Mission Accomplished--Not

Another holiday glorifying the military has come and gone with American soldiers fighting and dying in faraway battlefields, with the real purpose getting fuzzier and fuzzier by the day.

More than 3,400 soldiers and other military personnel have been killed since the invasion of Iraq began in 2003. Those that remain are stressed out, injured, and staying longer than they should. Those that came home alive are subject to less than adequate care in military hospitals.

The soldiers came willingly, buying into the fantasies of their employer, President George W. Bush. He believed the world would be a lot better off without Saddam Hussein, and that has come true. Unfortunately, the President also believed that there were weapons of mass destruction, terrorists where none had existed before, democracy flourishing where none had existed before, and victory was within reach. Mission accomplished--not.

We know better now, and it's about to get worse. A "surge" of thousands of new troops are just coming into Iraq, attempting to counteract the surge of sectarian violence that has been plaguing the country lately. Which leads to another surge--in funerals for the ones who don't make it out alive.

All of this will be paid for in a new spending bill passed by Congress and signed by the President. Originally, the Democratic-controlled Congress wanted a timetable for pulling the soldiers out within a year. But the President behaved like a spoiled brat, threatening to veto the bill unless benchmarks for the Iraqi government to get its act together were included. Ultimately, Democrats made like the spoiled brat's parents and let Bush have his bill with no timetables, disappointing the many folks who voted for them last November. Even the noted anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan gave up and went home because of this.

Many more holidays glorifying the military will pass before the next President comes to his (or her) senses and gets the country out of a no-win situation in Iraq once and for all. And maybe behave like an adult.

TV 2006-07

Another season has come and gone, and what did we watch? Mostly the same old stuff with a few new shows thrown in. Here's just some of the ones we either watched as it happened, or saved it for a more convenient time. Or not.

The View (ABC) Notable mostly for Rosie O'Donnell coming and Star Jones Reynolds going. Until her abrupt departure, O'Donnell was the show's lightning rod, spouting off on everything from the war in Iraq to Donald Trump (whose show "The Apprentice" got fired by NBC) to alleged 9/11 conspiracies. She may have been a big pain to conservatives, the network and Barbara Walters, but the show's numbers were the best in years. Now O'Donnell will be taking her loudmouth act elsewhere, probably a syndicated gig.

American Idol (Fox) Congratulations to Jordin Sparks on her victory in this year's glorified talent competition. That ballad you tried mightily not to screw up during your coronation will be the first single released, which will be promptly ignored by radio while soaring up the Billboard charts. Then you will either become a big star like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, or a casino lounge act like Taylor Hicks. Not even Paula Abdul can save you now.

Friday Night Lights (NBC) This is one of the few good dramas on TV that doesn't take place in a hospital, a courtroom, or a crime scene. It's about a small town in Texas that lives and dies with its high school football team. Since the show just barely got renewed for next season due to tepid ratings, we predict NBC will try the following to jazz up the show: More teenagers and their raging hormones, less football and parental involvement. Because now the show's competition is real high school football on Friday nights.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to "The West Wing" centered on a behind-the-scenes look at a late-night comedy show not unlike "Saturday Night Live". It failed because Sorkin chose the wrong kind of venue to make his points about television, and the political and social climate of the early 21st century. ("30 Rock" did a much better job in the comedy department) A 24-hour news network would have been a better choice.

Gilmore Girls (The CW) We liked this show for two reasons: Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore and the snappy writing. Everyone else in Stars Hollow you can put in a blender. As the show entered into what turned out to be the final season, the snappy writing turned sappy when executive producer Amy Sherman-Palladino left in a contract dispute. By the end, there were so many plotlines that didn't work, it was a relief to see the Gilmores go off into the sunset with their reputations intact.

Serialized Dramas Everybody wanted to get on the "24" and "Lost" bandwagons with their own takes on continuing storylines. Most of these shows, such as "Jericho", "The Nine" and "Kidnapped" failed either because of the time commitment required, or the networks gave them the quick hook before anyone had a chance to see them. Only "Ugly Betty" and "Heroes" lived to see another season. The lesson here? Don't make shows that are too complicated for the audience to follow.

NHL: On Thin Ice?

The Anaheim Ducks will play the Ottawa Senators for the right to drink from Lord Stanley's Cup, starting on Memorial Day.

It seems like the wrong time of year to decide a championship in a sport meant for the colder months. But the National Hockey League does this for the same reason the NFL puts its biggest games in the dead of winter, and why Major League Baseball has scheduled the seventh game of the World Series for November 1: to attract network TV coverage. And no pro sports league has had a more difficult time promoting its product than the NHL.


In the two years since a labor dispute shut down the season, the NHL has been trying to win back the fans with more offense, eliminating ties in the regular season, and cracking down on the rough stuff.

That worked--for awhile.

Like every other rule change benefiting the offense in the past, it was only a matter of time before the defenses caught up and brought down scoring. The unbalanced schedule, in which there is more divisional play and fewer visits from teams in the other conference, is largely a bust. And there is still the occasional cheap shot, performed by one team's designated goon on an unsuspecting player from the other team whose career (and life) suddenly hangs in the balance.

Unfortunately for the NHL, video of said cheap shot ends up being shown on network news programs and various web sites, usually as part of stories decrying the violence in hockey.

