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The Command Post: Nothing’s Perfect

Well, had to happen sooner or later: I disagree with something done by the fine folks over at Command Post.
Journalist Michael Kelly was killed today in an accident while covering the war as an embedded reporter with the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division. It goes without saying that this is horrible, and my thoughts and best hopes go to Michael’s wife, children, and all those who counted him as a friend or loved one.
However, at the risk of being dismissed as heartless, I disagree with the Command Post’s decision to run the story on Kelly’s death “above the fold” today with a sticky note which has remained at the top of the front page.
The argument that no one death should be elevated above all the others occurring during this war — from Iraqi civilians to our own soldiers to other nation’s journalists — is so banal it barely merits repeating. Yes, Kelly was a journalist, and by all accounts, a fine one at that. And as such, he is most certainly closer, in some sense, than most of the other unfortunate souls who have lost their lives during this conflict to the authors of the Command Post — including myself.
Singling him out for such treatment, however, raises more questions than it answers. Will every American journalist who dies receive such treatment? Do they have to be a Washington Post columnist and Atlantic Monthly editor to deserve it — or would a stringer from the Podunk Daily Mail get the same honors? How about British reporters? Australians? And why, exactly, is a journalist worthy of such honor, but the American soldiers who sacrificed their lives today (there were at least three) are not?
But for the Command Post, there was another, more serious reason why the above-the-fold treatment was inappropriate: it just wasn’t news.
And news is what the Command Post is all about. Alan, Michele, and the dedicated team of authors that drive the site have done an extraordinary, exceptional job at establishing a straight-ahead, just-the-facts source for breaking news on this war that is second to none. Memorializing Kelly on the front page, while obviously done with the best of intentions and sentiments, distracts from the core mission of the site: to bring together the best sources of breaking news across the media spectrum. Because as tragic as this one man’s death was to all those who knew him: in the perspective of this war, and in the perspective of the world, it simply isn’t a big story.
To be clear: I can’t speak highly enough of the Command Post’s founders, its mission, its authors, and its amazing success over the past weeks. I take it as a small point of pride that I happened to be one of the very first bloggers other than Alan and Michele themselves (the first, I think) to post to the site following the launch. And I carry a similar-sized batch of shame for the fact that I haven’t found myself able to regularly contribute to the site to nearly the degree that I’d like to.
So I hope this will be taken as a constructive critique from one who wishes only the best for the site. I hesitated, for a moment, to post this, feeling a twinge of reluctance to directly criticize the folks that I’m rooting so hard for to succeed.
But I’m a blogger, as are they. And speaking our minds is what we do. It’s all we do. And when we start censoring ourselves — well, we might as well just give up entirely and get ourselves editors.

Predictions Watch

Ok, yet another reader-participation post. (Somehow my creative juices aren’t flowing, sorry.).
I’m looking to collect bold predictions which have already been made about the outcome of the war. These can be either pro- or anti- war; only limitation is I’d like to stick to near-term predictions about the immediate outcome of the attack on Hussein’s regime — long term speculation doesn’t count for this exercise.
It is too soon to begin reaching conclusions on the rightness or wrongness of such predictions — but I’m beginning to suspect that it won’t be long now. (See, I’m doing it myself! First prediction — N.Z. Bear: “It won’t be long now”.) And I think it is part of our blogospheric duty to be prepared to retroactively fact-check everybody’s ass — including our own.
Anybody is fair game: public figures, journalists, Big Media commentators, or of course, other bloggers. Direct quotes only, and include the date of the prediction where known. And of course, links to sources are highly desirable.
I eagerly await responses…

April French Day

It says something about something that when I saw this page, it wasn’t so much that I didn’t get that it was a joke — but that it seemed plausible to me:
France Declares WAR on United States
As I said to the person who sent me the link: I suspect it’s all a U.S. plot. French military assistance probably translates to training Hussein’s forces on optimal surrender techniques….

