Vietnam vet Sen. John Kerry apparently isn't all that popular with the Marines. The Marines — two in uniform and two off-duty — were polite but curt while chatting with Kerry, answering most of his questions with a "yes, sir" or "no, sir." But they turned downright nasty after the Massachusetts senator thanked them "for […]
I'm often quick to criticize the media for shoddy reporting, lack of research and inaccurate headlines, so I'm pleased to point out examples of really good journalism -- this time by the Union-Tribune. Reporter Rick Rogers and photographer Nelvin Cepeda were with the U.S. Marines in Iraq as they battled for Fallujah. The story is […]
I've been keeping a close watch on Jim Romenesko's Letters page over at Poynter Online to see what sort of reception New York Times public editor Daniel Okrent's admission that the Times is a liberal newspaper received from professional journalists. Surprisingly, the answer is: "Not much." In the four days since Okrent's column appeared, only […]
PC Magazine columnist John C. Dvorak, a writer I admire, is unimpressed with the quality of the blogging at the Democrat National Convention. A cynic would suggest that bloggers, overwhelmed by convention attention, will be suckers to public relations pros resulting in a hopeless parroting of the party line in ways traditional media folks wouldn't […]
Al Sharpton is a gifted public speaker. He is also a race-baiter and a hatemonger. I was talking with a colleague earlier this evening when it seemed like the volume on every TV set in the newsroom was turned up to the max. They weren't, but when Sharpton speaks he's not exactly a shrinking violet. […]
I'm watching some of CNN's coverage of the Democrat Convention and they highlighted the fact that the Democrats had lined up retired generals who support John Kerry -- including Wesley Clark. I counted a grand total of nine. In the AP style guide, you don't even use numerals until you get to 10, so it […]
And rightly so. The Wall Street Journal's James Taranto is at the Democrat Convention in Boston, but he's got a glimpse of what you're not seeing on TV -- the protesters. I was impressed by how Taranto addressed this situation: The Agony of the Feet The next day, the pantomime Gongsters are gone from Copley […]
The big "get" last night at the Democrat Convention was propagandist Michael Moore's appearance on "The O'Reilly Factor." For the past several months, O'Reilly has at times been woefully unprepared for some of his interviews. Just a week or two ago O'Reilly was railing against some judge's ruling in a case, but instead of quoting […]
I've been watching USA Network's new summer series "The 4400" lately. The premise of the show is that space aliens have been abducting people (4,400 to be exact) for about 70 years and one day they dump all of them back on Earth and they can remember nothing of what happened to them. Though they […]
Just got finished watching Ben Affleck talk to Bill O'Reilly on Fox News Channel. Affleck, surprisingly enough, didn't come across as a raving, left-wing loony. It's obvious he's been reading the New York Times, because he is woefully misinformed on some issues (e.g. Saddam and Osama hated each other and had no relationship). Interestingly enough, […]