The George Santos reporting has been excruciatingly superficial. The continuous platforming of a congenital liar; the should he or shouldn’t he be expelled; the can the R’s afford to possibly lose the seat; the Botox, Hermès, Sephora and OnlyFans.

Among many others, here are two questions no one seems to be asking:

How did he get 145,824 New Yorkers to vote for him in 2022? That’s 20,420 more than his opponent. Why did everyone find out about his mental condition after the election? Also, the 2022 New York Third Congressional election results were not an anomaly. Why are we still, despite access to unprecedented information about people, so incredibly susceptible to conmen and women? Maybe the avalanche of information works to their advantage? Clearly, we’re increasingly susceptible to congenital liars in politics, business/finance, religious life, fill in the blank.

The second thing you won’t hear a reporter ask is can GS support himself? Does he have any specialized work experience, knowledge, or skills that an employer would value enough to pay him a livable wage? Even setting aside his mental health issues and nightmare character,I highly doubt it. In that respect, he’s emblematic of many young men and women who are finding it exceedingly difficult to approximate their parents’ economic security and lifestyles.

By far, the easiest thing to do is to make fun of Mary Magdalene. Much harder is figuring out how to avoid being taken by GS-like charlatans over and over. Also much harder is helping the GS’s of the world live independent lives. Unless GS figures out how to exploit our celebrity culture in the spirit of his political mentor, the Former Guy, I expect him to end up in and out of prison, with the public paying his room and board.

And that’s the news from the edge of the Salish.

Postscript. Shit.