[Porsche-O-Phile]

I stopped watching television news (and shortly thereafter television in general) during the 2009 recession. The steady drum beat of "the sky is falling" and "the end of the world is nigh" and all the rest of it became utterly insufferable. It didn't take long to realize after turning off the idiot box (and not going to sensationalist-pumping MSM outlets online) that I was better off for it and could obtain real information about the things that actually matter and potentially affect my life by seeking out other, less froth-frenzied communiques.

In other words, we're already there. The media has become nothing more than sensationalist tripe - flashy lights and bold, screaming headlines about every minor, irrelevant non-story, all intended to create (for the indiscriminate or weak-willed) riveting entertainment that can then be mingled with high-priced advertising intent on selling those same people pickup trucks, viagra pills or low-quality beer. They have whored out journalism for the allure of the promise of easy money through wanton hucksterism.

The "news" (really television in general - but particularly the "news" programs) are the instrument of the blunting of the American intellect. When an addict or junkie slides down the road to ruin, he or she becomes accustomed to lower doses, requiring ever-more and ever-higher, more intense doses to get the same thrill, until it gets to toxic levels that often kill them.

So it is - exactly - with our country and its addiction to "news" entertainment. Sadly, we are OD-ing and we may not survive it.