New in the Dreams Into Lightning Universe: Morning Report archives

Morning Report has been quietly but persistently requesting a page of its own. So now, for your viewing pleasure, the complete adventures of Morning Report may be found here. The new site will serve as an archive for MR, which will continue to appear daily at Dreams Into Lightning as usual.

Memorial Day

Please take a moment to remember those who have given their lives in the defense of freedom.

I had the privilege of serving in the armed forces of the United States for ten years. During my four years in the Marine Corps, my unit took part in Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm. Our story is told here:
1st Light Armored Infantry Battalion, USMC

The Marines we lost are remembered here:
In Memoriam

(Mac users: This site is best viewed in Microsoft Internet Explorer; the navigation menus don't show up in Safari and Firefox.)

Have a pleasant Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy the blessings of liberty - and remember, freedom brings responsibility, so celebrate responsibly.

UPDATE: Mamamontezz has Memorial Day posts here and here. Go check 'em out.

The Long Road Home

My reflections on Desert Storm. I served with the First Light Armored Infantry Battalion in the 1990-1991 Kuwait campaign. This item was originally posted here.

Asher Abrams, 1st LAI Battalion USMC, 1989-1993
Posted to the unit veterans’ bulletin board.

“That is a chapter of ancient history which it might be good to recall; for there was sorrow then too, and gathering dark, but great valour, and great deeds that were not wholly in vain.”
-- J.R.R. Tolkien, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ I:2

“It is not your job to finish the task -- but neither are you free to abandon it.”
-- Rabbi Tarfon, 1st century

We gave what our leaders asked of us. If they had asked more, we would have given more.

Before the ground campaign began, we were told that the American forces’ final objective would be Baghdad, and that we would eliminate Saddam Hussein. As we all know, this did not happen. “The word was passed; the word was changed.” But we did liberate Kuwait.

All of us need to know that what we are doing has meaning and purpose. This is especially true in war. War is a hard thing -- having a reason gives us the motivation and the will to fight. Sgt. Michaels talks about this in his book (pp. 97-100): “It’s about my comrade, and his tiny Kuwaiti flag...” I don’t think this is naive. I think it is honest, truthful, and inspiring.

Nothing we do will ever be complete or perfect. If you’ve read ‘The Lord of the Rings’, or seen the movie, you might have noticed that theme. It’s not a story of superheroes, but of little people who are at the mercy of forces greater than themselves. They don’t set out to do great things; they love their home and dream of returning to it. They confront evil in a world that gives them no choice. Only then do they discover what they are truly capable of. Their victory comes with the loss of teachers, leaders, friends, and innocence. But they win, and some come back alive. It falls to them to tell the tale.

One of Dave Snyder’s favorite sayings was, “This isn’t fun anymore. I want to go home!” What made it funny, of course, was that in the military you can’t go home when you want, and a lot of what you do isn’t fun. But in the end Dave got his wish -- he went home before the rest of us.

Those of us who returned alive from Desert Storm have done many things with our lives. Some are still defending our Nation, either as “lifers” or as defense or security personnel. Others may have turned to teaching, creativity, or volunteering, enriching other people’s lives in whatever way we can. (Ken has contributed this site, where we can share our thoughts and memories, and honor our fallen comrades.) Many of us have married or had relationships, raised children, or discovered things about ourselves we had not known before. All of us have given of ourselves, and continue to do so.

We must all, each of us, find our purpose in the world. In war, your purpose is clear: defeat the enemy and come back alive. Life off of the battlefield is not so simple. All of us must find our own way home. It is a long, hard road.

Thanks

to Arthur Chrenkoff for the link.

Posting Break

Dreams Into Lightning will be on a posting break for the week ending June 4 (this Saturday). Morning Report will be on leave. With the exception of a Memorial Day piece, and possible one or two short items today, there will be no new posts until Sunday, June 5.

Have a pleasant and safe Memorial Day weekend. See you next week.

