Initially, I created the "Favorite Headlines" section because of the silly --
no, fantastic — headlines that were being published in the press. And when
I used "fantastic," I didn't mean it in a positive way — I meant "fantastic"
more literally, as in a function of fantasy.
These were functions of fantasy because these stories shouldn't exist —
they just seem too far-fetched to represent actual events: headlines like the
one about how the new Trump administration paid a bakery to rip off the design
Duff did for President Obama's inauguration cake. Or the one where a paper
mistakenly used an image of Steve Baldwin portraying President Trump in a
satirical SNL skit instead of using an actual image of President Trump.
THAT kind of fantastic.
The last time I'd published a "favorite headline" was in early 2017, I think.
Maybe I'd become less watchful, or I'd become overwhelmed. Actually, maybe the
headlines I saw after last January simply weren't all that... fantastic.
Each post I make under the nation or politics topic is the culminiation --
though I have been known to tweak and update after the initial post — of a lot
of research and a lot of deep thought. In most cases, I'm gathering a lot of
data so I can learn and come up with a position on the matter. The immigration
ban post is a great example of that. Such posts are few and far between, owing
partly due to the complexity and partly because my interest in it must cross
a certain threshold — the subject has got to move me enough to put in all
of that effort. And part of that effort is in providing the sources for all of
the material I've considered. I want you to be able to see it for yourself,
and make up your own mind.
As 2017 wore on, fewer headlines grabbed my attention for inclusion. As
I wrote the most recent post — my thoughts about the book Fire and Fury
by Michael Wolff — I decided to remove the code displaying the
"favorite headlines" section. I was about to get it onto my maintenance plan
when, in the past two days, three headlines hit us out of the blue that actually
justified keeping the feature active: news that the president reported Norway's
purchase of fighter aircraft that only exist in a video game (he misspoke
the model number); the now infamous news about the president asking why the US
allows in so many people from "shithole countries;" and finally, news that the
president's "fixer" paid $130K in hush money to a porn star just before he
became a candidate.
As Wolff, quoting Sean Spicer, said: "You can't make this shit up."
I imagine the whole "shithole countries" quip is going to generate more
headlines before it's done. I've heard that Norway actually responded, asking
why in the world they'd want to come to our shithole country. (If that's true,
then (1) good for them, and (2) I'll pinch that headline if I can find it.)
Anyway, my point is, we may have some decent fodder to feed the feature for
a little while.
So the "favorite headlines" feature stays in place for now.