Try as I might can't bring myself to care about her, or Princess whatever, or . . . , anymore than I care about any other person departing this world too early.

Somehow it does hurt more when a woman is involved. Little less than a year ago a local, female trooper - every father's daughter - every young man's dream - was killed some forsaken place. - Damn near lost it - Apparently was not alone. Just the riders looked to number in the low thousands & we were the minority

I hear you brother, our men and woman are shedding blood so others can achieve thier freedoms.

Not sure how we got to where we are Mike. Guess its because of all the celebrity news that's available these days, fed by people reading it, that people have this feeling that they somehow "know" these celebrities personally.

I don't feel there is anything wrong with those who liked her being saddened by her death and even setting up the make-shift memorial at her death site... but our Heroes do deserve the same, if not more, news coverage and remembrance.

I remember as a young boy during the Viet Nam war anytime my mother would hear of a soldier the from anywhere in NJ (where we lived) who was killed, we would go to the church that day and light a candle and say a prayer for him. Now we very seldom even know when one of our local Heroes lost their lives for US, never mind do anything to thank or remember them.

I'm thinking that these days too many people are confusing Idols with Heroes.

I'm simply apalled by the kind of constant news coverage when, like you all have said, so many go unmentioned. Real heroes die everyday and there's little said about them. We can search and search for the reasons behind all the idle-worship and I doubt we'll ever understand it. Envy? Jealousy? Or is it living vicariously through the lives of others? In MHO, only the living swim upstream and our soldiers are fighting the current everyday. I find it difficult to comment on the lives of celebrities and the sports figures who have everything going for them yet somehow manage to fk things up.


Peace

I had A facebook Post today and I said we have lost 13 US Troops since the 1st. of the year and there has been no out pouring of media or clebs Re: the loss of our troops. We need to get out priorities straight and back our troops who go into Harms way every day for us. God Bless The U.S.A.

Celebrities and Politicians get huge news coverage for whatever reason, just because someone can sing dont mean they can go doing drugs and get away with it...she died because she was taking drugs...

Politician dies and the news is about all the good stuff they did????? GOOD STUFF????? When did a Politician do something for you?????

.....and now we come to the soldier, the airman, the navy, sent to everywhere and if luck remains with them they get to come home again...when just ONE of them dies there should be a full turnout of EVERYONE on the streets of Britain, USA, Canada, Australia...for you know for certain that they will die for you...WHERE is their parade? WHERE is the news crews when they are returned home? Well???

I dont give a flying F*** if you dont like poems, I have no idea who wrote it, but here it is...READ IT.....

A Poem worth Reading .....

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbours
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honour
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

Never Forgot Those Who Gave Everything, OR Those Who Came Back and Live With The Constant Nightmares of What They Did For Our Countries.....I Know Who I Would Support, Fight For, and Show That I Thank Them - The Living and the Dead, Soldiers, Airmen, Navy...Men and Women.....

Forget the drug ridden popstars.....

I've read that before. Great stuff.


Peace

Celebrities have the cash to get anything they want, anytime they want it. Perhaps the fame makes them think they are above reproach, nor accountable to anyone. That is a dangerous prescription for disaster to anyone who isn't ready to handle the temptation.

Our government in all it's infinite wisdom has full control over what we see in the news. They want us to see mind numbing crap.

OK...someone who sings died...the sad part about that is, her friends, family and staff knew she was a mess with drugs and alcohol but she died alone...in a bathtub? tsk tsk

Now the family has gotten into this bigtime going to have the funeral at a huge venue so 14 thousand of her friends can come and pay their respects. Only $25.00 a head to get in. ( only kidding )

We seem to forget WHO are REAL hero's are .......

Difference between an Idol and a hero:

An idol is basically someone famous for their assumed talents and mass appeal and that somehow if something happens to them it somehow effects all those who have invested time and energy into them: read their bio, what their favorite color is and so forth.

A hero is someone who commits selfless acts of courage for the greater good, not looking for accolades or monetary remunerations. Heroes come in a lot of different walks of life and these examples being: Military personnel, firemen, police officers but not limited to just professions. There are quite a few people that commit selfless acts of heroism in the face of unspeakable danger to themselves, like yesterday for example, the lady bus driver that at the risk of her own life rescued all the children from her burning bus (I don't know all the details) but that is what heroes are made of, courage to their charge, not afraid to do the right thing even when there's no one around to witness which is what is often times referred to as integrity. Heroes are everywhere among us, people we know sometimes.

