What the hell happened to National Geographic?

[onager]

15. The "History" offshoot seems to be OK.

"National Geographic History Magazine." Though I guess Murdoch will eventually screw up that one too.

This month's cover story is on pirates. And who doesn't like pirates? Also articles about Socrates, the sack of Rome, the design of the White House and Pharaoh Akenaton and Nefertiti.

The last one was interesting because it puts forth a plausible theory I've heard about before. I.e., Akhenaton wasn't a fanatic who created a new monotheistic religion because he actually believed it. That was a calculated political move to destroy the immense power of the Egyptian priesthood.

How best to undercut the existing priests? Create your own brand-new religion. Select your own priests. And even build your own new Holy City.

Like in our own time, the Egyptian priests enjoyed a tremendous amount of unearned wealth and power, based solely on their mystical and invisible connection to the Eternal. Hey, Anubis and Ma'at worked in mysterious ways!

In fact, looking at hucksters like the Pope, Franklin Graham and Creflo Dollar, I have to conclude that humans haven't made a whole lot of progress in that area since the days of the Pharaohs.