Now everything is entertainment, everything is just grist for the mill.

That gig the paper says was sold out?

Probably wasn’t.

Those sales figures that indie act is touting?

You’d be best to cut them by 90%.

The entertainment business has always been built upon smoke and mirrors. The truth hurts and the populace did not want to know movie stars were gay and rock stars were loners who’d rather rest in hotel rooms, never mind throw TVs out the window.

Every day people e-mail me inaccurate information. About vinyl making more money than streaming, about Spotify taking all the money. And you wonder why you can’t get ahead.

Used to be we believed in the press. That reporters would get ’em. Before those in play attacked the correspondents and Dan Rather lost his job and Bill O’Reilly kept his. Because CBS thought they reported to a higher power but Roger Ailes knows he is the higher power, and it makes no difference what the rabble-rousers say.

My favorite story on this involves one Jerry Heller, you know, the guy who’s suing the “Straight Outta Compton” movie. He told me when a writer asked him how many albums Ruthless sold, he uttered SEVENTY MILLION! And then he turned to me and said…”My company, my number.”

Apple won’t even tell you how many Watches it’s sold. And Twitter profiles are fake and Facebook likes are bought.

But they’re all touted as fact, and most people believe them. Because they’re either too dumb or they need to believe.

Because believing in yourself is just too much.

Do you really believe a blowhard businessman who was born on third base can run the country?

Do you really believe the populace wants said blowhard to run the country?

Well, Jesse Ventura did get elected governor. Look how that turned out. And he hasn’t stopped spouting conspiracy theories since.

Jesse’s an entertainer. Which people want because they just can’t handle the cold hard truth. That your job is not safe and there’s little upward mobility and it’s got to be somebody’s fault other than your own.

But it’s not the immigrants’ or the rest of the bogeymen, it’s the system. One wherein the rich run things and they want to keep it that way. And anybody who could blow the whistle is enthralled by the players and wants to become one too. Can you say “Judith Miller”?

Want to pull someone to your side?

Give ’em a ride in a private jet. Buy ’em a four hundred dollar bottle of wine. Woo-hoo, look at me live! Not realizing that those are business expenses that pay dividends, that you’re just a pawn in their game.

Politics is a profession. And sure, we want fresh faces, but we don’t want inexperienced people. It’d be like anointing the losers on “Idol” as stars. What would that look like, people who couldn’t carry a tune who believed they were entitled, would you listen to their music?

Of course not. Then why are you accepting what Donald Trump says as truth?

Sure, some of you are not, you’re Democrats. But you believe manufacturing can come back to America. Why don’t you pay $2500 for a flat screen while you’re at it.

And Black Friday is fading…

Wait, the press got that one right. Maybe because there weren’t personalities involved. Reporters have a hard time standing up to people. In journalism school they teach you to be fair and balanced, to give credence to both sides. But what if one side is pure idiocy, not truth, but a way to move the ball forward in the game?

And although everything is entertainment now, the true metaphor is football. Everybody’s just trying to carry their product downfield. And if Bill Belichick and his Patriots cheat, why shouldn’t I? But you say they didn’t, because you live in Boston and you need something to believe in.

We all need something to believe in. But it’s best to start with yourself. You’re the arbiter of truth. If it feels bad, it must be. But who the enemy is…

If the political reporters can’t ferret out the truth, what are the odds the entertainment reporters can? When most of what the media prints is not news, and frequently is just a press release. With media budgets slashed so owners can make their margins there’s no time for questioning, and you can’t piss off the advertisers. Maybe the “Times” has a Chinese wall, but Buzzfeed and the rest of the advertorial giants?

Give me a break.

Blame it on the internet, blame it on the lack of a fairness rule, but really know it’s a reflection of society at large. You can’t get a job without a college degree, and college doesn’t teach you how to think, but just gives you business skills, so you’re no match for the truly educated. The elite institutions teach you how to hold two opposing thoughts in your brain at one time. Like we can have low temperatures and severe storms even if there’s global warming. But you think climate change is a hoax, not knowing the energy companies spread that story and how come you’re so worried about the national debt impacting your children but not rising temperatures?

Used to be we were told what to believe by a few outlets, whose feet were held to the fire. Sure, fallacies got through, like people thought FDR could walk, but news was a higher calling and with few places to get it truth was the goal.

Not everywhere, but in many places.

But now that everybody has a voice, it’s a free-for-all.

But not for long. We’re going to see consolidation. The rich will get richer. Just like in music. Which is what will happen in podcasting. Everybody doesn’t have a blog and everybody won’t have a podcast, and you’ll have to retreat to your lonely little life where you’ll realize…

The people don’t have the power, the corporations do. And those with the most power are the news outlets. You think it’s about money, but power is much more satisfying. You control public opinion. You mold people’s minds. That’s Fox News’s brilliance. That’s Rupert Murdoch’s brilliance. His fortunes may fade, but he’s a titan, he controls what you think.

Because you’ve refused to think for yourself. You believe a licensor, someone who’s full of vitriol and bombast, can run a country.

Well, if that’s true, why don’t you elect Gene Simmons.

Hey, wait a minute… Gene, why don’t you run?