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Archive for the ‘Journalism’ Category

What ridiculous, insulting, drivel.

I’ve been loath to admit that the shrieking lunacy of the summer — the frantic efforts to paint our first black president as the Other, a foreigner, socialist, fascist, Marxist, racist, Commie, Nazi; a cad who would snuff old people; a snake who would indoctrinate kids — had much to do with race.

Ms. Dowd, in this one paragraph accomplishes one thing. She proves that to her it really is all about the color of ones skin.

If you disagree with this administration on policy you are a racist.

If you challenge what you see as government growing beyond its constitutional limitations, you are a racist.

Should you challenge the main stream media to do their job and request truthful information on legislation working its way through congress, you are a racist.

Reading her op-ed you would be left with the impression that if you so much as reside in South Carolina, you are a racist.

Has Ms. Dowd forgotten that throughout history this country has faced problems with discrimination on several fronts. It is not just the color of one’s skin which has often driven us apart, but age, ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual preference have often fractured our society.

I’ve yet to hear or read on conservative or independent who has challenged Barack Obama on ground of race. In my opinion, (and I cannot get inside his head any more than Ms. Dowd can), race had nothing to do with Joe Wilson’s “you lie” remark.

As a matter of fact, it appears the White House had to clarify Obama’s remarks the day following his speech. The “gang of six also began re-working health care legislation to ensure illegal’s are not afforded benefits one day after the Joe Wilson remark.

These charges of racism are growing old. Citizens have the right to challenge our government when we feel our liberties are threatened or we simply are in disagreement with policy.

Labeling those who dissent and throwing around baseless allegations and charges of racism do nothing toward furthering reconciliation among our citizens. If anything, they move to drive us further apart.

Ms. Dowd is entitled to her opinions but if they pass of journalism these days, then it is a sad, dying art.

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You might want to have a bucket nearby when you read the balance of the following Obama love fest between Evan Thomas and Chris Matthews.

Yes, it is worth the read, if for no other reason to see how far journalistic standards have declined in America.

Evan Thomas:

Newsweek editor Evan Thomas brought adulation over President Obama’s Cairo speech to a whole new level on Friday, declaring on MSNBC: “I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God.”

HT:Memorandum

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Tried and failed.

That seems to be the motto which MSNBC should adopt for their Olbermann/Matthews experiment.

Saw this first at Drudge this evening but thought I’d wait for further confirmation of its validity. This is proof enough:

MSNBC tried a bold experiment this year by putting two politically incendiary hosts, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, in the anchor chair to lead the cable news channel’s coverage of the election.

That experiment appears to be over.

After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.

The change — which comes in the home stretch of the long election cycle — is a direct result of tensions associated with the channel’s perceived shift to the political left.

“The most disappointing shift is to see the partisan attitude move from prime time into what’s supposed to be straight news programming,” said Davidson Goldin, formerly the editorial director of MSNBC and a co-founder of the reputation management firm DolceGoldin.

Executives at the channel’s parent company, NBC Universal, had high hopes for MSNBC’s coverage of the political conventions. Instead, the coverage frequently descended into on-air squabbles between the anchors, embarrassing some workers at NBC’s news division, and quite possibly alienating viewers. Although MSNBC nearly doubled its total audience compared with the 2004 conventions, its competitive position did not improve, as it remained in last place among the broadcast and cable news networks. In prime time, the channel averaged 2.2 million viewers during the Democratic convention and 1.7 million viewers during the Republican convention.

Many of us have noticed the venom in especially Keith Olbermann when discussing anyone on the Right. Now we can confirm that it has not been a figment of our imagination as those who sit in anchor chairs and host reputable programs at the parent company, NBC have taken notice also:

Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams, the past and present anchors of “NBC Nightly News,” have told friends and colleagues that they are finding it tougher and tougher to defend the cable arm of the news division, even while they anchored daytime hours of convention coverage on MSNBC and contributed commentary each evening.

Mr. Williams did not respond to a request for comment and Mr. Brokaw declined to comment. At a panel discussion in Denver, Mr. Brokaw acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews had “gone too far” at times, but emphasized they were “not the only voices” on MSNBC, according to The Washington Post.

