New York Times in need of a brain

Here's my response to today's New York Times editorial, "Senators in Need of a Spine," a call for a filibuster on Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court.

The New York Times, whose recent history suggests that the paper holds extreme views about the gatekeeping role and powers of the press and the limited intelligence of citizens, will certainly be a paper with a significant diminution of power, prestige and profits soon. The paper's demise will come courtesy of a grandiose vision of its own powers which undermine the nation's basic philosophy of government by and for the people (not the press) – and legacy media partners that seem eager to cooperate by regurgitating anything the Times spews on its way to being insignificant.

It is hard to imagine a moment when it would be more appropriate for the media of a nation at war to fairly represent the important issues that inform the public in their sustainment of government by, of and for the people.

Throughout coverage of recent historical events, the Times followed the well-worn path of media coverage, which has the paper offer up only the most negative reports and liberal talking points: "domestic spying" is against the law; Iraq is a quagmire; Saddam didn't have WMDs. But in what the Times has said in the past, and what it still refuses to say in its ample pages, the Times raised warning flags that, in the current context of a nation at war, cannot simply be shrugged away with a promise to be less biased another day.

The New York Times' refusal to even pretend to sound moderate is telling because to do so would have gained it so much. Other media, such as Fox News, which is far more skillful at appearing mainstream in its coverage, has already reaped the rewards of increasing public trust and profits.

Mainstream journalists, who present a near-unified front against President George Bush, seem unwilling to risk the detachment from the New York Times perspective – particularly since there is very little chance they wouldn't just go straight to the source and parrot the DNC's talking points.

Cancelling a subscription is a radical tool. It's easy to see why The New York Times is frightened of it. But from my perspective, there are some things far more frightening. One of them is a subversive press.

Thomas Jeffeson, who is often quoted on the importance of a free press, also had this to say:

"It is so difficult to draw a clear line of separation between the abuse and the wholesome use of the press, that as yet we have found it better to trust the public judgment, rather than the magistrate, with the discrimination between truth and falsehood. And hitherto the public judgment has performed that office with wonderful correctness."
Thomas Jefferson to M. Pictet, 1803

And so it seems Mr. Jefferson's wisdom is evident.

I'm a Porche 911! What are you?

Here's what the test says about my profile:

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Ben Franklin's words

This sign, held up in protest of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appearance defending the NSA wiretaps, is so typical of the narcissistic left. Besides correcting this quote, I think Benjamin Franklin would have a few more choice words for these ahistorical idiotarians. The words they got wrong are in red:

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Isn't it funny how Franklin's actual words mean something a little different? Wouldn't living under Islamic shari'a law be giving up essential liberty? Certainly the path to such an outcome is made easier by those who would trade national security for their own personal absolutes.


Franklin, and a bunch of other now-dead white men, listed certain essentials in a document to which they signed not just their names, but pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Notice that life precedes liberty which precedes the pursuit of happiness. That's called priorities.

Here's another interesting quote from Franklin that may shed some light on how his perspective, born under the yoke of imperial rule, may differ from those who inarticulately and inaccurately attempt to use him today:

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.

I am grateful to Nature's God, our Creator and Supreme Judge for his Divine Providence in placing such men as Benjamin Franklin at a time and place in which he and his fellows could lay the foundation for the idiots of our day to misunderstand history in safety. I'm also grateful for those who defend our life, liberty and happiness by facing today's wolves.

Database of Iranian victims

The Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation for the promotion of human rights and democracy in Iran (ABF) launched an on-line database Friday to promote human rights and democracy in Iran. Just a quick look through the memorial pages turns up items like this:

A young girl in Tehran in 1981…

...Arrested for swimming in her home pool in a bathing suit, she was found guilty of causing "a state of sexual arousal" in a neighbor from whose house she could be seen. She was sentenced to sixty lashes in April 1981, but she died after the thirtieth lash.

And this:

A fifty-two-year-old salesman in 1997…

...He believed in the Bahai religion. In the eyes of the State, this made him an apostate, a member of the "unprotected infidel" community. Arrested and found guilty of converting a woman to Bahaism,he was hanged in a public square in Mashad on July 21.

There are 9,093 such stories there. The memorial isn't exhaustive by any measure. It cites only the ones reported in the Iran's media and a small number of other reporting agencies. Many, many more will never be known.

