The World Series Begins Tonight! (and Other Stuff)

This is disturbing: “Censoring Iraq… Why are there so few reporters with American troops in combat? Don't blame the media.” The Weekly Standard is hardly a left-wing, anti-war cheering section like, say, the NYT. And Michael Yon doesn’t work for Reuters or the AP; his bona-fides are much more than well-established. Yon has set the standard for reporting from the war zone with his on-line magazine. There’s no one better. No one. So when a guy like Yon writes something like this, it’s past time to pay attention:

My experiences with the U.S. military as a soldier and then as a writer and photographer covering soldiers have been overwhelmingly positive, and I feel no shame in saying I am biased in favor of our troops. Even worse, I feel no shame in calling a terrorist a terrorist. I've seen their deeds and tasted air filled with burning human flesh from their bombs. I've seen terrorists kill children while our people risk their lives to save civilians again, and again, and again. I feel no shame in saying I hope that Afghanistan and Iraq "succeed," whatever that means. For that very reason, it would be a dereliction to remain silent about our military's ineptitude in handling the press. The subject is worthy of a book, but can't wait that long, lest we grow accustomed to a subtle but all too real censorship of the U.S. war effort.

I don't use the word lightly. Censorship is a hand grenade of an accusation, and a writer should be serious before pulling the pin. Indeed, some war-zone censorship for reasons of operational security is obviously desirable and important. No one can complain when Delta Force will not permit an embed. In fact, I have turned down offers to embed with some Special Operations forces because the limitations on what I could write would not be worth the danger and expense. But we can and should complain when authorities willfully limit war reporting. We should do so whether it happens as a matter of policy, or through incompetence or bureaucratic sloth. The result is the same in any case. And once the matter has been brought to the attention of the military and the Pentagon--which I have quietly done--and still the situation is not rectified, it is time for a public accounting.

Read the whole thing. We absolutely, positively cannot tolerate incompetence on a scale like Yon describes, let alone allow it to exist. The stakes are much too high. Heads need to roll, beginning with Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, Director of the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad, his boss, and maybe even his boss’s boss. We have no way of telling how high Yon has taken his complaints within the Pentagon, but a failure to act on their part is worse than incompetence. It’s negligence.

Hoo-Boy. I’m pissed.

Ah-HA! I KNEW it!! I’ve been going on about this subject for a long time, and articles and essays by David Horowitz have been my principal sources of information on the subject. But then along comes this:

A report released on Wednesday on the political views of faculty members accuses professors of liberal "groupthink," a stance that the report says puts them at odds with the beliefs of most Americans on national and international issues.

The report, by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research, was based on an online, nationally representative survey of 1,259 professors at four-year colleges and universities in the spring of 2005. It found that, in general, professors are critical of American business and foreign policy and are skeptical of capitalism.

Among other findings, the report, "A Profile of American College Faculty: Volume 1: Political Beliefs & Behavior," says that:

· Professors are three times as likely to call themselves "liberal" as "conservative." In the 2004 presidential election, 72 percent of those surveyed voted for John Kerry.

· Almost one-third of professors cite the United States as among the top two greatest threats to international stability -- more than cited Iran, China, or Iraq.

· Fifty-four percent of professors say U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is partially responsible for the growth of Islamic militancy.

· Sixty-four percent say the government's powers under the USA Patriot Act should be weakened.

Professors, says the report, are at the "forefront of the political divide" over U.S. foreign policy that has developed since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Faculty members have "aligned themselves in direct opposition to the political philosophy of the conservative base voting for the prevailing political power" in America, it says. Unlike most Americans, it adds, faculty members "blame America for world problems" and regard U.S. policies as "suspect."

This in The Chronicle of Higher Education, no less. I’m not sure if this is good news or bad news, as it simply confirms what most of us already know. Will there be change? I doubt it. Academe’s tenure system protects and in some ways encourages the Lefties. There is a ray of hope, however. Some folks are getting pretty tired of the indoctrination and one-sided world views. The Horowitz-supported Students for Academic Freedom is one such organization. More power to ‘em.

It’s STILL bad in La France…from The Times Online (UK):

Before next week’s anniversary of the Clichy riots, the violence and despair on the estates are again to the fore. Despite a promised renaissance, little has changed, and the lid could blow at any moment.

The figures are stark. An average of 112 cars a day have been torched across France so far this year and there have been 15 attacks a day on police and emergency services. Nearly 3,000 police officers have been injured in clashes this year. Officers have been badly injured in four ambushes in the Paris outskirts since September. Some police talk of open war with youths who are bent on more than vandalism.

“The thing that has changed over the past month is that they now want to kill us,” said Bruno Beschizza, the leader of Synergie, a union to which 40 per cent of officers belong. Action Police, a hardline union, said: “We are in a civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists.”

Unfortunately, the problem goes beyond the radical Islamists. I’m not saying radical Islamism isn’t the problem…it is the largest part of the problem. But there are contributory causes, as well, such as France’s general failure to integrate their Muslim population into the “mainstream,” and France’s socialistic economic policies. There are many reasons, lots of finger-pointing, but very little meaningful action to resolve the problem(s). Ergo, another explosion to follow. Shortly.

OK…enough bad news. There are football games to be watched, and the World Series begins this evening! This is my favorite time of year!! GO TIGERS!!

Today’s Pic: Once again, Former Happy Days…Three friends (co-workers) and YrsTrly at my EDS retirement party. September, 1999.