An Update

I'm still trying to find a new job, and won't get back into a regular routine of updating until I find one. So I won't be providing any context or insight for a while, but I will be throwing up some interesting news links for a while.

The Army kept a soldier whistle-blower in a locked psychiatric ward at its top medical center for nearly two weeks despite concern from some medical staff that he be released, according to medical records.

The Army then charged him nearly $6,000 for the stay at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, billing records show.

"They are definitely retaliating against me," said Army Reserve Lt. Jullian Goodrum, a 16-year veteran of the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

-UPI



David Poland is one of the few liberal film critics who is willing to say that this emperor is not wearing clothes (and needs to lose a couple pounds). Here are his thoughts on Michael Moore and Fahreinheit 911:

I was deeply disturbed by Moore's comment upon receiving the Palm d'Or that, "I want to make sure if I do nothing else for the rest of this year that those who died in Iraq have not died in vain."

What does that mean? If you believe the war was a horrible decision by the Bush Administration, then you must believe that every life that has been lost in the process has been in vain, no? Is there an upside to any of those deaths if you see no viable goal in having the war in the first place?

Now, the way I read the comment - and you will correct me if you disagree - is that somehow getting Bush out of office will mean that those who have died in Iraq have not died in vain… that somehow, if this film has that effect, there is a win.

Moore cannot, clearly, make that argument in public and will not. But I believe that it is what he means and he is a man who is willing to invoke the dead to give testimony, even if he is the puppeteer.

Hell Yeah, Let's Do It Again

Before we get consumed by some crazy military rape/sodomy scandal, let's take a moment to remember "the good times."

cnn video

CROWLEY: Wounded, another Iraqi writhes on the ground next to his gun. The Marines kill him -- then cheer.

RIDDLE: Like, man, you guys are dead now, you know. But it was a good feeling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah!

CROWLEY: When the battle is over and you are still standing, the adrenalin rush is huge.

RIDDLE: I mean, afterwards you're like, hell, yeah, that was awesome. Let's do it again.

The Lying Liars

LATimes editor John Carroll delivered a speech on ethics yesterday. He compared the work of ethical journalists with "pseudojournalists", which of course pisses off a lot of conservatives because Carroll lumps Fox News with the latter group. In fact, the speech was a scathing indictment of the practices of Fox News.


Conservative mouthpiece, Howard Kurtz, makes a valid point: But that presumes Fox is the cause of these attitudes, rather than attracting viewers who already hold these beliefs.

BET attracts black viewers, Fox News attracts hyperbolic morons. That's just the way the cookie crumbles here. I've decided not to argue the case anymore, and to avoid discussions with hyperbolic morons like Cori Dauber.

Hey Professor Dauber: If you want to believe that a closet full of pesticides constitutes an active WMD program, fine with me. Go ahead and believe everything that Fox tells you. If Fox tells you that Palestinian terrorists are the same as Al Qaeda, fine with me. If Fox tells you that anal rape is an acceptable form of US military behavior, fine with me. I sure hope that you don't have any frustrated students out there who are having trouble "blowing off steam" after finals. It'd kinda suck if they showed up at your house with a dog leash and a bottle of lube with the intent of "venting frustration". (Of course, if they did, you could just send them over to sign up for ROTC, I guess.)