Poison Pill: The Media Today

"Someone is trying to make us look bad." That seems to be the message for Patrick D. Healy in this New York Times editorial on the media's credibilty. (Hat tip: Democracy for the Middle East.)

For Healy, the operative metaphor is the case of the cyanide-laced Tylenol from way back in the 1980's. I'll let Patrick explain:

SO many Americans apparently now see journalists as self-interested, careerist and unprofessional that perhaps it would make sense for media executives to call up another group of bosses who once faced fundamental questions about their product: the makers of Tylenol in the 1980's.

After all, Johnson & Johnson proved that credibility, not to mention market share, could be regained after scandal - in its case, a series of deaths caused by cyanide-laced capsules some 20 years ago. Part of the strategy was to portray the company as a victim in its own right.

But as Healy admits a few lines later, "It would be hard for the media to pitch itself as a innocent victim of its own shortcomings."

No one is secretly stuffing bad reporting into the TV and print media while the editors' backs are turned. The MSM have only themselves to blame for the state of affairs, and they don't have much time to fix the problem.

And there's the key concept that Healy misses: this is not a PR issue, it is a quality issue. The media need to fix the problem, not just improve their image. Or to return to the Tylenol metaphor, they need to imagine that every newscast, every newspaper, every magazine is a bottle of pills, which is going to be ingested by the consumer. They need to make it their business - their responsibility, their personal mission - to ensure that the product contained therein is nothing but the purest "medicine". This will be a bit more complicated than adding a new layer of shrink-wrap to the packaging.

And here's where the New York Times ventures into territory charted by Neo-Neocon.

Healy writes: "With credibility in mind, several news executives are now trying to limit the use of anonymous sources." A-ha! Now perhaps we are getting somewhere. How long has this practice been with us, anyway?

Neo writes:

Well, it turns out you can blame it on Watergate.

The recent prominence of anonymous sources in the Newsweek Koran-flushing story tweaked my curiosity about the history of the practice.

To the best of my recollection, the newspapers of my youth attributed every quote to an actual named person--not that I was paying a whole lot of attention at the time to subtleties like that. Now, however, it seems as though articles are often merely glorified gossip columns full of anonymous commentary--a sort of "he said, he said" kind of journalism--especially any article written by Seymour Hersch, which usually consists of nothing but a long string of such tidbits.

The only thing we know for sure is the identity of the article's author. We are asked to take the facts on trust, without a chance to evaluate the source of the remarks. This over-reliance on the anonymous source gives both the journalist and his/her informant an overwhelming power, and takes away our ability to judge the veracity of what we are being told. I believe it's one of the most pernicious trends in journalism.

This practice seems to be the logical development of a phenomenon that started with Vietnam and became stronger with Watergate. ...

As usual, Neo nails it. Read her whole post - it's beautifully written, carefully thought out, and meticulously researched. But meanwhile, back at the Times, the thought of breaking that anonymous quote addiction is already giving Healy fits of withdrawal:

But reducing anonymous sources could have its limitations. Many journalists, believe it could undermine the ability to get at the truth that so many readers and viewers believe the media is missing or trying to avoid.

And even if the news media outlets were squeaky clean, somehow freed of all human failings, there would still be Americans whose biases would lead them to distrust the media.

("Whew! Well, I guess we're off the hook. If we stop using anonymous quotes, we won't be able to get at the truth ... and anyway, folks love us for our imperfections, right?")

"Many journalists believe ... " You see? He can't even write an editorial about anonymous sources without quoting an anonymous source.

If the MSM really wanted to clean up their act, they might follow these sensible guidelines, devised by prominent journalists in a 2003 Poynter report:

• Anonymous sources should be encouraged to go on the record.

• We should weigh the source’s reliability and disclose to readers the source’s potential biases.

• The more specific we can be in describing the source in the story, the better.

• Anonymous sources should not be used for personal attacks, accusations of illegal activity, or merely to add color.

• The source must have first-hand knowledge.

• Journalists should not lie in a story to protect a source.

