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The Mainstream Media is failing in Iraq. And its failure is having serious consequences here at home. The Democracy Project has a discussion plus a partial listing of bogus stories reported by the MSM. A big problem is the reliance on local stringers, some of whom turn out to be associated with anti-coalition forces.

Flopping Aces has been doing good work exposing false reports out of Iraq. Here

Tony Snow is a nice guy, but I wish he or a subordinate would hit the MSM hard and consistently on this issue.
I turned 16 in 1972. Although growing up in a rural area far from cities, I had a sense that America was coming apart at the seams culturally. Also, as I grew closer to 18, I assumed that Vietnam and the draft somehow were in my future. I observed the '72 election closely, and favored Nixon over McGovern. Nixon, it seemed to me, represented the people I knew, rather than the strange goings-on I saw on television. And, I trusted Nixon to bring an honorable conclusion to the Vietnam War, rather than the retreat I imagined McGovern would bring about.

I was still too naive then. I knew we had local government corruption, which my outspoken and plainspoken grandfather railed against. But, somehow I thought of the men in Washington as made of different stuff, as statesmen. The last couple of years of high school were disillusioning because of Watergate. I was not too confident about the American future.

In 1974 Nixon resigned, and Gerald Ford became president. He helped my view of things by being who he was--an open, honest man. Ford was the Un-Nixon, what you saw was what you got. Because of his leadership, including his humility and obvious sanity, I regained some confidence. Thank you Mr. Ford.

Ford recently became our oldest living ex-president. Here is a great tribute to him written by Gleaves Whitney in National Review.
A Waco Farmer mentioned in a previous post that several faculty in his building has posted signs reading "Happy Days Are Here Again." I worked out of that building for several years and can guess whose offices he means.

The Bush is bad and evil and stupid, and Republicans are bad people, and Rush is a big fat idiot cartoons and postings on the bulletin boards outside these faculty offices always bothered me. Students of all political persuasions had to pass this material on the way into those teachers' offices. I suspect that conservative students felt unwelcome and on the defensive when entering those spaces. This is not right.

My own view is that a faculty office is not personal, private space in the same way a home is. It is a space provided by the institution to facilitate the education of the students: a semi-public space. My political views are known through this blog, which I have yet to mention to my students whom I now teach online. When I did face-to-face education and had an office on campus, I kept a politically and religiously neutral office and bulletin board. I wanted all students to be equally at ease; plus, the taxpayers of the state of Texas were not paying me to do political indoctrination.

11/11: Veterans' Day

Fly the flag. Attend a ceremony honoring veterans. And read this article on the latest Medal of Honor winner.

Thank you to all our veterans.
Once again we learn what liberals really think of democracy. A sufficient number of voters in Massachusetts signed petitions to begin the process of amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. By Massachussetts law, the legislature is now to meet in Constitutional Session to vote up-or-down on the initiative. If 1/4 of the legislature votes in favor of the petition, then the process moves on to step three. But, the leadership of the legislature is trying to delay a vote in order to avoid passage. Story here from the Boston Globe. Background from Wizbang (warning, strong language).

Liberal's Slogan: We Know Better Than You. So sit down, shut up, and let us build our ideal secular state.

Somewhere the ghosts of John and Samuel Adams are restless. Bostonians, how about another Revolution.
Some preliminary findings are in from Tuesday's election on religion and voting patterns. It looks like evangelicals stayed with the Republicans, while Democrats were able to pick up votes among Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants. From the NYT here.
Victor Davis Hanson has, as usual, wise words for today, if not exactly encouraging words.