*some* wish there were some sort of American royalty or aristocracy (to summon up the 'straw man')

I feel there will always be some who want somebody to look up to (whether royalty or celebrity), while others want to make their own way, seeing none as their better, and few as their equal.

Personally, I find the cults of celebrities mildly amusing, but ultimately as boring and shallow as the celebs they follow....

Paris Hilton, Any one?

-5.75,-4.05 "I am in earnest; I will not equivocate; I will not excuse; I will not retreat a single inch; and I will be heard."
William Lloyd Garrison
US abolitionist & editor (1805 - 1879)

the hangover surely will bring those red town painters a rude awakening.

I scanned the guest list for that dinner, and how and why a number of people attending were so annointed is a real mystery. Take, for one example: Jim Nance a CBS Sports announcer.

WTF?