The administration’s decision to start knocking heads and confiscating weapons in Iraq is an overdue sign that the White House now gets what has to be done. Without credible order, nothing political can be achieved. Without the recognition of unquestioned allied authority, no new authority can emerge. Bringing in the Brits to help train the Iraqi police is also a smart move. They have, er, experience with this kind of thing.
THE END OF SHAME: Jayson Blair is right about one thing. Even Stephen Glass can’t match his chutzpah. The seven figure Hollywood treatment; the laughter; the casual invocation of racism at the New York Times; the book deal. The contempt for the profession he pretended to care about:
The discovery of New York Times reporter Jayson Blair’s deception in his coverage of the Lynch family in West Virginia, especially his description of a house from which he wrote that tobacco fields and cattle were visible (they are not), provoked laughter from the disgraced journalist during his first extensive sit-down interview with the New York Observer’s media columnist Sridhar Pappu.
“That’s my favorite, just because the description was so far off from the reality. And the way they described it in The Times story – someone read a portion of it to me – I couldn’t stop laughing.”
The guy is beyond gross. And the culture that will pay him handsomely for this callow tripe is even grosser.
INSIDIOUS SID: If you have any lingering belief that Sidney Blumenthal can be trusted to portray even a smidgen of the full truth about the Clinton years, then read Mike Isikoff. Right now.
HEDGES AGAIN: Yes, the NYT hack who gave the offensive commencement speech was the same Chris Hedges who wrote the now-infamous piece of factually-challenged anti-Israel propaganda, published by the old leftist bore, Lewis Lapham. Here’s a righteous fisking of the piece. Hedges is a political extremist masquerading as a reporter. That’s why he has found such a comfortable niche at Howell Raines’ New York Times.
MY BLIND SPOT: “I alternate between applauding your tireless efforts at educating the public about homosexuality and thundering against the likes of Rick Santorum to feeling complete exasperation at your equally tireless efforts to see a gay-friendly and “inclusive” G.W. Bush. Incredulously, you ask this President to endorse ENDA. I hate to be the one to tell you, Andrew, but that will never happen. When the votes were counted (or not counted) in 2000, George W. was not exactly a slam dunk. Similarly, the 2002 Congressional elections were much closer than the subsequent media spin would have us believe. Now we have the bible bangers threatening to walk in 2004 because the GOP defense of Santorum was deemed too tepid. Do you think Rove will dare to risk alienating a major part of the GOP base by allowing this President to do anything perceived to be favorable to homosexuals?” – more feedback, including a defense of Danny Glover, on the Letters Page.
The Dish 