News You Haven’t Heard, and Should

It’s a very good thing that A Rose by Any Other Name is at the top of the SOB Alliance blogroll on your right.

She consistently brings military-related stories to her readers that in previous wars (yes, even Vietnam) would have come to our attention through “regular” media channels. But that doesn’t happen any more.

Here are two examples of very recent stories you probably haven’t, and won’t, otherwise hear:

• Humanitarian Aid — more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered to Beirut by ….. (drum roll, please) ….. The US Navy. The donated aid itself, valued at over $2 million, came the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and, with the help of the Islamic Relief Organization (IRO), is being disbursed to approximately 20,000 Lebanese citizens.

• Silver Stars — Three soldiers received the Silver Star, the Army’s third-highest award for valor in combat in Afghanistan. The story, “right there” in The Fayetteville (NC) Observer, is the kind that would have been picked up by the wire services and spread around in days gone by. But not now. Oh, the AP picked it up, reduced the story’s content by about 70%, and it got to a few papers and TV station sites in the region (NC, SC, and VA), but that’s it. As Anna noted, you sure won’t see it on any of the alphabet networks, even though they probably have 24-7 coverage instead of the few hours (at most) available during previous wars.

Stories like the above are why I recommend near-daily visits to A Rose by Any Other Name.