MICHAEL GOVE:

There is a particular point at which knowledge appears to end and a huge black hole begins. It seems to occur somewhere in the 1960s. The specific event beyond which most commentators now find it difficult to see is the Vietnam War.

It has become the dominant reference point for discussion of any current military campaign. The war to liberate Afghanistan had barely begun before sceptics were suggesting that a “Vietnam-style quagmire” loomed. And from the moment plans were laid to topple Saddam’s regime, cynics were certain that the Iraq war would lead, if not to Apocalypse Now, then to the quagmire to end all quagmires. . . .

The demand that we should learn from history makes sense. But, sadly, none of the comparisons so far drawn with Vietnam display a full sense of the nature of that conflict, or the one we face now.

Indeed. Though how the press treats the two sides seems to have stayed prety constant.

UPDATE: Jonah Goldberg looks at the direction of history:

Amid the media din about the tsunami, Dan Rather’s implosion, and the usual grim news from Iraq, an amazing story has been unfolding — but has received scant appreciation from the chattering classes. Democracy is on the march.

The Ukraine election reversal is the most significant victory for democracy in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Palestinians have held the first legitimate nationwide (so to speak) election in their history (Arafat’s previous “election” was a sham). And while the new Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, leaves much to be desired, his fair victory is significant and momentous in its own right.

Meanwhile, Iraq is preparing for its first fair elections since before Saddam Hussein came to power. Those elections won’t be perfect. Heck, they may even be a disaster (though I doubt they will). But they are finally going to happen — and that very fact is amazing. . . .

The expansive, decent version of democracy will come to the Middle East and the rest of the world — eventually. If the Iraqi elections fail, even their failure will reinforce the desire for successful elections. Many complain that in Iraq the process is too bloody or too expensive, but these critics are determined to make the perfect the enemy of the good. At the end of the tunnel we, or our children, will look back on America’s role as the catalyst for democracy, and we’ll be proud that we were on the right side of history and its end.

And, just as with the Cold War, after the fact a lot of people will pretend to have been on the right side all along.

WHAT DO MEN WANT? Michele Catalano is asking. Cathy Young surveys people who are complaining. And Ann Althouse ponders.

UPDATE: Somehow, this post seems fitting.

ED CONE IS SPANKING THE NEW YORK TIMES — and specifically reporter Sarah Boxer — for dubious reporting in an article on Iraq the Model. Expect more of this kind of thing as the Iraqi elections approach.

I’ll just note that the Times’ standards for sourcing are, once again, shown to be much softer regarding stories that might hurt the war effort, or the Bush Administration, than they are when the story might hurt a Democratic candidate for President in a close election.

UPDATE: Jeff Jarvis:

Sarah Boxer’s story on IraqTheModel in today’s New York Times Arts section is irresponsible, sloppy, lazy, inaccurate, incomplete, exploitive, biased, and — worst of all — dangerous, putting the lives of its subjects at risk. . . .

So here is a reporter from The New York Times — let’s repeat that, The New York Times — speculating in print on whether an Iraqi citizen, whose only apparent weirdness and sin in her eyes is (a) publishing and (b) supporting America, is a CIA or Defense Department plant or an American.

Ms. Boxer, don’t you think you could be putting the life of that person at risk with that kind of speculation? In your own story, you quote Ali — one of the three blogging brothers who started IraqTheModel — saying that “here some people would kill you for just writing to an American.” And yet you go so much farther — blithely, glibly speculating about this same man working for the CIA or the DoD — to sex up your lead and get your story atop the front of the Arts section (I’m in the biz, Boxer, I know how the game is played).

How dare you? Have you no sense of responsibility? Have you no shame?

Not much. And they wonder why they’ve lost trust and respect.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Over at the blog of Spirit of America — which, unlike Sarah Boxer, is engaged in day-to-day dealings with Iraqis in Iraq — the article produces this reply from Jim Hake:

Here in the Southern California surfing community there is a tongue-in-cheek expression that applies to the article in question: “No brains, no headaches.” Which, in this case, is the nicest way of saying we doubt that those behind the story will ever suffer any sort of discomfort. . . .

There are many, many Iraqis who are risking their lives working for freedom, democracy and peace in their country. They are struggling against the worst kind of enemy.

It’s a shame that, in the case of the bloggers at Iraq the Model, the difficult work they are doing with Friends of Democracy gets no attention in the New York Times but quite a bit of ink is devoted to irresponsibly putting their lives at risk.

He’s probably right that neither Ms. Boxer nor the New York Times will suffer so much as a pang of conscience over this affair. But I hope I’m wrong. Meanwhile, Tom Hazlewood emails: “Give the MSM credit for consistency in Iraq. When Saddam was in power, the MSM refused to tell us the truth about Iraq. Now that he’s gone, they still refuse to tell the story of Iraq. That hasn’t changed, at all.” Faint praise. . . .

JOHN COLE’S SITE was down for a while, but it’s back now. He was suckered by one of those “renewal” notices from Domain Registry of America. I get those, too. Jeez.

