Ben Carson: Bungling Surgeon

Then I'm sure his broad appeal will carry him to the GOP nomination. Donald Trump should be concerned.

 

It's why he's polling where he is, which isn't bad, and is much higher than the experts would have predicted.

 

Actually, YF, the mega-church/best-seller bit is often facilitated by the church. The church buys a shitpile of the books then "gives" them to new/prospective members.

 

OK. I'll admit to not being a mega-church expert. But, do those sales get counted in the best seller lists, especially the Times?

And, I think this is different than what we used to see where a politician would write a book, and the Teamsters would buy thousands of copies to give to their members. That was purely a way for the union to give the politician money. It wasn't like the members had sone great desire to own/read the book.

If a Church is giving away a book as an incentive/gift to new or prospective members, they're going to pick a book that has some appeal to that audience. It's part of a marketing campaign. It's like a "gift with purchase". You pick something that people will want.

 

Nah, it's pretty much the Teamsters play. The author/pastor may make some money, but it's mostly notoriety that's in play.

Not sure how sure a play it is now, though. The Times is getting picky about who it'll let run wild with its prestige.

 

For the record, I'd barely heard of either Lena Dunham nor Ben Carson before the last year or two. I'd say it has to do more with individual interests than any sort of bias. I'm sure there are people who've never heard of John Cena either.

It reminds me of the old Peanuts cartoon, where Lucy tells Schroeder that she doesn't think Beethoven was famous because he never had a baseball card made for him. Everyone has their own interests, and someone who may be famous in some circles may be unknown in others.

 

Stop undermining me!!

 

Sports is a big one for this. We all think that even the most fringe MLB or NBA All-Star is a megawatt celebrity that everyone's heard of. But the most cringe-worthy live TV I've ever seen is when a local team advances in the playoffs and the local TV stations start doing man-on-the-street interviews with fans. I remember before one of the Blackhawks-Ducks games last year, a fan decked head to toe in Blackhawks gear at the United Center didn't know who Corey Crawford was. The other day, the football coach from the public high school closest to Wrigley Field didn't know whose No. 14 jersey is retired by the Cubs.

Slate is now writing Patrick Kane articles. How many non-NHL fans or non-Chicago or Buffalo residents knew who the hell he was before he was accused of rape? Not many, I bet.

 

Or maybe the fan was just punking the reporter. Been done before.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/t...pringer-and-his-buddy-jonathan-taylor-6551308

 

He was very clearly not punking the reporter.

 

It always amazes me how people can be totally oblivious to people who become big names in pop culture (and I include politics). I understand people might not be interested in certain things, but it takes some effort to ignore other things entirely. That so many people continue to o exist in that bubble in an era of free-flowing information fascinates me.

 

I think it's relatively easy, especially once you have kids.