I’m interrupting my sorority saga to point out some of the good, bad, and ugly in today’s news. And I do this recognizing that a couple of my “sisters” who will probably be checking out this blog when they get back home do not agree with my politics:
First, the good: Bloggers offer inside view to convention
Delegate bloggers play a different role than traditional media or even other bloggers, said New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen, who is covering the convention for his blog.
“You can’t apply to it the criteria of news or even punditry,” Rosen said. “One shouldn’t expect startling new information because that’s not the point. The point is to share the experience.”
Many delegate bloggers supported Howard Dean, whose Internet-based, grass-roots campaign set fund-raising records and attracted a large following. Some say they want to keep that online effort alive even as they transfer their loyalty to John Kerry, the party’s presumed nominee

Second the bad. Well, it’s bad for the current administration but good for everyone who believes in truth and honesty:

Setting the Sept. 11 record straight
At the time, it was understood that all of the hijackers had entered the country legally and done nothing to draw attention to themselves; Osama bin Laden had underwritten the plot with his personal fortune but had left the details to others; U.S. intelligence agencies had no warning that al-Qaida was considering suicide missions using planes; President Bush had received a special intelligence briefing weeks before Sept. 11 about al-Qaida that focused on past, not current, threats
But 19 months later, the commission released a final, unanimous book-length report Thursday that, in calling for an overhaul of the way the government collects and shares intelligence, showed that much of what had been common wisdom about the Sept. 11 attacks at the start of the panel’s investigation was wrong.
Third, the ugly. The uninformed thinking of people like this 77-year old American woman really scares me. I couldn’t find a link to this brief piece that appeared today in my local newspaper:
from Voters voice
…I’m sorry that this cournty has to be the policeman throughout the world, but somebody’s got to do it…What we’ve got over there is a volunteer army, and there’s no drafting. These men and women signed up, and they’re getting paid. I’m sorry they have to be over there, beause they’re volunteers…but we’ve still got to do it.
…I’d like to see every child that can do it get a quality education but..I don’t thinkwe can realistically afford it for everyone.
…I’m concerned about Medicare and prescription drugs even though I don’t have a problem gettng insurance myself..but sometimes people abuse drugs when they’re free. They take them just because they’re there. It’s like Medicare: Some people go to the emergency room just because it’s a place to go.
When the revolution comes, I know what side I’m going to be on.