Granted, what happened on Monday, at the finish of the Boston Marathon, was sheer terrorism on perhaps a local level, we are now learning. What happened to the victims watching the marathon was tragic, horrible ... and our hearts go out to these folks and their families. Our news media on every channel has not stopped covering the story.
But, did you hear about this story, or even just a mention about it? Two days ago in a small town called WEST, Texas, there and for many miles away, was rocked by an explosion that equaled a 2.1 earthquake. Devestation, downed houses, buildings and apartment complexes .... people said it looked like a war zone.
We have heard little coverage about this story and these people, many who are now homeless. Conflicting stories (perhaps to lack of reporting) says the death toll is 14 and there are only a few people presumed missing. Yet earlier in the day, "after he had toured the site, Senator John Cornyn of Texas said that 60 people remained unaccounted for. And the McLennan County judge, Scott Felton, who joined Gov. Rick Perry at an afternoon news conference, said that he would be surprised if it’s more than a few.”
I know how the media works. They do their jobs and focus on a story. But at some point they start to sensationalize on it and stop reporting on anything else that is happening. You get to hear from this expert and that expert, all day, all night, all giving their opnions to the point that it all starts to sound like a big re-run of your favorite drama show.
I get angry when I see a big news story like this being pushed back or barely mentioned. There are a lot of people who have just had their lives turned upside down in West, Texas. They need news coverage!!! They need help and our news media's, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, FOX, PBS, NPR, CNBC, etc, are the ones that make it happen. I think they dropped the ball this time. Can they not chew gum and walk at the same time? Can they not split up their news crews and do their real jobs? This time they need a whack over the head and someone needs to say, "YOU SCREWED UP. YOU DROPPED THE BALL THIS TIME." I guess I'm saying it.
From the actual article:
Emerging From the Rubble in a Texas Town
http://www.nytimes.com/...
WEST, Tex. — Two days after the explosion at a fertilizer plant in this town sliced by a busy railroad and highway in Central Texas, the death toll rose to 14, but with the search of damaged structures nearly finished by Friday afternoon, only a few people were still presumed missing, local and county officials said.
Many people displaced by the explosion took shelter not at the community center, where cots had been set up for them, but at the homes of friends and family.
At the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4819, donated clothing was organized on tables set against the walls of a room that was also lined with cots where some rescue workers had slept. It was there that many of the nursing home’s residents ended up late on Wednesday.
West lost three of its four school buildings in the explosion, which also damaged about 20 school buses, the entire fleet. On Friday, trucks lined up outside the one surviving campus, of the West Elementary School, bringing in chairs, portable classrooms and supplies. Classes are expected to resume on Monday.
“Evil visited with us Wednesday night, but the good Lord was with us, too,” Larry Hykel, president of the West Independent School District Board of Trustees, said in an interview. “We will rise from the ashes.”
** Tue Apr 23, 2013 at 2:50 PM PT: ** Brian Williams admits that other important news had been pushed aside after the terrorist bombing. These were the stories that were not 'really' talked about:
http://www.nbcnews.com/.... This was from the Nightly News on 4/22/2013