(Hat tip, again, to Neo.) These are sensible guidelines, a first step towards curbing the use of anonymous sources. They do not "undermine" jounalists' ability to get the truth out, they enhance it.

But this isn't what the New York Times wants to hear. And so, after bravely facing up to the enormity of the problem, Patrick Healy retreats into utter denial. The last lines of his column are almost painful to read:

And even if the news media outlets were squeaky clean, somehow freed of all human failings, there would still be Americans whose biases would lead them to distrust the media.

Analysts say that the political partisans who are most likely to be critical of the press are also among the most reliable and hungry consumers of the news.

Maybe therein is a silver lining: if the people who distrust you the most are also many of your most devoted customers, perhaps survival is assured. They have accepted flaws as part of the bargain of following the news.

Well, there's the sound of confidence for you. Especially that last paragraph - "maybe" and "perhaps" in the same sentence! And maybe, perhaps, I might possibly be the Queen of the Space Unicorns. There's always hope, right?

Earth to the MSM: The public doesn't trust you. Deal with it. You folks at the New York Times want the public to "trust" you? Listen, I'll let you in on a secret: My readers don't trust me, either - and I don't expect them to. That's the whole idea. I have to earn their confidence, and keep it, every single day.

No one is perfect, and the human mind is limited. Sometimes a thing can look like one thing, and be something else, or nothing at all. (Ask me about green lasers and Coptic Christian murders.) What bloggers demand of themselves - because their audiences demand it of them - is a commitment to openly acknowledging past errors and learning from them. And even more, a commitment to getting the story right the first time.

"Scrutiny is intense. The Internet amplifies professional sins, and spreads the word quickly. And when a news organization confesses its shortcomings, it only draws more attention." No kidding. The internet does exactly the same thing to us bloggers - that's why we treat our medium, and our audience, with the utmost respect. "Also, there is no unified front - no single standard of professionalism, no system of credentials." All respectable bloggers live by a strict code that forbids concealing our errors or reporting dubious "facts". This "single standard of professionalism" - and its attendant "unified front" - may soon become more concrete with the help of Roger Simon and the nascent Pajamas Media organization.

As I've said before, a growing segment of the population are willing to take a cue from Neo's cinematic namesake by "swallowing the red pill" and awakening from the pseudo-reality of the media matrix. The problem for the media, then, is not one of image, but of substance. The mainstream media must adapt to a more critical and demanding public - or face extinction.

Morning Report: May 27, 2005

Pakistan bomb kills at least 18. Debka reports: 'Blast at Bari Imam shrine in Pakistan capital of Islamabad kills at least 18 people early Friday. Police believe suicide bomber struck as thousands of Sunni and Shiite Muslim devotees were celebrating festival. Shrine is near government buildings and diplomatic enclave.' Updates at Command Post. (Debka, CP)

AUT ends Israel boycott. Britain's Association of University Teachers voted to strike down a boycott of two Israeli universities. Ha'Aretz reports: 'Britain's biggest union of university teachers voted yesterday to end its boycott of two Israeli universities. The decision to cancel the boycott passed by a two-thirds majority. The council of the 40,000-member Association of University Teachers (AUT) announced it had decided in a special session to overturn the boycott against Bar-Ilan and Haifa universities immediately. The measure, which had drawn outspoken criticism, was put in place last month.' (Ha'aretz)

Iraqi Operation Thunder targets insurgents. A major offensive by Iraqi and US forces called Operation Thunder (no connection with the Iranian dissident action of the same name) is set to begin in western Iraq. Command Post states: 'In the wake of American led offensives in Western Iraq and Haditha, the Iraqi government has stated it is prepared to commit a massive force to take the initiative away from the insurgency. Iraqi Defense Minister Dulaimi has announced Operation Thunder will commence shortly and will consist of over 40,000 Iraqi troops. The purpose is to secure Baghdad then fan out to other trouble spots, presumably in the restive Anbar province. ...' Full details at the link. (CP)