A question for those opposing this war

I’ve been noodling a piece about the current state of peace protesters, and the shift in meaning that occured between protesting to prevent a war, and protesting a war that is already in progress.
But frankly, others have done it already, so I’d be retreading old ground. So instead of doing that, and putting words in the mouths of those opposing this war, let me just ask a simple question:
What do you want?
I’d really like to know. And I’ll leave it at that, as I don’t want to prejudice the question any more. But please, if you oppose (or opposed) attacking Hussein’s forces in Iraq, I’d like to hear your “What I would do if I was President” speech. What actions would you take, and how would those actions be better (in whatever way you choose to define ‘better’) than the course we are pursuing today? And if you feel really intellectually honest, in what ways would your approach be worse?
Comment section is thataway…
-NZB

Get a TTLB Bear!

border=”0″ class=”imageborder” align=”right” name=”mainimg” src=”http://prodtn.cafepress.com/0/5370650_F_tn.jpg” width=”140″ alt=”Teddy Bear”>
Need a little something to snuggle up to at night?
TTLB has you covered! For a limited time only (I am planning on living forever, but eventually the Universe ends…) TTLB readers can purchase their very own Truth Laid Bear Teddy Bear!
The TTLB-TB comes in two editions: the Premium Bear for $15.99 , and the Basic Bear for $12.99. The actual bears are identical: the only difference is the price (the Premium kicks back a few bucks to little old me, the Basic edition is at the rock-bottom price provided by CafePress).
It makes a great gift for that special sweetheart — show them your sensitive and cuddly, yet morally serious and intellectually challenging side! Or get one for the munchkin — it’s never too early to start indoctrinating the youngsters!
Accept no imitations! Act now and be the first on your block to have a genuine TTLB-TB, before they’re all gone!
PS – I also note that CafePress now allows the creation of “thong” and “panty” products. While I have not added these to my store as yet, we aim to please our readership ’round these parts, so please, if there is a pent-up demand for TTLB lingerie — this bear wants to know!
Update: Never let it be said that I don’t respond to consumer demand! By request of the fair Erica, TTLB undies are now available at both the premium and basic stores.
Hmmm. I see this as the next big thing in mindless blogging competitiveness. Sure, Pejman and Stephen might get more hits than I do, but I’ll bet I can get more of the lovely ladies of blogdom to wear TTLB-branded bloomers! (I almost said “to wear my panties”, but caught myself in time…)
Update Again: Hmm (II). It seems Allen Prather is upping the ante….

Hostage Rescue (II)

Reminder: is not a normal war between two nations. It’s a hostage rescue.
So don’t be surprised that the hostages aren’t dancing in the streets yet — the bad guys still have guns pointed at their heads, and will, until we thoroughly take down their boss and his core cronies.

Galeon issues?

Just had a report from a fellow running who indicates that TTLB doesn’t render correctly using that browser. It’s Unix-only, so I’m not able to test it directly myself. But it would be odd — I use Mozilla myself (Galeon is built on the same rendering engine) and don’t see problems.
Anyway, if you’re using Galeon, I’d appreciate feedback if you’re seeing odd stuff or whether all appears well. Screenshots would be doubly-nice if you want to be a real help. Thanks….
-NZB
Update: The problem actually does appear in Mozilla as well. The issue appears when viewing TTLB in a non-maximized window, so there’s not enough room to show the whole width of the page in the browser. In IE, you can scroll left-and-right and see the whole page. But in Mozilla, you can’t scroll all the way left — the far-left of the page gets cut off.
Hmmm. I’ve no clue. Anybody with suggestions, chime in!

Cross-Blog Debate Lives On

Whoah.
I’ve been puzzled for some time as to why I’ve continued to get “heat” from the Blog Iraq Debate — lots of folks coming into the site with that as their entry page.
I was hampered in figuring this out by the fact that I didn’t have my SiteMeter code on the redirect pages I created to translate the old host’s URLs to the current ones, so I was losing the referrer info.
So anyway, tonight I finally figured it out: Go to Google or Yahoo and search on “blog iraq”.
Not only is the debate the #1 result, but eight of the top ten results on the first results page refer to it.
Yipes. I get it now…

