As Our Kids Were Dying In Wars, Michael Jackson Died In Encino

To avoid service in the Army or Marine Corps during the Korean War, I volunteered for four years of service in the United States Air Force. Other than being in a bar fight from time to time, I was never in -- or even close to being in -- harms way. None of this really matters other than to say that I wondered then why our government took a four year chunk out of my life, and it is over fifty years later, that I still wonder.

The "Coalition of the Willing" (how about that for a name?), along with our service men and women, are other peoples' sons and daughters. They volunteered to protect and defend our country and our constitution. Is that what they have been doing? And, the war in Afghanistan has cost the coalition almost 1300 dead, and counting, and counting... Were we ever threatened by the country of Afghanistan?

It is sad that we still find ourselves in Afghanistan for most of this decade with no end in sight.

As a whining media person I have noted in the past that it is important to report on all of the events having anything to do with the life, times, and death of a popular singer, yet not report in any detail whatsoever on what our soldiers are trying to do in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There was an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal entitled: "The Tragedy of Michael Jackson." I jest that this was a very important story for the Journal to cover. I continue to admire them for their journalistic courage in these matters. The self-proclaimed King of Pop was nobody's victim. He was solely responsible for his life as well as his death.

Almost all of the radio and television outlets have dedicated countless hours to the unfolding of the Jackson story, his life, his career, his family, and of course the circumstances surrounding his death.

While I hope we are coming to the end of our national mourning for this entertainer I would like to comment about a minor issue that has affected our country for nearly eight years: the death of so many and the destruction of so much.

General Stanley McChrystal, is currently in the middle of a 60-day assessment of how to turn the Afghan war around. We are near the end of eight years of war and we are "assessing?" The Taliban and its allies are obviously growing stronger, and they have killed 35 U.S. troops in the first three weeks of July.

"We've seen the security for the Afghan people deteriorate over the last three years," Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told troops during a visit to southern Afghanistan on July 17. "We have to start to turn that tide over the next 12 to 18 months." Even as Mullen was hoping for a year and a half to turn things around, Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged on that same day that the U.S. public is war-weary and that progress must come quickly. "After the Iraq experience, nobody is prepared to have a long slog where it is not apparent we are making headway."

What follows is to and for those people who work at the broadcast networks and purport to be "journalists."

You guys did a great job incessantly covering the demise of Michael Jackson. He will still be dead as our boys and girls continue to be killed in our two horrid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was/is more coverage on how Jackson died than the how and why our kids are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Many ask why I incessantly write about our wars and our television coverage, and I have no reasonable answer other than what is going on makes me nuts.

These wars continue to need to be reported on. Every single day. Tonight on the CBS Network news they reported on such hard news stories such as: Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, Wall Street, health insurance, a car crash, a bicycle race, a high school, baseball hall of fame, and a technology story. A war? What war? Didn't anyone tell them that we are actually involved in two wars with our kids in harms way? If not, why not?

Broadcasters are required to serve in the public interest, convenience, and necessity. Is there anyone out there who thinks they are doing that?

Wanna see real journalism, at least most of the time? Read the New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune.

Sadly, Howard Beale lives on US Cable and Broadcast Networks, but he is presently using names like Lou Dobbs, Katie Couric, Chris Matthews, Brian Williams, Bill O'Reilly, Larry King, and Others.

Bet each and every one of them considers themselves a journalist. Perhaps they are, but to me they are primarily entertainers pretending to be journalists.

Our President, and our Congress will sleep soundly in their beds tonight knowing that the managements of GE, Disney, CBS, Time Warner, and News Corp are sleeping soundly in theirs.

If only our kids who are in harms way could be sleeping soundly in theirs.

Norman Horowitz
Insomniac

Comments

[situationcritical]

Aah, I see, my point has already been made for me by the best of our Huffpo readers like Octopi, Rsprags, and Blaqntelligence.

I'll just add that Michael Jackson did not die in Encino, and leave it at that.

[nkadzi]

So what are you? a blogger? Please let Michael Jackson off the hook. those fighting the war is the responsibility of the president who decided to go to war and as previous blogers have noted, the young men chose to go to war, casualties? part and parcel of any war.

and some of us get tired of hearing about a war that possibly we will not win, Afghanistan!!

[blaqntelligence]

Mr. Horowitz,
As much as I agree with your perspective, I am compelled to join my fellow poster in their gentle rebuke.
Michael Jackson is no more responsible for the failings of our esteemed "media" in death than he was in life.

[AKaurora]

Norman-- Points well made but you are missing the bigger picture. The majority of people in this country have close to zero interest in the daily news, nor do most of them vote. Big disasters or events pull their attention for brief moments. Few of them could articulate a single sentence about any of the stories you mentioned above, and most couldn't tell you anything about Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Parkistan, the Taliban or the pirates off the coast of Somalia. Few, if any, could tell you about tribal cultures that go back centuries and have more power than a centralized government. But, if you described how tribal cultures work, they might see it mirrored in their local communities, whether in the Ozarks, East L.A., or Harlem.

The only reason we're still in Afghanistan is because no political figure is willing to take the hit from a public upwelling of jingoism for pulling out without bin Laden in hand. The public may be disinterested and ignorant, but it can be mobilized, if briefly. Once bin Laden is declared dead, the troops can come home.

[rsprags]

Michael would rather be healing the world and he would rather all the soldiers be at home as well. Sir, Michael was a man of peace and contrary to the media lies; Michael valued his privacy so much. All he wanted to do was live his life, create music, and the care of his beautiful children. As I told another writer with information posted on previous articles about the war, death, and soldiers versus MJJ's comments; and, please note I can still care about Michael, and be concern and pray for the soldiers and their families; send emails and call congress concern Health care and Sonia S. - all at the same time! You can be concern and care about more than one event or issue w/o having to ignore or not be concern with the other issue. I and others who love Michael music and his Spirit have a right to be as concern and as engage with him and his family as we like and such articles as this cannot affect my way of seeing or responding to Michael's death. MJJ will always be close in my heart; get over it!

[octopi]

I would like Norman to know that Michael Jackson loved and supported the troops and the love was returned (link to Air Force Times http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/03/apjacksontroops070310/). It also has not been determined why he died although speculation is rampant. You could have waited a week or two before proclaiming that MJ did himself in without any way of knowing.

Don't blame MJ for the follies of George W. Bush who blacked out the media on the war dead.

[boycottrightwingthings]

I agree with bloggervlogger, but may I also add that no one forced those young people to join the military, and also add that Michael Jackson's death has nothing to do with the last 8 and 1/2 years of journalists not covering these wars as they should??

[rsprags]

Corrections: ...Kids....

[bloggervlogger]

Dear sir, I understand your frustration. But i bet Michael Jackson himself would rather have your dear colleagues writing about tragic casualities of war than about his plastic surgery or where his brain or body is at the moment. Maybe, just maybe he would still be alive. So don't take it out on Michael Jackson; he's also a casuality ... of bad, stalkerish journalism.