Iran is on the brink of self destruction or a democratic rebirth. The choice is in the hands of the people of Iran. May everyone who can contribute to the latter.

Iran's ticking

Iran's President Ahmadinejad couldn't be any clearer, yet most of the world talks and acts as if there's no ticking timebomb.


Ahmadinejad has called for wiping "Israel off the map" at the "World Without Zionism" conference in October, 2005, where this image was displayed. Evidently Israel isn't his first target.

This ticking timebomb started in 1979 when Ahmadinejad, then a student and devotee of Khomeni, was a central figure in the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Teheran. Evidently his outrageous rhetoric is backed by a belief that he is preparing the way for the return of the Hidden Imam.

All streams of Islam believe in a divine saviour, known as the Mahdi, who will appear at the End of Days. A common rumour - denied by the government but widely believed - is that Mr Ahmadinejad and his cabinet have signed a "contract" pledging themselves to work for the return of the Mahdi and sent it to Jamkaran.

Iran's dominant "Twelver" sect believes this will be Mohammed ibn Hasan, regarded as the 12th Imam, or righteous descendant of the Prophet Mohammad.

He is said to have gone into "occlusion" in the ninth century, at the age of five. His return will be preceded by cosmic chaos, war and bloodshed. After a cataclysmic confrontation with evil and darkness, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace.

Some speculate that his reckless course is indeed charted to bring conditions for the End of Days and the return of the Hidden Imam.

There is real danger in combining religious fanaticism, especially the kind that denies others their freedom to choose, with posession of nuclear weapons.

Unfortunately for the people of Iran, the greatest danger is theirs. No matter how many nukes Iran may already have or how many it's massive plant at Natanz can help produce, the United States and Israel have more. I don't believe the U.S. or Israel will set off the first nuke but they certainly won't hesitate to lay waste to as much of Iran as they feel necessary should Ahmadinejad use nukes to call the Hidden Imam.

There is another possibility. The people of Iran have a tradition of democracy, though it's been trampled by the current regime. It's sad to see a people with so much to offer the world and so much to leave for their children used by a tyrant like Ahmadinejad.

Maybe Ahmadinejad hears another ticking timebomb as Iranians who visit Iraq and the Holy sites in Najaf return with wishes for their own country's freedom.

Point of view

While looking through some photos this one jumped out at me and I smiled, remembering my favorite place, the Flint Hills of Kansas.


Bob Gress, director of the Great Plains Nature Center, took me for a drive along some gravel roads in the Flint Hills to research an article I wrote several years ago. It was a beautiful late summer day. The beauty of the green, rolling hills under the endless sky was captivating. But Bob saw far more, "There goes a lizard!" I didn't see anything. Bob stopped, walked back about 20 feet, reached down and came up with this.


This photo of a Horned Lizard in Bob's hand says so much. He saw it when I didn't. He could just reach out and gently catch this creature. I would have chased it for 30 yards before giving up with skinned knees. He knew its habits and environs. I made a lucky guess at its name.

The Flint Hills is a quick study to some, though they really don't study it at all. It's beauty is much deeper to those who get to know it.

Thank you . . . go in peace

A good friend e-mailed something today that touched me more than anything I have seen in a long time. It's a musical tribute to our World War II veterans who are now dying off at about 2,000 a day.

As mentioned previously in this post, I have many veterans in my family. They served nobly and offered their all. World War II wasn't run as perfectly as critics of today's war would like to see it run. It wan't without criticism at home. But it did touch just about everyone personally. Some gave all but all gave some.


My great uncle Harry landed at Normandy and pushed inland into the winter and the Battle of the Bulge. He never spoke about it much, other than to acknowledge that he was there. When I was still small enough to fit on his lap we'd watch "Combat," an unusual show for the early 1960s. It was a more realistic depiction of World War II in Europe than just about anything else done by then. The soldiers were almost always dirty and sometimes imperfect, tired, and scared. If "Butch," that's what I called him, fell asleep during the show he'd occasionally have dreams and call out names of his fellow soldiers, "watch out Ace!"

My father-in-law took Navy frogmen to the beaches of Okinawa, shot down kamikazi planes and helped rescue survivors of a ship that wasn't so lucky. He never mentioned any of this to his family until after I joined the Navy and married his daughter in 1977. Even then he only said he was a storekeeper on a ship and was on a gun crew. It wasn't until a few weeks ago I found a detailed history of his ship and the full measure of what he's seen.

