Intriguing editorial from KTN

Even for the Kingsport Times-News, this editorial is hawkish regarding the recent developments in North Korea. I agree with most of it, but I found it a little positive, even for the Times-News. Here’s a pretty powerful portion:

In response to that outrageously provocative act, President Obama told journalists assembled in the White House Rose Garden that the United States would work with allies around the world to “stand up to” North Korea. After that, the president made a brief visit to Arlington National Cemetery and then traveled to Ft. Belvoir where he played golf for the balance of the day.

It has been one of the treasured tropes of the left in general and of President Obama in particular that among President George W. Bush’s many faults was his deep disdain for diplomacy.

Unfair and untrue as that criticism has always been, North Korea’s escalating missile launches and this week’s underground nuclear test call that easy condemnation into further question.

It also makes all the self-congratulatory back-patting by the Obama administration over its supposedly more enlightened approach to U.S. foreign policy look not only premature but downright delusional.

If it wasn’t clear to President Obama during the campaign or in the days immediately after he took office, it should be exceedingly apparent now that diplomacy is meaningless unless it is backed up by the willingness to use force. As Will Rogers once famously phrased it, “Diplomacy consists of saying ‘nice doggie’ until you can find a rock.”

 

Friends, if you live in the SWVA/Northeast TN region, or even if you don’t, you owe it to yourself to either subscribe to the KTN or to read it daily online. The editorial section is superb considering its market.

Tech Product

I’ve only recently discovered some of the more interesting features of Twitter.  I’ve uninstalled TwitterFox and downloaded TweetDeck. It’s an excellent platform for all things Twitter.

Another helpful tool

While I mostly use Mozilla related utilities (Firefox, Thunderbird, etc.), I do have a Microsoft product that I really like to use. It is Windows Live Writer. Writer is a blog editor tool that allows you to post updates about websites, pages and other general stuff without having to log in to your service in your web browser. You can embed videos with two clicks and it allows you to determine your own labels for your posts. All in all,  I like this tool and recommend it.

A useful Firefox Tool

For those who don’t use Firefox, you’re missing out on a great browser.  If you Twitter, Firefox has a great add-on called TwitterFox.  Here’s a short description.

 

TwitterFox is a Firefox extension that notifies you of your friends' tweets on Twitter.

This extension adds a tiny icon on the status bar which notifies you when your friends update their tweets. Also it has a small text input field to update your tweets.

I highly recommend this to anyone. Give it whirl. For those who get irritated at the pop ups, you can customize the length of time to check for tweets.

Trent Lott: Man with a Short Memory

Before beginning this post in detail, I have to confess that I have a poor impression of Mr. Lott that stems from an issue between his office and an organization I worked for several years ago. I want the reader to be aware of this as it adds a bias to my post.

Much has been made of the remarks made by Senator Trent Lott regarding talk radio and blogs. With the advent of the so-called "new media", politics has become even more focused on communication. As recently as 28 years ago, the television was only beginning to realize its potential as a political tool. Of course, I'm referring to the election of 1980 that brought the Great Communicator into office.  President Reagan's ability to bring his case to the American people can be tied to his abilities to communicate effectively and with grace on television.

In the past five years or so, the advent of blogs, podcasts, video podcasts and other digital media has brought a sharpening of issues with attention to detail not seen in Presidential elections before.  The use of blogs in defeating the "Shamnesty Bill" brought to bear the power of the grassroots as never before. Attention to obscure votes made by a Senator, reference to far removed bills signed by a former Governor, and the immediate communication of adverse action by our Governing bodies are all attributable to the use and perfection of digital "new" media.

I have went through this tirade to come the following point. Mr. Lott is seeing the results of a grassroots effort that has come a long way from the one that put Ronald Reagan in the White House. Mr. Lott is resenting the fact that he himself was a victim of the immediacy of reporting regarding his remarks about the late Strom Thurmond. Mr. Lott should bear in mind that the 21st century grassroots is as likely to be computer fluent as they are to be politically astute. Mr. Lott is entitled to his opinion, as every American citizen is. I would point out that opinions are more widely disseminated now than ever before. A wise local GOP activist once told me that "You better watch what you're saying at all times." This holds true in life AND politics. Mr. Lott (in my view) has been hostile to genuine conservatives after being swept into majority in 1994.

Will blogs ever totally influence elections? No. Unless you're a behemoth like Glenn Reynolds or Michelle Malkin or Ed Morrisey (sic). Will blogs ever replace the old fashioned art of the stump speech? In my opinion, no. People still love to be fired up,  informed and given their marching orders.  Blogs (and the Internet as a whole) will, however, enable the grassroots to be more effective in holding our elected officials to fire in their votes.