UNSCAM UPDATE:

WASHINGTON — An Iraqi-born American citizen will strike a plea deal with the Justice Department as part of the federal investigation into the U.N. Oil-for-Food scandal, officials at Justice told FOX News. . . .

In 2000, Vincent led Iraqi religious leaders on a tour of the United States to push for an end to sanctions against Iraq. Among the people the group met with was former President Jimmy Carter. Vincent worked with Rev. Billy Graham on that tour.

I wonder what kind of help he’ll be giving investigators?

HEALTHCARE BLOGGING — a rare feature at InstaPundit — is well covered over at Grand Rounds. This week’s installment is up, and it’s exceedingly well-organized.

THE NEW DIETARY GUIDELINES GET A CHILLY REVIEW: “There’s nothing ‘sensible’ about these guidelines. They’re not just advising ‘eat a healthful variety of foods, enjoy everything in moderation and get some activity each day that you enjoy.’ It’s a DIET — and an extreme one at that — masquerading as ‘healthy eating.'”

On the one hand, there are a lot of fat people out there. On the other hand, diets don’t usually work that well.

UPDATE: An alternative approach here: The Food Pentagram!

KITTY GENOVESE AND RWANDA: Michael Totten notes parallels.

THE SILENCE OF THE CHEESE: Ed Morrissey looks at election irregularities in Wisconsin and wonders why nobody cares.

UPDATE: Be sure the check the update on Ed’s post, which may partially answer that question.

AXIS OF EVIL UPDATE: “The first known visual evidence of dissent within the world’s most secretive state emerged yesterday when video footage taken in a North Korean factory showed a portrait of the dictator, Kim Jong-il, defaced with graffiti demanding freedom and democracy.”

Let’s hope that this is just the beginning.

A HOUSING BUBBLE? “Millions of Americans became stockholders in the late 1990s, just in time to experience the biggest bear market in a generation. Does the same fate await millions of first-time homeowners?” I don’t think there’s much of a bubble in Knoxville, where prices are pretty low. Elsewhere? Quite possibly. I suspect that it’s a regional phenomenon.

NANOTECHNOLOGY and the spirit of ’96. Rick Smalley says some interesting things about self-replication.

ROGER SIMON WONDERS if Seymour Hersh is being played. By somebody, certainly.

SOME USEFUL THOUGHTS ON JOURNALISM AND “DOING GOOD,” from Amit Varma:

I’m one of those who takes the dharma of being a journalist seriously, believing that the vocation brings with it certain responsibilities – but I don’t think activism is one of them. The practical argument for that is that if all journalists took up activism for the causes they believed in, the good ones would eventually have no time left to actually write. More importantly, I believe that the function journalists ideally perform, of providing information and insight, is too important to be diluted by anything.

If more journalists believed that their craft was that important, they’d be less willing to dilute it with efforts to shift opinion, wouldn’t they?

UPDATE: Howard Owens comments.

ED MORRISSEY REVIEWS The Aviator. I haven’t seen it, but lots of people seem to like it, despite agreeing that it has flaws.

UPDATE: Reader Doug Levene emails:

What struck me about the Aviator is that it’s the first Hollywood movie I’ve seen in quite a while that portrayed a business man – a filthy rich, ruthless entrepreneur yet – as the hero, and the crusading, anti-war-profiteering, corruption-exposing Senator (who’s painted as kind of a cross between Elliot Spitzer and Cong. Dingell) as the villain. Am I the only one to have noticed this peculiarity?

I haven’t seen the movie. But here’s an econoblogger’s take on who the real heroes of the movie are.

ALPHECCA’S WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF GUN-RELATED BIAS IN THE MEDIA is up.

ISLAMIST MURDERS IN NEW JERSEY? Looks that way, though it’s too early to be sure, and with a possible connection to the Lynne Stewart trial. I hope that this will get a very thorough investigation.

AN INTERESTING MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY REMEMBRANCE:

In September 1963, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the eulogy for three of the four girls killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. What King could not know was that, within earshot of the blast, just blocks away at her father’s church, was another little black girl, a friend of the youngest victim, who 42 years later would be on the verge of becoming America’s foremost diplomat.

This year, the Martin Luther King holiday, marking what would have been his 76th birthday, falls on Jan. 17. The next day, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee opens hearings on the nomination of Condoleezza Rice to succeed Colin Powell as secretary of state.

It’s a stunning juxtaposition that offers those who knew King, lived that history and ponder his legacy an opportunity to wonder: How might they explain Rice’s rise to him? And what would he make of it?

She is, after all, the literal fulfillment of King’s dream — a woman judged not by the color of her skin but by the content of her character. She is also living proof that King’s eulogy was prescient, that “these children — unoffending, innocent and beautiful — did not die in vain.”

Indeed. (Via The Mad Parson).

SOME VERY NICE PHOTOS from Laos.

MARTIN LUTHER KING affects another life.

SLASHDOT READERS ponder the future of Internet news.

SLAVIC MILITARY HEROES: One in the Ukraine (via Bloggledygook), and one in Russia. Somebody should do something nice for them.

YES, some people have too much time on their hands.

HEH.

TIM BLAIR is back online.

UPDATE: Dang. Down again.