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Knappster: How about supporting troops beyond battlefield?

By George Knapp

It occurs to me that all the people who've been bitching for years about the biased news media really don't mind overt slanting of the news, as long as the slant in question is consistent with their own political views. I spent a good chunk of the weekend flipping between news stations to find out what's going on in Iraq. It was my first real exposure to the Fox News Network since the aftermath of 9/11.

Holy moley, this stuff is hilarious, far funnier than "The Simpsons," only not as thoughtful. For months, Fox vigorously campaigned for this war, as if they were doing their best William Randolph Hearst impersonation. And now that it's here, they're practically giddy in their enthusiasm. If it weren't death and destruction they were reporting about, I'm afraid they would all burst into fits of laughter, like spoiled kids on Christmas morning. From what I've read, Fox is garnering great ratings for its war coverage, so it would seem that a lot of people like what they're seeing and hearing.

Admittedly, there is some bias in almost all news reporting. It's inevitable, largely because every reporter brings a lifetime of subjective experiences to bear on what is being reported. But, man, this kind of coverage is off the scale. I'm not sure that network anchorpersons, even pouty-mouthed, lip-glossed bombshell blondes, should offer the opinion that war protesters ought to keep their mouths shut. It would be fine if such a statement were clearly labeled as commentary, but that isn't the case with these folks. They all seem to toss out verbal H-bombs as if doing so is a clause in their contracts. The other day, I saw back-to-back successions of Senate Republican leader Bill Frist, followed by Newt Gingrich, followed by Ollie North. Talk about GOP overload. You might as well call it the Republican News Network. And the oft-repeated disclaimer that this is straight news, free of spin, is a real gut-buster. If CNN were as biased in the other direction, someone would do a Timothy McVeigh on its offices.

I keep hearing various authorities, commentators and celebrities (most of them on Fox) offering the opinion that now is the time for all of us to shut up and get in line behind this war. In general, I'd say the protests are a little late to make much difference now, and, like most Americans, I'm leaning toward getting behind our troops at a time when so many of them are being shot. But I would never assume that everyone else should be ordered to feel exactly as I do. I was always taught that in a democracy, citizens are supposed to get involved, are supposed to do more than reflexively pay their taxes or occasionally vote. And it would seem that a nation's decision to go to war is a time when we would want the most input and involvement.

Okay, the Dixie Chicks shouldn't have aired their criticism of President Bush while on stage in England. That just seems tacky to attack the president in such a setting. But they are American citizens, after all, and can say whatever the hell they please about the president. That's our right whether we are at war or not. It was hardly surprising that Michael Moore would go into a tirade at the Oscars. I thought he was out of line, not because of what he said, but because it was out of place for the occasion. And you can bet the boos he received were more related to his timing than his sentiment.

We're so steamed at the French over this war that our Congress took the bold step of renaming french fries in the House commissary. Oooh, I'll bet they're sorry now. Being mad at the French for being themselves is like being mad at a weasel for sucking eggs. So the French don't support the war, big deal. Were we counting on them for a lot of help in the first place? Besides, a heck of a lot of Americans feel the same way. If Americans are still pissed when this is all over, one way to express that anger would be to change the itinerary of their next European vacation. Instead of hauling the rest of the Griswolds to Paris, why not go to London instead? American dollars would go a long way toward saying thank you to one of the few friends we seem to have left in the world..

Know what really bugs me? Everyone is yapping about how we need to get behind our troops, but at the same time there's a lot of sneaky stuff being pulled on our fighting men and women, and not just by the Iraqis. For example, the Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress gave their blessings a few days ago to chopping $9.7 billion out of a bill to provide compensation to disabled veterans, even as our troops were putting their lives on the line in the gulf. Veterans of the first Gulf War are still battling to get VA medical benefits for the strange diseases they brought back home. Thousands of them have been denied assistance. Dozens of Vietnam vets, people like Las Vegan Hector Rosario, have told me horrific tales of exposure to Agent Orange and how the VA seemingly wants them to die before it gives them medical care.

I guess I'd be more impressed about this clarion call to "get behind our troops" if it meant something more than getting behind them only while they're out there dying for us. Waving the flag and cheering on our country give rise to good feelings, but they shouldn't mean that we are cowered into surrendering our freedom of expression. Supporting our troops should extend beyond their time on the battlefield.

Names and faces

Hypnotist-turned-business guru Marshall Sylver has been waiting for a year and a half to find out if the state attorney general's office plans to lower the boom on his controversial seminar program. Sylver has long claimed he can turn people into millionaires, but when dissatisfied customers who failed to get rich demanded their money back, they generally got stiffed. The AG staged a highly publicized raid on Sylver's offices nearly 18 months ago but never got around to filing charges. Sylver has reportedly told associates the AG initially wanted him to plead guilty to 10 felony counts. It later dropped the demand to 10 misdemeanor counts. And now, Sylver is saying, the state would settle for a guilty plea to a single misdemeanor. The AG's office has declined to return numerous phone calls from this reporter. If the info is accurate, Sylver's many victims will be asking themselves, is that all there is? ... Joe Travis, the grizzled, cantankerous owner of Rachel, Nev.'s famed Little A'Le'Inn, located in the shadow of Area 51, is hospitalized at UMC, reportedly in bad shape. Travis has been battling serious health problems for the past few years. The A'Le'Inn, co-owned by Joe's wife, Pat, helped to turn Lincoln County's Tikaboo Valley into a tourist destination known all over the world. ... Say, was that former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani talking to a select group of gaming industry heavyweights the other day? The way we hear it, the hush hush meeting of Gaming Inc.'s biggest execs was called by none other than Steve Wynn to talk about the new era of heightened security concerns along the Strip. ... The infamous R&R Social Club, which police believe has been operating as a full-scale brothel, apparently canceled its big Driver Appreciation Bash set for this week. R&R took out a full-page ad in a local taxi publication promising to give cash prizes and up-close face time to those drivers who've regularly dropped off horny tourists at the club. But drivers who showed up to knock on the door found no one at home. Has R&R finally decided to get a business license before it reopens? ... Planning is well under way for the city of Henderson's 50th birthday party, slated for next month. Among the events under discussion--an appearance by famed actor Hal Holbrook in his guise as Mark Twain. ... An FBI inspection team has been in town for the past several days, meticulously poring over ever case, every file and every issue within the local office. It's a routine inspection that takes place every few years. The inspectors even went out an interviewed a few members of the local media about the operation of the Las Vegas office and received mostly glowing reviews. ... The Las Vegas-based Clonaid operation, associated with the Raelian movement, has now claimed the birth of a fifth cloned baby. The Raelians have even sent out photos of the child, but as yet haven't provided much in the way of documentation to prove that cloning was involved.