OT - Here is how the media would cover D-Day today

http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sit...ry/html/166160

Here is how the media would cover D-Day today
2004-06-13
by John Carlson

Every day I receive letters from soldiers in Iraq reporting many, many
positive things that people don't hear about because the national news
media only seems to spotlight what's going wrong. Contrast that with
the commemoration last week of the 60th anniversary of the invasion of
Normandy to drive fascism from Europe. I wonder how the media would
cover D-Day if it happened today instead of six decades ago. Probably
something like this....

Americans Far from United on European Invasion

High death toll stuns allies; quagmire is feared

While President Roosevelt enjoys an election-year bounce in overnight
polls from the Allied invasion of Normandy, the first day toll of
6,603 American casualties has triggered a reassessment of the risky
invasion among prominent opinion leaders.

``Are we going to save France by destroying it?'' asked a spokesman
for the anti-war group MoveBack. ``What's worse, German troops
marching down Parisian streets or American bombs destroying French
farms and villages?''

It appears that American military planners badly underestimated the
difficulty of the task and the tenacity of German fighters. Several
retired American generals now embedded in television studios as
military analysts have told network audiences that the invasion should
never have been launched in such hazardous conditions, resulting in
many troops drowning near soldiers who were ordered to ignore their
cries for help and hit the beaches.

``Let me say for the record,'' declared former Brig. General Victor
Veeshee on CNN, ``that while we saw immense bravery on the beaches
among the troops, we saw callous disregard for their safety from their
superiors up the chain of command. Gen. Eisenhower, President
Roosevelt and Churchill have spent too much time chained to a desk.
Land invasions should not begin with scaling cliffs into machine gun
fire.''

The staggering casualty count together with stiff German resistance
and the slow pace of progress suggest that America may be entangled in
a European quagmire.

``Why are we invading France when there are only small pockets of
French resistance there?'' Asked Sen. Robert Byrd on NBC `` We're
stuck, spinning our wheels while the president tells us that attacking
Germans in France will help win the global war against tyranny. We
weren't attacked by Germany! We were attacked by Japan!''

Senator Byrd was not the only angry legislator on Capitol Hill.
According to a page-one New York Times story, leaked military
documents reveal that some troops from the 101st Airborne have been
implicated by military authorities in several instances of looting,
assault and rape. Photos of several victims and their injuries were
displayed in newspapers around the world and across America, bringing
an angry Ted Kennedy to the Senate floor:

``Unfortunately, the practice of terrorizing civilians by Nazis in
France is now taking place under new management by American
paratroopers,'' he said. Kennedy has rallied other anti-war members of
Congress to demand an investigation into how high up the chain of
command these atrocities were known about and perhaps encouraged.

Compounding the embarrassment were allegations from the independent,
Poland-based news service Al Germaina claiming that German prisoners
have been summarily executed by American prison guards, in
contravention of the Geneva convention. ``What did Gen. Eisenhower
know and when did he know it?'' asked House Democratic Leader Nancy
Pelosi. She said congressional hearings would be scheduled soon.

And more bad news came this morning for Gen. Eisenhower, already under
fire for his high risk strategy in Normandy. The anti tobacco group
``Smoke Free War Zone'' announced that Congress will also hold
hearings on the high number of news photos showing soldiers with
cigarettes in their mouths, which they claimed sends the wrong message
about tobacco to young people.

``You would think that the tobacco industry itself was publishing
these photos,'' groused Congressman Henry Waxman to Katie Couric on
`The Today Show.' ``Our national security is not enhanced by soldiers
getting cancer.''

He expressed anger that some platoon leaders are telling soldiers to
``smoke 'em if you got 'em,'' and cited his continuing frustration
with General Eisenhower -- a smoker himself -- for not returning his
phone calls. ``Like most members of this administration, he appears to
have his priorities out of order,'' Waxman said

The general was later seen fleeing into a British bunker under the
protection of Winston Churchill to escape the American media, interest
groups and politicians.

``I'd like to focus my attention on winning this World War, if that's
OK,'' he reportedly said before disappearing underground.

Bad reporting! He didn't even mention the part about how all those ships
sunk off shore are leaking oil and gas and contaminating the beaches for
miles around. And now we switch to the nude beaches in the South of France.
Oops! We can't show pictures because of the new FCC rules against bare
breasts. Janet Jackson ruined everything.


"bob peterson" wrote in message
om...
http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sit...ry/html/166160

Here is how the media would cover D-Day today
2004-06-13
by John Carlson

Every day I receive letters from soldiers in Iraq reporting many, many
positive things that people don't hear about because the national news
media only seems to spotlight what's going wrong. Contrast that with
the commemoration last week of the 60th anniversary of the invasion of
Normandy to drive fascism from Europe. I wonder how the media would
cover D-Day if it happened today instead of six decades ago. Probably
something like this....

Americans Far from United on European Invasion

High death toll stuns allies; quagmire is feared

While President Roosevelt enjoys an election-year bounce in overnight
polls from the Allied invasion of Normandy, the first day toll of
6,603 American casualties has triggered a reassessment of the risky
invasion among prominent opinion leaders.

