What have you learned today?

Let's see now. There's are still terrible conflicts in Yemen, Libya and about dozen other countries throughout the globe. There have been some recent breakthroughs in cancer treatment. Those Styrofoam cups we've all been drinking from for decades just may contain carcinogens. The unemployment rate is high. People are being thrown out of their homes whether justly or unjustly, which means that a lot of children are going to bed both hungry and fearful. In short, the world has a lot of serious problems. But what are the major news stories? Sarah Palin's e-mails and Anthony Weiner's penis. Huffpost has no fewer than six Sarah Palin articles today. It's the topic du jour on all the major talk shows, followed up, of course, by whether Weiner should be shot at dawn. And we all watch without being outraged that we are being fed Twinkies and Ding Dongs when we need all the major food groups. Which is why we are becoming weaker and weaker and far less astute than we were decades ago. Yes, it's true that the networks throw in an ounce of protein every now and then, but not enough to make us strong again.