And again WCTV responds and sadly, we again have respond in turn

In our posts dated 6-29- 09 and 6-25-09

A media double standard when it comes to motorcycles?

and

WCTV responds but does not address the issue

We question the way motorcycle accidents are reported as opposed to automobile accidents. Our contention, as has been the contention of others, is that news reporting when it comes to motorcycle crash reporting is biased, discriminatory and sensationalized.

We used in a recent example the reporting by WCTV on the death of Armondo Sequra. Which we will reprint here in order to illustrate, based on our last response from WCTV, what would appear to be an inability to connect the dot's.

In a "media double standard when it comes to motorcycles?" we did the following: We first printed WCTV's reporting word for word as follows:

Posted: 12:15 AM Jun 24, 2009
Last Updated: 12:18 AM Jun 24, 2009
Reporter: Liza Park
Email Address: liza.park@wctv.tv

They're fast and have a edgy image... but motorcycles are very dangerous.
And motorcycle racing can be deadly.

Sunday afternoon, 25-year-old Armando Segura was killed while riding his motorcycle in a rural area of Leon County.

Florida Highway Patrol says they're seeing an up tick in motorcycle racing on rural roads.
FHP suspects Segura was racing with another biker when he crashed on Roberts Road.
"The higher end motorcycles - some of them can approach factory speeds of almost 200 miles an hour," says LT Ken Ellis of the Florida Highway Patrol.

FHP reminds us that new Florida laws make racing a first degree misdemeanor.
Just watching a road race as a spectator can land you behind bars as well.
And if you try to flee from a road race, you'll be facing a felony.

We then used the exact same wording, changing the circumstances slightly, to demonstrate how the bias presents itself based on the reporting we do not see, as follows:

There convenient and facilitate communication....but cell phones are very dangerous.
And driving while using a cell phone can be deadly.

The other day Jane Doe, wife and mother, was killed while riding her motorcycle in a rural area.of Leon County.

Florida Highway Patrol says they are seeing an up tick in cell phone use on county roads.
FHP  suspects Ms. Doe was going north when a van swerved into her lane hitting her head on.

"The higher end cell phones-some of them allow you to watch videos, play games and use while driving is equal to DUI impairment" says LT. Officer of the Florida Highway patrol.
FHP reminds us it is not against the law to use a cell phone.

Just killing somebody while driving while distracted will not land you in jail.
And you won't have to flee because you will have broken no law.

After sending this to WCTV our last response from them is as follows:

R.C.

Thanks for your email.

Which issue are we not addressing?
Thanks,
Mike Smith

This after wording to the the reporter containing the following:

We in the motorcycle world are used to the reports with pictures and videos of horrific crashes and deaths resulting from motorcycle crashes. We have found that despite our continued protestations the media generally reports on whether or not the rider was wearing a helmet irregardless of cause of death and the helmets role.

We are used to the state telling us that we need to be responsible for the careless driving of others by encouraging us to wear bright reflective fluorescent clown suits to help those who are paying attention see us.

What we are not used to is the media expending the same amount of energies and resources as to the cause of most crashes, i.e. driver distraction, cell phone use (hands free or not), negligence, changing crash dynamics as a result of the increase in SUV's and light trucks on the road and just plain don't give a damn as we watch them run red lights with impunity in downtown Tallahassee. Reporting that, if done well, could lead to the actual saving of lives.

Many of us have begged, cajoled and pleaded with media to "get the real story" with
little more than lip service, if that, in return.

AN example of a very good story would be why does the legislature go all out to address motorcyclists and avoid like the plague driver distraction. Would it have anything to do as one senators aide told me, "wireless industry money is floating all over this capital?"

Another example might be the state required motorcycle training can not be proven to be effective by any independent nationally recognized research study. Which the state readily admits to.

It maybe that Mr. Segura was negligent and reckless and as result of such actions paid the consequences.

On the other hand, all to often it is the motorcyclist who is obeying the law that suffers the consequences of the negligent and reckless action of other vehicles actions.

When is that reported on.

It would seem to this writer that in the interest of journalistic objectivity and integrity that all sides of the issue be addressed. Especially when the results could be an actual impact on the carnage that infests the killing fields Florida refers to as it's highways.

Can you demonstrate how that has, or is being done?

If we can be of help in such an endeavor please do not hesitate to let us know.

As in our way of thinking any piece of journalism that would result in the reduction of loss of life would indeed be news.

The response from the WTCV news Manager, Mike Smith , asking what "issue was not being addressed" left me and some others somewhat incredulous if not surprised.

A member of our community "Biker Biker Bill" was recently killed when a "distracted" van driver crossed the center line and killed him.