Woman TV host killed in Afghanistan; station won't buckle to terrorists. A woman television host was murdered in Afghanistan, but the station won't give in to intimidation, according to this item from the Feminist Majority Foundation's Feminist Daily News: 'A 24 year-old Afghan woman who was a presenter on a popular music program on a private television station in Kabul was shot and killed in her home last Wednesday. Shaima Rezayee was fired from her job with Tolo TV in March after pressure from conservative mullahs, who complained about the “un-Islamic values” of the show, according to the Times Online. The program was also criticized by the Ministry of Information and Culture for the pop videos that were shown and for “casual” conversations between male and female presenters. Saad Mohsenia, who heads Tolo TV, told the Christian Science Monitor that there are no plans to change the programming following Rezayee’s murder, stating, “…we do not allow individuals to dictate the terms to us, to act as terrorists.” ' (FMF)

US attorney says no authority to enforce gay nondiscrimination. The Washington Blade reports: 'Scott J. Bloch, head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, startled gay activists this week after testifying before Congress that he does not have the authority to enforce a ban on discrimination against federal employees based on sexual orientation. “We are limited by our enforcement statutes as Congress gives them,” Bloch said when asked to explain his stance. “The courts have specifically rejected sexual orientation as a class protection.” ... The White House released a statement in April 2004 expressing President Bush’s support for a longstanding policy that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal workplace. “Longstanding federal policy prohibits discrimination against federal employees based on sexual orientation,” the memo said. “President Bush expects federal agencies to enforce this policy and to ensure that all federal employees are protected from unfair discrimination at work.” The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal agency that works to protect federal employees from discrimination and from retaliation in cases where employees act as “whistleblowers,” by reporting corruption or incompetence.' The Blade adds that Human Rights Campaign and Log Cabin Republicans have called for Bloch's resignation. GayPatriot clarifies that 'Bloch has based his belief on the fact that since no federal law bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, his office lacks a mechanism to enforce the Executive Order and longstanding policy.' However, GP adds, 'while Mr. Bloch's office may not be able to prosecute federal officials who discriminate based on sexual orientation, it should be able to reprimand them for such discrimination and protect the employee claiming discrimination.' (Blade, GP)

State of the Insurgency. Today's analysis at The Middle Ground concludes that the Iraq insurgency is having difficulty recruiting, and will be operating at a significantly degraded level in the next few months: 'Recall that these groups are small, insular cells. Working relations are built on absolute trust and not easily won. As much as some might believe otherwise, money is not handed over like candy at a barmitvah. Particularly, in today's atmosphere of slowly closing financial resources and other issues making it difficult just to "send money, will write". Requests are made and approved through regular, nearly beaurocratic processes and approved further up the food chain (see AQ manifest and other stories regarding operations, including September 11). Whether Zarqawi died, is wounded or just took the low road out of Dodge to save his ass, operations will be extremely slowed down for a bit. ...' (TMG)

Good news from Iraq. Morning Report is pleased to announce that it will begin carrying the series "Good News from Iraq" on a regular basis. From today's edition: 'You might remember Dhia Muhsin, carpenter from a working-class Baghdad neighborhood of al-Dora, who became a celebrity of sorts back in March, when he and his nephews stood up to insurgents who terrorized his area and in a firefight lasting half an hour killed three of them and forced the rest to retreat. Well, two months on, and Muhsin is still ready to take on any intruders: “I expect them (the insurgents) to come back and I’m ready to face them,” says the 33-year old who seems to have inspired his neighbors ...' Read the rest at the link. (GNFI)

Guantanamo: Disgrace Yes, Gulag No

Michael J. Totten offers the best assessment of the human rights abuses, real and otherwise, at the US detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. Quoting Hitchens, Michael goes on to add:

One reason [Christopher Hitchens] is able to write these kinds of sentences without being dismissed as a knee-jerker is because, well, he isn’t a knee-jerker. He doesn’t exaggerate, he doesn’t describe as torture things which aren’t torture, and he doesn’t wallow in moral equivalency.

