Stories the Media Should Have Covered | Eleanor Clift

[AmericanErrorist]

Dec. 23 - As 2004 draws to a close, it’s time to look back on the stories that didn’t get enough attention from the media. These are my top 10 nominations for stories that were undercovered but which will command top billing in the year ahead. Half are related to the war in Iraq, which a majority of Americans now say is not worth its cost in lives and resources.

American casualties in Iraq: Supporters of the war cite the relatively low number of U.S. military fatalities (now around 1,300) compared to the 58,000 deaths in Vietnam. But coverage rarely focuses on the wounded, whose official number is close to 10,000. If you include those who have developed mental disabilities as a result of the stressful urban warfare, the rate of injured climbs to more than 30,000. And the number of those killed or hurt in two years of fighting in Iraq is greater than the number for the first four years of the Vietnam conflict.

Civilian deaths in Iraq: The U.S. military doesn’t keep count of “collateral damage,” but a report by researchers affiliated with Johns Hopkins indicates that 100,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the American invasion. Supporters of the war say that’s an exaggeration, but even if it’s only 10 percent accurate, 10,000 innocent Iraqis lost their lives in the cross-fire between their countrymen and an invading army.

Stress and strain on National Guard and Reserves: John Kerry called the Pentagon’s reliance on these part-time soldiers to fill out the U.S. presence in Iraq a back-door draft. Forty percent of the 150,000 troops serving in Iraq are Guard and Reserves. They’re not youngsters, and interrupting their lives entails enormous social cost that will take its toll in failed marriages, children left behind, stalled careers and reduced productivity.

Cost of the war: John Kerry was accused of exaggerating during the campaign when he said the war cost $200 billion. George Bush waited until after the election to ask for more funding and Congress is anticipating another “supplemental” budget request when it assembles next year. The cost of the war is now well over $200 billion and counting. Yet Bush wants to make his tax cuts permanent, making him the first wartime president to cut taxes rather than raise them to pay for his war.

The rest:
- The New Air War in Iraq
- Divisions in the GOP
- Health-care insurance—its cost and access
- The useless Star Wars program
- The assault on the teaching of evolution
- The dominance of right-wing media

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6750414/site/newsweek/

[babylonsister]

1. Thanks, AE. Eleanor Clift has always been a champion

of the Dems. This is great and totally worth kicking!

[bpilgrim]

2. paper ballot

i can't believe how much that is overlooked and even denigrated by the lefty elite (i.e. this months MJ editors note :puke: completly panned it)

wtf is up wit dat :shrug:

thanks for sharing :toast:

peace