Death and dishonor

Mikevotes makes a really good connection between the tragic death of 12 coal miners and the equally tragic loss of 12 American soldiers today.

Do you think CNN is going to devote five days of coverage to this the way they did to that horrible mining tragedy, 12 dead in each? Interviews with the grieving relatives live on screen? Comments about all the previous mistakes at the employer that may have lead to the deaths? More or less, we're discussing two horrible industrial accidents, but they will not be treated the same.

This is the success of the Bush PR offensive surrounding "patriotism" and the offensive on the media. CNN, and the other cable channels, have been cowed into silence by the repeated assaults by the Bush administration. Somehow, the reporting of deaths has been made a political issue rather than a recounting of facts.

True enough. The spin machine has managed to concoct this fantasy that talking about the war dead will discourage the troops. Think about that. It doesn't make sense. The soldiers are there. They see the dead; they already know about them. I would think it would be more discouraging to them that they are dying with no notice or fanfare at home.

The administration is hiding the deaths to keep the reality of war from reaching the public consiousness. It's so much easier to pretend it's going well, when no one sees the coffins coming off the plane.