Al Hunt, the executive Washington bureau chief of Bloomberg News, said that the entire news division was being singled out by Republicans because of the work of partisans like Mr. Olbermann. “To go and tar the whole news network and Brokaw and Mitchell is grossly unfair,” he said, referring to the NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell.

Where were these anchors and executives when Olbermann told the President of the United States to “Shut the H_ll Up?” (minute 2:07 of the video)

What is MSNBC to do? Will they edit closely the programming and commentary of Olbermann and Matthews? Time will tell, but for tonight this is a win for those who do not believe “news” anchors should be no more than partisan shills for one party or another. Leave that to the pundits.

HT: Ed Morrissey for the link to the NYT article.

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By now, you have probably seen the cover of US Weekly magazine with Sarah Palin’s picture accompanied by the caption, “Babies, Lies & Scandal.” For those who may not have had the pleasure, here it is:

Now let’s contrast it to this one of Barack and Michelle Obama:

No lack of objectivity here right?

Megyn Kelly takes a gentleman from US Weekly to task in no uncertain terms:

You need look no further than the above examples to understand the media in our country today.
Their agenda is becoming more than just a bit obvious. Journalists are well aware articles don’t sell magazines or newspapers, headlines do and if you are hedging your bets on one side or the other winning an election, well why not thrown them a bone once in a while?

If rumors (substantiated or unsubstantiated) are the basis of your story, why not then a picture of Senator Obama with Reverend Wright or William Ayers? Instead, a striking picture of him and his wife explaining their affection for one another?

It appears Sarah and Todd Palin also love each other so why not afford that same courtesy to them?

Fairness? The press has divorced themselves from that word.

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A little Monday fun at the expense of a few major media outlets:

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The NYT will not send a representative to the White House Correspondents Dinner this year.

Why is that important you ask? Well, if you are in the mood for a good laugh you will need to read no further than the reason stated for their absence.

“These events can create a false perception that reporters and their sources are pals, and that perception could cloud our credibility,” Spokeswoman Diane McNulty wrote. “It’s not worth it.”

Clouded credibility..maybe that should be their new motto. What a hoot.

HT: American Thinker

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The usual Friday-Fly By will be pre-empted this week by a reading of Michael Yon’s, “Moment of Truth in Iraq.”

Due to the generosity of a very dear friend, I received my autographed copy yesterday afternoon. It was a long wait until free time late last evening allowed me to begin what I knew would be a compelling, factual account of events in Iraq.

At this moment, I have completed the first half of the publication and as expected, Michael continues with a writing style which transports you into the center of action. There are moments as with his dispatches, where the readers senses are in tune with those who are tirelessly fighting for not only our security but the freedom of the Iraqi people.

Thanks you dear friend for this gift and thank you Michael Yon for your honesty, candor and most of all your personal sacrifice so we may have a clearer picture of the horrors and successes of this war.

Now, back to reading.

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Michael Reagan posts what I consider to be one of the finest pieces on Haditha written to date.

It may be simple in its explanations, but it is concise in its facts which is refreshing on its face:

You’d hardly know it if you relied on the mainstream media, but the government’s case against the Haditha Marines took another body blow last Friday that may be the beginning of the end for this whole sorry attempt to severely punish eight heroic United States Marines for doing what they are trained to do.

In a surprise development on the day Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum’s court martial was scheduled to begin, all charges against him were dropped without explanation.

I wonder however, if Time Magazine and Congressman Murtha have an answer to the question posed in the last paragraph of this piece:

And thanks to John Murtha and the liberal media, these Marines can now join my Dad’s wrongly accused Secretary of Labor Ray Donovan in asking where they go to get their reputations back.

I’ve often said politics and war do not make good bedfellows. When you add in a press ready and willing to paint our military in the worst of lights..well it is a true recipe for disaster.

As to where these young men go to regain their reputation I say only, it was lost only to those who refused to wait out the facts. There will be no apologies from the press or Congressman Murtha to be sure.

For those of us willing to believe that even our troops are innocent until proven guilty, there is no reputation to be regained.

There is simply gratitude that we have such men and women who are at the ready always to defend this country and sorrow that they and their families had to endure this ordeal at the hands of those who peddled their wares and political ambitions.

