Idiot Nation

And once again we raise the never-ending question: Are we a nation of idiots because the media makes goofy editorial choices or do they make those choices because we are a nation of babbling fools?

I received a gratis subscription to CNN Pipeline and, as part of that, I now get their "Breaking News" e-mails, intended to alert me to matters of great importance. One of those breaking-news bulletins came in on my Blackberry last night. Did Congressional Democrats broker a deal with Bush on Iraq? A massive tornado in Kansas perhaps? Other huge news on the national scene?

No.

Here's what I got: "A judge has sentenced Paris Hilton to 45 days in Los Angeles County jail for violating her probation on a reckless driving charge."

Just freakin' shoot me.