Real Housewives of the OC takes the cake.

I think I've witnessed either the most vacuous piece of television in my life or one of the most brazen. I'm speaking of: The Real Housewives of the OC.

The women on that show have to be some of the most shallow and lacking in insight that I've ever seen.

At first I thought the show was just as shallow as the cast, but on second thought, I realized that the producers probably pulled a fast one.

I imagine their pitch meeting going something like this: "Okay, imagine we get a bunch of rich bitch housewives from the most vapid and shallow place in the country--Orange County--and we put them on display. It'll be perfect. The housewives will do it because televising their lives and how good they have it will appeal to their vanity. They'll practically leap at the opportunity to show the world how good they have it. While the rest of the world will watch because of the stupendous display of vacuity and self-absorption."

Well Bravo gave the green light.

I've seen the show once and I was thoroughly appalled by these women. They do nothing but shop, tan, and figure out ways to entertain themselves. They display histrionics at the drop of the hat for no apparent reason other than to get attention.

They behave in ways most of us would find ridiculous and narcissistic. For example: One housewife's husband was in the hospital dying with leukemia, but instead of being by his side, she couldn't deny herself the opportunity to go the lake and party. Of course she got called out on her selfishness and cried that "others shouldn't judge her."

Huh?

This is the very stuff people judge you for; it's the type of stuff you should be judged for.

Another cried that she was a bad mother because her tattooed son got the inside of his lip tattooed. No, she's a bad mother because she set the example that it was okay for her son to have a sense of entitlement and that he could live a life of dissipation at another's expense.

I don't know what it is about these shows, but I have difficulty watching shallow people doing shallow stuff and being paid for it.

No wonder the U.S. has hit a snag. Too many people cocooning in material excess.

I knew it! Religion has brain damage as a cause!

This study paints an interesting picture about religion.

Apparently, those who experience high levels of selflessness are experiencing decreased activity in part of their brains.

I suspected that religion was about brain damage all along.

TV networks are shooting up with Reality programming to avoid profit losses--too bad

I've noticed a troubling change in the programming on many television channels lately. Favorite channels, like SciFi and so on are moving toward more Reality shows.

This is troubling for a number of reasons.

Reality t.v. is a low cost option for networks. This type of programming appeals to the younger crowd.

Reality t.v. is a low-cost option used to buttress the bottom line through cost control. It comes at the expense of long-term viewership and long-term quality.

Once a network comes to rely on Reality programming, they lose a core audience (like me) making it difficult to regain viewership from hardcore fans.

Reality programming is nothing more than giving in to short-term financial demands at the expense of long-term profitability.

Yes, the younger demographic is a hot commodity, but to ignore the loyal older demographic--you know, the one with $ to spend is to sew the seeds of decline.

I know why networks resort to Reality programming: It's hard to resist the low cost of production. Plus, it doesn't require a network to actually make a commitment to Real programs of substance requiring an executive to stick their neck out.

I worry that the short-term greed will kill the long-term viability of certain networks. For those like the SciFi network, a good portion of the viewership wants shows with some aspect of real science and less of the fiction.

Why the hell do I want to watch Ghost Hunters--a show with nothing but camera tricks designed to build tension. Not one show has provided any evidence of ghosts. It's all bullshit and no science fiction.

Inhofe is a complete moron on climate change.

I'm not one for political correctness. Unfortunately, most of those who complain about political correctness are just wanting to wear their racism and bigotry openly, but feel constrained by polite society.

I'm neither a bigot nor a racist, so my irritation with the pc crowd boils down to the fact that I feel constrained from calling people idiots, when in fact they are...this includes bigots, racists and truth deniers.

I don't know about you, but I think America is over-endowed with idiots.

I just read an article about NASA scientists talking about global warming.

This article concerns me, because I recall that James Inhofe, the Republican Senator from Oklahoma thinks climate change is a hoax.

I'm gonna say it clearly: James Inhofe is a complete moron for publicly claiming actual facts are a hoax. If he claimed the sky was green we'd say he was mistaken, but no one will point out his error on global warming? Come on people!

When it comes down to NASA scientists or James Inhofe, I'm believing the scientists BECAUSE THEY ACTUALLY STUDY GLOBAL CLIMATE! Inhofe is pandering to the idiot constituency.

How do I know Inhofe is pandering to idiots?

1) He's a Senator from Oklahoma

2) He's a Republican

3) He's not a scientist

This reasoning is definitely not PC. So be it.

Sometimes the truth isn't pretty nor will it win one many friends.

Someone needs to turn off the talk radio and actually learn something.

Deja vu for the French Revolution in our current economic state

It's easy to ignore the lessons of history--especially if you benefit from the present's largesse.

Corporate executives should be reminded of Marie Antoinette's famous display of obliviousness when she said: "Let them eat cake."

It seems that America's corporate executives are falling into the trap laid bare by the French Revolution.

While the rest of us suffer from unbridled greed, those who view themselves through the lens of narcissistic entitlement fail to countenance the reality of their situation.

America--despite her failings--will not allow the prideful and ignorant to live long at a feast while the masses scavenge.

Robespierre will be reborn from the egos of the well-situated should they ignore their history.