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A new dispatch has been posted from Michael Yon. It is chock full of terrific information and photos as usual.

The final paragraph in this piece captured my attention. Because of the trust I have in Yon’s feelings and observations this gives me hope that we may be nearing a light at the end of at least one tunnel in Iraq:

There are no guarantees, but this could be the endgame for major combat operations in Iraq. Combat is likely to heat up in Mosul and western Nineveh by about May. There likely will be some reports of increased US and Iraqi casualties up here, but this does not mean that we are losing ground or that al Qaeda is resurging – though clearly they are trying. If there is an increase in casualties here as we go into the summer of 2008, it is because our people and the Iraqi forces are closing in. We have seen just how deadly al Qaeda can be. This enemy is desperate. They know they are losing. They are not likely to go out easy. The enemy is smart, agile and adaptive. Likely they will land some devastating blows on us, but at this rate, our people and Iraqi forces appear to be driving stakes through al Qaeda hearts faster than al Qaeda is regenerating.

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Michael Yon clearly thinks not:

The ‘journalists’ who broke the story got their scoop, and in doing so, needlessly endangered the lives of patriotic soldiers. There was no compelling reason to report on Harry’s service in Afghanistan. No public good was served. Shame on those who risked British lives.

This need to know mentality which we have developed is not only ridiculous, it is terribly dangerous.

Instead of Prince Harry arriving home with his unit to the adulation of British citizens, he returns with the knowledge that his revealed deployment and unit leaves others in increased danger.

I honestly don’t know how some of these journalists look at themselves in the mirror every day.

Because Drudge posted this story and put Prince Harry’s life in danger we are joining Venomous Kate and many other bloggers who are boycotting Drudge. Special hat tip to Inside Charm City.

Join the movement: Drop Drudge.

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The San Francisco Chronicle should be ashamed to have a writer on their staff who produces an article entitled “Bush Death Watch: Countdown”.

This gentleman, (ahem), is well within his right to speak or write whatever he chooses. However, there was a time that a headline such as the one above would have drawn harsh criticism from not only a paper’s editorial staff but other journalists. That very well may have led to the piece being shelved. Not so today, as a matter of fact this behavior is championed by many.

Just look at the list at Texas Rainmaker (who also receives the HT for the above link), of those who have wished our President dead or that harm in some form would come to him.

The liberals just never seem to get enough when it comes to fantasizing about the death of the President of the United States. Whether it’s a liberal protestor fantasizing about murdering him or a political candidate favoring the death penalty for him or artists memorializing assassination in print or entrepreneurs trying to sell merchandise endorsing his assassination or the latest example… right from one of our own American newspapers, the San Francisco Chronicle:

I too am ready for this President to retire to Texas, but for none of the same reasons these individuals cite. I want a decent man and his family to finally have the peace they so deserve after almost eight years of venom and disgusting displays of immaturity and disrespect.

It would do us all well to remember one thing about this man and his so despised (in many corners) administration. It has been a little better than six years since those towers collapsed in NYC and you and yours have remained safe since. That, in my humble opinion, is no accident.

If that in and of itself does not deserve a little credit, then I do not know what does. But then again, these days when it comes to politics in this country, I really don’t understand much.

A few days ago, I wrote that I was swearing off anything but feel good stories, at least until after the Thanksgiving holiday, but this was one which I could not in good faith allow to pass.

We really need to stop it. We need to put an end to the hatred toward each other over idelogy, or nothing, and I mean nothing good will come of it.

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There are no words to add to this excellent article by Jeff Emanuel except to those who perished, may you Rest in Peace, and to those who survived may you know the thanks, prayers and thoughts of many Americans are with you.

(There are restrictions on reprinting or reproducing portions of this piece, but it is well worth the read, so if you have the time, please do.)

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The latest dispatch from Michael Totten has been posted.

RAMADI, IRAQ – Now that major combat operations are finished almost everywhere in Iraq’s Anbar Province, the United States Army and Marine Corps are more like a United Nations peacekeeping force with rules of engagement that allow them to kill if they have to. “We’re like the Peace Corps with muscles,” is how one soldier put it when I left with his unit at 4:00 in the morning to deliver food stuffs and toys to needy families in the countryside on the edge of the desert.

