What do Lidsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, OJ Simpson and today's helicopter crash in Phoenix, AZ have in common?

An intellectually shallow audience in America obsessed with style over substance, entralled by chase scenes and tawdry, cheap behavior.

I have long denounced law enforcement's policy of 'hot pursuit' of suspects.  Criminals who are depraved enough to become engaged in felonies will just be driven to more desperate acts when pursued by the screaming sirens of squad cars and TV cameras in the air.  This practice of 'hot pursuit' thrusts dangerous men and women into crowded city streets where any number of bystanders are placed in jeopardy.

The most recent accusation made by the radical anti-gun groups is that a gift given in exchange for a donation will somehow lead to the corrupting of America's youth.  In this case, the NRA was simply offering tickets to Sesame Place as a courtesy for donations voluntarily made to their organization.

Yesterday, along with our Tax bill, we received a printed note imploring us to use house phones when contacting 9-1-1 for emergencies.  The reason, it seems, is that a cell phone call is first routed to Totowa, and then patched back to Andover Township.  “Valuable time is lost during this transaction, which could be vital in an emergency” it states.