Yet despite the fact that distracted driving is responsible for a much larger percentage of deaths in the state of Florida and around the country than "racing", where were the videos of State Troopers warning against the dangers of "distracted driving"?  Where were the videos showing crime scene tape cordoning off a "death scene attributable to distracted driving". Racing deaths are not a common occurrence in this area. Distracted driving deaths are? Yet they do not get the same press. THATthat Mr. Smith is the issue!

Motorcycle accidents reported in the media more often than not differentiate between the crash dynamics. Media reports on whether or not the motorcyclist was wearing a helmet, whether or not use, or lack of use of such, was a contributing factor in the death.  All to often we hear, the driver did not see the motorcyclists (usually as a result of negligence and/or distraction) yet the state insist it is the motorcyclist responsibility to be "conspicuous" through the use of bright colors and daylight driving lights. Something not required of other vehicles that can be just as difficult to see depending on color, time of day and weather.

The fact that a News Manager or News reporter or News station can not differentiate how there reporting in one set of circumstance will do little to save lives and there failure to report on another set of circumstances, relating to the commonalities of motorcycles and death, will insure that more lives will be lost, is disturbing. And possibility further evidence that mainstream media is more interested in regurgitating what is fed to them as opposed to allocating resources to address the overall problem, l.e. highway fatalities.

That Mr. Smith is the issue. While the public may be accepting of the death of a motorcyclist whose actions resulted in his own death, we wonder if they would be just as accepting of their own (the public) role in insuring the Killing Fields referred to as Florida's roadways will grow. And if your failure to use the same reporting standards in each instance is related to a fear of running off viewers who do not wish to face the truth.

Based on your inability to identify the issue I would be inclined to believe that the latter is the case and that you yourself maybe in denial.

Motorcycle Awareness is not a catch phrase. It is an attitude that must be fostered and nurtured until such time as it becomes a part of the public consciousness.

As we have stated before we would be more than happy to offer our assistance in this matter.  However if that is not an iption might suggest that you obtain some assistance in understanding the "ISSUES" because you are sorely in need of it.

Respectfully rc

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Whats the difference between citizen violence and governmental perpetuated violence

Mike over at GoldIron me about this post and I agreed that I would probably steal it to which he gave his permission, Written by Larken Rose:

On a couple of occasions, while driving back and forth to Michigan
getting the books, I made myself listen to NPR (which I think
stands for “New Pravda Radio”). One of the topics discussed by the
collectivist brigade was “extremism” in America, and how sometimes
extremists, “right” and “left,” resort to violence to push their
agenda.

What was most noteworthy about the show was what they did NOT say,
and probably have never even considered. While talking about how,
out of frustration and desperation, sometimes disenfranchised
people resort to violence, they failed to mention that

“government,” by its very nature, ALWAYS resorts to violence.
Everything “government” does is backed by a threat of brute force.
Every “law” is a command–not a friendly suggestion, not a helpful
tip, but a command backed by the threat of violence. But statists
never seem to grasp that obvious truth.

When has any statist, after seeing a video of a SWAT team invading
someone’s home, referred to it as government “resorting to
violence”? In fact, when do they even call it “violence” at all?
Never. You see, in their eyes, “legal” violence committed by
“authority” is automatically legitimate, and therefore doesn’t
count as violence at all. When the IRS fascists resorted to
violence on May 6, 2003, sending a dozen armed thugs to my home, to
force their way into my house so they could steal all of my “Theft
By Deception” videos, that didn’t count as violence–not in the
eyes of statists, anyway. And when the local, state and federal
thugs do armed invasions of many people’s homes, pointing machine
guns at everyone, because they think there might be a non-
government-approved plant growing on the premises, that doesn’t
count as “violence” either. In fact, when they shoot and kill
someone in the process, even that doesn’t win the label “violent”
(though it might qualify as an “unfortunate mistake”).

Lots of people pretend to abhor violence, but most of them don’t
really. They complain about non-”government” violence, but are the
first in line to demand that the violence of the state be used to
give handouts to the poor, or build a military, or serve some other
collectivist agenda. Likewise, lots of people say they hate guns,
but they really don’t. They don’t want the common folk armed, but
they want the mercenaries of the state to have all the violence
they need at their disposal in order to forcibly execute the agenda
of their masters. (Ask a “gun control” proponent if they would mind
starting by disarming the government, and you’ll find out what
their real agenda is.)

The belief in “authority” so drastically distorts how people see
the world that even when there’s a large-scale para-military
assault on a private home, resulting in the deaths of people living
there, for no other reason than the allegation that someone there
possessed a firearm that is not government-approved (such as
happened both at Ruby Ridge and Waco), most Americans will view the
residents, NOT the violent invaders, as the “violent” and
“dangerous” ones.

