Soliciting donations for David Bloom????

O'Relly | April 8, 2003 | Hildy

[Hildy]

Did anyone just catch this? At the end of O'Reilly, he flashed an address to send donations to David Bloom's family to set up a trust fund for his children. Excuse me, but I find that during the current state of affairs that this is wholly innapropriate. David Bloom died of a heart attack. It's tragic, my heart goes out to this family. But he worked for NBC, probably making some good money, I'm sure he had life insurance benefits, etc. To be asking for money while young men with young families are being killed in the line of duty, I think, it tacky.

[F16Fighter]

" David Bloom will leave a 7 figure estate...

The military men and women who died in Afghanistan and Iraq will get a small plot of land, a flag and whatever insurance payout they were able to afford."

And here is O'Reilly lobbying for eight-figure estate for Bloom, while as your so rightly point out, our anonymous heroes' families are left ..shall we say, with somewhat less.

[Hildy]

My problem is that the networks see no problem in it. What if it were a guy who fixes the wiring on telephone poles. It's a dangerous job. He knows this going in. If he dies, he does not have the full backing of the media to have STRANGERS send money to him. To me, it's arrogance. They think THEY are the story. They think they are more important than the unknown soldier who gives his life.

[SanAntoneBlue]

Nobody has condemned Mr. Bloom, quite the contrary, there were numerous threads of sorrow since Sunday for his sudden death .. this thread hasn't been about bashing David Bloom.

[boreddough]

This is what I wrote to O'Reilly, is it PITHY enough?

If you and other journalists want to help out your colleague, David Bloom's family I say, more power to you. But by using the media to raise money for the family of a well paid journalist who died of a heart attack is a slap in the face to the families of the young men and women who died in the line of duty.

Excellent thread Hildy. Excellent note to O'Reilly as well.
Remember: Name and Town, Name and Town.

[Hildy]

Telling someone they can't do something nice for someone in need just because it is not PC is a pretty scary scenerio.

But I guarantee you they're not IN NEED. doesn't anyone have any pride anymore?

[jwalsh07]

I'm not complaining and I'd be willing to put a grand where my mouth is. How about you?

[oldironsides]

There is nothing wrong with helping a dead mans kids. Nothing at all. I would rather see that than a donation to the some other things. You see that in obits all the time.
Reporters and media types should help out at times like that. That is what it is all about. Right?

[Hildy]

I'm sorry, I do see something wrong. If he died of an embullism (sp?) while covering a riot in San Francisco, would this have happened? No. They're using the war to make money. a 39 year old man making the kind of money he made has set up a future for his family. And if he hasn't, then it's up to his family to take care of it, not the media.

[ProudEagle]

Boy am I relieved I wasn't the only one outraged when he did that. Sorry, Blooms death was tragic, but he made good bucks doing what he's doing. NBC will take care of his family. What the hell does some poor grunt get when he buys the farm. Don't see O'Reilly championing their kids causes do you? Made me furious when he spouted that dribble tonight. I've been away from the military for 30 years now, but I bet SGLI won't even begin to help most G.I. wives with kids. Especially the enlisted ranks. Maybe it's better now than my day, but I still don't think it's much.

O'Reilly just proved once again he's an ass. Simply a snot nosed elitist who stands for nothing. Unless it garners ratings.

[LWalk18]

I'm a student but I would be willing to put some money down. I just think it is silly to complain (and I am not really directing this to you) about a charity based on what you assume the family's assets are.

[tiredoflurking]

I respectfully beg to differ. See post 26. The suggestion is that he committed suicide and willfully put his family's future at risk. This is what I was referring to. That may not be what you intended this thread to be about, but there's no controlling how others will respond.

I've learned the hard, painful way that if you choose to take offense at things you know in your heart were not meant to be offensive, you can really wear yourself down. I don't think Bill O'Reilly's comment was meant to be offensive to anyone.

[maxwell]

Looks good, Hildy...

You and I know that those media folks have different standards though-- when one of our boys or girls in khaki fall in combat, it's just more angst fodder to boost ratings-- "Hey let's see if we can get the mother, the sister AND the father crying like babies on national television!" When one of their own hits the dust, it's personal.

[jwalsh07]

Good, when I find the right place I'll ping you.

[sinkspur]

You probably think it is a grand thing for the state to set up a lottery and suck ignorant people into throwing away their money "for a good cause." It is a manipulative dishonest game, that dresses itself in sanctimony and tears.

Oh, get off it! I don't like the lottery, but nobody is forced to play it!

Idiots throw their money away on TV preachers, too.

So what?

You can't outlaw stupidity.

[tiredoflurking]

You can donate online at this address.

http://www.mc-lef.org/

Or you can send them a check at this address:

Marine Corps -- Law Enforcement Foundation
PO Box 37
Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046

According to Limbaugh's site, 100% of funds go to families of military and law enforcement killed in action.

[jwalsh07]

Thanks. I've emailed a question and if the reply is what I want to hear, they get the check.

[FirstTomato]

Jessica Lynch is NOT a hero. What did she do to be a hero? Her unit got lost, she shot her weapon, and she survived 8 days of torture--sounds like a victim of war to me.

She was brave, but the heroes were the people who saved her. The hero was the Iraqi lawyer who walked 6 miles four times to save her.

Don't bother flaming me, its been done before, and I've acquired quite enough hate mail thank you. But think about it. Jessica wasn't a hero. Anyone who thinks she is a hero (besides her family) probably thinks their mailman is a hero just because he delivers their mail in the rain. Give me a break.

I'll contribute to David Bloom's charity before I donate to hers.

[tiredoflurking]

Also, here's O'Reilly's charity page where you can find links to more organizations, in case you prefer to donate to a specific branch of the military.

http://billoreilly.com/pg/jsp/billsfavorites/billscharities.jsp

[hotpotato]

Why do things have to be so mutually exclusive? Why does having a trust fund for David Bloom mean there can't be one for the families of those killed in action?

Where did anyone say that? If other funds for war-related deaths get the same coverage and appeal to the public, then it will no longer be "mutually exclusive" will it, now.

[ontos-on]

Oh, get off it! I don't like the lottery, but nobody is forced to play it! Idiots throw their money away on TV preachers, too. So what? You can't outlaw stupidity.

I do not think that anyone on this thread seeks to outlaw what has been described as manipulative and dishonest. When such activities also dress up in sanctimony, it seems appropriate to call it what it is. You know what I mean, that talk about: "the three poor little girls who do not have their Daddy anymore---please give". It is begging and unseemly. It is especially so when it is done by rich people for other rich people in the name of a tragedy.

I am not convinced that there is a need for these girls for college money. There are a lot of very well-heeled people who have personal reasons to "donate" to them, if in fact there is a need. Keep it private, folks, do not use his celebrity and his tragedy to make a public appeal for money that is most likely available from his rich company or rich colleagues or rich friends.

It is unseemly because this trust fund appears to be an attempt to shift the burden of giving to the public from the deceased's very well-heeled employer, friends and colleagues. This is why it smells. This is not a comment in any manner about the nature of the man or the deeds of David Bloom. He is not doing this. He is dead. This is the action of users who are attempting a cynical transfer.