The ones making such fools of themselves at yesterday's briefing demonstrated complete ignorance. I mean, really, wanting to be briefed by a five-star general because they think a two-star general wouldn't know what's going on? All I can do is shake my head and think of WWII. Can you imagine all this nonsense being permitted back then? My mother observed the other day that during WWII, the American public learned what was going on through newsreels at the movie theaters, so they were weeks behind on events, plus everything was heavily censored and controlled by the govt. Now, rumors are as good as facts, and no one wants to miss out on being the first to report something by taking the time to verify facts.
APPEASEMENT-MONGERS went nuts when we suggested people might choose to boycott Susan Sarandon and other pampered stars who oppose the ousting of Saddam Hussein - but America agrees with us. The United Way just canceled a Tampa Bay speaking engagement by the actress after it got three dozen complaints from donors and others who don't like her anti-liberation stance. Sarandon - whose live-in, Tim Robbins, recently threatened the Washington Post's Lloyd Grove with violence for daring to report that Sarandon's mom is a Republican - was set to be the keynote speaker at an April 11 event sponsored by the United Way's women's leadership group. But after complaints started rolling in, organizers decided Sarandon's presence would be "divisive." Robin Carson, chairwoman of the Tampa Bay chapter's board, told the St. Petersburg Times, "The focus . . . shifted to whether or not we were creating a political platform for Susan Sarandon. That is not our purpose. That is not what we're about."
LENNY Kravitz is a member of the Do-As-I-Say-Not-As-I-Do Club. The Jimi Hendrix wannabe released his anti-war duet with Iraqi crooner Kazem Al Sahir on rockthevote.com, but Kravitz hasn't voted in over a decade. While rockthevote.com, dedicated to getting young people into voting booths, calls Kravitz "a true patriot," records show he hasn't fulfilled his patriotic duty to cast a ballot since 1992. "I haven't voted in many years and it was a mistake," he tells thesmokinggun.com. "Up until recently, many people like myself have taken this right for granted."
There was a report in the WashPost last week about "Operation Messenger"...the administration's media rapid response team. I linked the article on the Guild, but can't remember when.It went into great detail about how they would quickly shoot down erroneous stories, as well as getting out clarifying info in real time. There are hundreds of people at "Messenger" monitoring media reports throughout the world, correcting mistakes and adding to incomplete reports. Remember last Friday, within minutes of the first air strikes, we were told "This is Shock & Awe"? That must have come from Operation Messenger.
Occurs to me that is why we're getting so much more good info out of Pentagon reporters as opposed to those in Qatar. It's a hoot! Those sissies in CENTCOM didn't realize the admin is letting CENTCOM fight a war with the Iraqis while Washington takes care of the war with the media! CENTCOM reporters got snookered when they "drew this prized assignment".
Yes, I've had similar experience. While trying to hire a book editor for our publishing company, one candidate with masters in journalism from U FL abysmally flunked our spelling and grammar test. How did he get through J school? He told me that teachers only graded on "political correctness," not students' ability to write. The teachers are doing a horrible disservice to these students.
We had hundreds of applicants for the job. I ended up only looking at resumes from candidates over 50, as they might have had a decent education. The happy surprise was a 22-year-old Phi Bet from Michigan, who was born, I think, knowing his stuff.