Orwellian Newspeak on CASUALTIES

Certain editorial page editors periodically idolize

    the British writer and author of the anti-totalitarian classic

    "1984 " . But then they themselves proceed to DOUBLE-THINK and

    use the idiotic language of NEWSPEAK as conceived by the morbidly

    honest George Orwell.

               They help the government lie about the war. For example

    the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines " casualty " as : "  a

    military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness,

    internment, or capture or through being missing in action ".

                The news media  -it seems - as re-defined " casualty ".

    We hear about DEAD, CAPTURED, MISSING IN ACTION . In any war,of course,

    there are far more WOUNDED among the various casualties.

           But the problem with the wounded is that they can still TALK.

    A wounded British soldier blamed a FRIENDLY FIRE tragedy on a stupid

    American " cowboy " bomber pilot.

            On the weekend of SHOCK & AWE I learned that my nephew,

    Christopher Covill of Coventry, Rhode Island was seriously injured

    in a combat incident. Chris was sent to a military hospital in

    Germany.

              A Providence Journal reporter ( ccrowley@projo.com ) has

    some family provided background information on Chris.