Heath's Random Thoughts

• "It includes a core group of about 100 regulars and hundreds more loosely organized activists, angry contrarians, jolly testosterone fuckups, self-appointed pundits, and would-be poets who call themselves milbloggers, as in military bloggers. Whether posting from inside Iraq on active duty, from noncombat bases around the world, or even from their neighborhoods back home after being discharged - where they can still follow events closely and deliver their often blunt opinions - milbloggers offer an unprecedented real-time real-life window on war and the people who wage it. Their collective voice competes with and occasionally undermines the DOD's elaborate message machine and the much-loathed mainstream media, usually dismissed as MSM."

If you are interested in reading the whole article go here. It is a great look at how these guys and gals are changing the face of the disimination of information on the war front. It goes on to discuss how the Pentagon is just now starting to realize the impact that blogging is having and could be preparing to take steps to monitor it more closely. It will be interseting to see how this unfolds in the future but one thing is for sure there will be a sh*t-storm from enlisted soldiers and especially from families back home who have grown accostomed to having these regular updates from their loved ones on the front if these blogs are stopped. If the military shuts them down now there will be a media frenzy. At this rate its a movement that will be extremely difficult to deter and has already created a movement that is sure to move forward. Its a movement that has given people who have grown weary of the sensationalized media a fresh look through the eyes of the actual soldier, the guy who is there and not the some desk jockey in some cozy air conditioned news studio. The views of these soldiers range from left to right and many of them are damn good writers. So regardless of your political affiliation you soon find yourself sucked in and sometimes checking your favorite blogger sites several times a day for more updates. This is bigger than people realize and will definitely begin to bleed into other avenues of society. I myself have just begun to understand the full implications of this movement and its exciting to know someone who is part of it. Well I could go on for hours on this but please read the article by John Hockenberry to learn more about this. I hope you all find it as eye opening as I have.