My father, though deferred because of his job in an aircraft factory, joined the Navy anyway. He was assigned to a training squadron where aircrew's chances of dying were far higher than the chances of death or injury in today's military in Iraq. Toward the end of the war he served on Shore Patrol duty escorting troop trains across country. He sometimes told stories about the escapades of the soldiers on the trains and it was clear he felt something special about those soldiers, where they'd been and where they were going.

All the wartime vets I know, when they did talk of the war, only talked about their friends, compassion, the heroism of others and their great love of this country and its peace and freedom.

Watch and listen to this presentation. Then, if you are so blessed as to have a living World War II veteran in your family, go say thank you. If not, go find one and say thank you. It will help extend your family and your understanding. And don't be ashamed of the tears. They'll understand.

Natanz, a large hole full of trouble

GraphicLens has a new interactive Flash graphic showing what's underground at the Natanz uranium processing site in central Iran.

The IAEA seals were removed by Iran Jan. 10 in spite of objections by the UN, U.S., EU and practically everyone else with two initials and a brain. One thing that should be clear is that this is no ordinary facility. Why would someone bury three buildings with a total footprint of about 740,000 square feet, that's about 13 football fields, under multiple layers of soil and concrete?

Whatever happens next, whether it's diplomacy with words or precision guided munitions, Iran certainly has invested mightily in this site, something they're not likely to willingly shut down.

ACLU nonsense

As expected, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights have filed seperate lawsuits against the NSA for its "warrantless wiretaps." I've been tepid towards the ACLU in the past, sometimes very critical but also recognizing some important and useful functions they perform in preserving civil liberties.

But in this case I think they're flat-out wrong. The United States is at war with an enemy that knows no decency. The ACLU and CCR want to protect their own rights to communicate overseas in their clients' behalf without fear of government monitoring.

Here's a bit of Powerline's Scott Johnson's perspective on CCR's filing(pdf). Emphasis mine:

CCR complains that the NSA surveillance program has compromised its representation of terrorist detainees and others. The CCR plaintiffs complain, for example, that their representation of terrorist clients has been inconvenienced by the NSA program in that the attorneys are now "compelled to undertake international travel to avoid the risk of jeopardizing the confidentiality of privileged communications."

CCR doesn't contend that they're unable to defend their clients, just that they're INCONVENIENCED!

Pardon me, but isn't having a Boeing 757 crash into your office a bit more than inconvenient? I'm sure having your head sawed off with 10-inch ham slicer isn't too inconvenient if you're a brain-dead lawyer.

These lawsuits seem to epitomize the kind of wrong-headed advocacy which has earned the ACLU its bad reputation among conservatives. Stop the ACLU has a roundup and this assessment:

Certainly folks that knowingly correspond with known and suspected terrorists should know they are taking a risk, and that such treasonous actions comes with consequence.

It's obvious that there are two very different camps in the U.S. on the subject of preventing another attack like 9-11. One wants to do all within its power, perhaps even stretching the Constitution a bit, to protect innocents from tyrants. The other seems only to want to ignore a very real threat.

Some perspective on Iraq

Ok, so most folks in the military think the mainstream media doesn't report the good stuff in Iraq. And lots of mainstream media journalists think the reporters in the Green Zone have the right perspective on the quagmire they see in Iraq. Black Five has a report that extends the boilerplate military press release, which reporters in the Green Zone use to write their dispatches.
What the press release misses is the humanity, fear and bravery behind the numbers. Black Five has the rest of the story via e-mail from Doc D, a 101st Combat Medic.

The .50 ran out of ammo so they pulled my truck up to the support by fire position to lay down fire with the 240B. I exited from the opposite side and moved over to the casualty who had an Iraqi medic kneeling over him. The medic was crying and had this horrified look on his face. I yelled at him to get to work but he just stood there frozen.

Read the rest of Saving Private Ali. It's worth the time.

Most who fault reporting from Iraq blame for the mainstream media for their overly negative depiction. But military public affairs offices bear some blame too. They are often slow to get the good word out. It's so much easier to crank out the boilerplate press release from an after-action report than actually assign a military journalist to get the rest of the story, clear and distribute it. And besides, the mainstream media wouldn't use the military journalist's story anyway because it's all propaganda. See my previous post for more propaganda.

