For the families of those who have been lost, and for the media that denigrates them, from Ben Stein. Take a moment, amidst the picnics, barbecues and ball games today, and give them and their sacrifice some thought.

Excellent article! I wish that the media would realize how they indirectly contribute to soldier deaths by prolonging this war. If our country was truly united, the terrorists would have nothing left to give them hope.

Okay, so lemme get this straight--Stein was delivering a Memorial Day speech to the families of servicemembers and he decided to turn it into an anti-media rant?

Isn't that a little, well, tactless? You're not supposed to vent your agenda in a eulogy.

"If our country was truly united, the terrorists would have nothing left to give them hope."

Yeah, because Osama is all about hope, right?

No, Phil, he was pointing out that they had IN FACT died for something. As opposed to the families hearing the constant, usual drone from the leftist MSM about how the servicemembers had died in vain.

A rant is when the euligized person is no longer the subject at all, and the speaker says something cr@ppy that has nothing to do with the person of honor.

EXAMPLE: During Mrs King's funeral, several people mentioned Iraq and WMDs.

I have no doubt that she had an opinion, but her funeral was the wrong place to air THEIR own opinions. They in fact, from what I can find, had no proof that her opinions matched their own in any way.

Yes Greg, I read that WP piece. The author accuses the Army of being actively complicit in Shiite assinations on Sunis.

He either needs to provide some extraordinary proof to back up his allegations or be ran out of the field.

I prefer Michael Yon's blog myself, he has spent more time outside the wire embedded than about anyone. He knows how to work outside the green zone.

Okay, Steve, you've convinced me that members of the media are traitors. Do you want to join me in killing some journos?

"Yes Greg"

Ain't no Greg here.

Hey Phil, how about checking that sarcasm at the door? Otherwise, someone might mistake you for a barking moonbat.

So, is Stein saying that the media aren't supposed to report a possible American war crime (declared by Sen. Warner, and by GOP Congressman Kline of Minnesota, to be the real thing) -- and to report them as front-page material precisely because they are the sort of thing the press has always been supposed to warn us about, as opposed to flattering us constantly that we're behaving perfectly? We already know that our troops are usually behaving well there, thank you very much. It's the other things that we need to know about in order to make sure they don't happen again. (And do I actually need to explain this to adults? Well, maybe here I do.)

Actually, let's go further than that in countering Stein's and Simberg's idiocy on this subject. Except for this latest incident, the torture at Abu Ghraib, and the repeated accounts of torture in other places (now virtually confirmed despite continuing efforts by the Pentagon to cover them up, as it tried initially to cover up Abu Ghraib), the media have made virtually no criticisms of the behavior of US troops in Iraq. What they HAVE criticized at length is the incompetence and dishonesty of our high-level military leadership in this particular war. In fact, that also includes the torture reports -- since it's also now entirely clear that most of the torture has been done not by "low-level bad apple" soldiers operating on their own, but as a result of orders from the highest levels. (See Andrew Sullivan's site for the best summary of the very extensive documentation of this.)

Bruce, do you fantasize that you persuade anyone of anything with all the empty snark and insults?

"Hey Phil, how about checking that sarcasm at the door?"

Hey Bill, did you notice that our names rhyme?

"Otherwise, someone might mistake you for a barking moonbat."

Oooohhh... wouldn't want that. Nosirrreee!

Woof. I'm gonna go bite a journalist.

Rand, what I like to fantasize is that I might be able to convince you with actual arguments. At this point, however, I'm sorry to say that I know better. Let me know if you ever actually come up with any aginst the points I made above. (By the way, I'm also still waiting for that response you kept promising me to the New England Journal of Medicine's new study revealing that the myth of "the tidal wave of frivolous malpractice lawsuits" is just that: a myth.)

P.S.: What's this business about being opposed to "empty snark and insults"? Who are you, and what have you done with Rand Simberg?

I never promised you anything, Bruce.