Federal and state “tax collectors,” under threat of force or by the
blatant use of force, take TRILLIONS of dollars every year from
those who have earned it. Yet the IRS is not viewed as “violent.”
Other federal and state agencies forcibly capture and lock up
hundreds of thousands of people for possessing substances not
approved by the politicians. But the DEA is not seen by most as
being violent. Cops across the country, under threat of violence or
with the open use of violence, stop, detain, interrogate, and
search people by the thousands every day, without a shred of
probable cause to think an actual crime has occurred. Yet that is
not viewed as violence by the general public.

What IS viewed as despicable violence, and receives the scorn of
the majority of Americans, is when, once in a blue moon, some
target of the fascist police state decides to meet force with
force, by resisting totalitarianism in the only language tyrants
understand: violence. And then people wring their hands, as if THAT
is some big problem–that every once in a while, someone DOESN’T
put up with being treated like a slave, and fights back.

It is true that sometimes the force used by the victims of tyranny
is misplaced and unjustified, including any time innocent people
are targeted. But the threat which such violence poses to the
general public is completely dwarfed by the “legal” violence
committed in the name of “government.” Anyone who thinks he has
more to fear from “militia types” than he does from King Obama and
his throngs of thugs needs a reality-check. Just because violence
is often done in the name of “fairness,” and “helping” people, and
providing “benefits” and “programs,” doesn’t mean it’s not
violence. And if you still can’t recognize that “government” is
ALWAYS violence, try disobeying for a while, and see what happens.
Larken Rose
http://www.larkenrose.com

I had would argue as I have consistently, that this constant referencing to either the right or the left as being the  "evil ones" is counter productive and only plays into the governments hands. as long as they can keep us focused on our difference they can attempt to widen those differences and therefor the gulf between us. Insuring that we will not be able to mount a cohesive oppositional force by which to take this country back.Add to Technorati Favorites

A quick and dirty post to pinch your brain. Mrytle Beach, motorcycle engines and politics

Currently there is an uproar over the South Carolina Governors South of the Border Romance and the possibility that he may have used state money to finance at least some of it. Somewhat Ironic from a state that houses Mrytle Beach the city of discrimination and trampling on individual rights.

Ironic, but not unusual.

After all we are living in a country in the depths of an economic crises and the congress allocates $20,000 to the Gavin Point National Fish Hatchery to 1. make the lighting better for the fishies. Ostensibly so they won't strain their eyes reading, and 2. To store Fish Sperm. (OH lord I want to but I ain't touching that. Lord knows I want to. Maybe later).

Which I would much rather donate to the fishies than pay for the luxury lifestyles of the Corporate/Governance alliance which we are also doing.

So the other day a friend of mine and I were trying to fix an electrical problem on his bike. He had no lights cause the fuses kept blowing. We kept putting fuses in and the fuses kept blowing (O.K. I admit I have to read the instructions on a shovel, Mechanically inclined I am not).

Well not having fell of the tater truck yesterday we soon realized , HEY maybe the problem isn't the fuses. It was an epiphany.

Which inspired us to take a step back and ponder on the whole of the bike. We did so in our best zen like stance too I must say.

Which is so often the case, often times we look at things and say this is a problem and we have to fix this problem when the problem we are attempting to fix is not really the problem at all. Was that a run on sentence?

Sometimes one must contemplate the macro to understand the micro and of course vice versa. After all it's the yin and yang of things.

The problem is not the innumerable idiocies the government engages in. The Problem is "THE GOVERNMENT".

We can take Clintons alleged statement, "It's the economy stupid!" change it to "it's the government stupid" and it becomes even more apropos.

Oh but wait wait a second, are not the citizens of America the Government of America?

If that is so then it would not be "It's the government stupid." Would it not be more appropriate to say, "it is us stupid"? And unfortunately the word "stupid" applies to us! Because,

A. We blame everybody else for our own failure to to fullfil our rresponsibilities as "revolutionary" Americans (that is what we were in the beginning right?.

B. Recognizing and knowing what the problem is we think that by some miracle the sole action of "bitching" will change it.

C. Waiting until our ability to change it has been taken from us while we still have some ability left to change the insanity is "stupid". Poor tactics. A failing strategy. And a Guarantee that the insanity will become more than you can imagine.

Being already insane myself I am somewhat used to it. And You?Add to Technorati Favorites

YOU CAN HELP HEAL A NATIONS SHAME-POW-MIA

The actual numbers of MIA's (missing in action) all all over the map depending on which source you utilize. That's not surprising considering the bureaucracies that are usually tasked with making such determinations. Needless to say One American Soldier that has not been brought home is one to many!

Accessing this site, "Missing in Action" we read the following:"

Since the 1950s the DOD has listed thousands of military personnel as missing in action. There are more than 2,600 American servicemen listed as MIA from the Vietnam War; approximately 8,900 from the Korean War; and an additional 80,000 from World War II. If one considers only the immediate family members missing servicemen, the number of people affected by the MIA tragedy is in the hundreds of thousands.

