I’ve always been fairly news-addicted, putting a few decades or so under my belt of reading about politics.

I was young, but by high school a reformed Abbie Hoffman was up from the underground after saving, or something, the Saint Lawrence River and doing talk shows. I knew from political protest and disruption for the sake of sticking it to the man.

I preferred Ken Kesey and the Pranksters. The Merry Pranksters, they new theater. They might be jamming up the status quo, but they seemed contagiously fun. I could imagine being on the bus and just trying to find my place at the party.

Abbie Hoffman just seemed like a self-important douche. The kind of guy that got punched by Pete Townshend at Woodstock. Disruptive and self righteous. An annoying combo for sure, whether you agree with the political slant.

Now, we’re in a new age. Everyone and everything can be a disrupter on the world-wide webs. Scream out your protest and maybe you’ll go viral.

Apart from all of that and admitting that the Code Pinks of the world are more irritating than effective, what I can’t figure out is when did the out and out crazy ass making shit up without satirical intent happen?

Could Sarah Palin really believe/em> that there are “death panels” in one version of a health reform bill? How the fuck do folks like Betsy McCaughey get play on legit op ed pages, columns and radio and the TV? How is that shit even possible?