As for intentional publicity, the NHL currently has TV deals in the United States with Versus and NBC. The league seems to be happy with Versus, even if most folks think they made a mistake in leaving ESPN after the lockout. Versus must be on a tight budget because, instead of sending their own people to cover some playoff games, they picked up the feed from Canadian TV networks. And they usually do a much better job.

NBC does an excellent job with its occasional coverage, and the NHL is just plain fortunate to have them. However, they also got a taste of how they really rated with the network when the Buffalo-Ottawa game went into overtime. NBC then went to Preakness Stakes coverage, and the hockey was moved to Versus, where Ottawa scored to eliminate the Sabres.

The National Hockey League will always be popular with its fans. But if they want to be a major sport in the United States, they've got to get out of their own way.

Oh yes: Ducks in six games.

Falling Star

On the final episode of the TV series "Gilmore Girls", Yale graduate Rory Gilmore (as played by Alexis Bledel) announces she is going to work for an online magazine, covering the Barack Obama presidential campaign. This came after she loses her dream job of working as an intern for the New York Times.

The point here (besides the admission that I actually watched "Gilmore Girls") is that if budding journalists need a place to start their careers, newspapers aren't the place to go.
They're losing readers and revenue to new technologies, and are being sold to financiers who are more concerned about making a quick buck than they are about their readers.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune, now owned by an outfit called Avista Capital Partners after McClatchy Newspapers sold it to them for a pittance, is cutting 145 jobs (50 in the newsroom).
Despite assurances by management that the Star Tribune will not lose its quality of journalism with the cutbacks, everyone is up in arms over the future of the newspaper, and it's not hard to see why.

There will be more local coverage with a suburban focus, and less on the national and world scene, leaving that to wire service reports. Some columnists and beat writers will either be reassigned or eliminated. More money will be put into the Strib's website at the expense of the printed version.

Meaning? The new Strib will resemble your typical suburban newspaper. Only this one comes out seven days a week, and have less room for press release filler and human interest junk.

Another reason the Strib is making news as well as reporting it these days is Par Ridder, the paper's new publisher. His family used to own the paper across the river, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, as part of the Knight-Ridder chain until they sold it to--whaddya know--McClatchy. But not for long because, through a complicated deal, MediaNews now owns the Pioneer Press.

Ridder is the focus of a lawsuit by the Pioneer Press, alleging that he and other former employees absconded with trade secrets in laptops when they moved across the river to their longtime rivals. It's going through the legal system as we speak.

All of which makes the Rory Gilmores of the world reconsider their career choices, and those of us who still peruse the newspaper over a cup of Triple Skim Latte wondering whether less news is really more.

More Wolfowitz (as if there wasn't enough)

Further information has surfaced about Wolfowitz: Not only did he give his love interest a job at State, but he kept her on the Bank's payroll.

Our Obligatory Nod to a TV Singing Contest

It's down to Jordin Sparks vs. Blake Lewis for the right to follow in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino and Taylor Hicks for the title of "American Idol" 2007.

Melinda Doolittle, the odds-on favorite to make the finals, was voted out in a shocker. But it shouldn't have been surprising. Though she has a great voice, she lost me when she wouldn't sing a certain verse from the Bee Gees' song "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" because she said she didn't want to sing about being a loser. Life isn't always a bowl of cherries.

I was more impressed by Sparks' interpretations of other people's hits, though some of them tend to be more mature than she is (she's 17). Lewis is a gimmicky singer who did nice impressions of Sting and that guy from Maroon 5 the other night. But his beatbox style may be enough to ensure steady work as a voice actor.

I give Jordin Sparks the edge to take the title, mostly by default. If it's Lewis, "American Idol" might be destined to a fate worse than Sanjaya.

Wolfowitz Cashes Out. Gonzales Next?

Paul Wolfowitz, whose most recent claim to fame was in helping to plan the Iraq War, has resigned his position as president of the World Bank, effective at the end of next month. Considering that, among other things, he set up his female companion (and fellow Bank employee) with a cushy job inside the State Department, it's likely the Bank would have removed him anyway.

Thus marks another embarassment for President George W. Bush, who seems to stick with the same people long past their expiration date because he can't bear to let them go, no matter what the consequences to the country.

We're seeing it again with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose job remains in jeopardy weeks after it was discovered that eight United States attorneys may have been fired for political reasons. The president continues to stand by Gonzales, even though Congressional leaders from both parties have called on him to resign.

Loyalty is one thing. It's another to be blindsided when the person you chose for the job does something so stupid that it's difficult to look the other way. Certainly President Bush has figured this out by now. Or has he?

A Million Plus One

Welcome.

There are at least a million blogs in the world, and you're reading one of them. I'm here to prove that anybody can write a blog, and make it sound like it wasn't written by just anybody.

What we're doing is to give you my thoughts about what interest me in the news, the media, sports and whatever else is going on. We're not going to break news here, unless you already haven't heard about it elsewhere.

A few things about me: I live in a suburb of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I have degrees in journalism and speech from a community college in Minnesota and a university in Wisconsin, so I know something about writing. While in college, I worked on the campus newspaper, radio station, and literary publication. I have also competed part-time on the school forensics team (not to be confused with the "CSI" kind), composing my own pieces and adapting others.

If you're wondering about the name, it was the most difficult thing to decide on before starting this blog. I had plenty of cool names picked out, but they were already taken. Finally, out of desperation, I came up with "The Bludog Chronicle". And if you're really good, someday I'll explain what the name means.

But enough about me. Let's get on with it.