"Apparently, psychotics tend to gravitate toward authoritarian personalities."

Well, not always. Psychotics might tend toward extremist political philosophies or positions. And the gravitatin' might take a form of counter-transference, as in Lee Harvey or Sirhan.

My personal experience with psychotics in groups and controlled settings is that they are at least as independent and rebellious as straights. I don't remember any cults of therapist-worship.

Coincidentally, I was just over at apostropher's site, marvelling at his collection of commenters who seem convinced that Barack Obama just might indeed be the anti-Christ.

Reminds me of one of Oliver Sacks's stories, where, IIRC, a room of aphasiacs watched a Reagan speech and all burst into uncontrollable laughter, because his winning rhetorical techniques were comically nonsensical to them.

2: Yeah, I'm the top google hit for obama antichrist, so they just keep coming.

4: and people claimed you'd never amount to anything

Apostropher: That's actually handy information. It's easier to type "obama antichrist" into Google than "apostropher", so it's like your own private Google shortcut.

I'ma go do that right now.

2 reminds me of the world's most important blog comment. Who posts it? What does it mean? Is it anti-Semitic? Does it relate to the Toynbee tiles somehow?

It's been left at my site.

Pshaw, you didn't get the long version. Learn about the Western world's terrible claim rate and our ungrateful treatment of Persians.

2: Wow, there's just all kinds of crazy over there...

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

The "Obama = antichrist" discussion is one of those moments when I genuinely fear for the union...not to the level of Orson Scott Card, but still. I mean, how do you live in a place where it's not only acceptable, but laudable to speculate that someone is, in fact, the spawn of Satan? I don't even believe in all that shit (apologies religious persons of faith, I mean shit in the best possible way, as in "Omar Little is the shit), and that seems far, far offsides to me...

welcome to the world, pooh. people are weird here.

14: Yeah, I know, but 35% seems like, uhm, a lot.

It's major league crazy and there are way more of them than most people realize. And they are dead serious, too, about enacting their asswacky worldview legislatively. I've said before that keeping the religious nutcases out of power—any kind of power— is the single issue that trumps every other one from me.

for me.

sorry - what's 35%?

Any of y'all catch the This American Life about the popular evangelical preacher who stopped believing in hell? I missed the ending, but it was fascinating.

what's 35%?

A little more than a third.

People are most ostentatious with knowledge they have themselves just learned, clown.

My psychotic brother (what a way to open a comment -- and yes, medically) is more anti-authoritarian/pro-anarchy, really. All these random theories on how the government owns your soul (some f'ed-up twist on redemption theory). I'm surprised that those surveyed favored any political persona at all, but there is my sample size of one and all that.

18 - I heard it. It was really good. How much did you miss? Did you get where he split from his church? In the end he starts up another church, not as popular but notably open to the gay community.

I think the constant discussion of TAL episodes I've missed my finally force me to look into podcatching or somesuch.

I love the Prince William as Antichrist thing. I feel like he might actually get a rise out of it himself.

21:I suspect, as I said in 1, counter-transference. Even in a secret ballot, the patients possibly were fucking with their keepers. The degrees and kinds of liberalism you see in a therapeutic environment, oy vay, you don't wanna know.

And psychotics lie a lot. Trust me.

18: Bush's rough approval rating, which at this point serves as a decent proxy for the clinical...

The study may simply show that the patients had a preference for the incumbent.