In the next several weeks of nooze chatter, we won’t hear about the war, the Libby trial, the dismal state of the economy, the emergency of global warming, or any of the other urgent issues that cry for public attention.

Instead, we’ll incessantly hear about the new soap opera where an astronaut drove 900 miles in diapers to steal the heart of another astronaut from yet another astronaut. If this story involved airline pilots, we’d hear nothing about it except for a little blurb in “weird news.”

This is the new distraction, folks. The infatuated astronaut will dominate the headlines for months to come. Don’t be distracted.

Keep your eye on the ball.

(or, as our dear old friend Molly used to say, “always watch the shell with the pea under it.”)