and I would care because...

Is there anything this country is better at than whipping itself into an absolute frenzy over something that's completely meaningless to our everyday lives?

For example, here are two things that just happened:

1) Some woman in Florida who's been a vegetable for 18 years is going to die because her husband pulled the feeding tube.

2) Medicare is going to be broke in 15 years, and Social Security will be broke in 2041.

Which story did every fucking TV station in the country cover in-depth yesterday? And which one prompted Congress and the President to spring into action like their asses were on fire? Of course, we all know the answer.

Frankly, it's none of our business what they do with Terri Schiavo. If I was pulling the plug (tube) on a loved one, I know for damned sure that I would get pissed if someone with no relationship to the case told me what to do. But that's beside the point.

We're talking about one story that directly affects maybe 100 people, if that many, compared to a story that only affects every old or middle-aged person (who could get screwed if they live another 15 years) and every young person who's going to get the "Moon River" treatment from Social Security, paying in money for decades, then getting fisted in return.

And you just know that whenever the Schiavo story dies (poor choice of words?), it'll be something else equally meaningless that will take center stage and obscure the stuff that actually matters. Maybe they'll have a verdict in the Michael Jackson trial! Maybe Brad and Angelina will get married!