Earlier today, Matt Drudge published the fact that Prince Harry was not only serving in Afghanistan – but he was also very close to the front lines of the fighting there. Looking for any excuse to get out of their promise to the UK government not to release Prince Harry's current assignment, most British newspapers and television stations/networks followed Matt Drudge's lead and went public with this story as well. Late tonight, US time, it was announced that the UK military was already making plans to get Prince Harry out of Afghanistan before terrorist started trying to kill him.
While I have great respect for Matt Drudge and his website that is visited millions of times per day, I think Matt misjudged the importance of keeping the whereabouts of Prince Harry secret. Most of the stories that Matt Drudge links to via his popular site are for the most part conservative in nature and pro military. By ratting out Prince Harry's exact location, in a way Matt Drudge gave aide and comfort to terrorist in Afghanistan and put a valuable UK soldier and friend of the US military in grave danger. I guess I just expected more from Matt Drudge than to use an exclusive story in this way. That said, I understand there are always at least two sides to any story and I hope in upcoming days that Matt will explain his thinking about this matter in more detail.
If some left winged blogger or radio talk show host released this same information today, without a doubt the likes of Rush Limbaugh and other conservative radio talk show hosts would have been up in arms with their lack of patriotism in ratting out an important US friend in the fight against terrorism. While none of us are perfect and most of the stories I read each day on the Drudge Report are interesting and timely, today's public release of the whereabouts of Prince Harry was a mistake and Matt Drudge should not have done it.
I believe that Prince Harry just wants to serve his country like thousands of other British and American soldiers and they should not be put into harms way by reporters or bloggers that are just trying to find some story that will make them personally more popular for a few days. The Drudge Report is a five or six time per day read for me and I will continue to look toward Matt Drudge's leadership when it comes to breaking big stories. That said, I really wish Matt would have used better judgment today before he released the location of Prince Harry. What I really think happen here is that, Matt Drudge saw a huge story and before he thought it completely out he ran with it and in the days to come his initial enthusiasm will be replaced with the hard fact that he made a mistake in judgment.
Read more about the Media:
NYT Smears McCain, Mainstream Media Goes Tabloid
New York Times Hit Piece On John McCain's Fidelity
CNN Beats Fox News In Election Night Coverage
Critics Slam Dr. Laura Over Harsh Caller Treatment
Dr. Laura Caller - Extreme Emotional Reaction
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Prince Harry's Service Ended By Matt Drudge
Barack Hussein Obama, Middle Name Strikes Fear
Some on the far right publicly and others involved in the Hillary Clinton campaign, privately, are trying to draw increasing attention to Barack Obama's middle name, 'Hussein', in an attempt to stop his run away momentum toward the democratic nomination and potentially a general election win this November. The people that will be swayed by this blatant use of fear tatics are the same people that would not have voted for Barack Obama in the first place either because of his African-American race or birth religion which was Muslim.
Unfortunately the United States is still filled with people that have hate in their heart toward other people of color and citizens that don't follow a strict Evangelical Christian approach to worship. This racism and bigotry is a sad truth when it comes to what some Americans feel down deep inside. While strides have been made in recent years to create a color blind society, there is much more work that needs to be done in order for some people not to judge others based on their religious choices. While race relations have improved in the United States, there is still a bunch of work that needs to be done on that front too.
The worst part of Barack Obama's middle name, 'Hussein', is that it's the same as the last name of the former dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. Millions of Americans learned to dislike Saddam Hussein over the past decade because of his invasion of Kuwait and his use of chemical weapons against his own people years before. However, in today's modern age – surely most people can look past someone's birth name and judge the man on his own merits and not confuse his true intentions based on a two bit dictator that was also a mass murderer?
The worst is yet to come if Barack Obama is eventually successful against Hillary Clinton and he faces John McCain in the general election in November. Yes, John McCain will run a clean campaign by not using Barack Obama's religion or race in public. However, people in the RNC – in covert ways, will try and lump Barack Obama in with the likes of Saddam Hussein in anyway they can get away with. So far in the democratic primaries, voters have booed Hillary Clinton every time she has gone dirty against Barack Obama and right thinking Americans can only hope that when it come time to vote in the general election this November, all Americans will reject gutter politics whether it be from the Republican or Democrat side of the debate.
Read more about Barack Obama:
Deep Concerns About Barack Obama's Safety
Obama Winning States As Clinton Fades Away
Oprah Helps Obama With Female Voters
Is Barack Obama Running Against Bill Clinton?
Will Barack Obama Win New York State Against Senator Clinton?
February 28, 2008 Archives
