Mainly On the Web
On
•I will likely blog the Newsweek cover story on Pfc. Lynch within the next 24 hours.
•Meanwhile, I would like to refer you to thoughts about the discrepancy in coverage of Pfcs. Lynch and Lori Piestewa, the first woman to die in combat in Iraq, at two other blogs. Writer Joseph Daumer applies the techniques of literary analysis to both the constructing of a heroic narrative of the U.S. at war and the enshrinement of Pfc. Lynch as a kind of Helen of Troy.
Jessica Lynch, who has suffered greatly & who is undoubtedly a brave soldier, is destined to become the heroine of one substory, one current in the river of the master narrative: I've been fascinated today to watch the media's fetishization of PFC Lynch's dogtags, which were discoverd in the home of a Baath Party functionary (who no doubt fetishized them too).
The blogger at Fatshadow is more than a little miffed about the value judgments being made about women. In fact, she is disgusted with mainstream television, period.
I have the same feelings about how much I am hearing about pfc Jessica Lynch and how much I'm not hearing about pfc Lori Ann Piestewa. Maybe I'm not watching enough TV but I really am not hearing about pfc Piestewa as much.
•My blogbrother Roger Ailes has an update on the continuing saga of the Confederate flag in Georgia. Some Georgians' attachment to the Confederacy is so strong the best they can come up with is a choice between two emblems of bigotry. See the entry, "Rebel Hell."
•Laura of Interesting Monstah has taken a closer look at the United States of Impe- oops! America's post-war plans for Iraq after the occupation is complete. Turns out that Iraqis who oppose Saddam Hussein may not be eager to become the East Indians of the American empire.
•Cleaning up our own backyard, or at least knowing we have a festering sewer in it, is important, I think. So, again, I refer you to a piece about one of the most sordid of blogs, Gene Expression.
Off
•Cold update. I feel much better. The saline nasal spray several people suggested has helped a lot. My nose is no longer the dominant part of my body. However, I am having to learn to tolerate the taste of the stuff since some of it always passes right into my mouth.