``Are we going to save France by destroying it?'' asked a spokesman
for the anti-war group MoveBack. ``What's worse, German troops
marching down Parisian streets or American bombs destroying French
farms and villages?''

It appears that American military planners badly underestimated the
difficulty of the task and the tenacity of German fighters. Several
retired American generals now embedded in television studios as
military analysts have told network audiences that the invasion should
never have been launched in such hazardous conditions, resulting in
many troops drowning near soldiers who were ordered to ignore their
cries for help and hit the beaches.

``Let me say for the record,'' declared former Brig. General Victor
Veeshee on CNN, ``that while we saw immense bravery on the beaches
among the troops, we saw callous disregard for their safety from their
superiors up the chain of command. Gen. Eisenhower, President
Roosevelt and Churchill have spent too much time chained to a desk.
Land invasions should not begin with scaling cliffs into machine gun
fire.''

The staggering casualty count together with stiff German resistance
and the slow pace of progress suggest that America may be entangled in
a European quagmire.

``Why are we invading France when there are only small pockets of
French resistance there?'' Asked Sen. Robert Byrd on NBC `` We're
stuck, spinning our wheels while the president tells us that attacking
Germans in France will help win the global war against tyranny. We
weren't attacked by Germany! We were attacked by Japan!''

Senator Byrd was not the only angry legislator on Capitol Hill.
According to a page-one New York Times story, leaked military
documents reveal that some troops from the 101st Airborne have been
implicated by military authorities in several instances of looting,
assault and rape. Photos of several victims and their injuries were
displayed in newspapers around the world and across America, bringing
an angry Ted Kennedy to the Senate floor:

``Unfortunately, the practice of terrorizing civilians by Nazis in
France is now taking place under new management by American
paratroopers,'' he said. Kennedy has rallied other anti-war members of
Congress to demand an investigation into how high up the chain of
command these atrocities were known about and perhaps encouraged.

Compounding the embarrassment were allegations from the independent,
Poland-based news service Al Germaina claiming that German prisoners
have been summarily executed by American prison guards, in
contravention of the Geneva convention. ``What did Gen. Eisenhower
know and when did he know it?'' asked House Democratic Leader Nancy
Pelosi. She said congressional hearings would be scheduled soon.

And more bad news came this morning for Gen. Eisenhower, already under
fire for his high risk strategy in Normandy. The anti tobacco group
``Smoke Free War Zone'' announced that Congress will also hold
hearings on the high number of news photos showing soldiers with
cigarettes in their mouths, which they claimed sends the wrong message
about tobacco to young people.

``You would think that the tobacco industry itself was publishing
these photos,'' groused Congressman Henry Waxman to Katie Couric on
`The Today Show.' ``Our national security is not enhanced by soldiers
getting cancer.''

He expressed anger that some platoon leaders are telling soldiers to
``smoke 'em if you got 'em,'' and cited his continuing frustration
with General Eisenhower -- a smoker himself -- for not returning his
phone calls. ``Like most members of this administration, he appears to
have his priorities out of order,'' Waxman said

The general was later seen fleeing into a British bunker under the
protection of Winston Churchill to escape the American media, interest
groups and politicians.

``I'd like to focus my attention on winning this World War, if that's
OK,'' he reportedly said before disappearing underground.

"bob peterson" wrote in message
om...
http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sit...ry/html/166160

Here is how the media would cover D-Day today
2004-06-13
by John Carlson

Every day I receive letters from soldiers in Iraq reporting many, many
positive things that people don't hear about because the national news
media only seems to spotlight what's going wrong. Contrast that with
the commemoration last week of the 60th anniversary of the invasion of
Normandy to drive fascism from Europe. I wonder how the media would
cover D-Day if it happened today instead of six decades ago. Probably
something like this....

Americans Far from United on European Invasion

High death toll stuns allies; quagmire is feared

While President Roosevelt enjoys an election-year bounce in overnight
polls from the Allied invasion of Normandy, the first day toll of
6,603 American casualties has triggered a reassessment of the risky
invasion among prominent opinion leaders.

``Are we going to save France by destroying it?'' asked a spokesman
for the anti-war group MoveBack. ``What's worse, German troops
marching down Parisian streets or American bombs destroying French
farms and villages?''

It appears that American military planners badly underestimated the
difficulty of the task and the tenacity of German fighters. Several
retired American generals now embedded in television studios as
military analysts have told network audiences that the invasion should
never have been launched in such hazardous conditions, resulting in
many troops drowning near soldiers who were ordered to ignore their
cries for help and hit the beaches.

``Let me say for the record,'' declared former Brig. General Victor
Veeshee on CNN, ``that while we saw immense bravery on the beaches
among the troops, we saw callous disregard for their safety from their
superiors up the chain of command. Gen. Eisenhower, President
Roosevelt and Churchill have spent too much time chained to a desk.
Land invasions should not begin with scaling cliffs into machine gun
fire.''

The staggering casualty count together with stiff German resistance
and the slow pace of progress suggest that America may be entangled in
a European quagmire.

