Reading Tom O'Neill's book on Charles Manson and the CIA. It's a doozy. All of the connections are astounding. The Beach Boys, the Mommas and the Poppas, and Roman Polanski-- all very creepy people entangled in gross stuff.

The US has been decadent for a long time.

One thing O'Neill mentions is that Dennis Wilson, the drummer for the Beach Boys, once claimed to have actually helped found "The Family" with Manson. This quote goes back to San Francisco Chronicle article: https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Joel-Selvin-on-Dennis-Wilson-the-Beach-Boys-Puck-3249823.php

The O'Neill book covers a lot of awful stuff in some detail. Some of it, I could do without. Roman Polanski looks like a particularly evil person-- and the stuff in this book is before his more infamous 1977 crime.