Big Surprise
Here’s a big surprise: The nuts at The Wall Street Journal editorial page have joined in the transparently organized campaign to smear Sen. John F. Kerry, publishing a twisted, tortured essay by John O’Neill, “Unfit for Office.” [Ed.: Subscription required. However, copyright laws allow me to share the article with friends. If you’re interested let me know.]

Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame
Salon.com today features an excerpt, “A Strange Encounter With Robert Novak,” from Ambassador Joseph Wilson’s new book, The Politics of Truth.

Prisoner Abuse
The Washington Post reports: “Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today called reports of abuse of Iraqi prisoners ‘deeply disturbing,’ but he defended the military’s investigation of the incidents and promised to ‘hold accountable those who may have violated the code of military conduct and betrayed the trust placed in them by the American people.’” Meanwhile: “[T]he Army disclosed that it is currently investigating 10 prisoner deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan and 10 alleged assaults on prisoners since December 2002.”

The Public Liked It
“‘Nightline’ Ratings Rise For Roll Call of Iraq Dead,” by Lisa de Moraes, the Washington Post: “ABC News’s ‘Nightline’ scored nearly 30 percent more viewers on Friday night than it did the rest of last week, according to preliminary numbers. An average of about 4.5 percent of the TV households in the nation’s largest markets watched the controversial telecast, in which anchor Ted Koppel read the names of approximately 700 U.S. servicemen and -women who have been killed in Iraq. Final viewer figures will be out later this week.”

Naming Names. “John,” to be Specific
I’m not sure what I think of the fairly aggressive campaign by the Philadelphia Daily News and columnist Carla Anderson to publish the names of men arrested in the city on charges (suspicion) of solicitation, but you can read more about it here.

David Brock
David Brock, author of Blinded by the Right, has a new web site: Media Matters for America. I’m not sure whether it’s supposed to be a blog or not, but it appears to have potential.

Belated Congratulations
Belated congratulations to my friend Madeleine Begun Kane, attorney, comic, humorist, lyricist, oboist, and, of course, blogger. Kane is among the contributors to a new book, available soon, Big Bush Lies, edited by Jerry Barrett. Nice work, Mad!

Tragedy in Zion Grove
The Philadelphia Daily News reports a tragedy in Zion Grove, Pa.: “Hollie M. Gable, [39,] who apparently had a history of mental problems, shot her daughter Kirsten in the head and left her for dead in a vehicle outside her home here. . . . She’d already killed her 18-year-old son Jared Brown, 13-year-old daughter Kelsey Brown, and her boyfriend, Kenneth M. Cragle, 38, in the same grisly fashion. . . . Police said that she’d also shot and killed her two dogs.” (See also “Rampage Leaves 5 Bodies, Mystery,” by Larry Fish and Marc Schogol, Philadelphia Inquirer.)