Main Stream Media Fails the Troops

Progressives bloggers have long argued that the concept of an aggressive "liberal media" is a pure fabrication of rad-con propaganda. Well, progressives now have compelling evidence that today's sensationalistic profit driven main stream media (MSM) has become unbalanced and lost all perspective in how it covers stories.

The following link (provided by Ron) Campus Rampage is 2007's Biggest Story By Far clearly illustrates that the least market driven, most open forums provide far more balanced coverage of issues that affect or will effect the lives, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of everyday Americans.

During the week of the tragic events at Virginia Tech Cable TV News dedicated 75% of its coverage to re-runs of the shootings, a mix of the NASA shooting, war policy, US attorneys, & Iraq rounding out 2nd place - for a combined total of only 10% coverage.

I conducted a quick Google search for US casualty reports for the week of April 15 - 20, 2007. The following story shows it was not a peaceful week in Iraq: DoD Identifies 9 Casualties - April 18 2007 One may argue that the MSM has failed our troops by failing to honor their sacrifice by failing to cover their deaths. Sadly, this is nothing new.

Bill Maher put things into perspective when he said something like, "Hell, 32 dead is a good day in Iraq" on his HBO show: Real Time with Bill Maher.

As one might expect, the more democratic online news media and blogs also covered the tragic events of Virginia Tech more than any other stories, yet other stories had far more coverage than with the MSM. The campus shootings received 37%, events in Iraq was tied for 2nd with the US Attorneys & Gonzalez at 10% each, the nasty Nor-Easter storm that ravaged the east coast got 7%, and Iraq policy rounded out the top five at 5%.

This report has made me more optimistic than ever about the future of American democracy. As more and more people and as future generations embrace evolving communications technologies, more and more ideas all over the world will be shared, discussed, and hopefully acted upon in a positive way by people who want to build a better world.

You can rest assured the online global community will continue to grow. As this community grows it will more accurately reflect our collective perspectives on what makes important news. Online news sources and blogs are booming all over the world.

Where will Cable TV News be 20 years from now?

QuestionItNow

Support Our Troops - Help Save A Marine's Life

Bake Sales for Body Armor has adopted "Our 12 Marines". You can read more about them by following the link in this title, or reading the full article below. Bake Sales is committed to raising funds necessary to buy one of the 12 sets of dragon skin body armor needed to outfit these marines.

Please use this link to go to Bake Sales and donate through paypal or mail a check payable to Bake Sales for Body Armor - P.O. Box 1118, Helena, MT 59624. Please be sure to mark your donations "Our 12 Marines" so that we can keep the funds separate from other Donations. Remember Bake Sales donations are tax deductible.

If you can send a few dollars, thanks so much. Every dollar adds up. Either way, please pass this message on to your contacts? With all of us in this together, we can get some dragon skin for "Our 12 Marines" before they go to iraq.

For any of you with questions about the dragon skins armor vs. the regular ceramic armor we usually buy, please be aware that the ban on dragon skins is army specific- and does not apply to these marines. It has been confirmed that they can wear the dragon skins in the iraq theatre.

FOR OUR 12 MARINES

A Joint Endeavor By

Marine Corps League

Sevierville Detachment 1206 Maryville, TN

Commandant, Rick Leone

Javier & Marian La Rosa

The Haven

A Church Of God, Non Profit Org.

Pastor, Paul Dyer

YOUR ($37.00 OR MORE or whatever you can) DONATION MAY

HELP SAVE A MARINE’S LIFE

As the proud parents of Lance Cpl. Alex La Rosa a US Marine, we are appealing to your generosity. Our son and his squad (11 more Marines) of Combat Engineers are being deployed to Iraq sometime in July of this year. One of their jobs is to search for IEDs so that the rest of the troops are safer; this job is often done in the open while walking which makes them a target for sniper fire. Their sacrifice, allows us to enjoy our daily life. Our goal is for these brave young men to deploy with a new kind of Body Armor called Dragon Skin.

This body armor has been developed by a Fresno, California company Pinnacle Armor (they can be found on the web). Let us explain. Our Marines, wear body armor that relies on rigid ceramic inserts placed in pockets in a vest, this ceramic plate WILL “fail” after 4 or 5 hits to the point that these plates break and then offer NO protection to the wearer. Additionally, when all the plates are placed in the vest; it can weigh anywhere from 25 to 40 lbs. or more. Any combat veteran will testify to how this weight hampers a combatant’s effectiveness, if you add the heat factor which in Iraq can soar to 120 plus degrees; the NECESSITY for better body armor becomes obvious.

Dragon Skin’s new materials are lighter (12.9 lbs. FULL torso protection) and flexible, have shown no penetration through the vest even after 20, 30 or more rounds. This, may be the difference between life and death. The 253rd MP unit of Lenoir City, TN field tested the Dragon Skin while deployed in Iraq and gives it glowing reviews. Even though DOD has "approved" this body armor, at a cost of $3,638.00 each; our government will NOT provide it to our service men and women. WE need to show our "elected officials" that the lives of our Marines (and of all of our fighting forces) are above any and all political debates. We need to show the rest of the country that WE CARE and ARE WILLING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT !!.

Every weekend many of us spend $37.00 or more in many items or activities. What we are asking for, is a community effort to help us purchase this body armor FOR OUR 12 MARINES. By 1200 donations of $37.00 each, we will achieve our goal of purchasing this new body armor for these Marines prior to their Iraq deployment. Time is of the essence since by the week of April 16 we must place the order with the manufacturer. At that time $21,828.00 will be needed, then on June 29; the balance of another $21,828.00 is due. We will fly to Fresno accompanied by representatives from the Marine Corps League, pick up the body armor and travel to 29 Palms, California to hand deliver them at their training base. Upon our return, we will publicize this delivery via WBIR Channel 8 TV and Blount County’s The Daily News and any media outlet wishing to disseminate the information.

May God Bless Our US Marines and ALL of Our Troops

UNTIL THEY ALL COME HOME

QuestionItNow