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The reason why people on Facebook can't distinguish between real and fake news, why they think a parody or satire website is reporting legit factual stories, and why they can't read between the lines or understand sarcasm is because the only shit they've read -- have ever read in their sorry lives, and will likely only read until the fucking day they die -- is the shit they read on Facebook. A friendly tip if you're one of these dipshits: log off Facebook, delete your app, and start reading newspapers and books and even comics. Do that for years and years and years and years. When you think you're less stupid and are ready to come back to social media, then by all means, please, log in to your Facebook account again. But not before. You would have done the world a great service. Thank you.

This Jude Bacalso issue reminded me of an old column by the late Conrado de Quiros titled "Popoy," written way back in 2001. De Quiros wrote of the labor leader Filemon "Popoy" Lagman -- who was assassinated in 2001 -- during one of the most difficult years of the Cory presidency: "Some time during her term, Cory allowed the oil giants to raise oil prices despite widespread public perception that it was unjustified. The oil price increase swiftly triggered public protests, which snowballed into an entire movement called the Kilusang Rollback. Emboldened by this, and to 'raise the struggle to higher levels,' the NPA began stopping buses outside Metro Manila and burning them when their drivers refused to join the strike. As it turned out, the fires that consumed the buses consumed the protest movement as well. Overnight, the protest screeched to a halt. The bus burnings sparked angry protests from the public, the commuting masa above all." Lagman c...