Lindsay Lohan

Whenever I fly to Las Vegas on a Friday, usually from Bob Hope airport in Burbank, there usually are women who are getting on the same flight dressed in a manner that indicates that either they are commuting to work or Halloween is near, and it's not always October.

On one flight, purely as a result of "accidental" eavesdropping, I confirmed what my business partners had already guessed: the women were, indeed, commuting to work. These women -- and I'm not saying this has been scientifically studied, at least not by me -- are prostitutes. At least for the weekend. At least in Vegas where, though not legal, prostitution is overtly tolerated and encouraged.

I know, I know. I expect way too much of journalism these days. Of course, my disappointment is the rationale for the existence of this column, so I’m not going to complain too much. Let me just point out that the news media are fiddling while the Golden State’s economic condition – an estimated $16 billion deficit – is burning like a Malibu hillside sparked by a fresh Santa Ana.

Yes, there are transcendent and competing distractions. Lindsay Lohan was or wasn’t having sex on tape and, sure, some of the nation’s best and brightest contract workers played voyeur with the passports of the major presidential candidates, but I’m going to state unequivocally: The California budget is the most important California story of the year.