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Someone has missed the point. To be fair I am unsure as to whether or not I may be that someone, but from where I sit the world is making my brain hurt. Witness this image.

At first glance it looks like an ordinary post-SOTU CNN Online front page. However, if one is to look at the lower right-hand portion of the image something is awry. That something is the “BREAKING ONION NEWS” box.

For those of you who don’t know, The Onion is one of the most successful online satirical newspapers (there is still a print version put out as well). Onion headlines often cut to the heart of the absurdity of the American experience. Their post-9/11 coverage attracted some of the widest publicity, prompting Newsweek to affirm that The Onion really is “America’s finest news source.” A recent article, “Amazon.com Recommendations Understand Area Woman Better Than Husband” is an excellent case in point. Of course, The Onion doesn’t always rely on current events: “Why do all these homosexuals keep sucking my cock?” is a timeless piece of… journalism.

Perhaps it is apparent then why I am so flabbergasted (fun word, don’t get to use it often enough) by the presence of an Onion link as part of CNN Online. For one thing, there have been too many distressing instances over the past several years in which it has been hard to tell that an article on CNN wasn’t in fact a spoof from The Onion. And for its part, the Onion has carved out a web presence and a loyal following from pointing that sort of thing out. Can either outlet remain true to the intent of their content when existing in this sort of relationship?

Ok, they probably can both do that just fine. The Onion has demonstrated time and again that they don’t really give a fuck what the world thinks as long as people laugh, and CNN is probably incapable of seeing the irony of having fake news headlines next to such “legitimate” gems as “Beefier High School Football Players Verge on Obesity” and “Sea Lion Wanders on to Dairy Farm.” (Sea Lion headline found originally here on CNNOnline, although it goes to an affiliate website)

I have been sick lately and having pain problems to boot (being sick means I can’t have barking tics which means more physical tics and hence more pain) so I have been sleep deprived and this evening I added two Benadryl on top so perhaps this seems weirder to me than it really is. Hence the screen shot. After all “CNN Online to Carry Onion Articles” sounds, well like an Onion article.