Sorry...but I think the Nightline naming of the Dead is Political.

[trumad]

and so what? The Bush Admin is trying it's darndest to keep America stupid with the body count.. Hell..Paul Wolfowitz just yesterday tried to slide in that only 500 have been killed in Iraq... He was caught...

No..I think Nightline is trying to get out the truth and if that's political, so be it!

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. It may or may not be political

But thre is one thing it definitely is:

THE TRUTH!!

[xultar]

11. I love your chickenhawk medal..no wait, ribbon, wait no medal...n/t

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. Thanks!!

Please, email it on to anyone you can think of! We need a visual representation out there regarding Bush's bullshit criticism of Kerry's military record!

[kentuck]

2. Sure. Just as not showing the dead is political.

If I say 5, 737, or 1,737, it does not have the same effect as if I show 5 photos or 1737 photos. A picture is worth a thousand words and this White House knows it. It is very political for them to try to keep any information about this war from the public.

[pinkpops]

3. Nightline always runs touchy-feely stuff on Fridays

Koppel did fault Bush for running campaign adds with firefighter coffin(s?) in a "closing thought" recently, referencing the policy of not showing soldier's coffins. But while embedded, I thought he was sucking up. He interviewed Colon Powell not long ago, and seems to be acceptable to the White House. He also interviewed Richard Clarke. So I can't see how anyone could say he has an agenda. But the topic is politically charged, and you can tell who is really, really biased by who picks and chooses which NL episodes to show, as is the case with Sinclair.

[Bonhomme Richard]

4. Of course it is. Anytime you speak the truth.....................

someones pays politically. Usually it's the roaches that try to hide in the dark.
Let's shine a little light.

[r_u_stuck2]

5. Did you think

I admit I thought it had some overtones also. BUT, as I heard this morning on some TV station, do you remember when they read all the names of the people killed in the WTC on TV and it took hours to do that. I think I recall they changed the person who was reading the names after each person read out 5 or 10 or so names. It was on tv for a very long time.

With April being the very worst month for casualties, I think the public should recognize that we have people being killed and injured.

But, average Joe Sixpack is not going to sit there and watch the program anyway.

[Rockholm]

6. I think the intent was not political.....

but once again, the pukes have turned it into something political in their attempt to diffuse the impact. If they can run around whining that it is the "librul media's" attempt to influence the American perspective on the occupation, then any negatives attributed to * or any drop in support in polls they can target right back at our un-patriotic media. What a bunch of pathetic asshats.
If this broadcast wanted to be political, man it has a bunch of material to run with. Imagine Rummy saying that the troops should be there less than 6 months. Show the troops sweltering in the desert, intersperced with loved ones at home struggling to makes ends meet, then have reactions to deployments being EXTENDED AGAIN and AGAIN. Then show the temps rising again with battles raging and coffins coming home instead of loved ones.

[Corgigal]

8. OK. maybe I'm old fashioned

but I think death influences anyone. Which is why Bush backers fear this information coming out. God forbid we actually feel for some/all of these dead military members and their families.
I personally think it's the least we can do and even this isn't enough.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. since the whole war itself was political

Anything image, positive or negative, connected with it is bound to be as well.

[DemLikr]

9. Isn't EVERYTHING in life pretty much political?

Especially since the seizure of power by Bushco in 2000?

[pippin]

10. Right!

This whole phony war was "political."

[doubleplusgood]

16. yes

Funny how it's not political when news channels devote lots of time showing happy homecomings of (live) U.S. soldiers being greeted by their loved ones. Apparently, it's only "political" if you try to show photos of the dead, U.S. or Iraqi.

[Jacobin]

12. Repressing and forbidding pics of coffins is political

choosing to air coffins is political. choosing not to air pics of coffins is political.

So what?

[CatWoman]

13. Have you seen today's USA Today?

U.S. casualties for April
The Associated Press
As of April 29, 724 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 522 died as a result of hostile action and 202 died of non-hostile causes.

The British military has reported 58 deaths; Italy, 17; Spain, eight; Bulgaria, six; Ukraine, four; Thailand, two; Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia and Poland have reported one each.

Since May 1, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 586 U.S. soldiers have died — 413 as a result of hostile action and 173 of non-hostile causes, according to the Department of Defense.

Since the start of military operations, 3,864 U.S. service members have been injured as a result of hostile action, according to the Defense Department's figures as of April 23. The Pentagon updates hostile injury numbers once a week.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-05-april-toll_x.htm

[KharmaTrain]

15. Couldn't Help Notice The Date On Kerry's request...

That was as the rubble of Hue was still smoldering and Tet had blown the myth of us "winning the war" as impossible. I vivdly remember the news reports coming back of the bitter fighting and it seemed the VC and North Vietnamese were everywhere. Above all, that the war was from from being won and being over.

In this light, Kerry enlists? That takes balls! Wanna venture where Bunnypants and Chenney were on that date...and how sober they were? The shame on those assholes...most who never served...to dare question anything about Kerry's military experience other than to say thank-you.

The other morning I heard another redneck woman going on and on about how Kerry was a traitor and really only served a couple months and never really deserved the purple heart and yada yada. This woman should be hunted down and flown to Baghdad...I'll pay...and let's see how long she makes it. Or the "retired vet"...usually a freeper...who calls Kerry a traitor and how they served the country and didn't call their fellow soldiers "babykillers". Sheesh. The closest most of these guys got to any action required shots of penecellin...if they really served at all.

[HootieMcBoob]

17. Breathing is political

as far as I'm concerned. Today everything you do or don't do is political. It all affects something one way or another. If they decided not to read the names it would be just as political. There's no way to escape it. The only thing to do is to try to do the right thing according to your own conscience. I give Nightline credit for this. They've also covered a lot of important things regarding this war. Overall, however I have to believe that the mainstream media is as much to blame as the Bush admin. or PNAC or anybody else. It's an important lesson on what can happen when corporatocracy becomes the dominant political system.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

18. Were I a dead G.I. up on a puffy cloud in heaven right now

I'd be into a little memorializing..... GEEEEEZ!

[pmbryant]

19. Sadly, it appears the truth has become politicized in recent years

The GOP == the party of secrecy, lies, and coverups.

So the truth is inherently anti-GOP, I suppose. It certainly is anti-Bush lately. Pretty sad turn of events.

--Peter

[Kazak]

20. Not allowing them to be named...

is equally "political", no?

[scottxyz]

21. Of course it's political

All media is political.

All media has spin.

That's why censorship is illegal.

Let a thousand Ted Koppels bloom.

[dencentral]

22. Sinclair to Block Nightline Broadcast

RE: NIGHTLINE 30 April 2004 from the Sinclair Broadcast Group site" “...Despite the denials by a spokeswoman for the show, the action appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq.


CLEARLY IT IS Sinclair Broadcast Group's role as willing disseminators of Republican misinformation that has motivated their muzzling of tonight’s Nightline.

If their “News” organization persists in supporting the greatest daylight robbery of the public purse ever propagated by a criminal White House, why don’t they just leave ABC and go sign up to parrot Fox “News” drivel instead.

I am truly grateful to have access to sources beyond the reach of US Republican efforts to "manage" news. It is truly gratifying to watch as the monstrous mockery of democracy oozing out of Washington these past four years blows wide open and beyond the fanatical corporate right's control to conceal its ugly underside.

The Truth Will Out, and Sinclair Broadcasting, Bush, Cheney and the like will find themselves on the wrong side of history.

Meantime God Help America - and the world.

DenCentral

[newyawker99]

23. hi dencentral!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[liberalitch]

24. what's this about wolfowitz?

link please!