In the name of TV ratings...

Barbara Walters, the diva of broadcast TV stepped off the spotlight at ABC's news magazine 20/20. And Elizabeth Vargas waltzed onto the stage taking Ms. Walters' place. I can understand that anyone who steps into the shoes of Ms. Walters may want to prove something. Ms. Vargas, however, has sunk to outrageously low journalistic levels in putting together today's "The Matthew Shepard Story." In the days to come, the media will no doubt debunk many of Ms. Vargas' claims, some of them simply irrelevant to the heinous killing of Matthew. To those of you not familiar with the case, back in 1998 in a small town called Laramie in the state of Wyoming, two guys Henderson and McKinney savagely beat Matthew, a young gay man, and tied him to a pole in the outskirts of the town and left him to die. Matthew was found there fully covered in blood, except for the place where tears ran down his cheeks. Five days later, he died. For sure, Matthew wasn't a saint, but he did not deserve to die like that. Nobody does.

The suspects were almost immediately apprehended. When the case came to trial, they used "gay panic" as their defense. Basically, what they were saying through their attorneys was that they killed Matthew because he was gay and he made a pass at them. Friends of the duo testified in court and in the media to their homophobic instincts. To cut a long story short, they were sentenced to life in prison.

And now, six years later, they have changed their story. They claim they were strung out on drugs and lost control. At least, that is what Ms. Vargas cajoled and lead them to say on today's 20/20. The police chief of Laramie got a chance to show his homophobic side while managing to hide it in the drug use theory. Andrew Sullivan, the conservative columnist who has dances merrily to the Republican song got a chance to chime in with a "we should know the truth." ABC got a sensational story out of a shameful, terrible tragedy. Henderson got a chance to make a plea on national TV before appealing his sentence in the federal courts.

Rest in peace, Matthew.

Reality and reality

America's love with reality shows is hot as ever as the new season of the Amazing Race began on CBS last week. Although not as popular as the channel's other reality show, "Survivor," the Race has found some die-hard followers. The reason I like the Amazing Race is its timeless appeal - going to new places, exploring new lands - something that man has done for ages. The Survivor plays up another old theme - the art and science of survival in all its primal sense. People are cast off on a deserted island and they are forced to do whatever it takes to survive. All too stone-age for me. I prefer the plane-hopping, the bickering and scheming of the Amazing Race!

In another kind of reality, the CIA came out with a report today saying some rather unsurprising things. According to the report, the arms trafficking network led by the Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan provided Iran's nuclear program with "significant assistance," including the designs for "advanced and efficient" weapons components. Incidentally, this is the same Khan that General Pervez Musharaff, the self-appointed Chief of Pakistan, granted official pardon to. For a long time, Pakistan's sale of nuclear technology was an open secret. And then came the scathing report that forced Musharaff's administration to admit that top officials in his country had been peddling nuclear secrets to countries and entities around the world. Strangely enough, no heads rolled after that. Musharaff wagging his finger side to side said, "bad, bad, Khan!" And that was that.

So when this new CIA report says Pakistan provided nuclear assistance to Iran, all I can say is 'Duh!' As before, you can bet your bottom dollar that President Bush will wag his finger from side to side and say, "Bad, Bad, Mush!" (expecting him to say Musharaff is a bit of a stretch). And that will be that.