From Outer Space to Tinsel Town...Reasons Why I Scratch my Head

It occurred to me the other day that the news, be it national or local, has a rather skewed system of prioritization. This is a big shocker, I know. I usually consume as much printed news as I can garner, leaving the televised product for reference only when I need to glean special information, i.e., school closings, weather events, catastrophic events, etc.

With the writers on strike, however, I am left scratching my head at times for programs to waste my time watching. I figure the news fits nicely between reruns of Man vs. Wild and ESPN highlights run for the fifth time of the day. That being said, I found myself slack-jawed yesterday when I learned, through a local news outlet, that a large U.S. spy satellite was expected to fall to Earth in late February or early March 2008 and could hit North America. What caught me so off guard was the final line of the reporter's report that read something like this:

…and the chance of the satellite hitting the U.S is slim. Now to the latest Britney Spears nervous breakdown…

What…I looked around and noticed that from another room, my wife had heard the same report and was arching an eyebrow as she looked back at me in amazement.

The realization was this…The local news has just reported that a U.S. spy satellite, the size of an armored truck, was going to reenter Earth's atmosphere with the possibility of slamming into the United States. Slim…slim chance…which to me means that it is entirely possible to be walking outside and have a big spy satellite land on your head. Perhaps this little bit of knowledge is a tad more important than whether or not Britney and Dr. Phil will continue to be friends as she spirals even further out of control. Yet the reporter barely blinked while delivering the less than desirable news.

Maybe I am naïve or better yet oblivious to the perils of the Universe but when a big ass spy satellite has even the slightest potential to crash into our planet, maybe we should dwell a little more on the satellite and a little less on dismissing it for the latest drug overdose in tinsel town. Does that sound callous? If not, it should! Just a thought.