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What were they thinking?

Three recent news stories have me wondering just what people are thinking sometimes.

Iranian authorities confirmed today that they are holding three U.S. hikers who strayed into their country from Iraq last week.

Here's my question: Who goes on vacation to the border between Iraq and Iran?

And, if you do, is the U.S. government responsible for getting you out of the jam?

My vacations are a little more mundane.

I spent a week in Door County, and my only trouble came when I inadvertently got too close to the Michigan side.

My cell phone switched to roaming, and I racked up extra charges for the month.

Could the Swiss help me out on that?

The second story that caught my attention made me wonder if national TV media personalities have an over-inflated view of how many people really care about their exploits.

Last week, authorities released the 911 call of sportscaster Erin Andrews complaining about paparazzi in front of her house.

Andrews is the ESPN reporter surreptitiously videotaped in the nude in her hotel room.

On the 911 call, Andrews can be heard telling the operator that she's been "all over the news."

But the operator responded, "No, I'm not familiar."

Maybe regular folks with regular jobs aren't as riveted by the story as some in the national media might think.

And finally, was the "Beer Summit" as big a news story as it played?

When President Obama hosted Prof. Henry Gates and officer James Crowley to the White House to hash over their differences, the story led every TV newscast.

True, Obama's comment a week earlier in a news conference the police "acted stupidly," was not the his most brilliant moment.

Instead, it was one of those rookie presidential mistakes that will hopefully be long forgotten.

Perhaps of more concern, where does Obama get the time? In the middle of his full-court press on health care, he's got time to sit in the Rose Garden munching pretzels and chilling with a beer?

But in a week when new Michael Jackson news was scant, it appeared to be the best thing going.