kickass
08/14/2007
Badass Marine Speaks Out On YouTube
One of the great things about this job is that, as I don't consider myself a "real journalist," I don't feel obligated to keep my opinions to myself. When I cover a political video, sure, I try to be fair, but I also feel free to give my own personal take on the contents. As long as I also give you the opportunity to view the video and form your own opinion, I feel I've done my job.
One of the other great things about this job is that every once in a while, I come across a video that makes me want to shut the hell up.
This dynamic spoken word performance by a (perhaps fittingly) anonymous Marine -- the full text of which can be found here -- is a breed apart from the armchar analysis of most political videos on YouTube. Yes, it's got passion, it's got politics, but at its core is a powerful reminder of a simple truth: that the men and women of our all-volunteer armed forces have all willingly given up their own safety and freedom to serve what they believe to be a greater purpose.
We all have our opinions -- about the administration's actions around the world, about the current state of the military. But there is no opinion involved in knowing this: it's a brave and extraordinary thing to choose to serve -- to choose to leave your life and family behind and go wherever called, whatever the risk, and to do it without question. To serve your country.
I'll have more opinons tomorrow. But today ... Semper Fi.
07/12/2007
Sara Taylor gets Senatorial Smackdown
In case you hadn't heard, July is National Evoke Executive Privilege month. As the Senate Judiciary Committee attempts to probe the White House's role in the firing of eight federal prosecutors, the Bush administration continues to throw up every possible roadblock in its legal arsenal, making helpful information more difficult to extract than a stubborn molar.
On Wednesday, former White House political director Sara Taylor navigated her testimony like a schizophrenic contortionist in her attempt to answer enough questions to avoid a contempt citation, while still following Presidential instructions to say nothing about White House deliberations.
Here, after referring to her "oath to the president," Taylor is not-so-gently reminded by Judiciary Committie Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy that she actually took an oath to the Constitution. And that the Constitution and the President are... different.