A realistic read laden with excellent photography.

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On several occasions we have posted links to the work of civilian embeds who travel with our troops in Iraq. I have a great deal of admiration for these individuals, as they are risking their own lives and existing in the same difficult conditions as our military on a daily basis.

The good and the bad, the failures and successes and the bravery and fortitude of our forces always come through in the articles by each of these men.

This piece from Bill Roggio gives us an up close and personal look at the situation in Baghdad. The capital has been the topic of much discussion and difference of opinion in the American press so I thought perhaps you might like a bit of firsthand information.

Compared to other regions south of Baghdad, where the Iraqi Police Volunteers and the Concerned Citizens have organized to fight al Qaeda, the eastern neighborhoods of Doura have no such organized security movement. The locals are “organized in an intelligence capacity but not in a security capacity,” Coffey stated. “There are no sheikhs or influential tribal leaders for the men to turn to,” as the tribal influences are marginalized in the bigger cities.

Coffey and his soldiers are seeking influential community leaders to organize the Sunnis and Christians to stand against al Qaeda. But in the interim, the local intelligence network is paying off dividends with IED finds and weapons caches turned in. The Iraqi sources tipped off US troops to the location of multiple IEDs during a single day’s operations. “Each day we get better and better tips,” Coffey said.

“The tide of anti-al Qaeda cooperation has rolled from Anbar province to the south of Baghdad and now into Baghdad itself,” said Coffey. “But it will take time.”

The question is, will the American people have the patience and understanding to allow for the time needed to bring peace to the country of Iraq. Only time will tell.

HT: Transterrestrial Musings

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Ed Driscoll has addressed the evolution of mass media in its various forms just superbly.

If you are someone involved in the information business from mass media to talk radio or the largest or smallest blog on the web, this is a must read.

The twentieth century was the high point of mass culture—or “the overculture” as some call it. Any culture that could produce Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and The Honeymooners can’t be all bad.

But eventually, the connection between media elites and their audiences began to fracture. Though apocryphal, the line frequently attributed to Pauline Kael of the New Yorker in 1972 sums up the growing chasm between the overculture—particularly the media—and its audience: “I don’t know how Nixon won. No one I know voted for him.”

Just as the Big Three car manufacturers, with a once-monolithic hold on American consumers, seemed unaware that the public wanted a wider choice of cars (until Japan listened and responded), Pauline Kael’s in-crowd of coastal elites has, if anything, become even more clueless and resistant to emerging changes in the culture and dissemination of information.

How clueless? In 2004, Jonathan Klein, the former executive vice president of CBS News, described blogging as “a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing.” Last May, Time-Warner CEO Richard Parsons was quoted as saying, “The Googles of the world, they are the Custer of the modern world. We are the Sioux nation. They will lose this war if they go to war. The notion that the new kids on the block have taken over is a false notion.”

Just how did the mainstream media (“MSM”) become so monolithic and unresponsive in the first place? And how is the rise of “Weblogs” helping to establish a new, more “fair and balanced” form of journalism?

Mr. Driscoll surely needs no help from me describing the balance of this piece. It is just one informative, terrific article.

HT: Instapundit

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For some terrific pictures from Fallujah, Iraq, check out those posted by Bill Ardolino at INDC Journal. I attempted to select a favorite but it was impossible.

Also, Mike Yon has a new three part dispatch, “Hunting Al Qaeda Part I of III.”

A few months ago we called them terrorists. Today we call them Concerned Local Nationals. When we were in a good mood, we used to call them illegal or rogue militias. Now we call them Neighborhood Watches, or in this case, “Baqubah Guardians.” It’s truly working well. They do not have uniforms and most who wish to join have not been hired as policemen yet.

A fascinating read as always.

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It is seldom that I find myself posting on an opinion piece from any publication but this particular one from the Washington Post caught my attention and read in its entirety, offers a view of newspaper journalism which I found quite interesting.

Newspaper journalism is different these days: Suddenly everyone is obsessed with eyeballs, page views, “stickiness,” “click-through rates,” and so on. No one shouts “Stop the presses!” anymore, but they do whimper “Why aren’t I on the home page?” The noble product that we manufacture and distribute throughout the metropolis — the physical thing so carefully designed, folded and bagged — is now generally referred to in our business as the “dead-tree edition.” It gets little respect.

