12 American Soldiers Die This WeekEnd In Iraq And All The Media Can Talk About Is James Brown..

[global1]

* even puts out a statement on JB - but not a word about the 12 Soldiers that died on Christmas weekend.

[Erika]

1. How very sad

The media and the bushbots share the guilt.

[Kenergy]

2. Yes, it's disgusting

Absolutely disgusting.

[Harper_is_Bush]

3. So what? If they talked about those soldiers, then why not

Global Warming?

Is not Global Warming more important than 12 lives? It threatens our very future.

James Brown was a celebrity. They're talking about him for the same reason that they're not talking about Global Warming....he makes people stop channel surfing. Period.

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

6. Lame

He also meant a lot of things to a lot of people, hence, they stop changing the channel.

However, I would advise a "Tragedy Rating System", something along the lines of:

10- Global Warming
9- Iraq Casualties
8- Starving Children
7- Someone said something mean about a Democrat on an MSNBC show nobody watches

down to

3- Famous Singer Dies
2- B-list Celebrity has sex with broom handle
1- I stub my toe.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

14. ...

:rofl: :thumbsup:

Welcome to DU! :toast:

[Chipper Chat]

4. How times have changed.

Flashback to 1968: The media was talking non-stop about the Vietnam War and all the casualties. But James Brown could not even get his music played on radio stations. James who? He was "lost in the wilderness" (pun intended).

[onenote]

19. where were you in 1968?

Because the world in which I lived in 1968 wasn't that different from the world today...do you really think the media was talking "non-stop" about Vietnam? Do you think the media didn't cover Charlie Chaplin's death? That they ignored non-war related stories, like the 1968 Olympics? Like the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, or the Graduate, or Bonnie and Clyde? That there was no "frivolous" news?

How many conversations do you have every day that are about something other than the war Iraq and the number of casualties there?

[Chipper Chat]

20. well excuse me for posting.

I'll just go crawl in a hole and eat a ham sandwich.

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

5. Hit me again

James Brown changed my life, and popular music, and brought joy to millions of lives, and had one of the funniest police chases in the history of police chases to his name.

News doesn't have to be an either/or thing, dude.

[Erika]

7. Please look at our dead in Iraq

James Brown would/ At www.icasualties.org

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skittles]

8. I have always thought

the world would be a very boring place without people like James Brown...and I can think that, and mourn him, without losing my sense of outrage and despair over the Iraq War

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

10. Which is what I've been trying to say

The idea that feeling real loss over James Brown can't sit equally in your mind with what's going on in Iraq is assinine. If we have a species reach of point of such humorless hyper-politication that we should feel guilty for worrying about something as silly as music while (insert awful event here) is going on in (insert place), than I welcome global warming, atomic destruction, and giant killer ants, because life has ceased to be worth living.

[Skittles]

13. yes, I was agreeing with you

:) :hi:

it is true that the priority of the media is often skewed; it is also true that the awfulness of one event doesn't really negate the awfulness of another event

[anitar1]

11. Same old stuff. No surprises here. n/t

[fujiyama]

12. I actually view the passing of James Brown

as somewhat significant news. He did have a major impact on music in the 20th century, and influenced it the way few others did.

The media's shame is that they are barely covering the war in Iraq at all. And that they have carried Bush's water all this time. They have been enablers of this war. They have hesitated to even call a civil war for what it is, using euphemisms such as "increasing sectarian violence"... And on that note, I definitely believe it's appalling how little coverage the twelve deaths has received...and for that matter how little coverage the daily bombings are receiving. It seems like 40 or more Iraqis are dying everyday as a result of the bombings. And that's just bombings in major cities...I suppose I'm not even expecting them to cover the hundreds of retaliatory killings that are undoubtedly going on all over the country every day.

But this doesn't take away from the fact that James Brown was a major influence on pop culture in the 20th century and deserves some coverage as well. I'm sure any president with a sense of PR would make a statement on his passing.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

15. They should cover both, but James Brown was a legend.

He was one of the top three most influential musical figures of the last 50 years and is certainly worthy of more attention than BritneyJessicaAshleeCrappysingerWhogivesashit.

[ripple]

16. It isn't either/or

James Brown's death is a huge loss for all of us. Hell, his contributions to music will be seen for generations to come. The man was truly a legacy.

The soldiers' deaths are also terribly tragic- I suspect we'll be ringing in the new year damned close to or over the 3,000 mark. Sad and completely unnecessary.

Still, the news media needn't completely ignore one story in order to cover another. Brown's death was significantly worthy of coverage, as are the stories coming out of Iraq. I'm usually pretty critical of the media for being such ridiculous sensationalists, but in this case, I don't think it's necessary to deride them for covering the death of such an important musical icon, in order to point out the other news they're not reporting.

[Auntie Bush]

17. That's why I turned off the "news" and listen to Christmas music instead

of all the crap that's befallen our country.

By the way...was bush* still clearing brush from his pig farm when
these poor souls were slaughtered for his ego and legacy?
Just wondering. :shrug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. What is 12 dead troops news?

you missed the memo didn't you?

:sarcasm:

We do need a fairness doctrine and anti trust laws