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2006-11-02 Home Front: Politix
Best Picture Award
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Posted by Whenter Fleaper6528 2006-11-02 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11126 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 Why can't they all be like Jon Carry?
Posted by Captain America 2006-11-02 00:34||   2006-11-02 00:34|| Front Page Top

#2 We salute you, the "Red Bulls" of the 1/34 BCT, Minnesota National Guard
Posted by Mike 2006-11-02 01:09||   2006-11-02 01:09|| Front Page Top

#3 Senator Kerry's national ambitions are toast. The tape of his original statement and what it pleased him to term an apology drew loud audience laughter from back to back episodes of Jon Stewart's Daily Show and the Colbert Report on the Comedy Central channel last night.
Posted by trailing wife 2006-11-02 08:52||   2006-11-02 08:52|| Front Page Top

#4 Heard on a talk show:

Hara Kerry
Posted by SwissTex 2006-11-02 08:56||   2006-11-02 08:56|| Front Page Top

#5 Think about it. The amateurs in less than 24 hours have had far more impact up the presentation of the war than all the professional PAOs have had this year. They innately understand the medium far better than all of Rummey’s generals stacked together.

A big part of the problem is that the 'brass' wants to wear blinders and just focus on tactical and operational aspects of war ignoring even the classes at the War College where they teach Clausewitz - war is an extension of politics. The uniform leadership [outside the traditions of the Marine Corps*] doesn't want to deal with 'selling' the war. Even before Rummey started to outsource functions, the flag officers long ago decided to outsource telling the story to MSM. And we know how successful that was. Anyone remember that during WWII the War Department [pre-DoA] was running their own productions, had companies for combat and propaganda films. When you downsize, guess what got dumped. And they didn't learn from Vietnam. You can win on the battlefield, but if you lose in the homeland, it doesn't make any difference.

However, technology has provide the services a new means to sell the story. Its there and they could use it, but its like trying to get a 19th century general to effectively use mid-twentieth century technology. They’re oblivious to it. Blogs are just one example. The MI people trying to justify their existence have convinced the Army leadership that they’re a threat to security without understanding that they are also a significant means by which this war has been told without the filter and bias of MSM. The ‘brass’ doesn’t understand the trade off. Lose the war to MSM or maybe suffer some additional casualties. If you lose the war, the ‘saved lives’ don’t mean anything.

Those who’ve served, do you remember the company clerk. It didn’t matter what the Military Occupational Specialty of the soldier was, 11B, 76Y, 21M, etc. If he had the arcane and mystical skill of typing, he became the company clerk. The same goes for those young soldiers out there who can assemble things like this [warning:52MB] then you have the means to communicate the war back home. Its rough, but that is where some technical skill like editing can come in. If Netflixs can send DVDs through the mail and when you can buy 50 blank DVDs for $15, think how those kids could flood their friends and family back home with the story of what is going on. The dramatic, the mundane, the real story without having to rely upon a few over paid pompous ‘producers’ deciding what the American people get to know or see tonight at six. You have the technology and skills right at hand, but the old farts at the top can’t see it. The kids know how to make it work. They actually speak in the language of the neighborhood street back home, they speak in the manner that their peers will listen to. Time to bring back the tradition of the ‘company clerk’, find that kid who can do the arcane and mystical skill of assembling such videos and start telling the units’ stories. Skip the pros and send it directly back home by mass mailing, to friends, family, and [in the case of National Guard and Reserve] the community.
Posted by Procopius2K 2006-11-02 10:02||   2006-11-02 10:02|| Front Page Top

#6 I kin c that sum pepol thank da militerry is full of sTewpuds. That picture is priceless. I guess a bunch of dullards in Iraq don’t get Kerry’s bland of humor. It must be too far above them.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2006-11-02 12:00||   2006-11-02 12:00|| Front Page Top

#7 Procopius 2K,
In reading your post it occurred to me that you really identified a critical problem. During WW2, both the Army & Navy had their own internal press departments. They RELEASED press clips and movie shorts they made. When island invasions occurred with large casualties, no movies showing thousands of US casualties were released. Americans knew the price was heavy, because they would get the telegrams saying " We regret to inform you", but they were not treated to up close and personal shots daily. This changed in Viet Nam. A crucial mistake. This ought to be changed. All MSM and Al-Jizz out of all sensitve areas. In Iraq, this would be entire country. Revert to old system where military supplies information. Easily done by well informed soldiers of today. Get rid of Wolfman Blitzer and Seymour Hersh.
Posted by SpecOp35 2006-11-02 12:15||   2006-11-02 12:15|| Front Page Top

#8 Following up on P2K and SpecOp 35's comments:

I've seen some incredibly well done video montages of action (and inaction) from Iraq, expertly synchronized to music. These aren't just sky-view videos of airstrikes (feel-good though those may be), but video made by the boots on the ground during combat ops and other activity. Truly impressive - I just wish they could get much wider distribution.

I'll try to dig up some links when I get back home tonight (work firewall issues).
Posted by xbalanke 2006-11-02 12:35||   2006-11-02 12:35|| Front Page Top

#9 When such information gets through to the home front, it is quite compelling. However, there is a fog of misinformation, distortion and distraction (I'm not referring to the MSM) we have to wade through to get to it. I spend a couple of hours every day reading the net for substantial reports on what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Wider distribution"? We've all got Rantburg! Post your links.
Posted by Slaviger Angomong7708 2006-11-02 15:40||   2006-11-02 15:40|| Front Page Top

#10 VDH comments:

20 million Americans must have seen it all over the Internet, and nothing sums up the nothingness of Kerryism better than those smiling soldiers. After seeing that, no wonder he's offering deer-in-the headlights apologies. This is a man who remembers everything and learns nothing.

Then there was the finger-in-the wind initial Democratic response: their supposedly slight ill breeze suddenly became a Katrina hurricane, and, Presto!, they were all over the airwaves demanding from poor Kerry the apologies that just a few hours ago they thought were not necessary.

As for Kerry — how quick the 24-hour metamorphosis from smugness to defiance to purported contriteness! At his earlier blame-the-wing-nuts-and-Rush-Limbaugh press conference, he thought he was a strutting, strong-jawed Napoleonic general leading his troops to rout the evil Bush-Cheney Prussians, and then, alone, suddenly turned around — and Mein Gott in Himmel!! — his Old Guard was heading for the hills.
Posted by Mike 2006-11-02 17:26||   2006-11-02 17:26|| Front Page Top

#11 Link to one of the vids I mentioned:

here

It's the only one I could find, but I've seen others of similar nature/quality.
Posted by xbalanke 2006-11-02 21:59||   2006-11-02 21:59|| Front Page Top

19:47 Speng Thater
15:37 Speng Thater7808
18:12 Speng Thater
18:39 Jon Carry
18:35 Jon Carry
18:23 John Fn Kerry
23:59 Zenster
23:56 Leigh
23:49 Zenster
23:38 Zenster
23:27 Jan
23:16 Anonymoose
23:11 Zenster
23:09 Mick Dundee
23:06 Annoying Australian Guy
23:00 Jesing Ebbease3087
22:59 mcsegeek1
22:57 mcsegeek1
22:49 mcsegeek1
22:46 mcsegeek1
22:42 Abdominal Snowman
22:26 Alaska Paul
22:26 Deacon Blues
22:19 xbalanke









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