And indeed, so often the print version of the news is Old on Arrival. (By the time Karl Rove’s resignation made the front page last Tuesday, the only people who didn’t already know about it were the ones who didn’t care anyway.) The motto in the corner should be What Happened Yesterday or Maybe the Day Before.

Our future is on the Web. This is the mantra in newsrooms. And the Web lets us discover how many readers each article attracts. The data can be scrutinized in real time, moment to moment. Inevitably, this is going to change the way we do business — excuse me, I mean the way we do journalism.

Interesting isn’t it, how the author feels the future of news delivery is on the web. I for one agree and believe we will continue to see actual subscriptions for major publications decline. With the 24/7 news cycle on cable television, talk radio, and the many on line avenues available for readers to secure their information, many are no longer finding the need for that paper to be delivered to their doorstep.

If you have a few minutes on a lazy Sunday morning, this is a read you might enjoy.

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Sorry for the quick post but did not want to let this go without mention. Michael Totten is now reporting from Iraq while embedded with a unit in Baghdad.

This was a fascinating read and loaded with terrific pictures.

I found this paragraph and much of the article to be good news..I hope this trend is repeated in other areas of the country.

This was all purely defensive. The battalion I’m embedded with here in Baghdad hasn’t suffered a single casualty – not even one soldier wounded – since they arrived in the Red Zone in January. The surge in this part of the city could not possibly be going better than it already is. Most of Graya’at’s insurgents and terrorists who haven’t yet fled are either captured, dormant, or dead.

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The New Republic has been publishing stories written by someone who goes by the pen name of Scott Thomas.

Evidently the Weekly Standard read these posts and questioned them. They went to the base where this writer is supposed to be stationed and started checking.

The claims made by this phantom poster are pretty hard to believe, such as a soldier wearing the remains of a child’s skull under his helmet. That one would tip me off immediately.

Here’s what the New Republic has to say now:

Franklin Foer, the editor of The New Republic, will not reveal the author’s identity but says the magazine is investigating the accuracy of his articles. In the late 1990s, under different editors, the magazine fired an associate editor, Stephen Glass, for fabrications.

“Now that these questions have been raised, we’ve launched an inquiry. We’re putting the full resources of the magazine to look into the story,” Mr. Foer said. “It’s taking me a little bit longer than I wish it did. The author, not to mention some of the participants in the anecdotes he described, are active duty soldiers and they’re on 20-hour active combat missions sometimes, and it’s very difficult for me to get them all on the phone to ask them the questions that I’d like to ask.”

I’m not a journalist, but it seems to me before they run stories they should check the veracity of them first and not after the damage has been done.

This is like the AP reporter who never existed except in someone’s mind. I forget the name, but I’m sure someone will help me out in the comments.

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New York Post columnist Ralph Peters recently conducted a rather lengthy interview with General Petraeus. Below are just a few of the Q and A’s.

Ralph Peters: The current military operations in Iraq appear comprehensive and tenacious, part of a long-term, integrated plan. What can we realistically expect to achieve?

Petraeus: Our primary goal is to work with our Iraqi counterparts to improve security for the Iraqi people. This is intended to give Iraqi leaders the time to resolve the tough political issues they face and to pursue internal reconciliation.

Q: There’s a strong focus on going after al-Qaeda-in-Iraq in this offensive. How are you bringing our strengths against their weaknesses?

A: Al-Qaeda-in-Iraq’s key weaknesses are an ideology that does not resonate with Iraqis and an indiscriminate brutality that alienates the people. Popular sentiment has begun to shift against them.

To break al Qaeda’s grip on troubled areas, we employ the full range of our combat and support capabilities, as well as interagency assets. At the end of the day, though, it’s a Marine or Soldier on foot who does the final clearing, and our troops have been magnificent – as have, in many cases, our Iraqi partners, though their performance remains uneven.

Q: After more than four years of often frustrating operations in Iraq, troop morale remains remarkably resilient by historical standards. Even re-enlistment rates are impressive. How do our men and women in uniform remain so committed?

