Me: “So. What do you think about the Administration’s handling of the war in Iraq?” Kinda swarthy guy with thick black mustache: “Uh, I don’t, actually.” Me: “For reals? How can you not take at least a passing interest in what’s happening to your own homeland, man? Mesopotamia! The navel of civilization!” Kinda swarthy guy with thick black mustache: “Dude. I’m from Santa Barbara.”

In response to my earlier post on propaganda, counter-propaganda, and the shifting of the propaganda paradigm, I received the following email (reprinted with permission, though I’ve taken out the writer’s name): Regarding your recent blog post, “Fa-llujah Daddy”, I must say that you are dead-on when discussing how US news and commentary impacts information operations in Iraq. I’m an Army Reserve soldier. My last deployment to Iraq was in 2006-2007

Let me guess. His one dramatic flaw? Sometimes he cares just too damn much…! Jesus. It’s like the entire US entertainment industry has been taken over by George Clooney’s puppies. I’ve got an idea. Let’s show our appreciation for this rape of our childhoods by coming up with a list of potential taglines for the upcoming film — offered free of charge should Paramount choose to use one of them.

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No, no no no, she’s outside, looking in. Madeleine L’Engle, who in writing more than 60 books, including childhood fables, religious meditations and science fiction, weaved emotional tapestries transcending genre and generation, died Thursday in Connecticut. She was 88. Weaved? Is that acceptable? I would have said wove.

Let’s grant up front that a single data point does not a trend make. That out of the way, Bill Ardolino points out that a volunteer for the Fallujah Protectors shares a different view of the role of the US surge in the Anbar Awakening than does New York Democratic Congressman Chuck Schumer. Schumer, recall, had this to say about the US surge [update: seems he has now altered his

What does the Editor & Publisher review of “Until Proven Innocent” say?

New Bin Laden tape set to be released within the next 72 hours. Just in time for a long-promised special gift come 9/11! Miraculously, early video captures from the tape suggest that Bin Laden appears to be growing younger. Which, I hate to say, suggests that his God is a lot more powerful than one who occasionally makes an appearance in a tortilla or in the bark of a tree,

Imagine that! For all the contemptuous sniggering from certain quarters about how the nutters’ concentration on the tenor of the post-911 political rhetoric (be it from Congressional Democrats, their media handmaidens, or the rabid blackfacers and conspiracy theorists slithering through the intertubes) and its likely effect on the electorate, it turns out our fears have been well founded. Rather than being just so much obfuscation to distract brave and clear-thinking