It’s somewhat comforting to know that Iraq’s homegrown reporters provoke just as much irritation from the locals as they do, well, everywhere else with government of, by and for the people. It’s a sign of progress when ordinary people aren’t afraid to criticize the media (usually because it’s not state-controlled anymore). But it’s not limited to claims of bias and oversimplification in Iraq – if this incident with a taxi driver is indicative, reporters...

I attended the Free Muslims Against Terrorism rally in Washington, DC yesterday. See my photos and narrative on the event’s success here. Other pictures – some from speakers I missed, as I arrived late – are here.

The first Pew survey on political typology since 9/11 shows some interesting trends in the two major political parties and unaffiliated voters. The most interesting results, in my view: the shift of the unaffiliated toward one party’s side…

One of the most amusing political defenses you’ll ever hear is the libertarian’s plea to “legalize it,” whatever “it” may be, temporarily tossing aside their distaste for regulation to wildly overpromise how much better things will be if only (insert here) were under the state’s bureaucratic purview. (Then again, there’s at least one issue where I happily and fervently make this argument.) The latest example of legalization falling short of promises...

The call to prayer in Muslim-ruled areas used to be “a joy” but has since turned into a “thunderous cacophony” as mosques adopted loudspeakers and put their muezzins (announcers) on the mic at the same time, leading to such intrusive noise it has some faithful calling it “daily torture to the ears.” Some mosques even amplify the entire service, and “what should be an announcement lasting at most two minutes goes on for 45 minutes, keeping the entire neighbourhood...

OxBlog’s David Adesnik notes some particularly lacking reporting on an issue in my backyard (literally, at the school across the street): the new sex education curriculum in Montgomery County, Maryland. You might have heard local conservative parents were up in arms, but if you wanted to know what’s actually in the curriculum, the Post’s story isn’t the best place. It does include one excerpt that sheds light on what could have more than just conservative parents upset,...

The Sunday New York Times has a feature on Nick Denton and his Gawker Media blog “empire,” a compliment he doesn’t particularly like. For the man said to have taken blogging mainstream, Denton is pretty skeptical: “The hype comes from unemployed or partially employed marketing professionals and people who never made it as journalists wanting to believe,” he said. “They want to believe there’s going to be this new revolution and their lives are going to...

Tonight was a milestone in prime-time cartoons on the major networks: “The Simpsons” passed its 350th episode and “Family Guy” returned three years after cancellation because of audience demand. Sadly, Fox misjudged how much penance it should pay “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane and went ahead with his latest project, which I review here.

Here’s another lesson in not assuming what people in other countries would want, based on our Western notions. As Iraq gets cell networks up and running, the towers need to go somewhere – and Iraqis are glad to be picked by the companies to put them on their houses: 1-The phone company would pay the house owner (the host) 500 $ per month for allowing the company to install the tower in on his house’s roof or in the garden. 2-The deal would also include installing a diesel power...

The LA Times comes in for criticism regularly in the blogosphere, but a couple recent mistakes on their part deserve closer scrutiny. LA-based Patterico shows Times editors removed (from the Reuters wire story) possibly the most noteworthy development in the shooting of the car in Iraq that killed an Italian agent and the newly free Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena – the car’s speed as measured by satellite: The Reuters story reported that investigators using satellite footage of...

The group Free Muslims Against Terrorism is leading a rally in DC on Saturday, May 14: Join us in sending a message to radical Muslims and supporters of terrorism that we reject them and that we will do all we can to defeat them. We also want to send a message of hope to the people of the Muslim world and the Middle East who seek freedom, democracy and who reject radical Islam that we are with them and that we will do all we can to support them. The rally is open to people of all and no faiths,...

Law student Steve Barnett has a manageable and eye-opening history of the filibuster, as well as current law surrounding its use on certain subjects. Forget that it was racist legislators who utilized the filibuster most effectively, to block civil rights legislation; and forget that the earliest filibuster landed the national capital in “a humid swamp now known as Washington, D.C.,” where I have the misfortune of living now. Read the whole thing, but especially see this section on...

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals just can’t get a break. They’ve been shut down by California’s high court on their false advertising suit against the state Milk Advisory Board, which has the bad taste to show “happy cows grazing in lush green pastures” in its commercials. I’d put this in the same category as fast-food restaurants’ depictions of their food in commercials – only fleetingly connected to the actual reality, but everyone knows...

You’ve gotta love the judgment of newspaper photo editors. This story about the murky rules surrounding filibusters in the Constitution features that Dick Cheney “Shut the f— up or I’ll cap your ass” photo. It makes him look ruthless, imposing and intolerant, but most likely he was calling on a reporter near the back of the room for a question. The choice gives evidence that, regardless of whether you think media bias exists, journalists have preconceptions like the...

Has anyone else seen the webcast interview show “Off the Record” by the Republican National Committee? I reviewed it a month ago, basically objecting to 1) the nonsensical title (which I think shows the GOP’s low estimation of their base’s intelligence) 2) the flat delivery of the hosts, “Mindy & Katie” 3) Mindy’s presence at all; Katie is much better looking and has a certain glow. In the first episode I reviewed, Katie was interviewing Ari Fleischer;...

I wrote earlier this week (and linked here) that Washington Post political reporter Dana Milbank was just a little too opinionated for his stated role at the paper, given his intelligent but somewhat nya-nya coverage of Karl Rove’s speech on media trends. I also faulted the Post for giving Milbank leeway with the euphemistic “Washington Sketch” heading for the column. Now a prominent mainstream media writer (not “reporter,” so we’re clear) adds his backing to...

As Joe noted below, Dana Milbank has an good piece on Karl Rove’s speech on media shortcomings at a Maryland college. But just as interesting as Rove’s thoughts is Milbank’s less restrained style of writing here, considering he’s supposed to be a straight-news reporter. His column is a good example of what I call cop-out journalism – not necessarily dumb, but pretending to be something it’s not.

David Brooks has a good column about sex – playfully published on the least sexy day – and its simultaneous expansion in public and significant shrinkage (pun and allusion intended) in private: You could get the impression that America’s young people are leading lives of Caligulan hedonism. You could give credence to all those parental scare stories about oral sex parties at bar mitzvahs and junior high school dances. You could worry about hookups, friends with benefits, and the...

A worrisome demographic explosion is on the horizon…

New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson is expanding from his role as the first openly gay bishop in America to the new religious spokesman for a prominent interest group, but I think it’s a bad move for him – and the gay people he claims to represent.

Supporters of Howard Dean usually have the stereotype of hard, uncompromising stances on the issues of the day – war, taxes, health care, etc. – but a new Pew poll shows they are more likely than Democrats in general to shift their positions on arguably the most important issue of last year. Matt Yglesias explains: Not surprisingly, Dean folks are essentially unanimous in their view that invading Iraq was a bad idea. More surprisingly, Dean activists are much more likely than Democrats...

Convicted murderers get new trials for all sorts of reasons, but this is the first button-related reversal I’ve heard. Not surprisingly it comes from the 9th Circuit, whose decisions over the years have been “novel” to say the least.

The New York Times has a baffling piece on a gay Republican political consultant marrying his partner in a civil ceremony in Massachusetts. By most standards of the newsworthy – time to pull out your first-year journalism notes – this story has no reason for being. The wedding was in December; he lives in Massachusetts, so it wasn’t a trek; his sexuality has been known for several years at the least (40 years with the same partner); he’s a self-described libertarian who...

Prescription painkillers seem to be falling by the wayside in the FDA’s wake, but how do regular users feel about their most effective drugs getting pulled?

I can think of alternate uses for this personal technology. Fortunately I’m not an early adopter.