Suggestions for Reporters: July 3, 2021

The U.S. exits Afghanistan and closes major bases. Americans need to know why their trillions of dollars, tens of thousands of soldiers, the most modern military equipment, and 400,000 Afghan government soldiers are losing to 35,000 Taliban, with no air force, navy, or heavy weapons.

Vietnam all over again. Only this time, Congress doesn’t even bother with public hearings to document what happened, why and who should be held accountable. Taking most of the summer off, Congress is increasingly AWOL other than giving the White House gushes of money without hearings for these “forever wars.”

Gen. Colin Powell once said after Bush/Cheney criminally invaded Iraq, that once you invade a country, you own it. He meant the invader is responsible for public order, critical services and safety. After twenty years in Afghanistan, the U.S. never “owned it,” other than to abandon it, along with thousands of imperiled Afghans who served as drivers, interpreters, health aides and other capacities.

From Congress to the “field” in Afghanistan, Americans need to know, before the massacres, the civil wars and the chaos/anarchy commence big time. Get back to work, Congress!

What took the umpires, the managers, the “who us, investigate?” sports reporters so long to discover all those pitchers putting the sticky stuff on their baseballs to enhance the ball’s performance? The mainstream sports media needs strong systemic critiques. They looked the other way for years while the concussion epidemic was soaring. Now they’re not digging into the epidemic of injuries to pro baseball and basketball players in spite of better protective gear,equipment and advanced training compared to decades ago.

The detailed report on the New York Yankees injuries by our League of Fans went unanswered by the team’s bosses, MLB and unrecognized by the numerous sports reporters to whom it was sent. Yet Yankee radio announcers, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman regularly remark about all the injuries and what this is doing to the game. With all the ample sports pages, where are the curious editors/reporters? Wake up from your easy, cushy routines! Players are becoming more brittle for reasons you must explore! Team by team.