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It is time, no past time, for the NYT to lose its status as the nation’s paper of record.

I think we can make this happen.  Going forward, in every critique of the NYT raise the point that it should no longer be this nation’s paper of record.  Give the reason as its refusal to report the story of a person who gave his life for his country and for his valor was awarded the medal of honor.

Scott: “Yesterday the White House annouced that Navy SEAL Michael Monsoor is to be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. The Washington Post reports:”

Monsoor and a group of SEAL snipers took up position on a residential rooftop as part of an operation to push into a dangerous section of southern Ramadi. Four insurgents armed with AK-47 rifles came into view, and the SEAL snipers opened fire, killing one and wounding another. Loudspeakers from a mosque broadcast calls for insurgents to rally, and residents blocked off nearby roads with rocks.

Insurgents shot back at the SEAL position with automatic weapons from a moving vehicle and fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the building. The SEALs knew that more attacks were inevitable but continued their mission of protecting the troops clearing the area below, according to an official account.

Monsoor’s commander repositioned him in a small hidden location between two SEAL snipers on an outcropping of the roof, facing the most likely route of another insurgent attack. As Monsoor manned his gun, an insurgent lobbed up a hand grenade, which hit Monsoor in the chest and bounced onto the roof.

“Grenade!” Monsoor shouted. But the two snipers and another SEAL on the roof had no time to escape, as Monsoor was closest to the only exit. Monsoor dropped onto the grenade, smothering it with his body. It detonated, and Monsoor died about 30 minutes later from his wounds.”

“Monsoor joins Army Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith and Marine Corporal Jason Dunham in receiving the Medal of Honor posthumously for their service in Iraq, as well as Navy SEAL Michael P. Murphy who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his service in Afghanistan. May their sacrifices be redeemed.

Via Noah Pollak, who notes that, “[t]rue to form, the New York Times could not be bothered today to mention the awarding of our nation’s highest honor.”

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The New York Times, even in an egregious omission, cannot diminish this courageous man’s actions.

Rest in peace, Sailor.

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I don’t know why, but they always leave off the rank/rate of SEAL members.  PO2 Monsoor, LT Murphy BTW

Doc Lee - 03 April 2008 10:52 AM

I don’t know why, but they always leave off the rank/rate of SEAL members.  PO2 Monsoor, LT Murphy BTW

If I’m ...

Not mistaken, their cammos, BDUs, or whatever SEALs call their “work clothes”, are absent ALL references to them, their name, their unit, and rank.  The MSM is just too damn lazy to look it up.

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I know I’m way behind the curve on seeing it, but I just saw The Valley of Elah last week and I am still boiling over the effort of anti-Iraq war Hollywood-ites having the audacity to try to instill a picture of American soldiers as some good kids who are being turned into cold-blooded psychopaths by the U.S. military.

War is ugly but what is uglier is an attempt to convince the U.S. public that our men and women serving in the armed forces are something other than the heroes they are.

I noticed that the current cover of Mother Jones “Torture Hits Home” (http://www.motherjones.com/toc/2008/03/index.html) is carrying the same message that The Valley of Elah carried - that the military is turning good men into psycho killers and they are bringing that home with them and brutally murdering family and others. 

How dare they?

But the NY Times did run the this story.  I suppose that Pollak’s attack on the Times is technically correct, in that it didn’t run the story “today” [on April 2nd].  But if the Times ran the AP copy of the story the day before, the criticism seems disingenuous and unwarranted.

Diorio D - 03 April 2008 11:48 AM

I know I’m way behind the curve on seeing it, but I just saw The Valley of Elah last week and I am still boiling over the effort of anti-Iraq war Hollywood-ites having the audacity to try to instill a picture of American soldiers as some good kids who are being turned into cold-blooded psychopaths by the U.S. military.

War is ugly but what is uglier is an attempt to convince the U.S. public that our men and women serving in the armed forces are something other than the heroes they are.

I noticed that the current cover of Mother Jones “Torture Hits Home” (http://www.motherjones.com/toc/2008/03/index.html) is carrying the same message that The Valley of Elah carried - that the military is turning good men into psycho killers and they are bringing that home with them and brutally murdering family and others. 

How dare they?

To paraphrase Bill Clinton, because they can…

As the man said, “Where do we find such men?” Michael Monsoor is indeed such a man, selfless, brave, a patriot and a friend.

The Washington Post did cover this story on page A4...That’s a big step up for them.

I used to read stories of heroism and special decorations from Blackfive or Mudville Gazette or Mnf-Iraq and then check to see if they turned up in the MSM.  It was depressing.

Particularly telling was the story of Maj. William D. Chesarek Jr., a Marine helicopter pilot whose repeated daring under fire saved British lives.  His crewman even hopped out and fought beside the pinned down Brits so that there was more room in the chopper for the wounded.  It is a fabulous story and the Brits were impressed as hell at what this guy and his crew did for them. (DoD press release at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32559 )

He was the first US aviator to receive the UK’s Distinguished Flying cross since WW II.  It is a great story.  Where did it wind up? Page C13 in the Washington Post (in the spot usually reserved for ‘local man grows large pumpkin’) and it did not make the NY Times at all. 

Note: he was invited to Buckingham Palace and the DFC presentation was made in person by Queen Elizabeth.  No news there, eh? 

You have to work at not covering stories like this.  Any normal person would want to see it in print, to be part of it.  It must be an over-riding narcissism, a contempt for the military and an ideological investment in failure so great that it trumps all normal human impulses.  To the MSM warped ones, honoring heroes is “cheerleading” and demeaning but using their deaths as fodder for fashioning a partisan political attack is taken to be enlightened professional behavior.  It is important that we never let go of this. Never.

Can there be a more heroic example of a true Human Shield?

Petty Officer Monsoor occupies a special place in heaven with his brethren:

http://www.cmohs.org/medal.htm

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For you youngins, the highest ranking of officers always makes way for the Veteran whose uniform sports the CMH no matter his rank.

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