NATION
“ERIC Sucks”: Jay Valentine Exposes Blindspots In National Election System, ERIC Rumble
The Case Against Merrick Garland is Very Simple: Someone is lying.
MAGA boos Lindsey Graham off the stage at Trump rally in South Carolina Video Schadenfreude Alert
Jeffrey Clark Discusses Bill Barr’s Justice Department And Being Targeted By D.C. Bar Association Rumble
‘Not Going To Put Up With Business As Usual’: Byron Donalds Touts Shakeup Of House GOP Structure YT
Roseanne Barr and Theo Von BLACKLISTED by YouTube for Discussing Censorship
JOE BIDEN’S ROLE IN CREATING THE STUDENT DEBT CRISIS STRETCHES BACK TO THE 1970S
The Affirmative-Action Ruling Strengthens Vast Federal “Anti-Discrimination” Powers
One of the most pernicious developments in the history of federal law was the adoption of the so-called “Equal Protection Clause” (found in the Fourteenth Amendment).
This new section of the constitution, adopted in 1868, turns the Bill of Rights on its head. The Bill of Rights, of course, was written to limit federal power only. It’s why the First Amendment begins with the phrase “Congress shall make no law…” Note there is no mention of state legislatures. It was only after the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment that federal courts took upon themselves new powers to force every state and local government to comply with federal courts’ novel interpretations of the Bill of Rights. Known as “incorporation” this new legal doctrine ensured that the Bill of Rights functioned to expand federal power rather than limit it. As a result, the United States ceased to be a true confederation of states—as described by the Constitution as ratified in 1788—and moved much further toward becoming a unitary state.
WORLD
Climate change activists block London Pride parade over donations from ‘high polluting industries’
Marine LePen’s impassioned plea Rumble
Turkish intelligence uncovers ‘ghost’ Mossad network
In Sfax, clashes between Tunisians and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa
New Delhi: Court nixes PIL against withdrawal of Rs 2k rupee notes
HEMISPHERE
The Democracy Fund announces crowdfunding campaign to defend Tamara Lich
Maduro Clones Ortega’s Formula to Ban Opposition Candidates
The rise of Colombia’s hydrogen economy
HEALTH
New Approaches Are Delivering Hope In the War on Cancer
MACRO
WEF Calls for Cashless Nations to Engineer Societies
Why the Official Data Shows There’s No Recession
The Wealth Tax Idea Is Headed for Sudden Death in the Supreme Court
MICRO
McDondald’s Is Collapsing Before Our Eyes As Retail Apocalypse Crush World’s Biggest Fast Food YT
12 US Foods BANNED in Other Countries YT
WORTH ANOTHER LOOK
PARAHERESY
Trinity Unveiled: Jacques Vallée Reveals the Event that Altered History’s Course YT
CULTURE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT
The Battle Hymn of the Republic YT Happy Birthday, USA
MONDO
This Family Can Kill a Crocodile and Even a Bear YT
Killing Occluded Information Links
Clickbait comes in many forms. Usually, it involves a deceptive or sensationalized link. Think of the old days when people physically shopped at grocery stores. The checkout line would offer “National Enquirer” “Weekly World News” or other publications featuring attention-grabbing headlines that often did not match with the embedded story.
The tabloids were notorious for their blunderbuss headlines. When you sell your product from a newsstand or vending machine you have to get the passersby’s attention. Sometimes the article lived up to its billing and sometimes it fell short. The paying customer was okay with the pocket change risk. Ask Rupert Murdoch about this marketing scheme and the conversation might rapidly transition to his family’s vast fortunes.
Seductive, sensational, and bogus headlines found greener pastures on the Internet, and it remains an endless summer. Let’s sidestep the “I am shocked, shocked I tell you” phase and accept for now that deception is part of the terrain. Let’s move on to a more obnoxious form of clickbait.
I hate occluded clickbait. That is, I hate titles like “Hollywood Reacts to beloved star’s Death.” The editor has intentionally withheld the star’s identity to prompt you to click on the link. What is irritating about this ploy is that the site has already captured your attention but now the webmeister intends to maximize your onsite clicks. They are slowing down your consumption of information to improve their standing with search engines. That is rude and insulting.
This writer is especially hostile to slide shows. Slide shows disrupt the flow of information. Material that might take seconds to scan and possibly dismiss just as quickly becomes an ordeal. The slides are arranged in such a way as to maximize clicks. A scroll down a long article would probably yield one site-based click. Arranged into a slideshow, the site can record dozens and dozens of coins in this digital currency.
Imagine a restaurant where the waiter’s compensation is based on the number of trips to your table. Instead of serving the entree and leaving, the waiter has divided your burger and fries into 30 equal-sized portions. Want another bite? Just summon the waiter.
You just wanted a quick lunch and then get back to work. Now, the afternoon is dragging on and you only tested a third of your food. Yes, the waiter is prompt and only a few times did he add a commercial message before delivering the next morsel but your time is limited.
You consider voicing your concerns to management, but you know the deal. Management supports the paid incremental service because it satisfies the search engine gods. Without search engine grace, no one will even know of the bistro’s existence. The best way to satisfy the gods is to increase the number of “internal links”. Rather than expand into desserts or takeouts or new product lines, management has chosen to prolong your dining experience. Waiter happy. Boss happy. Search gods happy. If you are an idiot, you might also be happy.
Slideshows are an elevated form of obnoxious. Occluded Information Links (OIL) are almost as bad. Yes, we expect this sort of thing from msn. We don’t expect it from Daily Caller.
The following links are all from today’s Daily Caller home page.
ESPN Laid Off Female Host Days Before Her Wedding To NBA Player
EDITOR’S NOTES
1. We do not link To Fox News or Fox Business News.
2. We sometimes link to Fox affiliates.
3. We sometimes link to sites that contain a video that might have a snippet from Fox News (usually Tucker Carlson).
4. We try to avoid second hand news stories that are sourced from Fox News or Fox Business News.
5. We try to not link to sites with pay walls. This eliminates NYT and WaPo (who cares?) but also eliminates WSJ and Epoch Times. We hope that Epoch Times changes their business model because they are one of the best news outlets in the English language.
6. We believe it is more important than ever for Americans to monitor world affairs. The most influential man in America is probably George Soros and he is not in America–nor is he an American. Other understated influences on America include World Economic Forum, BBC, and CBC, to name but a few.
7. Most English language newspapers in non-English speaking countries are paid subscription sites. This presents an ongoing challenge to report on world affairs.
8. We try to avoid linking to mainstream media when possible We are not hesitant to link to mainstream sources if the news story involves raw data, such as the daily stock market or weather statistics or sports scores. Even then, we usually provide a “Mainstream” disclaimer.