I bet you thought this column was going to be about Anna Nicole Smith. My column was going to be about global warming, but that will have to wait for now.

It isn’t going to be about Anna, but I do have a statement to make. Here is a person who has contributed absolutely nothing positive to humanity except maybe to the pocketbooks of a few plastic surgeons. She died, possibly from drugs, on Feb. 8, and there hasn’t been a day, or maybe even an hour, where her name has not popped up on one news station or another.

The same fascination holds true for the likes of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears (now there’s a responsible mother, don’t you think?). You can make your own list of names, but it ends up long and disgusting.

On the other hand, last Monday, President Bush presented the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam war-era helicopter pilot who made more than 22 trips (some said 40) into heavy enemy fire, making sure the troops had the necessary ammunition to fight with, and then returned with the wounded soldiers, two or three at a time.

His actions saved the lives of 71 men, and every flight was a grave risk to himself, a risk that few others would take. Know his name? I’ll bet you don’t. As a matter of fact, I think you should look it up for yourself, or even try to find it.

This individual got one-half hour live coverage in the early afternoon when the presentation was made by President Bush, received a brief mention on the evening news, and he was then forgotten about the very next day.

Who do you think deserves the most recognition and respect? Only the most moronic would say Anna or Paris or Britney or their ilk.

Everyone should take the time to Google the Medal of Honor winners and read their brief biographies and about their acts of heroism. What those men and women risked in the name of our country is beyond imagination.

I hope the readings will give people a different perspective about whom we should be hearing every night. And then, what about all the other thousands of men and women who have also performed acts of extreme valor (not including John Kerry, of course, until he opens his military records) who have never received the recognition they so rightfully deserved?

Instead, the media, in ignoring these individuals, would rather highlight the few despicable soldiers who perform shameful acts that are miniscule in number and isolated in occurrence.

It would take brave efforts for the news networks and print media to change all this, but don’t expect anything of the like to happen soon, if ever.

They would rather demean and degrade our armed forces than bring the true picture of all the positive things happening in Iraq.

At least The Daily Star has created a "Bright Side" article on a daily basis, giving recognition to positive things people are doing.

I wish newspapers and TV/radio stations would do the same for our troops. Can you imagine the leftist rags and networks such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC, NBC and CBS doing such a thing? Don’t hold your breath.

There are some really great quotes that I came across while reading about these medal winners. I’ll list just three of them here.

"Heroes are people who do what has to be done, when it has to be done, when no one else will, regardless of the consequences." _ Author unknown.

"There are two tangible symbols of selfless sacrifice. There are two symbols representing the ultimate offer of one’s life for others. One of these symbols is the Cross of Christ and the other is ... the Congressional Medal of Honor." _ Paul Harvey.

And lastly, "Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure." _ President Abraham Lincoln.

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Tom Sears is a professor of accounting at Hartwick College in Oneonta. He can be reached at SearsT@hartwick.edu. His column appears every other week.