Reuters reports that a study from the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which is affiliated with Columbia’s School of Journalism, shows that there were three times as many negative stories about Bush than about Kerry. Hat tip: Powerline

This also just in: The Center for the Attainment of Moderate Temperatures in Hell just concluded a study which shows that most people would prefer to avoid eternal damnation after death.

China is increasing the saber rattling and tensions in the region are rising. The U.K.’s Independent reports the following:

China’s new “anti-secession” law authorising the use of force against Taiwan has sent ripples of alarm throughout the region and beyond, drawing a stern reaction from the US, and casting new uncertainty on European plans to resume arms sales to Beijing.

That there is still “uncertainty” at this point speaks volumes about the value of U.S. “alliances” with Europe. As we’ve learned from the Cold War, arms don’t necessarily have to be used to have a real effect on an adversary. Of course there’s also the possibility that arms sold to China may actually end up being used against the U.S. Without going into the technicalities of specific treaties, selling arms to your enemy doesn’t sound like something an ally would do. Actually, it sounds more like something an enemy would do.

Bush took a bit of a gamble in softening his stance by agreeing to give Iran incentives to drop its nuclear ambitions. Iran’s response was to yank the olive branch out of Bush’s hands and snap it in two before our eyes. We have definitely arrived at a turning point. Iran not only rejected the offer, but essentially dared the U.S. to respond with force. If Bush backs down, it will send a signal that the U.S. expended all of its willingness to use force in Iraq. Rather than representing U.S. resolve in the region, the Iraq war will be considered the battle that sapped the will out of the mighty U.S. Bush must get tough with Iran now.

Gallup came out with a poll which shows that political blogs are still far from the mainstream. Powerline looks at the bright side saying we still have room to grow. I agree, but I also think that the numbers belie the impact of political blogs. First, the poll is a sample of the general population and not of likely voters or people who are otherwise politically active. The poll also fails to account for the importance of blogs with respect to opinion leaders.

We know that just over half the population actually votes in national elections. As for the rest, they’re not in the game, so they don’t really matter. Given that those who visit political blogs are inherently more politically interested, its not a stretch to say that among “likely voters” or those who are “politically active” the number of people who read political blogs is going to be significantly higher than with the general population. While news from old media often falls on deaf ears, political blogs invariably engage a willing participant.

Perhaps more importantly is the impact of blogs on opinion leaders. We have opinion leaders for all aspects of our society, including politics. Not necessarily occupying a formal position of power, the opinion leader is any member of a group that the others trust to inform or otherwise lead. She’s the woman at the party who seems to know what she’s talking about. He’s the guy at the water cooler who has a good grasp of the facts on a particular issue. Others in the group, who are less willing or able to inform themselves, but nevertheless wish to participate, take the lead from their opinion leader. This doesn’t mean that others will blindly follow, but on average, they will have an effect.

The blogosphere is far better suited to the opinion leader than old media. Rather than being told what the “news” is in short clips or wire releases, one can enter the vast array of knowledge and opinions of the blogosphere and determine for oneself what information and viewpoints are relevant. In addition to attracting opinion leaders, the blogosphere also likely creates opinion leaders – willing leaders who were previously uninformed and thus practically unable to lead, now have far more information at their disposal.

Old media may still have a lot of readers, but political blogs have a lot of the readers that matter most.

Mypetjawa (the Jawa Report) is still on top of the Sgrena story. Apparently she’s still being questioned by Italian police. That may or may not indicate that they are looking at her as a suspect. But they should be looking at her. If her statements to the Italian police are like the statements she’s made to the press, it’s likely she’s lied to authorities. That’s not good.

Recall that Martha Stewart didn’t go to the big house (ok it was more like a nice Cape Cod with a wrap-around porch) for insider trading. She was convicted of lying to authorities in the course of an insider trading investigation. Of course Martha was an evil business person not an innocent communist propagandist.

Our friends at OpiniPundit are on to the latest news about Ward Churchill – plagiarizing another Prof’s work. Does that come within the protection of “academic freedom” too?
UPDATE: Also check out Scared Monkeys.

The Captain is an original signatory to the Online Coalition.
From his post:

You can also sign onto the Online Coalition. Go to the website and register to add your voices in defense of the blogosphere and the First Amendment. We may be conservatives and liberals, centrists and radicals, but we’re all Americans — and no one tells us that we have to keep our mouths shut about politics. We’ll be glad to have you on board.

