Celebrities + drunk driving = news?

This week Ray Liotta was arrested for drinking and driving. With so many stars getting taken in for DWI's it makes you think that maybe Hollywood is suffering from a severe alcohol problem. But upon closer look, it's clear that folks like Ray Liotta, Nicole Richie and Mel Gibson enjoy paraphrasing the popular bumper sticker... They get drunk, they drive, their expensive lawyers and publicists get them off the hook and do damage control...no problem!

At the risk of inflaming our readers, let me go on record as saying drinking and driving is bad. Bad for the victims, bad for the perpetrators and bad for those of us who have to pay high insurance premiums because of someone else's mistakes. All of that aside, what always amazes me is why the "legitimate" media insists that a celebrities drinking and driving is so newsworthy; they have to report on it from beginning to end.

Was anyone really surprised when Nicole Richie got busted? Doesn't Ray Liotta have a bad reputation already? Now that Lane Garrison is no longer on Prison Break, why should I care about anything he does?

Having known people who have been convicted of drunk driving, it really pisses me off when someone gets special treatment after a night of partying. And while I don't fault these celebrities for doing whatever they can to "get off," I resent the press for shoving it in my face. I love to see a celebrity meltdown as much as the next guy and while Mel Gibson's racist rant is definitely worthy of a headline, the legal particulars are not.

Now before you comment, I realize that my complaining will do little to make a difference in the behavior of the media, but can I at least make a request? When the day comes that I get arrested for whatever I shouldn't be doing, cut me, my family and the rest of America a break and talk about some real news that day.