So, Michael Jackson has been found not guilty. Not that it matters, but who really cares? We shall be subjected (unless we turn off our televisions) to endless speculation on where the prosecution went wrong and recap after recap on every aspect of the trial. Do we have more important things to do with our intellect? Doesn't the news media have more important issues to cover?

For example, after the verdict was read and Jackson and his entourage were in their black SUVs heading back to his Never Never Land ranch near Los Olivos, news helicopters followed the caravan as it spend along Highway 101. Would it have been better if those news organizations covered the solemn return of this nation's war dead?

That's another more important consideration, the war in Iraq and the daily deaths (1,701 as of Monday) of our sons and daughters, the nearly ignored war in Afghanistan and the deaths still occurring there (149 as of Monday) and the strain the war is taking on America's homeland defence, the reserves and the National Guard.

What about the genocide in Darfur (nearly 180,000 dead over nearly 30 months) and the failure of nations whose leaders consider themselves champions of make the world better to act speedily to halt the genocide, to feed the hungry, to care for the people?

What about the murder rate in the United States? The poverty rate? The number of uninsured children? The inability of people to be able to afford housing in Ventura County? The rising tirades against illegal immigration that are bordering on a new era of racism?

All these things are much more important than wasting time on a self-indulgent, out-of-touch-with-reality, pampered entertainer. Perhaps, though, one good thing can come from this. Maybe someone will be able to sit Jackson down and make him finally understand that yes, there is something wrong with a 46-year-old sleeping with young boys. But I doubt that. He's a celebrity and like other celebrities, too many people will make his star power more important than the person who has become buried inside him.