Join the Coalition today! Sign the letter!

Apparently the new Star Wars movie will not be suitable for young children. That’s just great! My five year old son’s room is littered with Star Wars toys, posters, even underwear. He’s defined the importance of this spring as the season of his birthday, Easter, and the new Star Wars movie.

Lucas admits that the movie is too dark for young children, but says that he is happy with the product. Hellooooo….Mr. Lucas……remember us, your customers. I’m glad you find the movie so artistically fulfilling, but isn’t the point of making these movies to provide a product that your faithful audience wants to see?

I know this isn’t earth shattering stuff here, but I know one little guy who’s going to be disappointed with the rug being pulled out from under him.
Hat tip: Outside the Beltway

Take a look at the rise in the blogosphere and the reasons for its success. Much has been written about it including an extensive book by Hugh Hewitt (I must admit I haven’t read it yet- please don’t shun me) but when you get right down to it, the blogosphere rose because it filled a void.

Prior to discovering the blogosphere, we would watch the Sunday morning news shows in search of real political news and debate where both sides were truly represented. Too often the two sides of the debate were the far left and the moderate left, with the right excluded. Our views were not being covered. Personally, I would spend Sunday mornings arguing with the T.V., expressing my opinions to an inanimate object, while my sweet wife would pat me on the back saying “that’s O.K. dear.” Then came the blogosphere, and in an instant all that changed. Suddenly there was this forum which provided a nearly seamless exchange of unfiltered news and ideas, and unlike the T.V., it allowed us to participate. Notwithstanding the fact that we are living in a Western democracy and we are supposed to be “free”, it was liberating.

Now consider the young Iranian. I say young, because most of them are. Unlike North America’s aging population, Iran’s “boom” generation is under 30 – a technically savvy, computer driven group. Consider how the feelings of emancipation described above must pale in comparison to a young Iranian living in a mullahcracy discovering the blogosphere for the first time. Of course, I may be suffering from a bit of ethnocentrism – judging other peoples cultures by the standards of my own. I’m sure most liberals would make the condescending argument that the Iranians are not “us” and “we” can’t presume that the blogosphere would have any sort of liberating influence on the Arab world. But we’ve heard that before haven’t we.

Here’s a quote by Afshin Molavi, a writer who’s extensively covered Iranian political developments over the years from within Iran:

It?s increasingly apparent that Iran?s young are tuning out a preachy government for an alternative world of personal Web logs (Persian is the third most commonly used language on the Internet, after English and Chinese), private parties, movies, study, and dreams of emigrating to the West. These disenchanted ?children of the revolution? make up the bulk of Iran?s population, 70 percent of which is under 30. Too young to remember the anti-American sentiment of the ?70s, they share little of their parents? ideology. While young Iranians of an earlier generation once revered Che Guevara and romanticized guerrilla movements, students on today?s college campuses tend to shun politics and embrace practical goals such as getting a job or admission into a foreign graduate school.

And then there’s this nugget:

Meanwhile, Iranian intellectuals are quietly rediscovering American authors and embracing values familiar to any American civics student?separation of church and state, an independent judiciary and a strong presidency.

With the rise of the blogosphere amidst the pent up, unexpressed appreciation of American values, its only a matter of time before Iranian bloggers take down their own Dan Rather or Eason Jordan. But I suspect that they will have their sights set a little higher than an anchorman or news executive.

Tony Blankley of the Washington Times, gives one of the best sports analogies I’ve seen in awhile. Take a look at this snippet and then go read the whole thing:

President Bush plays politics the way my friends and I used to play pick-up football when I was a kid. In the huddle, the quarterback would tell everyone else to go out long. On the snap the quarterback would dance around in the backfield until one of us five or six receivers got open, at which point he would complete the pass. With both sides going long all the time, we often ended up with basketball scores.

The Democrats, on the other hand, when on offense, merely receive the snap and fall on the ball. When on defense, they put all their men on the line, trying for a quick sack of the quarterback. If the quarterback is too agile for them, they are vulnerable to be scored upon, given their lack of a pass defense.

When two such teams meet, the best score the all-defense Democrats can hope for is a 0-0 tie. The best score the all-offense Republicans can expect is at least a 56-0 win. So far, since 2001 the score is about 42-0…

Tony’s bang on.