... It’s exactly the sort of thing those of us who are repulsed by prisoner abuse, vastly-milder “Koran abuse,” extraordinary rendition, and all the rest of it need to make it all stop – or at least be properly condemned and punished wherever and whenever it is uncovered.
What we don’t need are hysterical heavy-breathers like Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, describing the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the gulag of our times as she did in the foreword to the group’s latest annual report. ...

Go read the whole post at the link.

Patriots, Rabble Rousers, and Comic Strip Artists to Watch Out For

Alison Bechdel of Dykes to Watch Out For got a surprise in her e-mail recently:

Imagine my surprise when I saw David Horowitz’s name in my in-box the other night. He’s the once-radical-now-conservative force behind Students for Academic Freedom—an organization that is more or less to academic freedom what Bush’s Clear Skies Initiative is to reducing mercury emissions.

David was asking for permission to reprint a recent episode of my comic strip on the SAF website. It’s the one where the conservative student Cynthia is tabling for SAF, and Ginger, her professor, engages her in a little Socratic dialogue ...

I've posted previously on Alison Bechdel's character Cynthia. I'm planning to write a longer post soon about Cynthia; the strip is fun, beautifully drawn, and well worth reading on its own, but the introduction of a conservative character is especially interesting.

MJ at Friday Fishwrap is still steaming after spotting a certain unbecoming resemblance in the Desert Sun. These memorable comic book covers seem to have lightened her mood a bit, though.

Also on the wild side ... Beth and Wintermelonsoup/Nerdstar spent an exciting weekend at the zoo, which might have helped to take Nerd's mind off her ailing grandpa. And while looking for jobs in their new home, Beth muses on how not to be out as an unrecognized military spouse.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? The lions can do whatever they like in front of a lot of schoolkids ... but two adults in a loving, committed relationship have to keep it a secret.

Arab, Muslim Women Today

Ayaan Hirsi Ali has some words for today's Left at Transatlantic Intelligencer (hat tip: LGF):

Because the left is exactly like the Muslims! I wanted to give priority to the defense of immigrant women who are victims of domestic violence. They said to me: “No, that’s not a priority! The problem will take care of itself when the immigrants have jobs and are integrated.” It is exactly what the Imams say who demand that we accept oppression and slavery today because tomorrow, in Heaven, God will give us dates and raisins…. I think we need first to defend the individual. The left is afraid of everything. But fear of giving offense leads to injustice and suffering. ...

Go to the TransInt link for the full, translated quote. Original French link is there also.

Nadz reads the celebrity blogs so you don't have to. Find out what Michael Moore, Moby, Rosie O'Donnell, and Barbra Streisand are spewing ... Also check out her post on shifting the blame. Excerpt:

Women's rights

The problem: Don't get me started. Ok, everything. Read my past entries for details.
AlJazeera pundit: Why do Americans always tell us what to do? There are problems for women everywhere around the world, so why focus on the fact that we treat women like shit? Because you have a hidden agenda to make Arabs look bad, and to control us! You want us to feel humiliated! Oh, I'm so humilated!
Nadz: So now you know what it's like, jerk. Think you're the only person on the planet who has felt embarrassed or degraded? The reason people criticize the ME over women is because we are one of the world's most mysogynistic regions. If that bothers you, don't tell others to shut up, change it! Instead of blaming colonialism and American imperialism, try demanding gender equality.
AlJazeera pundit: Ah, but they don't really want gender equality! They want us to be just like them, or else. We'll do it our own way, in our own time, on our own terms.
Nadz: Yeah, I'm sure women's rights are really high on your list. That's why you've either done nothing or apologized for doing nothing these past few decades. It's in everyone's interest to have a more egalitarian society - and women's rights are not just a "western concept". It is a universal issue.

As always, read it all at the link.

