Ray Robison: Pointing out the obvious to the oblivious

tasteless quip of the year

May I be the first to say, now we really "have Saddam contained in a box".

Media Alert: UPDATED

It looks like I will be on Fox N Friends tomorrow morning at 7:40 a.m. to talk about the Saddam execution.

Change 1: It will be a phone interview at 6:30 a.m.

On a related matter, I am rerunning this post from last March about what the dems will do when Saddam is executed. I think it holds up.

Also, my latest at 411mania

What will the dems do when Saddam is executed?

There is a problem on the horizon for the Democratic Party. I am sure somebody has already commissioned strategy studies and position research, but the problem is a loser for them no matter what.

Someday in the near future, probably before the end of the year Saddam Hussein will be found guilty and sentenced to death. And then it will happen. Saddam will be executed. The republican position is obvious and simple, tail-gate parties.

Media vs the blogosphere

RBT sends a H/T to an article at The Bellmont Club

I wrote this paper as an attempt to describe how the blogosphere works; to situate it vis-a-vis the mainstream media and to indicate some of the ways it can be used as a weapon of information warfare. The reader may find many of the ideas half-baked, and the reader would be right. But perhaps this flawed little monograph can contribute in some small way to a discussion of what the blogosphere is and what it's future might be. I truly believe that "it is possible that in the long run the global public will come to rely on fellow Internet users to learn about the world more than it will from professional journalists."

Halp us Joe Prago

Halp us Joe Prago, we r stuk hear on this blog.

I got your loquacious formulations right here...just lift up my logorrheic and they're right underneath....

H/T Michelle Malkin

FYI; me MIA

For my regular readers who may have noted my absence recently (thanks mom) I wanted to let you know what was up.

For those who have read this blog since the beginning last March, you may know it was predominately meant as a vehicle to examine the Iraqi documents released by the government. We provided original research and our work was eventually picked up by Fox News (thanks God and George).

Shortly afterwords we announced a book project on the docs. Well, we got so involved in trying to break the next big document, we did not focus on completing the manuscript.

Because of a NYTs article a few weeks back, the Iraqi documents are no longer available for research. Which kind of forced me to re-prioritize and sit down and finish the book.

We have the essential source material available, but we have to write the analysis and background and all that stuff. So it has greatly reduced my blogging time.  (insert cheer here)

But the good news is, we have become so knowledgeable on the subject from nearly a year of research, the writing is practically flowing. I can see it being essentially done in 6 weeks or so.

Until then, blogging will be light unless something comes up that I just have to shoot my mouth off about, like Sandy Burgler hiding secret documents on his smoke breaks at a neighboring construction site. Hmmmmmm so what was in those documents about Usama bin Laden?

See you in a few months.

And go get 'em Michelle and Curt.

Brits need some holiday cheer

Blackfive has a request to send love to Brit soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seems their homefront is colder than a San Francisco school board to the military. Thats a damn shame. If you got the time, Matt has the contact info.

Recommended reading

Kerry is halping the soldeerz

Funny parady site of the media  H/T Scott Malensek

Curt at Flopping Aces update on Jamil Hussein.

Newsbusters on Burning Six update.

HAH!

Dirty - video powered by Metacafe

Violence in Iraq: Chaos or something less?

My newest is at 411mania. Please help me spread the word to support a conservative writer at a decidedly liberal site.

It has become standard fare over the last few months for American media to report on Iraq using terms such as chaos and escalating violence. But is that the whole story?

A remarkable example can be found in a CBS news story that quotes the Editor & Publisher, a media industry trade website:

"Apparently the utter chaos and carnage of the past week has finally convinced some to use 'civil war' without apology," Editor & Publisher reported.

Perhaps not surprisingly, condemnations of President Bush's Iraq strategy became sharper as the 2006 elections approached with some pundits and politicians going so far as to term Iraq un-winnable. The din had one purpose, portray Iraq as a degrading situation that can not be fixed by the same people who got us into this mess, the Bush Administration; therefore vote Democratic. The messaged resonated and it worked. But was it a ploy?

Marvel Comics supports the troops

Since I complain about the media and the military haters most of the time, I should do a better job of pointing out the folks who are doing great things for the military. Let's start with Marvel Comics. Plus it gives me an excuse to post this cool-ass comics cover.

The army reports that Marvel has created a military only edition that will be sold only through AAFES outlets:

"The New Avengers: Letters Home" is scheduled to arrive in U.S. exchanges around Dec. 20 and overseas, including the 53 BX/PX facilities throughout operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, shortly thereafter. It's the fourth installment of the military-only comic book series.

"Due to their limited availability, collectors have historically shown great interest in these special AAFES/Marvel Comics editions," Army Col. Max Baker, AAFES chief of staff, said. "If the past is any indicator, 'The New Avenger: Letters Home' issue should go quickly."

Available exclusively at AAFES stores, the newest issue once again features Marvel's superhero Captain America, who, because his regular supporting cast is away for the holidays, is joined by Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider and special guest, The Punisher. When Hydra takes over a military communications satellite, the superheroes spring into action to ensure troops' e-mail messages to loved ones make their way home.

Because of the highly collectible nature and the anticipated demand for the 36-page comic, AAFES officials advise that "The New Avengers: Letters Home" is available on a first-come, first-served basis.