Donate to support embeds for independent journalists in 2008!
The crew over at Public Multimedia Inc and The Long War Journal are ramping up for another important year of reporting, and they need your support.
Not only is it a great cause, your donation is 100% tax deductible. I make automatic monthly donations just like I do with other charities and non-profits.
Why?
After adopting my first Marine through Soldiers' Angels, I became a war news junkie. I wanted to know how things were going where my guy was in Iraq in December of 2004.
Milblogs like Blackfive and Mudville Gazette immediately started to fill in some gaps and to give some insight from a military point of view.
Still, it is Bill Roggio and company's reporting over at The Long War Journal (http://www.longwarjournal.org/) that has taken war news blogging to a new level. Initial reporting and analysis based on Roggio's own embeds with troops in theater has morphed into a non-profit organization - Public Multimedia Inc (PMI) - that provides daily updates on the global war on jihadism, or The Long War. In addition to operating the news web site, PMI covers expenses of independent journalists who join our boots on the ground to provide first hand reporting.
And not only has The Long War Journal become a staple of those who get their news from the web, it is now becoming a resource for other media outlets. Last Thursday when news broke that a top Al Qaeda leader had been killed in Pakistan, the FOXNews TV news ticker credited The Long War Journal as their source confirming the Al Qaeda member's role in the terrorist organization.
I gave a small cheer from my hotel room in Philadelphia and sent Bill an email. Kudos to FOXNews for giving credit where credit was due.
So! Help PMI help us keep tabs on the war - donate today!
If you're interested in supporting consistent and in-depth reporting, don't hesitate. As PMI posts on their webpage:
"PMI believes an informed public is necessary for a functional republic, and PMI helps to provide that information. Accurate reporting of The Long War is critical for the American citizenry and her allies to make choices in the important decisions that affect their lives."
I agree.
Plus, I'm an Angel who wants to keep tabs on her current adopted soldier. :)
Monday, February 4, 2008
Interested in accurate reporting on the war?
Friday, February 1, 2008
Lone Survivor: An Inspiring Story
I got this book, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10, as a Christmas gift from my sister.
I'd read Froggy's posts here and here (now linked among the Blackfive.net archive of "Someones You Should Know" posts) shortly after the events of June-July 2005 and had made a mental note to add the expected book to my reading list when it came out.
I was reminded that I hadn't read it yet in October of last year when Lt Michael Patrick Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Not long after the New Year, I stayed up all night to finish reading the whole story.
**Tissue alert**! as we Angels like to say. As I continually grabbed for extra kleenex, I laughed as a vignette from the book came to mind, "Hydrate!" the Afghani said. Leak enough and you have to put down the book and get a glass of water. Or two. And be forewarned, have your tissues handy even for the introduction. I started this book on the plane from Texas back to DC and had to put it away -- I might have worried the flight attendants....
ANYWAY.
It's a heartwrenching story, made truly readable because we have Marcus to cheer for.
Leading Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell offers a priceless gift by telling his team's story. It's his tribute to those who couldn't make it back, but it's also a story every American should know. While it may be okay that a small percentage of citizens go into battle to defend the rest of us, I think we have some responsibility to understand how they train and what they are prepared to do on our behalf. They are a credit to everything for which our country stands. If you doubt that, read the book.
Kudos to co-author Patrick Robinson; thanks for whatever assistance you provided in getting this story down on paper.
I'd read Froggy's posts here and here (now linked among the Blackfive.net archive of "Someones You Should Know" posts) shortly after the events of June-July 2005 and had made a mental note to add the expected book to my reading list when it came out.
I was reminded that I hadn't read it yet in October of last year when Lt Michael Patrick Murphy was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Not long after the New Year, I stayed up all night to finish reading the whole story.
**Tissue alert**! as we Angels like to say. As I continually grabbed for extra kleenex, I laughed as a vignette from the book came to mind, "Hydrate!" the Afghani said. Leak enough and you have to put down the book and get a glass of water. Or two. And be forewarned, have your tissues handy even for the introduction. I started this book on the plane from Texas back to DC and had to put it away -- I might have worried the flight attendants....
ANYWAY.
It's a heartwrenching story, made truly readable because we have Marcus to cheer for.
Leading Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell offers a priceless gift by telling his team's story. It's his tribute to those who couldn't make it back, but it's also a story every American should know. While it may be okay that a small percentage of citizens go into battle to defend the rest of us, I think we have some responsibility to understand how they train and what they are prepared to do on our behalf. They are a credit to everything for which our country stands. If you doubt that, read the book.
Kudos to co-author Patrick Robinson; thanks for whatever assistance you provided in getting this story down on paper.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