The difference is striking, idols are selfish and create their own drama and cash in on it at the expense of the impressionable and most times it's aimed at your average teenager who is trying to figure it all out and that carries them into their 20's and soon declines when they figure out the difference.
If we could effect people at a younger age the differences between the two we might have less of a media blitz on idols and focused more on the heroes.

Just my opinion.

You are exactly right Black9..I remember singing along with her as a teenager..then when she got into the drugs, i stopped paying attention. The big problem is our govt. doesn't want us to know how many are dying..so we stay quiet and they can carry on with the plan at hand..it is up to us as citizens and Americans to stay informed and respect the memory of those that are still dying..no matter if you believe in the reason behind the war..they are still our men and women putting their life on the line..if WE take more of a vocal interest in the death toll of our hero's...more will be reported on it.

I have no problem with an announcement or a mention, but when there is no escape from the memorials days later after a celebs death, I just want to turn off the TV. But, it invades my computer, too.

But I just go to http://www.warriorswatch.org/ and read through their forums...for those of you more interested in the REAL HEROS, there is a memorial board there.

Here! Here!!

Our government wants to dumb us down with the news coverage we get.

Fefe... AMEN to that!

Great Post Fefe this should take center stage

It's easy to blame "the government" for this kind of thing, but with all due respect, I think it's the easy way out.  Nobody is forcing the media to cover Whitney Houston instead of our troops at home and overseas. 

Let's face it: The American people want to be entertained.  They love the spectacle of watching people like Ms. Houston while they crash and burn.  They want to see the train wreck from the comfort of their own living rooms.  You can point fingers anywhere you want, but at the end of the day, the television execs know which side of the bread the butter is on: this stuff is out there because they know people will watch it.  The same execs who would stream live coverage of Ms. Houston's funeral are the same ones who would pay somebody $100,000 for a photo of her passed out on the floor.  And the same people who are wringing their hands over her death are the same ones who would slap down $5.00 on the convenience store countertop for the magazine with that photo on the cover.  Rather than blaming politicians or the "government", I really think we Americans collectively need to take a long, hard look at ourselves in the mirror.  I'm not sure we'd be happy with everything we see.

The good news, I think (if there IS any), is that television really IS for idle entertainment.  The important things, like our armed forces and the sacrifices they make every day on our behalf, aren't bounced around lightly on TV.  They are kept alive in our hearts by people like the ones on this forum, talking around the watercooler or in the warehouse, memorialized in a million different little ways.  And they may be little, but they are not trivial.  Whitney Houston may have been famous, but I suspect she will not receive a Patriot Guard escort to the cemetery.  And as soon as the next spectacle comes around, she will fade into the background and become just another celebrity who couldn't handle fame.  Meanwhile, this April, people will be competing in the Jerabek Challenge (http://www.jerabekchallenge.us/index.html), to celebrate the life of a Marine killed almost eight years ago in Iraq.  What will people be doing eight years from now to celebrate the life of Whitney Houston?  Not much, I would guess.

So I'm not too worried, really.  I think there are a LOT of people like the ones on this forum who will NEVER forget the sacrifices these men and women have made for us.  Probably a lot more than most of us think.  We're just not watching television or buying into the spectacle.  We're not part of the ratings they use to decide what the next reality TV show should be about.  We're concentrating on the important things in life.  Like running in combat boots to celebrate the life of a veteran. 

WP you're picking out a segment of society... I don't buy it anymore, most of what the news reports is garbage and useless... the way it works is if we keep our eye off the ball long enough the powers that be will finally have it all in their coffers. I have heard a lot more complaining about this woman's over blitzed media coverage than I've heard anything good about her in general. Myself I am not interested in watching the world burn. I suppose I am one of the select few that would be more interested in hearing something positive for a change.
I'm tired of the same ol' worn out news formula, it's based on sensationalism and bullshit and like I said at a certain age you start seeing through all of it... I don't care about this woman or her 'career'. I would like to hear more about what happens to our troops, because I do PGR missions and I'll be glad one day when I won't have to do many more.