Admittedly those numbers may be high. But then again they may not be because as one writer wrote:

"It is not conspiracy theory, not paranoid myth, not Rambo fantasy. It is only hard evidence of a national disgrace: American prisoners were left behind at the end of the Vietnam War. They were abandoned because six presidents and official Washington could not admit their guilty secret. They were forgotten because the press and most Americans turned away from all things that reminded them of Vietnam."^{[45] 
Wikipedia}

Irregardless of the actual number it is to our national shame that "any" soldiers sent to a foreign land at the direction of their government to fight for what the government believes is a national security issue
are left behind by that very same government!

There are some who are trying to bury the issue, to pretend that an event, the Vietnam War, that came close to destroying this country never happened. As witnessed by the following bills introduced in congress attempting to form a committee to deal with the MIA issue that died:

109^th Congress: H. Res. 123Dead

108^th Congress: H. Res. 103Dead

107^th Congress: H. Res. 65Dead

Fortunately there are some who are not about to let this issue die and this session we have:
H. Res. 111: Establishing a Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs
Full text of which can be found here, the operative words being:

RESOLUTION

Establishing a Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs.

Resolved, That there is established in the House of Representatives a select committee to be known as the Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs.

FUNCTIONS

Sec. 2. The select committee shall conduct a full investigation of all unresolved matters relating to any United States personnel unaccounted for from the Vietnam era, the Korean conflict, World War II, Cold War Missions, Persian Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, or Operation Enduring Freedom, including MIA’s and POW’s missing and captured.

Submitted by:

February 3, 2009

Mr. KING of New York (for himself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mrs. BONO MACK, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. COBLE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. FORBES, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. GOHMERT, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HELLER, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. ISSA, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LINDER, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. MACK, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. MCHENRY, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. PAUL, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. TERRY, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. WOLF, Mr. WU, and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules

So if  you do not see your representatives name on hear , then you know who to write Don't you!

And write and ask we must. It is only through citizen involvement that the truth of such matters will be known.  There are two many questions, not enough answers in issues relating to those who put their lives on the line for the country when asked, there should no unanswered questions.

Read ,

"Wife of POW Navy Pilot, Who Had Husband's Remains Sent Home By North Vietnamese in 1989, Was Lied to by U.S. Officials For Years About His Whereabouts And POW Status"

And many others like it that raise some concerning questions. In fact while looking for one piece of information I ran across so many stories similiar to above I was astounded and sickened.  I'm sure this is no surprise to the many families that still have no closure in regards to family members whose end has never met a final conclusion.  I hope it comes to somewhat of a surprise to some who have ignored this issue.

Remember: The third Friday of every September is POW/MIA recognition day.

Rember: nothing changes what you do not become involved in changing it!

Other links of interest regarding MIA/POW:

POW/MIA Links:

• Service Casualty Offices (Full contact information)
  - US Air Force POW/MIA Program: http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil
  - US Army Repatriation and Family Affairs Division (CMAOC): https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/active/TAGD/CMAOC/NavigationPages/nav_RFAD.htm
  - US Marine Corps: (No POW/MIA Web Site, Click here for contact information)
  - US Navy: http://www.npc.navy.mil/CommandSupport/CasualtyAssistance/POW_MIA.htm
  - Civilians: (No POW/MIA Web Site, Click here for contact information)
• Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL)
• Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC)
• US Army Center of Military History:(http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/)
  - Online Bookshelves - Research Materials
  - Online Oral History Collections
  - Korean War Medal of Honor Recipients (All Services)
  - Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipients, A-L (All Services)
  - Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipients, M-Z (All Services)
  - Memorial Day Remembrance Page
• US Navy - Naval Historical Center:(http://www.history.navy.mil/)
  - Wars and Conflicts of the US Navy
• Quartermaster Museum: (US Army)
  - US Army Mortuary Affairs History Page
• WW II 60th Anniversary

Archives:

• Library of Congress
  - U.S.-Russia Joint Commission Documents Database
  - Vietnam-Era Prisoner-of-War/Missing-in-Action Database
• National Archives and Records Administration
  

More Links:

McCain and the POW Cover-up
http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/pow_mia/
http://www.rftw.org/index.asp?lg=1&w=pages&r=0&pid=88

From the  POW/MIA Tables of Honors

REMEMBER – all of you served with them and called them comrades, who depended upon their might and aid, and relied upon them, for surely, they have not forsaken you.

REMEMBER

HONOR ME WITH FLAGS IF YOU WILL

HONOR ME WITH PRAYERS AND PRAISE

BUT IF MY CAUSEE WAS DESERVING OF YOUR HONOR

THEN PICK UP MY RIFLE

SO THAT MY DEATH MAY NOT  HAVE BEEN IN VAINAdd to Technorati Favorites