Two things:

First I voted for Ronald Regan twice and George Bush (the first) twice. Given those politics, I certainly support the current President Bush and believe that we're in a real war with a real ememy.

Simply put, Saddam, bin Laden and their cronies must be hunted down and killed like the animals they are, regardless of the price in diplomatic PR and even in innocent lives. War is a very ugly business, and there's no getting around it.

That's why the U.S. would like some help cleaning up a bloody mess not of our making. But if it's not forthcoming we'll do it ourselves.

The current Mr. Bush is a man of integrity and faith, principles which, unpleasant as the reality may be, radical Islam scorns. Theirs is a church that worships only at the altar of cowardice and hate. And they are a threat not only to peace but to the God-given rights of man. (I, like Orwell, eschew genderspeak.)

The Western, democratic ideal, which we -- the overwhelming majority of Americans -- belive in, and in which Muslim fundamentalists do not, must absolutely be the foundation upon which any future worth surviving to see is built. There is no other paradigm short of "a new heaven and a new earth."

Now then, as for all this silly stuff on TV:

I'm no stranger to mass media; for nearly 20 years I worked as a fairly succesful newspaperman before giving up the profession in disgust.

And here's the deal. Newspapers -- most of them anyway -- have become mere house organs for big media corporations whose sole aim is to exploit people.

Working for them as a writer, or in any other capacity, is just about a half-step above prostitution.

Given the low ethical standard of newspapering in general, I can only tell you that editors and reporters in the print world commonly refer to TV folks as "screen scum."

In my experience, this is an apt and accurate term.

Furthermore, almost all of the network/cable reporters and editors framing these exploitative sob stories you folks justifiably villify are liberals.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Tony