Got an email today from a reader, Doug, who sent me a link to an article from DefenseLink, about how the good folks at CENTCOM are trying to get all buddy-buddy with bloggers...and it seems that they want to be bestest good friends with a certain...um...persuasion of on-line journalists...
Public affairs officials here said thousands of blogs are created each day, and they estimate that more than 21 million blogs are posted on the World Wide Web today.
...
McNorton said the team contacts bloggers to inform the writers about any given topic that may have been posted on their site. This outreach effort enables the team to offer complete information to bloggers by inviting them to visit CENTCOM's Web site for news releases, data or imagery.
The team engages bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information. They extend a friendly invitation to all bloggers to visit the command's Web site. (my emphasis)
Well isn't that special? The very next email I had in my in-box was from a SGT at CENTCOM...
Greetings Democratic Veteran,
My name is SGT Xyzt and I work at the US Central Command public affairs office. I found your site linked on another blog and I wanted to invite you to visit our website at:
Our site provides news/press releases, images and casualty reports from the CENTCOM area of responsibility, including anti-terrorism activities. I wanted to contact you because of your interest in politics and the CENTCOM AOR. If you are interested in signing up for our newsletter, you can do so at:
[http://blah blah blah yadda]
I also wanted to invite you to place a link to the CENTCOM website on your page if you think that is something your readers would be interested in. If you have any questions or would like any additional information, please contact me and I will do what I can to help. Let me know what you think. Thank you for your time.
SGT Xyzt
USCENTCOM Public Affairs
So Yo, CENTCOM all you needed to do was ask for a link...now it looks like you're sending me emails to try and influence my "bad" thinking.
Bottom line: next time I do a blogroll update, I'll toss you a link. I have no beef at all with the military, it was my home once too and I'm proud of that. My beef is with the idiots running the show. Clear as mud? Good. Now go find Osama, alright? And stop spending my tax dollars doing Unka Karl's dirty work.
posted by Jo Fish on 03.05.06 at 03:31 AM
Comments:
Their sensitivity to opinions needs to translate into better body armor for the troops, and not better firewall filters for the truth.
You should post their link, if the site allowes people to put down comments anonymously. You will find, if it is open and honest, that more people in the service than you think will blog very differently than this administration would like. Ask them first, if the latest Zogby poll has any merit, if not why...and elicit comments. Then ask them who is winning the civil war.