Local media embeds seem to find more of the human drama, perhaps because they're writing about soldiers who are known in the community. National media embeds seem to me to concentrate on finding soldiers who'll support the Green Zone perspective on Iraq.

Does anybody know what this is?

Apparently not at the New York Times.

Glenn Reynolds puts it best:

Another reason why newspapers need affirmative action for people with military experience.

The N.Y. Times caption says:

Pakistani men with the remains of a missile fired at a house in the Bajur tribal zone near the Afghan border.

As Hit and Run makes clear, it's an artillery round. Missile nose cones do not survive impact.

Obviously the New York Times doesn't have a very effective policy on verifying information. It's a good thing the photographer, Thir Khan, was there to arrange things for the best composition - - or best political impact. It's extremely unlikely that artillery would be used for such a precision strike. The more likely source for this "missile" is the local IED component store.

When engaged on the topic of intellectual diversity or diversity of thought, media managers acknowledge it's important. But I've rarely worked with other military veterans in the four large (100 plus employee) newsrooms in my post-military career. To their credit though, many of my current colleagues do come to me with questions about military stories.

Civilized justice in Iran

A couple of paragraphs in a post at Captain's Quarters on the Iranian nuclear standoff caught my attention:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday painted the United States and other Western nations as bullies with "a medieval view of the world" and insisted his nation has the right to conduct nuclear research.

"Our nation does not need a nuclear weapon," Ahmadinejad said. "We are a civilized and cultured nation. We have logic, we have civilization ... Nuclear weapons are only needed for people who want to solve everything through use of force."

So, just how civilized are the cultured leaders of Iran? Here's an example from HolyCrime.com, a site that chronicles "civilized justice" under sharia in Iran:

Nazanin, 17,  was sentenced to death by hanging for defending herself against three rapists. 

A young girl who defended herself and her chastity against three male assailants who intended to kidnap and rape her causing injury to one of them who later died in hospital was condemned to death by hanging in an Islamic court in Iran.

This is not an aberration in Iran. It's just the way things are there under the mullahs and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's special brand of civilized culture.

Nowhere in the world and under no law self defense is considered to be a crime, but in the tyrannical mullacracy of Iran if a woman does not resist rape she will be stoned as adulterer and if she does she will be hanged.

The sentence may have already been carried out. Little Green Footballs has more.

Kennedy's Kin?

Is Ted Kennedy's heritage beginning to show? His demeanor at the Alito confirmation hearing certainly seems to have much in common with Gothmog of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

Canadian Press Soft on Liberals

Captain's Quarters has been following, and perhaps fueling, the slide
of Canada's Liberal party with reporting of the party's scandals
including bribery and collusion with the media. Now he reports that the
Toronto Star and Montreal's La Presse pulled publication of a poll
showing the Conservative Party extended their lead to double digits over the Liberals. They did publish the poll today, the day after an English-language debate.

Media Locations

We have a new interactive Flash graphic posted at GraphicLens.

Jeremy, Deb and I are really getting the hang of working on graphics together. We sat down Friday evening and decided to do a graphic using our new GIS mapping software, Avenza's MAPublisher. We found the data at this site, downloaded it and pointed MAPublisher at it. It's really great to feel this jazzed about working.

I've worked in a couple of the blue-state media centers and have fond memories of my colleagues there and the areas in general, though I don't miss D.C. traffic at all. We all have biases but they become blinders to alternative perspectives when colleagues, neighbors and the media all take the same perspective.

This interactive Flash map shows that most of the top national media headquarters are in counties that voted for Kerry in 2004. Most journalists working in the national media live in large metro areas that voted for Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004. Maybe this has something to do with the perceived and measured liberal bias in the mainstream media.

Maybe a good exercise for media consumers would be to tally how many column inches or minutes of air time of their local media are locally generated and how much comes from some national media source.

A cure for Terrorism Denial Syndrome

Stephen Hayes has the cure for the Terrorism Denial Syndrome (TDS) that's prevalent among many democrats and members of the mainstream media. (Was that redundant?)

Michelle Malkin leads her post on Hayes' report in the next issue of the Weekly Standard with quotes from two of the biggest victims of TDS and its usual companion, BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome).

