Pick Your Narcotic

The debate surrounding Congress' unilateral and unconditional surrender has been surprising muted, perhaps in the face of the President's intention to veto the bill. The political pandering is enough to send Iceberg Slim into a state of apoplexy.

Then again, maybe the quiet is merely a reaction to an unusually large dose of media-administered narcotics.

While most Americans are unable to define the differences between the two Muslim sects, Sunni and Shia, they can recite chapter and verse of the saga surrounding Anna Nicole Smith's baby and who won the sperm donor battle.

But, wait...there's more. Rosie O'Donnell has been cashiered from "The View." Who gives a shit? Evidently, many people do, because network news, CNN, Fox, and the other purveyors of "balanced information" are deluged with this story. (The upside: at least the verbal battle of the witless--Rosie and The Donald--will mercifully fade away.)

Act now and we'll throw in...the NFL draft. Talk about inanity. There is actually a mock draft that goes through seven rounds! The admonition to "Get a life!" will definitely fall on the deaf ears of draftniks who will study, yes, study, a supposed order of 200+ mythical picks.

And if you thought that your media narcotic offerings were finished, we haven't discussed the specter of Phil Spector, his wall of sound and a nasty habit of bringing loaded guns into his bedroom.

Television news also gives airtime to who was voted off the island, who's left on "American Idol", what former sports star is still dancing, and even what is happening on TV dramas and comedy. Do you honestly think that Walter Cronkite or David Brinkley would have tolerated this bastardization of the news?

So, chose your narcotic and dull your mind so that the really important issues and questions slide harmlessly into the cobwebbed recesses of your brain.