Ignorance is Bliss

I believe I will stop reading the headlines.

Despite the fact that I've never watched FoxNews, that I haven't watched CNN in at least two years, and that I haven't listened to NPR since 2007, I still occasionally read articles online. From trusted publications like the New York Times, but still.

I believe I will stop doing that too and here's why.

In Belgium, for the most part, I have no idea what is going on with politics and so I go about my day unconcerned about things I have no control over anyway. The headlines mean nothing to me and even if I could understand them and disagreed for whatever reason, I couldn't do anything about it.

Ignorance is bliss.

Well, the same is true in the States.

If you, Joe Rotorooter, think you have some control over what happens, you too may be watching/reading too much media. The facts are rarely out there, but the spin is phenomenal. When a paid lobbyist or political consultant comes up with a new spin to divert the public's attention away from any real issue, I'm not amazed, astonished, or even disgusted.

I. Am. Impressed.

I mean, I'm just not that smart. I simply don't have the ability to come up with that $#*! and I definitely don't have the skill to make the general public buy into it. These truly are the guys who should be making the big bucks.

Like Rupert Murdoch. This guy is a freakin' genius. And add Karl Rove to that list. Do you think these guys really care about all the propaganda? It's all about business. You know. Money. Control.

Did you see the backslide Karl Rove did when bobble-head Christine O'Donnell made headway toward the Senate? I think it went something like this: "Uh, did I say she is . . . well, she is an idiot, but she is also uh . . . real folk and that's really all that matters."

True genius, I tell ya.

I'm a feminist (a ladyist as Maria Bamford would say) and I was so hopeful that women would make a name for themselves. And lo and behold, they are. The new "anti-intellectual".

The naive and the numskulled. God love 'em.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that looks alone can bolster your credibility. Who cares if you know that Africa isn't a country? Or whether there is a Department of Law in the White House? Or if you graduated from Harvard or just drove by it? You people are so nit-picky.

So, I have vowed to stick with the only true news source - The Daily Show.

Disclaimer: In case you have been misled by various other "news" sources that regularly compare the "news" on The Daily Show to actual news, even criticizing its accuracy, I remind you that The Daily Show is aired on Comedy Central, late night, and it is purely for entertainment purposes. Although some "news" sources have compared it to real "news" sources, it is in fact a comedy show. I repeat, it is not the real news. But I warn you - it may make you think for yourself.

So, just for the record, I figure those billion dollar contributions you're hearing about aren't handed out for the ideology. I'm guessing it's so those billionaires can make their own rules.

An investment, if you will.

Because in the end, those who are currently receiving big paychecks from Rupert won't forget who they owe it all to.

Pure guile. And did I mention genius?

Sweet :~|