CNN False Outrage Is Not The Change We Need

by
Chaplain Kathie


$165 million in bonuses? Is this just something to jump on so that CNN and the rest of the media can fill time with instead of reporting on things that we really need investigated? While I do not want to just focus on CNN because all news stations are guilty of false outrage, CNN attracts viewers across political lines.

There are bigger issues dealing with a lot more tax payer funds and American lives that should have been reported on at least as much as the AIG story, but they were not. They were dropped soon after they were reported on and there were no resolutions, no public outrage, no justice and no accountability. This is just one case;

Thursday, March 06, 2008

KBR making money off taxpayers but not paying their's
Top Iraq contractorskirts US taxes offshore
Kellogg Brown & Root, the nation's top Iraq war contractor and until last year a subsidiary of Halliburton Corp., has avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicare and Social Security taxes by hiring workers through shell companies based in this tropical tax haven. (By Farah Stockman, Boston Globe)

When hundreds of billions of tax payer funds were missing in Iraq, how much reporting was done on it? Did we ever get an answer on who was responsible or held accountable? Did anyone repay the money or go to jail? What about Hallibuton and KBR? Did anyone get to the bottom of how much they ripped off the tax payers? Even more important was anyone ever charged with the damage they caused the troops in Iraq? Think about this;

Friday, October 12, 2007

Did Your Soldier Come Home Sick From Iraq?
Halliburton provided contaminated water to Soldiers

Al Asad Airbase is the focus of the video I just added to this blog. It wasn't such a big secret considering it has been played across the country to the "liberals" who cared enough to see it. Ben Carter, worked for KBR/Halliburton as a water purification specialist.In the video, he talks about the fact the water at Al-Asad was contaminated. Chlorine was not found in the water supply that was supposed to be added to it. We've heard horrible stories about cholera outbreaks in Iraq, along with super bugs, as water is not fit to drink or bathe in. Yet our government contracted with companies and then provided no oversight to make sure the troops were provided with everything they were paying for.

You can find more about KBR reports here.
KBR search on Screaming In An Empty Room

And then we have the burn pits in Iraq as well as Afghanistan. Where are the reports on this? Does CNN or any of the other stations have any time to spend reporting on this? How many are sick because of this or died because of this? Any reporting on the troops that we are supposed to care about?

Friday, December 12, 2008

In Eustis, wife seeks answers about Iraq veteran's deadly tumor

Amy C. Rippel Special to the Sentinel
December 12, 2008
EUSTIS - When Kevin Wilkins died suddenly in April from a brain tumor, there was nothing his wife, Jill, could do.Within days of being diagnosed, he was dead. There was no time to react. No time to help. No time to say goodbye.But now Jill Wilkins is questioning whether his tumor might have been because of exposure to chemical clouds when he served in Iraq, and she has taken matters into her own hands. Time is on her side now. And she wants answers.She has launched a one-woman campaign to find out if her husband's contact with the smoke from burn pits was the reason for his brain tumor. In Iraq, where Kevin Wilkins served two tours, trash is burned in pits. Everything from chemicals to plastics is burned, releasing toxins into the air, according to one report.The U.S. Air Force recently said that the burn pits pose no long-term health risks. However, an earlier Air Force report said the pits were a "health concern."The Eustis woman said if her husband's death is related to his military service, she and her children -- a 17-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter -- don't stand to gain a lot financially. Mostly, she's pursuing it this she could possibly help other families, she said.click above for more

I also just found this on Army Times.
Petraeus: Military studying burn pit fumesBy Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 12, 2008 17:10:38 EST
In response to a question about the burn pit at Joint Air Base Balad, Gen. David Petraeus, the chief of U.S. Central Command, said the need for burn pits will continue, but the military is trying to minimize exposure to possible toxins.“Much effort has gone into locating/relocating pits in remote areas of the operating bases to minimize exposure, training personnel on proper operation, developing/circulating operating procedures and assessing burn pit operations to include corrective action,” Petraeus wrote.After Military Times investigated possible chemicals and dioxins troops may have been exposed to in Afghanistan and Iraq from giant open-air pits that were burning everything from plastic bottles to used petroleum products, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., wrote a letter to Petraeus asking if the burn pits were being investigated.Petraeus said thousands of air, water and soil samples have been tested. However, Military Times has learned that the Balad is the only base where the burn pit specifically has been checked.A military report found toxin levels in the plume at acceptable levels; however, data on testing for particulate matter in that plume has not yet been released.More than 100 service members have contacted Military Times saying they became sick with asthma, sleep apnea, heart palpitations, bronchitis, and lymphoma or leukemia while at Balad. click link in this section for more

What about PTSD and the attempted suicides as well as the successful suicides? How about the steps the military was supposed to be taking to address them when the numbers were going up every year proving once again the military just produced a "better than nothing" program to address the suffering of thousands of our troops. The rate of suicides in the military has gone up every year. There are over 10,000 attempted suicides every year. Where are the stories on them or what happened to their families after?

What about the backlog of claims in the VA and what fighting the VA does to a veteran wounded in service to the nation, forced to fight to have their claim honored and what kind of suffering they go thru waiting? Have any idea how many families fell apart because of this? Do you have any idea how many children ended up blaming themselves for the way their parent acted because they had no clue what PTSD was?

What about the troops dishonorably discharged with a false diagnosis of "personality disorder" instead of being treated for PTSD and compensated for this wound? How many loved the military and would have stayed in, serving with dedication if they were treated honorably? What ever happened to them? What happened to their families? Was anyone ever held accountable for doing this to them?

The we have stories of veterans taking their own suffering and turning that understanding into advocacy for other veterans. Where are their stories? It's not as the media would have to search very hard for their stories or any of the others because they are reported on across the nation by the local media. Wouldn't it be great to put some focus on them for a change?

A dear friend of mine, Capt. Agnes "Irish" Bresnahan, a Vietnam Era veteran suffered with Agent Orange illnesses and PTSD for years. On March 9, 2009, she had another hearing on her VA claim in Washington DC. That is where she passed away because a bleeding ulcer made her lose pints of blood and her heart could take no more. She fought the VA for herself, but was a tireless advocate for her brothers and sisters also suffering for serving. Do you think that CNN could value a human interest story like that? Do you think any of the national news stations think any of these stories are worthy of the kind of attention AIG bonus money has received?


Feeding the outrage over AIG, while it is an important story and we do deserve answers, does not excuse the lack of reporting on stories involving a lot more tax payer funds and a lot more lives. We can say we support the troops all we want but if the media does not spend any time on them or what they are going thru, they are empty words. We know the public has their hearts tugged by the troops and our veterans. When the reports came out on Walter Reed the response from the American people was fantastic and proved how much they do care about those serving this nation. Isn't it time that CNN and the rest of the national media stations realized this? This is the kind of change the troops and our veterans need. This is the kind of change tax payers need. This is the kind of reporting we need if we are ever going to get any of this right for their sake.

web site
http://www.namguardianangel.com/
blog
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington