|link| Posted 7:31 PM by Brian Linse

Um... Thanks For The Help Bob...

In a writing style that strikes one as the unholy union of Edward R. Murrow and Jacqueline Susann, the hapless Robert Fisk issues his hysterical reports -- combat journalism as check-out-stand porn -- portraying himself as the male lead; the Fabio, if you will, at the center of the tragedy.

Thanks, Bob.

Having Robert Fisk on your side of a debate is rather like having Tonya Harding running around town telling all the girls how great you are in bed.

I think I'd be better off without the help.

|link| Posted 10:01 PM by Brian Linse

Sgt. Media Critic

John Stryker provides the best critique of the TV war coverage so far:

Of the networks, it's a tie between ABC and NBC, but that's like saying it's a tie between green poo and diarrhea. CBS has been flushed away to where the mutant alligators live.

Just appalling work from the networks so far. Un-watchable. I'm streaming the BBC and NPR and relying on the blogs and the net news sites. You have to understand how much I hate the Beeb to grasp how bad the TV coverage must be. Give me Bernie Shaw hiding under a desk over buffoons like Aaron Brown and the entire FNC on-air stable anytime. And what's with the extreme close-ups of the talent on CNN? I'm not emotionally prepared for Wolf Blitzer's head to be that big in my living room.

|link| Posted 1:48 AM by Brian Linse

Ready For The Peace?

Bob Herbert from the New York Times:

Now that U.S. strikes against Iraq have begun, we should get rid of one canard immediately, and that's the notion that criticism of the Bush administration and opposition to this invasion imply in some sense a lack of support or concern for the men and women who are under arms.

|link| Posted 8:52 PM by Brian Linse

Who Ya Gonna Co-opt?


I (and I'm sure many other bloggers) got the following e-mail today from the Heritage Foundation:

Brian,

You've been discovered! Tim Rutten's Media column in today's edition of The Los Angeles Times is the latest example of the traditional media's newfound
appreciation of the growing influence of bloggers on America's public policy debates.

Our job at The Heritage Foundation is to provide useful resources - objective data and conservative analysis and commentary - to journalists, analysts and
commentators of all stripes. But we aren't quite sure how to do this with the blogger community.

So this email is an invitation for you to participate in an experiment. For the next month, we will periodically email to you short notices about significant
Heritage studies, publications and events. At the end of the month, let us know if these notices were helpful. If not, tell us at any time, and you won't get
any more. If you find you only want those notices regarding specific issue areas - foreign policy, welfare reform, etc. - we'll limit our future emails to you thusly. If you want to continue receiving all of the notices, let us know that, too.

Regardless of your perspective on the issues of the day, we are confident you will find Heritage materials useful in your effort to provide the kind of incisive, immediate and thoughtful commentary and analysis made possible by blogging.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Sincerely,

Laura Bodwell

Marketing Manager

The Heritage Foundation

I don't really need to comment on this, do I...?

Maybe if Laura stops by Casa BadDude with a pizza and blows me we can work something out...

UPDATE: Treach got one too. I hope he doesn't steal my pizza idea...

MO' UPDATE:Doc Searls, the ultimate oracle where web communication is concerned, thinks the HF is on the right track with this effort. He also points out, quite correctly, that the conservative movement is more "clueful" (a well chosen word from an author of The Cluetrain Manifesto) about the web and it's structure than are liberals. I think this is true, but I also think it is due in part to the rather narrow range of opinion that constitutes the "Right". Though it often seems a bit chaotic, I believe that one of our strengths on the Left is our diversity of opinion. It also means that we are less likely to be co-opted and manipulated by efforts such as this HF mailing. Doc gave them good advice when he suggested they create their own blog. Spoon feeding may work in the echo chamber of the Right, but it will only draw ridicule from the Left.

|link| Posted 7:58 PM by Brian Linse

Sleep Tight, Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite...

BBC Radio is reporting that Bush, Cheney, and Rice are calling it a night and going home to bed. All will sleep well, I'm sure.

Anybody seen Colin Powell...?

|link| Posted 7:44 PM by Brian Linse

'Today I Weep for My Country'

Sen. Robert Byrd continues to admonish his colleagues in a speech today:

"A pall has fallen over the Senate chamber," Byrd said. "We avoid our solemn duty to debate the one topic on the minds of all Americans, even while scores of thousands of our sons and daughters faithfully do their duty in Iraq."

|link| Posted 6:53 PM by Brian Linse

Gunfire In Baghdad - Bush To Address Nation

On CNN, Aaron Brown is peeing himself, and it looks like the TV coverage will require some patience on our part in order to gain benefit of live video. I'm afraid to tune to MSNBC for fear the anchors will be popping champagne bottles and cheering...
Here are a few war links to supplement your info gathering:

Jeff Jarvis War Weblog

WarblogsCC

Where Is Raed?

Virtual Tuner Iraq Resources (Broadband needed for media streams)

Kevin Sites Blogging From Northern Iraq

Inside VC's War Blog

|link| Posted 2:49 PM by Brian Linse

Everyone Is Irish Today...

...but some of us are more Irish than others, and I'm glad to know that a good man like Jim Capozzola is one of us. Go read his post about St. Patrick's Day and remember that a lot of people like my grandmother made a difficult journey almost a century ago to bring the best of their country to a new life. Each year on this day I take a solitary moment to remember Catherine Linse and her Irish eyes so full of unconditional love.

If you never had an Irish grandmother with clear blue eyes then you can't possibly imagine what St. Patrick's Day really should mean. But track down a copy of How The Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill so that you can at least understand how a Roman named Patricius became one of the most important human beings to have ever lived.