Is Meta Betta? "decline of American culture, the triumph of technology over privacy, and the end of shame as a motivating force"

2,829,091 = # Twitter followers of Charlie Sheen 20110315 3:51pm ET"... I am fascinated by the phenomenon of popular fascination with [Charlie] Sheen." - From "Sheen Madness" by Ruth Marcus, Wash. Post

"It’s not just the analysis of the troubled actor. It’s the analysis of the analysis.

"...we are now in Defcon Three of Celebrity Scandal: The 'Whither Society' portion of the meltdown. Defcon Five is the scandal itself. Defcon Four is the all-of-us-watching-with-mouths-agape phase. With Defcon Three comes the clothes-rending: Are we enablers? Should we be egging him on? Is this actually news? And most worrying of all: why do we care?"
 - From "Sheen-ology" [Print] or "Charlie Sheen, Deconstructed" [online] A version of this article appeared in print on March 6, 2011, on page WK5 of the New York edition.

Also from Ruth Marcus: "But human nature is what it is. Everyone slows down to see the car crash. And this time, the car’s driver is giving interviews" Ruth Marcus’ e-mail address is marcusr(at symbol)washpost.com.