"Iraq was not a breeding ground for terrorism. Our invasion has made it one."
--Sen. Ted Kennedy

"Iraq was not a terrorist haven before the invasion."
--Sen. John Kerry

Rightwing Nuthouse offers a dose of Hayes' TDS cure with with more than a teaspoon of sarcasm.

Thanks to our brilliant intelligence services and the untiring efforts of left wing liberals, this dangerous lie was exposed and found to be utterly, completely, totally, and without question a prevarication.

Now that the vast collection of documents, computer data, etc. gathered after Saddam's fall are being analyzed and slowly opened to the public I'm sure we'll be hearing much more from the mainstream media about Saddam's connections to terrorists.

Puppy posing

We took Chance to the office to take some photos for future publication, and to visit some friends. I'd say his first modeling gig was a success.




Oral hygene is important. Even for puppies. I hope Erin doesn't want her toothbrush back.

Family tradition

In my family there's a strong tradition of military service.

My grandfather received a battlefield promotion to sergeant, various medals and a six-month stay in the hospital for his service in World War I's Battle of the Somme with the Royal Highland Regiment, Black Watch. He wore the British uniform but carried the Highland's motto, Nemo me impune lacessit (no one attacks me with impunity) in his heart.



My father, David, gave up a deferrment, because he worked in the Glen L. Martin factory in Baltimore, to join the Navy.



My wife's grandfather also served in World War I and my wife's father, numerous uncles and father-in-law all served in World War II. Here's my wife's father on the USS Bunch at the battle of Okinawa.



By this definition they are all sheepdogs. And I'm proud of every one.

Agenda language

Hugh Hewitt caught CNN in some blatant agenda journalism, like that's something new.

Moments ago, a CNN newsreader referred to Jose Padilla's "ordeal," and to the "woes" of those detained at Gitmo. This is the language of implicit injustice, and whoever is writing copy for the talking head is an agenda journalist of the first order. I wonder if he, she, or they think Daniel Pearl underwent an ordeal and suffered woes, and if so, how to distinguish between his ordeal and woes and those of terrorists. Or does language fail CNN copy writers when it comes time to judge the justly imprisoned from the innocent?

Unfortunately this type of journalism has become so prevalent that it no longer seems biased to many viewers or readers and some editors no longer see any offense in it. One of my journalism professors at Syracuse University in 1980 taught that any judgemental or loaded words had to be attributed unless they were on the opinion page. His was the world of a straight news writer.

Who's side are you on?

Mudville Gazette, as part of its usual great roundup of news on the Global War on Terror, reports on citations for bravery and selfless sacrifice of our service members. Greyhawk aptly compares our soldiers' deeds with reports of two beheadings by the other side, one of a translator in Iraq and the other of a school teacher in Afghanistan.

The point? Choose a side.

The side that beheads school teachers has clearly stated and shown its intent and, in spite of the repeated cries of, "no blood for oil" or "American imperialists," our side continues to show its intent. One side wants to terrorize into subjugation. The other wants to build and safeguard freedom.

Jawa has more.

Puppy blogging

As promised, here's a photo of our Golden Retriever puppy, Chance. He came home three days early.

Chance doesn't just sleep though.

He runs.


He takes time to smell the grass.


And he likes to hang out with pretty girls.

Security vs freedom

Security watchtower has an excellent post on the "domestic spying program" with the following apt analogy:

Freedom of speech doesn’t mean a thing if you are dead or too terrorized to use it. How do we protect our country if we can’t figure out who the bad guys are? Just envision the following scenario:
Your local Police Department is asking the public to assist in finding a suspect who fled after breaking into your house and terrorizing your family. The suspect was described as a homosapien wearing blue jeans and a black sweatshirt. Unnamed officials are unable to provide additional details, citing privacy concerns. If you have seen this person, please contact your local police department.

Newsrooms have long used just this type of restriction on identifying local crime suspects. The avoidance of race is especially important to avoid stigmatizing a segment of the community. But wouldn't members of the other community, you know, the one where the rape, burglary, murder, etc. occurred, like to have as much information as they can to protect themselves from another attack?

Read the whole post. It makes a good argument for a more complete discussion of the NSA program and Bush's sworn duty to protect the United States.