Irshad Manji is in fine form (and when isn't she?) with this response to a reader who claims she is offending 98.9% of all "true Muslims" and should write about fashion instead:

First, am I to censor myself because you are offended? Suppose I told you that I’m offended by the fact that you’re offended. Do you then have an obligation to clam up, simply because I’m offended? Of course not. Offense is the most minor price of breaking deadly silences. Deal with it.

Second, how did you determine that that 98.9% of true Muslims in the world are offended by me? Why not 98.7%? Or 99%? Please cite your sources, as I do with every claim I make in my thoroughly un-academic book.

Finally, I appreciate your suggestion to write about fashion. It’s certainly up my alley, since I sit on the inter-faith editorial board of Seventeen magazine. I can see a title now — The Cardinal’s Sin: What Catholic Priests Can Learn from Hijab-Wearing, CNN-Watching Muslim Housewives. If you’ve got a better title, bring it on.

Go to the link for Irshad's current posts (updated twice a month).

Fayrouz saw the latest "Star Wars" (Revenge of the Sith) and posts some plot spoilers. For real excitement, read the rest of her post to learn about a handshake between officials of two Middle Eastern countries (hint: it wasn't Iran and Syria). Fayrouz concludes: "Whether some pessimists want to admit it or not, tides of change have started to hit the Middle Eastern shores."

Morning Report: May 24, 2005

Operatioin Squeeze Play brings results. Debka reports: 'Joint Iraqi-US military swoop on guerilla and terrorist hideouts in Baghdad nets another 143 armed men bringing Operation Squeeze Play total to 428. Operation mounted to catch Abu Ghraib detention facility assailants continues.'

Daily Demarche: No fence is good enough. Diplo-blog The Daily Demarche compares five policy experts' ideas about the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, and concludes: 'I want our troops home, and I am more than certain that they want to come home. But they are there today because the job was not finished the first time. We failed to uphold our promise to the people of Iraq under the President’s father, and the situation degenerated. Is there anyone out there today who thinks that leaving Iraq tomorrow will result in a better future for the Iraqis, the Middle East or America? I would love for them to tell me how that can come to be. Until that time we owe it to the people of Iraq and the ME to see the job through. ...' Read the full article at the link. (Daily Demarche)

Iran Report

Op Thunder hits Brussels. On May 18, Operation Thunder 1 struck the European Parliament, as Iranian expatriates in Europe staged an audacious act of civil disobedience:

Thursday, May 19, 2005
Update on Operation Thunder One - in Brussels

I reported earlier today, Anjomane Padeshahi, lead by Foroud Fouladvand launched Operation Thunder One. The campaign appears designed to shame the European Union into ending its support of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

One of our readers, Arash Kamangir, left the following report:

Dear DoctorZin,

Europe just blocked all media coverage. There were so many cameras and reporters on the scene, but nothing was reported. Its the most ignored event of the whole year.

Operation Thunder 1 started in the morning of May 18, 2005. There were around 151 vehicles parked in front of the EU Parliment Building, in Brussel, Belgium. The cars were chained together, and the people were out side and inside of the cars depending on the situations.

The operation started with couple of hours delay, since EUROPEANS some how expected this, they checked every cars. However, Anjomane Padeshahi's soldiers manage to get there.

Once again, EU police, broke their own law and committed crimes and they used force against non-violent soldiers (IRANIANS). ...

Link here: Free Iran - Protesters Block EU Parliament

Rice: World "must not tolerate" nuclear IRI. From VOA, via Regime Change Iran:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday said the world must not tolerate any Iranian attempt to develop a nuclear weapon. She spoke as European foreign ministers prepared for new talks with Iranian officials on the nuclear issue.

"The United States has focused the world's attention on Iran's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction," she said. "And along with our allies we are working to gain full disclosure of Iran's efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. The world must not tolerate any Iranian attempt to develop a nuclear weapon, nor can it tolerate Iran's effort to subvert democratic governments through terrorism."

The revolution will not be televised. Free Republic (ht: RCI) posts photos of the student protests that are taking place in Tehran RIGHT NOW.