``Why are we invading France when there are only small pockets of
French resistance there?'' Asked Sen. Robert Byrd on NBC `` We're
stuck, spinning our wheels while the president tells us that attacking
Germans in France will help win the global war against tyranny. We
weren't attacked by Germany! We were attacked by Japan!''

Senator Byrd was not the only angry legislator on Capitol Hill.
According to a page-one New York Times story, leaked military
documents reveal that some troops from the 101st Airborne have been
implicated by military authorities in several instances of looting,
assault and rape. Photos of several victims and their injuries were
displayed in newspapers around the world and across America, bringing
an angry Ted Kennedy to the Senate floor:

``Unfortunately, the practice of terrorizing civilians by Nazis in
France is now taking place under new management by American
paratroopers,'' he said. Kennedy has rallied other anti-war members of
Congress to demand an investigation into how high up the chain of
command these atrocities were known about and perhaps encouraged.

Compounding the embarrassment were allegations from the independent,
Poland-based news service Al Germaina claiming that German prisoners
have been summarily executed by American prison guards, in
contravention of the Geneva convention. ``What did Gen. Eisenhower
know and when did he know it?'' asked House Democratic Leader Nancy
Pelosi. She said congressional hearings would be scheduled soon.

And more bad news came this morning for Gen. Eisenhower, already under
fire for his high risk strategy in Normandy. The anti tobacco group
``Smoke Free War Zone'' announced that Congress will also hold
hearings on the high number of news photos showing soldiers with
cigarettes in their mouths, which they claimed sends the wrong message
about tobacco to young people.

``You would think that the tobacco industry itself was publishing
these photos,'' groused Congressman Henry Waxman to Katie Couric on
`The Today Show.' ``Our national security is not enhanced by soldiers
getting cancer.''

He expressed anger that some platoon leaders are telling soldiers to
``smoke 'em if you got 'em,'' and cited his continuing frustration
with General Eisenhower -- a smoker himself -- for not returning his
phone calls. ``Like most members of this administration, he appears to
have his priorities out of order,'' Waxman said

The general was later seen fleeing into a British bunker under the
protection of Winston Churchill to escape the American media, interest
groups and politicians.

``I'd like to focus my attention on winning this World War, if that's
OK,'' he reportedly said before disappearing underground.

Good stuff! How times have changed.


--
Michael R
ANA #173222
Ebay and Yahoo ID ~ mrae7

bob peterson wrote:

Here is how the media would cover D-Day today

Nice story. First I thought the author might have been serious. But I
suppose he soon realized how odd it would be to compare WW2 (which the
US did not actually get involved in until Japan attacked and Germany
declared war) and the war in a country that did not attack yours. So
instead of trashing the text he had written so far, he added the bits
about those smoking regulations, right? :-)

Christian

Here is how the media would cover D-Day today
2004-06-13
by John Carlson

Great story, but too divorced from reality. They should have included the real
story Ronald Reagan told to Israeli Prime Minister Menacham Begin about
Reagan's personal experiences liberating concentration camps as a member of the
US Army in WW2.

Why make stuff up when the truth is stranger than fiction?

Regards,
Tom

"Christian Feldhaus" wrote in message
...
bob peterson wrote:

Here is how the media would cover D-Day today

Nice story. First I thought the author might have been serious. But I
suppose he soon realized how odd it would be to compare WW2 (which the
US did not actually get involved in until Japan attacked and Germany
declared war) and the war in a country that did not attack yours. So
instead of trashing the text he had written so far, he added the bits
about those smoking regulations, right? :-)

Christian

Hawaii wasn't part of our "country" until 1959.

"pete" wrote in message
...


Hawaii wasn't part of our "country" until 1959.



Idiot. Hawaii became U.S. territory Aug 12, 1898.

"pete" wrote in message
...

"Christian Feldhaus" wrote in message
...
bob peterson wrote:

Here is how the media would cover D-Day today

Nice story. First I thought the author might have been serious. But I
suppose he soon realized how odd it would be to compare WW2 (which the
US did not actually get involved in until Japan attacked and Germany
declared war) and the war in a country that did not attack yours. So
instead of trashing the text he had written so far, he added the bits
about those smoking regulations, right? :-)

Christian

Hawaii wasn't part of our "country" until 1959.

Huh?

On Thu, 17 Jun 2004 20:49:57 GMT, "Frank Provasek"
wrote:

"pete" wrote in message
...


Hawaii wasn't part of our "country" until 1959.



Idiot. Hawaii became U.S. territory Aug 12, 1898.

Frank,
Welcome back, haven't seen you post in quite a while. What's been
happening with you?
I hope life is being good to you.
Cliff

"Cliff" wrote

Frank,
Welcome back, haven't seen you post in quite a while. What's been
happening with you?
I hope life is being good to you.
Cliff

TNA show then 10 days of floods, 80 mph winds and 5 days without power!



--
RARE COIN AUCTIONS NO MINIMUMS http://www.frankcoins.com
Ebay Powerseller FRANKCOINS Texas Auction License 11259
Board member of Texas Coin Dealers Association, Fort Worth Coin Club.
Member: Texas Numismatic Assoc, American Numismatic Assoc.