This will make you proud....

and I would be ya a big rock that if you ask this guy about all this his comments would be...
"I was just doing my job".....

Pho

Wow. SO many emotions before lunch.

I do greatly admire Brian. Heroism and stellar ability. Wow. Undoubtedly the intersection of character, and training. Putting duty and the safety of others above your own life is truly stepping up to the line.

I do wish we could hear more of these accounts.

On the other hand, the page was unsettling. I found myself angry at the journalist and the web page author who made this.

I feel there was an agenda - an attack on the mainstream media. I think these individuals choose to exploit Brian to launch their attack. Shame on them.

I know the mainstream media is far from perfect. Motives such as ratings, profit, sensationalism, and the peculiar appetites of the American viewing public (which is also to blame for the state of things) all come in to play. There is plenty of room to criticize and a great need to reform. BUT, lets do it rationally. Lets understand the dynamics. It is complex and these morons present it as simple, wrongheaded, and perhaps intentional.

Their "analysis" of the media was sophomoric. Their pitch was based on sentimentalism. Many of the pictures were unrelated and inflammatory. I mean what the heck was that body bag shot. There has never been such a situation with American soldiers and civilians walking among the body bags. Not only unrelated but misleading and inflammatory! ... and with that over-amped music!!

Much of the negative news goes on longer because the news is set up to be "investigative". The story unfolds. Officials and other involved parties try to withhold facts. And then there are new revelations, reviews, commissions, report, or even trials - plenty to keep the story alive. Much of the positive news is over in a short while because nobody is withholding details. You get it all right from the start. Nothing sinister or craven about it.

Some accounts of heroism are suspected to be propaganda because over-media-conscious spin-doctor officials have manufactured heroes and over-hyped things to advance their agendas. IF you don't have a real hero handy in time for the 6pm news or the president's speech - well just take someone who did something right and call them a hero. It is people who do that, who have done more than most to undercut the attention folks like Brian get. They have made viewers suspicious.

I don't know these people who seem to be exploiting Brian. Perhaps the woman who made the page is just an armature. The low-quality photos and otherwise complete absence of layout skills suggest this might be true. The guy who wrote the text is presenting himself as a journalist. I think he should grow up and aspire to be the kind of journalist he is so busy complaining does not exist any more. Let him write a rational analysis of media focus and viewer appetites. Start an informed discussion. Don't stand on the triumph of Brian to grind his ax.

And lets not overlook the fact that they don't offer any solutions. No practical ideas. They just try to exploit Brian, under the guise of honoring him, they use emotional manipulation and take pot shots as some sort of looming media machine - all without any attempt to fix things.

Shame on them. They anger me greatly.

My true respect and admiration for Brian.

thanks