In case you missed it

There were other big news stories today, but you would never know it if you relied on network and cable news outlets. At seven o'clock this morning, I turned on MSNBC and the lead story was the untimely death of Anna Nicole Smith. Wanting to see what else was happening, I switched to NBC, Anna Nicole Smith. ABC, CBS, CNN and Fox News - same story. Give me a freaking break would ya? Nothing against Ms Smith, in fact, she was one of my favorite playmates. But please, there are important things going on in the world that actually effect the lives of thousands of people. How can we continue to pay so much attention to this kind of stuff, the OJ trial, the Peterson Trial, the missing girl in Aruba, the lady that drowned her kids, Jon Bonet Ramsey? Come on people, start demanding that the media cover real stories and ask real questions. For instance, at 8:00 when I was in my car listening to NPR they had this story as the lead: (AP) A "very damning" report by the Defense Department's inspector general depicts a Pentagon that purposely manipulated intelligence in an effort to link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida in the runup to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, says the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Don't you think that is a little more important than having all three networks and the three major cable news stations running ANS as the lead story? Some us have been saying the White House was doing this before the war. But many of you were following these non-stories to sit up and take notice. We, all of us, allowed our country to go to war based on this. What are we going to do about this? I'll tell you, nothing. Why, because no one listened then and no one is listening now. Here's another interesting tidbit, yesterday another helicopter "crashed" in Iraq. It was the fifth helicopter in two weeks to "crash". After the initial announcement of the "crashes" the army reports that they were due to enemy fire. But the media continues to call these "crashes" as if they are accidental. In every other war, these helicopters would have been "shot down". There is a big difference between hearing a helicopter "crashed" and that a helicopter was "shot down". When they "crash", we start think that the military doesn't have a very good safety record without much thought of what is going on there. When in fact, our troops are fighting a WAR. And we as a citizenry have no idea what is going on and worse, we do not care. I gues it must be too difficult to think about the war while you are worried about making a living or taking your kids to soccer practice or watching fluff news. But it is our responsibility to stand up and demand that we are informed to what is really going on in the Mideast and what these guys that we voted in are doing. Please, I am begging you, do something. Call your Senator and/or Representative and demand full disclosure of all the info leading up to the war and since.