Fog Facts, or my meaningless currency

My latest literary indulgence is Fog Facts, by Larry Beinhart (author of Wag the Dog; see book, and film, and American History.

Quoted: " The number of people who believe in something, irrespective of how illogical it is, is one of the primary factors that separates a clinically delusional belief from a common religious belief."

From Ron Suskind's 'Without a Doubt' NYT magazine 2004- "That's not the way the world works anymore"-a White House aide is quoted-"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality-judiciously, as you will-we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors...and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

It's a quick read, recommended for waking the slumbering 'patriot' within. He mentions the Daily Show, (now along with Colbert) perhaps the only mainstream outlet for objectivist journalism. Hmmm.
And for those keeping the dogs of paranoia kenneled, here's his description of "the Soft Machine". Ring a bell?
"(C)apitalism has matured. Like all systems, its first duty is to itself. The Soft Machine is its security system, its enforcement arm and its army of conquest....Totalitarian societies use the Hard Machine. They are called police states....The genius of the Soft Machine is the genius of capitalism...(It) can abaorb conflicting ideas...(It) will readily absorb radical ideas, too, so long as they are moneymakers, and it will turn them into profits or souvenirs. The Sexual Revolution has become the multimillion-dollar porn industry. Rap is now all bling-bling... Malcolm X is a stamp.....
Do you fear the Soft Machine or desire its embrace? The Soft Machine has, and will use, the hard instruments of power and rule. The Soft machine does not give up police and military powers. Indeed, the United States is the world leader in the number of people imprisoned, in the employment of military force, in the possession and use of weapons of mass destruction. But we use those hard instruments only in the context of a consensus, however that consensus is built or has come about... (Y)ou almost never see the Soft Machine as it moves to herd us all together. Sometimes, as with the mis-reporting of election results, although you can't see it, you can see that something must have happened. The Soft Machine is hard to fight. Whom or what do you punch? It's not punching you. It's just offering you something to buy, and its your choice to buy a...burger, and to wear cheap, slave labor jeans from Wal-Mart. No one forces you to get your news from FOX and zone out on reality shows. The Soft Machine not only manufactures consent, it convinces you that its doing it as a favor to you...Since the process is serving you, that puts you, de facto, in charge of that process...As to limiting debate, well, that's up to you, too.... You can't fight the Soft Machine. You don't want to. The Soft Machine is you."