A: They know they’re engaged in a critical endeavor, one that’s “larger than self.” They recognize the mission’s importance not just to Iraq, but to the entire region and to our own country. Despite multiple tours and separations from loved ones, not to mention the impatience, frustration and other emotions we all feel at times, our men and women in uniform want to see Iraqis succeed – and, of course, they have a fierce desire not to let down their buddies. The bonds of those who have served together in combat are particularly strong.

Q: Now that the surge is fully in place, what’s your sense of the positives and negatives thus far? If you could have more of any one item, what would it be? Troops? Time? Iraqi unity?

A: I can think of few commanders in history who wouldn’t have wanted more troops, more time or more unity among their partners; however, if I could only have one at this point in Iraq, it would be more time. This is an exceedingly tough endeavor that faces countless challenges.

None of us, Iraqi or American, are anything but impatient and frustrated at where we are. But there are no shortcuts. Success in an endeavor like this is the result of steady, unremitting pressure over the long haul. It’s a test of wills, demanding patience, determination and stamina from all involved.

There is a lot more to this interview and as usual General Petraeus does not paint only a rosy picture.

HT: Hugh Hewitt

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Just one of those days where time seems to be at a premium so just a quick update on a few sites that you might find worth a read.

Omar from Iraq The Model has one of his first hand accounts on various issues taking place in his country. I suppose the following may be the reason we have not heard much from him as of late:

These months have been the worst in electricity supplies ever. We’re getting an average of one hour per day of electricity from the grid. The last time we had such hour was three days ago!

Second Chances is the latest dispatch from Michael Yon. I usually find a favorite line or paragraph in each of his pieces and this particular one was the easiest yet.

Yet street by street, house by house, step by step, the infantry soldiers cleared most of Baqubah, working under intensely stressful conditions. They cleared block by block, no place to sleep but the ground, no showers to wash away the sweaty grit of war. This combat-experienced brigade outsmarted the enemy. I’d like to say more, but the enemy will get no help from these pages.

Also included in Michael’s latest piece are two audio interviews and as usual his terrific photography.

Last, but certainly not least a Letter to America from a site I have recently discovered, Jack Army.

I asked an Iraqi I know to write a letter to Americans. I told him he should write whatever he wants. Specifically, I said, “if you could say anything you wanted to the American people, what would it be?”

This is what he wrote:

To my brothers and sisters all over the world,

Hi, I am in individual Iraqi, I can only express my own ideas about what is going on in this whole situation and I am very sure that the majority of Iraqis have the same idea.

First, before Coalition Forces came to Iraq, we were under a tyrant regime. Saddam and his followers, no doubt most of them were from Arab Sunni, those people were from Iraq too but they tortured, abused and offended the Iraqi people a lot, like mass graves, genocide, and so on. I cannot talk to you about the details of all what they did against us because it is unbelievable to someone to understand that.

Part one continues here. Part two of the same letter may be accessed here.

I strongly urge our readers and bloggers to read each of the posts listed in this post of Sue’s, and to listen to or read the information provided to you in Ayschlay’s post “Soldiers as Voters”. Each post has valuable information in it. ~J~

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Judge dismisses ‘New York Times’ lawsuit

How refreshing to read the above headline today.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a New York Times lawsuit against the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, saying classified documents the newspaper was seeking under the Freedom of Information Act were properly withheld.

The Times sued the two departments in federal court in April 2006 over their refusal to hand over documents connected to the government’s warrant-free wiretapping program.

It might even do Congress well to review this decision (the italicized portion in particular) as the judge also noted:

In a decision filed Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said the government was justified in not handing over classified material because it fell under exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act, including attorney-client privilege and presidential communications privilege.

The judge, who reviewed government descriptions of the classified material, agreed with government arguments that the departments didn’t have to turn over the papers for reasons including protecting the confidentiality of how the United States gets it intelligence information.

This is a huge loss for the “Paper of “Record” but in my opinion a big win for the American people.

Bottom line, we simply do not need the disclosure of classified National Security secrets revealed once again by any publication in this country.

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For those following Michael Yon’s series Death or Glory, part III is now available. This one is chock full of tremendous photography as well as his ever insightful commentary.

