Socialism and Clickbait

Admittedly, I've been hooked on the whole Russia-collusion narrative from the very beginning. From the first reports of potential Russia-Trump election meddling onward, I've been near obsessed with the story, its many, many, many developments, and its ostensible expansiveness. Though the story has ebbed and flowed from the start, ranging from the ultra-banal to the rabbit-hole intrigue of geopolitical/financial deception and manipulation, I've been undeniably drawn to it, near the point of choking in its unrelenting grip of death. The slow drip drip drip of detail and development and update has been expertly delivered, keeping the addict salivating and just desperate enough to hang on, perhaps in spite of indications, and the occasional gut feeling, that the tiger had no teeth...that there was nothing really there. The pace at which this Russia thing has moved along has been, at times, enough to nurture doubt in even the truest of believers, myself included. Even the mo...

I've always had a distaste for Public Relations, or anything officially labeled "marketing material," for that matter.To me it's always been about selling something, be it a product, a persona or simply an idea, and truth gets polished, tainted and eventually lost in the process... Public Relations (i.e. marketing) is all about controlling the narrative. And how do you "control the narrative?" By lying your fucking ass off, over and over and over ad infinitum until the lie sticks and gets reprinted as generally-accepted fact. I admire those that have such a knack for pulling it off, though I tend to lose that admiration over the course of peeling back each consecutive layer of abject bullshit. You spend enough time pulling back layers and you develop an inclination to just give up. On everything.You give up on one bullshit pie, it becomes easier to give up on the next, and before you know it, you're swimming in soul-killing cynicism. Anyone attem...

I have to admit...I was beginning to think it wouldn't be a problem. A self-proclaimed news addict, I've spent countless hours over the past 5-6 months with my head buried in my phone, my laptop and the various 24-hour stations in search of the next Russia-related "scoop." Most of the time the items have been merely filler; countdowns, what-ifs and innuendo designed to satiate the consumer's blood-lust and keep them coming back for more at the beginning of next day's news cycle. It worked. I was completely hooked--almost to the point of neglecting my nightly dental hygiene routine... But then my interest began to fade. The combination of circle-jerking punditry, the constant flow of casual, dispassionate denial after denial and so-called "other news items" made it seem as though it didn't, and wouldn't, matter. Regardless of the preponderance of sleaze and the undeniable gut-feeling of Royal Shitbaggery going on, there seemed like no re...

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I consider myself to be a prolific regretter. It often consumes me. Not a day really passes or has ever passed in my life, regardless of the circumstances, where I was able to get through three squares and a nap without regretting SOMETHING; even if that something were was the fact that all I did was make it through 3 squares and a nap. How's that for circular? For my next trick... I could probably find a way to rue the day I rued the day, or drown myself in regret over regretting the regrettable. Sure, a large part of this constant, somewhat needless introspection is simply an controllable self-absorption; a compulsion to live within the world I've established in my head. You know, the one that revolves around ME. I regret admitting that. No, really. Another may be the need to feed the beast. Whenever I feel stuck or trapped or angry or whatever, I can simply comb through the broken memory files in my head to find the one that may be the reason for my current situa...

Let's face it. The Internet is full of temptation. And when a juicy article, think-piece or facebook post happens to roll into your digital periphery, grab your ever-discerning eye and get those wheels a-spin spin spinnin', how in the world could you possibly ignore the urge to make your thoughts public? You saw something online, and you have an "opinion" on it. Now that you've hit the "Add Comment" button, you're ready to scratch that itch and give the Internet a piece of your mind. But how?!? Where do you start? How do you offer a reaction that is truly stunning, that captures the reader's attention and makes an impression lasting for the next 10, 20 or even 30 seconds, maybe more?? If you're struggling to really strike a chord within the online comment community, and to trigger the vitriolic animus you truly deserve, follow these 5 easy steps: 1.         Let the Headline Be Your Guide. When you first spotted that provocative ...

A dash of rhetoric, 5 layers of paranoia, sour grapes...all packed into pressed thin and flaky reasoning served with brute force alongside red herring and Parmesan... A lot's been made recently of the "Deep State," the ominous, shadowy Orwellian old men-with-super-yachts club that sounds a lot like Illuminati but looks eerily close to the Federal Spy Collective...you know, the standard players of CIA, FBI. NSA and whomever else can be traced back to some sort of nation-toppling schemery or major crimes against Americans cover-up in the names of freedom, Satan and self-preservation. On the surface, the Deep State seems to be just another concoction of rabbit hole conspiracists, cooked up by those with too much time on their hands and delivered by a half-wit demagogue with hair plugs, small hands and a Big Apple-sized inferiority complex. On the surface, that is. Because when you think about it, how hard is it to really believe in the puppet-mastering Deep State; a gr...