The Quality of Mercy

Thought for the night (it’s a dark one — the night, and the thought):
Clearly, there are some Iraqis who are willing to sacrifice their own lives to defend the Hussein regime.
I submit the following proposition, then: to ensure a safe and stable future for Iraq’s soon-to-be-emerging democracy, is it not wise for Coalition forces to ensure that those willing to make such an ultimate sacrifice, do so?
Accepting surrender from those who fought (or didn’t) under threat of their own lives is mercy, and builds a stable foundation for Iraq’s future. But is not the converse true: that accepting the surrender of those who truly wish for the preservation of Hussein’s tyranny undermines that same future?
Put another way: will the inevitable mercy we will see in the short-term — as Coalition forces accept the late, but unavoidable, surrender of Republican Guard units worn down over days and weeks of punishment — breed long-term suffering as those die-hards slink into the night, only to emerge later as guerillas, terrorists, or worse?
Would it be best for Iraq’s future if those units we know to be stacked with loyalists somehow are never presented with the opportunity to lay down their arms?
And would it be moral for Coalition forces to ensure they never did get that chance?
Discuss.
PS – If you’re upset by the very thought I’d contemplate such a thing, see response to Shelley Powers in the comments.

The Corner: Amateur Hour

and Alan at Avocare have set up a new community warblog: Command Central.
The idea is “a temporary group weblog, to run the duration of the war. We see it as something akin to The Corner – short posts, lots of links and banter between the posters. ”
Yup, sounds like the indie version of the Corner. I’m signing up, as long as I don’t have to post boring stuff about my dog or William Shatner.

Anticipation…

Steve reports on the job.
Whole lotta nothing being shown on the teevee now. Lots of talking heads trying to find different ways to say “target of opportunity” over and over again.
Hmmm… hey Steve, do you have a deck of cards or something? This could get dull real fast…
-NZB
PS – An no, unlike the intrepid VodkaGuy, I’m not planning on blogging all night. That dratted Real Job to get to and all that, you know; a bear must get his beauty rest…
PPS – Sean-Paul is on duty as well. Remind me again, who was supposed to bring the beer to this party?

And so it begins

Looks like it’s on tonight. Or rather, this morning, Iraq time.
Could we really be intending to do the first phase of full-scale bombing in daylight? Given all the ‘shock and awe’ talk, I suppose it’s possible.
And where the hell’s the usual crew? Steve? Glenn? Come on, I’m the B-list here, boys, get yer damned pages updated….

Memo to Journalists in Iraq: Get Out

Am I the only one who gets a sinking feeling whenever CNN or MSNBC shows one of their (few remaining) correspondents reporting live from Baghdad?
Folks, let me be clear. If by any chance any of you intrepid journalists are reading this humble blog: get the hell out of there. I can do without the live video and headshots of you bravely silhouetted against the night sky filled with tracer rounds, honest.
And more to the point: I can also do without the shot of you, haggard and terrified, a week from now on a shaky videotape released by the last Special Republican Guard units remaining loyal who have holed up in a mosque with you as their hostages.
This is not Gulf War I. This is real, and nobody is screwing around.
Get. Out. Now.

Hostage Rescue

It would seem that today will be the day.
I can’t help thinking of this conflict less as a war, in the traditional sense, and more as a hostage rescue. The lunatic has holed up, armed to the teeth and surrounded by innocent bystanders who were unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. His henchmen stand by his side; some rabidly willing to die for the Great Man; others who long ago took what they thought was the path of least resistance, hoping against hope that it would never lead to this moment here. And many, many more who were dragged into the fight; told to place their body in front of his, else they and those they love would lose everything.
The lunatic continues ranting and raving, threatening to wreak havok if his own worldview is not confirmed as the only true one; if his demands are not met and his whims are not indulged.
The question is not whether the lunatic wins; it never is. The question is how many innocents die when the law finally comes to take him down.
Today, or very soon, we’ll begin to learn the answer to that question.
My best thoughts and wishes go out to the men and women of our military, those of our allies, and the innocent people of Iraq. And yes, in that order. And I fix my hopes on the remote possibility that, against all logic, we will not see reprisal attacks against innocents here at home and around the world — and if not, that they may be limited, and that the loss of life and property be small.
I have no prayers to give, but on days like these, sometimes I wish that were not so. But it is, and so to all those confronting the lunatic for this last time, I can say only: good luck to you.
PS – To those of you who are about to add a comment saying that my description applies better to George Bush: don’t bother. You’re just embarassing yourselves.
Update: Simberg agrees…