The Brits are in for a scorching summer in the deserts of Maysan Province. By the time I left, the sleeping bags weren’t necessary, though nights were cool. The soldiers are living out there on cots under mosquito nets, and their outhouse is a shovel. This past winter, the rains and cold created an opponent in the form of mud. The Iraqi mud—I know it well—is a special kind that sticks to boots and adds about five pounds to each foot.

Every time I read Michael’s work, I realize how fortunate we are to be with our families and simply going about our daily lives.

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The incredible Michael Yon is writing a four part series entitled “Death or Glory.”

I will offer only a taste of what is a depiction unlike any other of some of the events taking place in Iraq.

The intended target in an ambush never knows when it’s over. Yesterday’s ambush, which killed two soldiers and wounded three others, is a case in point. Once the Brits had dealt with the immediate aftermath of the ambush—setting up security, calling in air support, tending to the wounded and getting EOD in to deal with the remaining dozens of bombs—our convoy still had its mission objective. So we put the disabled vehicles in tow and continued our journey deeper into the desert.

This location was ideal for an area ambush, in which the enemy predicts or tries to shape your movements after the first attack, so that you move into other attacks. If the enemy does a good job, your force should be increasingly damaged and disorganized with each new ambush. If they do a very good job, they might wipe you out completely leaving nothing but burning vehicles, dead bodies, and maybe some prisoners.

If you are interested in the daily obstacles the forces in Iraq face, this is a must read. The real time photos offer stories in and of themselves.

Part one of the series is available from a link at the conclusion of part two. I look forward to parts three and four. Thank you Michael Yon for not only your dedication but your straightforward reporting.

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Admittedly, I’m sick of hearing presidential candidates this far from the first primary, but as I scan the news I’m beginning to wonder if the only people running are Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, with John Edwards as a trailing third.

Otherwise I’ve heard about McCain complaining the press isn’t as nice to him as it once was (they never are) and occasionally something critical of Rudy Giuliani, but I haven’t heard nearly as much from the political Right as I have from the political Left.

I assume all candidates from both parties are running just as hard so why are we not being informed of substantive issues other than the Iraq war (we know where all the candidates stand on this issue) taken by the various candidates of each party?

People complain when those of us on the Right say the media is prejudiced against us and they deny it, but check out any major newspaper (not the political blogs or definite left or right on-line sites) and tell me about which candidates you are reading the most.

Check the NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post, the Chicago papers, the Boston papers and tell me if you see a story about one of the so-called major Republican candidates talking about his positions on anything other than the Iraq war. Heck, you can even include the Iraq war in it.

Then tell me how many stories you have seen about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, to a certain extent, addressing adoring crowds of people all over the country.

Am I missing something here or do we have just one party running for president next year? Just asking.

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Our good friend DJ Drummond has written an excellent essay saying there is hope for journalism.

He focuses on this column written for ESPN by Jemele Hill and has this to say:

Her words are neither trite nor easy. They are exactly what needs to be said, and it shows promise for the future of Journalism. Ms. Hill has done a good thing, and not for her own advancement, nor for a cause, but in simple obedience to Justice and Decency.

Here is some of what Ms. Hill had to say:

I never wrote it, but I felt it — which is just as bad. I said it in private discussions with friends, some of whom tried to get me to see the whole picture, not just the picture I wanted to see.

My being a black woman, my knowing too many athletes who treat women like items to be purchased in a vending machine, and my witnessing enough athlete rape trials where accusers are overwhelmed by their fame and fortune — it all tainted my perception and made me doubt your innocence.

I feel stupid now.

So to Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, the three Duke lacrosse players whose lives were mangled by an unsupported rape accusation, I say two of the hardest words in the English language:

I’m sorry.

It’s not enough, and I won’t pretend that it is. For the last year, your lives and those of your families have been more difficult than any of us can possibly imagine. I’ll never know what it was like walking around normal society labeled a rapist. I’ll never know what it’s like to lose everything — your school, your program and your life — because of one unproven accusation.

You deserve all of that back and then some, but unfortunately, you won’t get it. You have every right to not trust anyone and think less of people. Duke University abandoned you. An overzealous prosecutor tormented you. A community, a nation, didn’t believe you. Journalists everywhere, sensing ratings and salivating over the salaciousness of black strippers and white athletes, chose to keep you under attack.

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