Shut Up!

Now that she's appeared with Katie Couric, can we please be done with Jennifer "Runaway Bride" Wilbanks? Are people really interested in this story? And if so, who are they? Why are we giving all this attention to someone who gained notoriety simply by acting irresponsibly? The story is over; the only story now is the story of her becoming a celebrity by acting like a foolish child. Enough! The news media is fixated on tales of white women in peril. Jennifer Wilbanks, Natalee Holloway. Hell, you might as well add Michael Jackson. And now Tom Cruise. I'm glad Boy Scout Brennan Hawkins is home safe, but I hope we don't have to keep hearing about it for the next six months. If he was 18 and female, he'd be on the cover of People.

*****

Oh Jeez

I don't have time or space to write about this, but in checking on Brennan Hawkins' name, I read an article about the Supreme Court expanding the power of "eminent domain." Once invoked to claim land necessary to build roads and military bases, and later expanded to include urban renewal, the latest ruling allows local governments to seize your property to put up a shopping mall. This is what we don't hear about because we're reading about Jennifer Wilbanks.