God Forbid They Link To Me . . .

Today’s Washington Post is quite the spectacle.  Opinion blogger Phillip Carter, who evidently writes on ”national security and the military,” has written a piece entitled, “Army Shows Its Colors.”  I suppose I should have known better, since I found the initial link on the Huffington Post, under the title: “Army Spreads Partisan Attacks Against Obama,” but I read it anyway. 

Mr. Carter seems to forget, during the course of the article, what he states at the beginning:

The Army’s public affairs office publishes a daily roundup of Army-related news called “Stand To” — named for the set of procedures combat units do just prior to dawn, when they go to full alert for a possible enemy attack. The daily wrapup contains links to mainstream media articles, Army press releases, foreign media stories and blogs.  It’s similar to the Defense Department’s Early Bird — but much briefer, and obviously more focused on the Army.

He doesn’t seem to have a problem, from the tone I’m getting, with blogs in general being included in Stand To or Early Bird.  So what does he mean by this:

  And more to the point, why is the Army’s official in-house public affairs shop linking to this kind of stuff?

Uh, exactly what you just said it was supposed to do: briefing staff about what is being said in the news and on the blogs concerning military affairs.  And it takes up a very small section of the page.  Look at the “What’s In The Blogs” section of Stand To.  It’s on the lower right.    Not very prominent, is it? 

As a blogger, I’m quite surprised at Mr. Carter’s indignance.  Hooah, whom I probably do not agree with on very many things, is, as he himself says, a Private Blogger, not a reporter, nor a military official, and has as much right to free speech as anyone else does.  Would Mr. Carter take such umbrage if Stand To linked to one of his own articles?  I wonder.  In a blog, opinion seeps through–and as an “Opinion Blogger,” as his page heralds, Mr. Carter should know this.  So why is he objecting to the content of the link, and not the fact that Stand To links to blogs at all?  Is it only opinions he finds distasteful that Mr. Carter objects to?  I wonder. 

As for the Huffington Post writing that the “Army Spreads Partisan Attacks Against Obama,” well, that’ll teach me to read that codswallop.  I hope the Army sues Ariana for libel. 

And one last thought to recognize the fact that now you are reading a blog that’s writing about a blog that’s writing about a blog that was writing about . . . a blog that the Army linked to. 

*sigh*  John was right.  I’m just disgusted with stupid people. 

Let’s see how this plays out in the media.

 

Where’s The “Special Comment” About Obama’s Auschwitz Remark?

Last week, in the land of gaffes, Keith Olbermann delivered another of his much-lauded (by some) “Special Comments” about Hillary Clinton’s use of the word “assassination” in this political campaign.  While thought-provoking to a point, Olbermann’s Special Comments are obviously more of an Editorial than actual Journalism:

Senator, we cannot forgive you this.

“You know, my husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.”

We cannot forgive you this — not because it is crass and low and unfeeling and brutal.

This is unforgivable, because this nation’s deepest shame, its most enduring horror, its most terrifying legacy, is political assassination.

Lincoln.

Garfield.

McKinley.

Kennedy.

Martin Luther King.

Robert Kennedy.

And, but for the grace of the universe or the luck of the draw, Reagan, Ford, Truman, Nixon, Andrew Jackson, both Roosevelts, even George Wallace.

The politics of this nation is steeped enough in blood, Senator Clinton, you cannot and must not invoke that imagery! Anywhere! At any time!

Our “deepest shame?”  Our “most enduring horror?”  Really?  Someone lend Mr. Olbermann a history book.  While political assassinations are an abominable instance that have recurred in our history, I can certainly think of at least two historical references that are much more shameful, horrible, enduring, and a “terrifying legacy.” 

One of those is, obviously, slavery. 

One other enduring, horrible legacy of the United States is that we idly stood by while Jews were slaughtered by the millions in WWII Germany.  Not until our own physical security was breached at Pearl Harbor did we deign to go to the aid of the Poles, Jews, and Homosexuals that were systematically butchered by the Nazis.  The fact that we waited so damned long contributed to the popularization of the phrase, “Never Again,”  originally coined by Meir Kahane.

While I hate to offend Mr. Olbermann’s sensibilities, Meir Kahane was also assassinated.  In New York. 

And yet Barack Obama’s false assertion that his own uncle was part of the “American forces” that liberated not just any concentration camp, but Auschwitz itself, escapes Mr. Olbermann’s scathing comment. 

Why? 

It was the Russian army that liberated Auschwitz, not the Americans.  And it has always been, to me, an unwritten rule that you do not refer to Auschwitz unless you know what the hell you’re talking about.  While Bobby Kennedy’s assassination is indeed an enduring and horrible image, for many, many Americans, the gas chambers and ovens of Auschwitz are far more horrifying. 

 

Quickies

• Obama-the next Roosevelt?    I do not want to hear about him carrying a big stick.
• How to waste an afternoon: reading a topix thread, specifically this one– California Schools “Indoctrinate” Children with Pro-Gay Messages.  Click if you want to read accusations of NAMBLA affiliation, indoctrinating children to go suck people off, etc.  Lovely, enlightened folks here!  (Although I have to say I love the fact that a lesbian has “Carpet Power” as her forum name!  That is too sweet for words.)  How about educating some of the commenters?

A Quote and A Question

How can you equate 2500votes in Iowa’s caucas, to 1.2 million in Florida?

In the comments of the above-linked thread, “Vik” keeps asserting (and I’ve heard this in other places before) that it doesn’t matter what Floridian voters did, because “they knew” their votes wouldn’t count. 

I really doubt that.  Most Americans aren’t political junkies who pay attention to the news.  In these days of sound-bytes and text messaging, the headline is all that matters.  And I’m of the opinion that voters in Florida, for the most part, didn’t know that their votes wouldn’t be counted. 

Again. 

So if there are any Floridians out there who voted in the Democratic Primary, (and there are a record number of you, so don’t be shy) what’s the real deal?  Did you know your vote wouldn’t count, or didn’t you?  Or was it something in-between? 

We’re all dying to know.

John McCain on Weekend Update

In case you missed it, John McCain was on Saturday Night Live this week, and his spot on Weekend Update was particularly funny:

That’s right.  Fight amongst yourselves. 

Funny, right?  And he manages to get some extra mileage out of this ad, being released in Iowa: 

McCain’s wants to paint the Democrats as squabbling and ineffective, and while his attempts at humor may fall flat–after all, he’s no Ronald Reagan–it’s a smarter strategy than I’ve seen the Democrats take.  He’s got a point: how effective will they be in office, if they can’t even decide upon a nominee?