From the New York Times, March 17, 1968:
The operation is another American offensive to clear enemy pockets still threatening the cities. While two companies of United States soldiers moved in on the enemy force from two sides, heavy artillery barrages and armed helicopters were called in to pound the North Vietnamese soldiers.
Quoting one participant, a Colonel Frank Barker,
The combat assault went like clockwork. We had two entire companies on the ground in less than an hour.
That was My Lai, by the way, that they were journalizing about.
Lest we think things have changed, during the invasion of Iraq, seventeen marines died in friendly fire in one incident – a PR disaster. The Pentagon searched around for a cover story, a diversion for the leashed media, a doggy bone to toss to them to keep them away from a real story.
The result: The Ballad of Jessica Lynch.
Piece of Mindful 
At least Jessica gave them some cover.
What’s the excuse with ACORN?
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Swede – I leave it to you to investigate the whole of ACORN and report back. I’m tired of your ill-informed guttersniping.
I guess that was mean, and I apologize, but honestly, this surface-skimming, this potshot politics with you answering to the dog whistle … gets a little old.
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I use the ACORN example for two reasons.
First we’ve argued about their credibility in your posts about the evil Dieblod. Both Steve and you defended them, I said they were corrupt. Of course, I was right.
Second, your always using journalism as a whipping boy for capitalists. The avoidance of ACORN, except on FOX and blogs, throws water on your conspiracy theories.
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But you weren’t right about Diebold, and the results of the 2004 election are evidence. 2008 appears to have been clean – not having anything to do with who won, but rather that there were not the discrepancies between exit polls and official tallies. I don’t know why 2008 came up clean, 2004 not. But 2004 is what it is, very fishy.
Diebold has not been vindicated. It all started in Georgia in 2002. There has never been an investigation. In Ohio, a new SOS replaced Blackwell and clamped down. Maybe other states as well. But our election system is still not secure. The very fact that you can go vote, that there is no record of your vote, that there is no possiblity of recount … good grief are you easily satisfied!
ACORN – you simply don’t know what you are talking about. You know a little, what has been made public, the dog whistle stuff that you right wingers bark to, but do you know the size and scope of the organization, its objectives, its history? No. You don’t.
And underlying that is the fact that ACORN seeks to energize the lower classes. I think that is your problem, and I read race into it. That is what I think underlies it all – the fact that ACORN works with black people.
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I don’t think any one truly knows all the details about the nuts. I certainly don’t.
What I do know is the avoidance of coverage is the reason for my comment.
Care to talk ’bout that? Or does that enforce the “Best in Journalism”?
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Yes, we agree. You certainly don’t know very much about ACORN. But that doesn’t stop you from having strong opinion.
I don’t understand what you mean by avoidance of coverage. We don’t have much investigative reporting in mainstream media of anything.
Here’s something for you: Given that ACORN will no longer get any government contracts, do you think like treatment should be accorded Blackwater?
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If Blackwater is guilty to the same degree as ACORN. Not one isolated incident, like you often refer too, but several.
ACORNS troubles just isn’t this “sting” incident. There’s multiple convictions, tax fraud pending, several state investigations. Similar to Diebold or Blackwater? I don’t think so.
If Blackwater or Diebold meets those bellwethers you have an argument.
By the way, Diebold has gotten out of the polling business, and Blackwater will probably change their name, recycle themselves into another entity.
I’m thinking ACORN may do the same.
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Blackwater was accused of killing 20 civilians back in 2007. I Iraqi government kicked them out, but the U.S. government refused the Iraqi government demand. Now we knwo that the CEO of Blackwater, Erik Prince, might be personally implicated in a murder case, and not just in desk murder.
No threats to their funding. Their role continues to expand, as does that of private contractors in the military in general. There are now more mercenaries in Afghanistan than GI’s and marines. Nothing is reported on this.
My original point in the ACORN scandal has been lost in the shuffle – I did not say that they were not guilty of the charges in the sting, or other charges, which in the big picture are quite minor, but rather speculated that it was the Democrats, and not the Republicans, who were behind the sting.
The reason is this: Democrats wanted ACORN to scare up votes for Obama, but they did not want community organizing to go on. They don’t want anything more to do with the lower classes than the Republicans. Therefore, once their purpose was achieved, the Democrats dumped them.
Which is why i say that the Democratic Party is the place where progressive movements go to die.
I don’t know this, of course. I only speculate, which as a blogger, I am free to do. I am not a journalist, and not in any way like the liberal NY Times, which reported the My Lai story and the Jessica Lynch story exactly as the government wanted them to do.
Blackwater has indeed changed its name (Xe). Diebold has indeed gotten out of the voting machine business. They were one of several companies involved in the 2002-2004 voting scams.
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