A Slap, an Orgy, and a Laptop

The lure of clickbait versus democratically important news

There is an old saying in media: “if it bleeds it leads.” Meaning that the stories that are the most salacious and horrific, that will drive the most traffic are the ones media outlets will push. In the advent of social media and the capitalistic click bait society we live in now, ratings and eyeballs equal money. Where there is money to be made and power to covet? Morality dare not enter.

Currently, there are three stories that the media can’t get enough of and not one of them has to do with America’s impending nosedive into the arms of anti-democratic forces that are hellbent on ripping up our constitution, destroying what’s left of political norms and tap dancing their way into authoritarianism.

America is captivated by these gawdy pieces: the slap seen ‘round the world, Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s claim of cocaine and orgies running amok in Washington’s elite political circles and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Meanwhile, the real political orgy that everyone needs to be paying attention to are the happenings between Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, his wife Ginni, former President Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows and former clerk to Justice Thomas and architect of the insurrection, John Eastman.