have a meeting with my Ameriprise manager on 1/16. I’ll quiz her to see if she is aware of the bubble underneath passive funds. But what am I going to do? I am powerless, not knowing the future.
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Since you are retired they may have it weighted more toward bonds, so probably you would not be impacted as much as those trying to get higher returns in the market. And maybe it will just go on being “irrational” for a long time. Or crash halfway and then slowly build back again. For all the fortune 500 companies to crash to nothing would I guess mean that savings of any kind would be worthless and the preppers would be riding high..
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