Do you realize that today marks the eleventh time in sixteen days this month that the Arizona Republic had no stories on page one about the war in Iraq? Oh sure, they showed a picture of an Iraqi woman with a purple thumb, but is that really news? Is that analysis? Is that comment? On average over the last five months, they have a story about the war on page one less than 25% of the time. I can provide the exact numbers if you want, but isn't that pathetic?

This month we have had page one stories about purple poinsettias, Cardinals season ticket prices, Native American skateboarders, bingo games for baby boomers, bed bugs, rhubarb pies, shopping malls, Mexican shoppers travelling to Tucson, telescope projects and belt buckles with the Virgin of Guadalupe. All of this in the face of a war that has cost over $226 billion, killed over 2,100 and wounded over 15,000 U.S. soldiers and killed over 30,000 Iraqi civilians.

I've been railing at them with letters to their editorial staff (each of them individually, not just the LTE address) for months without any response or evidence of change in practice. Now I'm asking others to join in the fun. The letters write themselves. Here's the last couple of day's letters for examples:

Dear Editor:

I read your paper today (12/16) and am having trouble understanding the rationale for your story placements. Today you hid inside your paper, articles showing that President Bush has both lied to the public and spied on the public.

The lies came when he asserted that Democratic leaders saw the same prewar intelligence as the top administration personnel. This obviously absurd claim was debunked on page A9.

The spying is hidden even deeper on A21, where we see that he authorized the NSA to spy on hundreds if not thousands of Americans without obtaining the appropriate search warrants required for such taps.

But what Presidential action actually makes page one? His grudging, flip-flopping acceptance of Senator McCain's call for an amendment banning torture of prisoners.

OK, I've got it now. Front page news when he admits torture is bad. Not front page news when he lies to the public and breaks the law in spying on them. Maybe you were right after all in your story placements. Maybe it is front page news when the President actually does the right thing and it's just business as usual, middle of the paper stuff when lies are told and laws are broken.

I hereby retract my criticism.

Sincerely,

Or this one from a couple days earlier:

I read your 12/14 paper and wondered why it is that for the ninth time in 14 days this month there are no stories onpage one that would indicate that we are a nation at war.

I read the breaking news that kids like to socialize and join clubs and that some of them are pretty ambitious, but don't stories like this belong in a community section of a paper?

Is that story really as important asa war that has cost $226 billion so far and which they are going to be having to pay the bills for for the rest of their lives? Wouldn't it help to point out that it is a war that has driven legislators to cut $14 billion from the student financial aid programs that these kids will be applying for?

Five more U.S. military deaths were reported on page A5. The new Iraqi security forces may have tortured detainees to death, just like the security forces of the government we deposed. Is that what we meant by "Mission Accomplished?"

Why aren't the discussions of these issues on the front page of your paper?

Sincerely

Come on down and join the fun