Diane’s embarrassment

A lot of boring stuff happened today in the world. Cheney/Bush vetoed a bill that would fund education, job training and health programs, while getting huge sums for war. A muslim country that already has nuclear weapons and is home to thousands of Al Queda, Pakistan, totters on the brink of chaos. The communist running Venezuela and distributing its oil is threatening international banks. The mideast smolders. The U.S. economy balances on a hairline of confidence. China growls.

And Diane Sawyer is leading the news with a story on the death of a rap star’s mother after a tummy tuck gone bad.

This is the best indication that things are going from bad to worse. Or not, if you are one of those who hold that “the media” (there is no such thing) makes things bad. In that case there is much to rejoice: Few are paying attention, most couldn’t care less, others don’t believe it affects them, and the rest can’t wait to see if Britney will finally lose the right to drive with her kids in a car when she isn’t getting down with Paris Hilton.

Diane Sawyer’s story is a symptom, not the problem. You are the problem. Well, not you, readers of “eyeonoregon,” but those others. You know who they are.