"There are no cats in America where the streets are lined with cheese."

Penn & Teller Bulletin Board:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/106337/thread/1169352131/last-1169939575/Another+%26quot%3BOpportunistic+Ghoul%26quot%3B+Gets+Burned

one comment:

Miracle water, eh?

January 26 2007, 10:12 PM 

Popoff is back in business these days, hawking "Miracle Spring Water"

Absolutely disgusting.

I don't think, though, that people want to be fooled. I think that people yearn for the easy path or the magic solution to whatever troubles are at hand. They want to get out of their underpaying, thankless jobs. They want money to pay off their debts and enjoy their lives (as money would obviously help). They want to know there's life after death (and a balm to ease the pain of grief or guilt), and they want to lose weight/be sexy/be popular/be successful. Hell, we've all felt that feeling. Wouldn't it be great if I won the lottery? People want the answers, and some are willing to listen to a charmer who has them for sale. No, people don't want to be fooled. But they do want someone - anyone - to provide the magic answers so desperately that rational thought plays less and less of a role in their lives. The wanting just wounds them, leaves them susceptible to outside influence. It's a lot like being immunocompromised; the presence of the disease just opens the door to infections. These infections wouldn't cause problems in normal people, but they threaten and ultimately kill the susceptible person. They're called opportunistic infections, aptly enough.

My thoughts are best expressed in the lyrics sung by an impoverished mouse immigrating to the US in the AFI-acclaimed movie, "An American Tail."

"There are no cats in America where the streets are lined with cheese."