[First published in AM New York]
THOSE UNPREDICTABLE extensions of duty and the “Stop-Loss” measures dashed the hopes of many soldiers and their families – but some, at least, were home for Thanksgiving. Continue reading “The Soldiers’ Story” »
The Human Meaning of Collateral
[First published in AM New York]
SURELY IT WAS ONE OF THE WORST public moments of private pain in the Iraq war. Tahseen Hassan (left), the husband of murdered aid worker Margaret Hassan, saying with quiet dignity to a TV camera: “Margaret lived with me in Iraq for 30 years. She dedicated her life to serving the Iraqi people. Please, now, please return her to rne.”
There’s an ugly term for an ugly notion – one designed by professionals to deny the reality of the ugliness. It’s “collateral“. Continue reading “The Human Meaning of Collateral” »
Pols perplexed by youth
[First published in AM New York.]
A BIG INFLUENCE ON THOSE MEDIA PUNDITS who yelp about John Kerry‘s loss has been Thomas Frank‘s book, What’s the Matter with Kansas?
It tells how conservatives have come to win the heartland. It’s a sharp expression of liberals’ perplexity with ordinary people. It’s title also riffs on a much longer-standing, even more exasperated-sounding question – what about the nation’s youth? Continue reading “Pols perplexed by youth” »
Even Those Who Study Past Mistakes Repeat Them
[First published in AM New York.]
SO HOW GOOD A JOB did the mass media do covering the election? The voters’ choice, at least as defined by those media, was clear – but it had the clarity of an LCD. Not liquid crystal lighting, I’m afraid – but the Lowest Communicable Denominator. Continue reading “Even Those Who Study Past Mistakes Repeat Them” »
Covering the Election, Internet-Wise
[First published in AM New York.]
NIXON vs. KENNEDY was the first television election. Now Bush vs. Kerry has become the first Internet election.
In the slipstream created by Howard Dean‘s innovative campaign manager Joe Trippi and by his webmistress, Zephyr Teachout (could you invent a better name for a cyber-messenger?) who revolutionized grassroots politics and took their primaries battle online, the Kerry-Edwards campaign has adopted many of their techniques. Continue reading “Covering the Election, Internet-Wise” »
