Thursday, June 03, 2004
THE SOUND OF SILENCE
I'm sorry my mail was late because of the Monday holiday. I wished I would have had my new issue of National Review before I left for the long weekend on Friday.
I have more than a few complaints about the way the Bush administration is highlighting success in Iraq...telling the TRUE story of the war...having to put up with an overblown story about a few soldiers operating in a prison. And people always ask me why the news is so negative. I answer the same as always...that it's easier to report bad news because it's easier to find and journalists are lazy. I've argued that it would improve the situation if the Bush administration would itself be more forthcoming with several situations...Saddam connection to 9/11, WMD's in Iraq, the economy, a whole host of good news that people aren't hearing about.
After reading THIS excellent article, I still don't get why they make it so difficult. The story is about soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who have received recognition for their bravery. Interested by the article, I wanted to see how many South Carolina natives may have received medals for bravery, purple hearts, and other awards. Let me tell you, it ain't easy. First I did a Google search for news stories about awards and South Carolina soldiers. In a regular Google search, I found the site of Congressman John Spratt (D-SC), but had to fish through a list of stories about Abu Graib before I found a speech he made about travel reimbursement to members of the US military returning to Iraq. Still, no mention of South Carolina purple hearts, Silver Stars, or a Navy Cross. Not a word in newsprint as far as I can tell, so maybe there aren't any. But, wouldn't (or shouldn't) it be easy to find it on a military website? Well, it certainly isn't easy...try it yourself: www.defendamerica.mil
Now I understand why the news is so negative...because in the proper context, negative news IS easy to find...not necessarily because it's more prevalent, but because our President isn't making it easy for them. Of course, some people (the very same press) need to explain why he's considered to have too much swagger and arrogance.
I'm sorry my mail was late because of the Monday holiday. I wished I would have had my new issue of National Review before I left for the long weekend on Friday.
I have more than a few complaints about the way the Bush administration is highlighting success in Iraq...telling the TRUE story of the war...having to put up with an overblown story about a few soldiers operating in a prison. And people always ask me why the news is so negative. I answer the same as always...that it's easier to report bad news because it's easier to find and journalists are lazy. I've argued that it would improve the situation if the Bush administration would itself be more forthcoming with several situations...Saddam connection to 9/11, WMD's in Iraq, the economy, a whole host of good news that people aren't hearing about.
After reading THIS excellent article, I still don't get why they make it so difficult. The story is about soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who have received recognition for their bravery. Interested by the article, I wanted to see how many South Carolina natives may have received medals for bravery, purple hearts, and other awards. Let me tell you, it ain't easy. First I did a Google search for news stories about awards and South Carolina soldiers. In a regular Google search, I found the site of Congressman John Spratt (D-SC), but had to fish through a list of stories about Abu Graib before I found a speech he made about travel reimbursement to members of the US military returning to Iraq. Still, no mention of South Carolina purple hearts, Silver Stars, or a Navy Cross. Not a word in newsprint as far as I can tell, so maybe there aren't any. But, wouldn't (or shouldn't) it be easy to find it on a military website? Well, it certainly isn't easy...try it yourself: www.defendamerica.mil
Now I understand why the news is so negative...because in the proper context, negative news IS easy to find...not necessarily because it's more prevalent, but because our President isn't making it easy for them. Of course, some people (the very same press) need to explain why he's considered to have too much swagger and arrogance.
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