Not so quiet Americans

In his novel of Vietnam during the French colonial war, Graham Greene has his protagonist, a jaded British foreign correspondent in Saigon, describe his young, beautiful Vietnamese lover's ignorance of the world--she thinks the Statue of Liberty is in London--then says, But, of course she knew more about the Royal Family than I did.  That information gleaned from western magazines such as Glamour and Paris Match.

Which is brought to mind by the latest news of the famous-for-being-famous Kim Kardashian's pregnancy and its coverage, which includes her lack of morning sickness.  Because most of America is more interested in than things that actually will affect their lives.  That discrepancy in news coverage explains why politicians continually get away with this kind of thing;

In the last-minute deal-making to stop the nation from tumbling over the so-called fiscal cliff, Congress and the Obama administration decided not to spare most people from an increase in Social Security payroll taxes. But they did find room for billions in tax breaks for rum makers, racetrack owners, railroads — and Hollywood studios.

....Included in the bill is an extension of a tax break for film and television productions that shoot in the United States, allowing them to expense the first $15 million of costs (or $20 million if the production occurs in economically depressed areas.) The incentive will cost an estimated $266 million in 2013.

Movies such as "Up in the Air" .... 

That would be the movie starring Obama fund-raising George Clooney.