Military Blogging article from The Nation
Yet another reason to love Gen. Petraeus (and All-American fave, Bill Caldwell):

Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, who commanded the 82nd Airborne in Iraq, is calling for more soldier blogging. He argues that instead of blaming the media for negative war coverage, the military should "empower" soldiers to blog and interact directly with the public and the press--even if it leads to some critical stories. In a recent blog entry for Small Wars Journal, Caldwell noted that the military takes many risks on the battlefield but becomes risk averse in "the informational domain." Meanwhile, one of the most prominent military leaders, Gen. David Petraeus, has plunged into the blogosphere from Baghdad to the Beltway. Last year, he e-mailed the popular conservative blog Blackfive to publicly thank "milbloggers" for "accurate" reporting on "the situation on the ground" in Iraq, while crediting them for following "legitimate operational security guidelines."

I'm a huge proponent of the power of information. As I look to learn more about the Foreign Service, I've often searched blogs written by junior FSOs looking for information on the exam process and A-100. I think that the military would do well to promote this type of information exchange among troops looking to enlist and those preparing to deploy. Likewise, as I wrote a few months ago, part of this blog's mission is to hold our military leadership accountable during this period of tremendous importance.

It seems like those self-assurred leaders with the least to fear--heroes like Caldwell and Petraeus-- are the biggest proponents of this openness. Meanwhile, those that earned their rank through less-than-heroic circumstances hit this site, well, we'll continue to keep an eye on you.

This headline needs a play on X-Files or something hacky like that
Thoughts and prayers are going out to Fox Mulder himself, David Duchovny, as he battles addiction. I thought this fantastic Newsweek article explained the fascinating concept and realities of sex addiction rather well.

New 2008 NFL Rules
As the NFL season kicks off tonight, I am using this as a shameless opportunity to nab some hits. New rules for the 2008 NFL season include:

A communication device is now allowed in the helmet of one defensive player.

Teams that win the coin toss can now defer until the second half.

Unless literally carried out by a defensive player, receivers must land with two feet inbounds for a completion.

The five-yard face mask penalty for incidental contact with the facemask was eliminated. Any twisting, grabbing or illegal use of a facemask will result in a 15-yard penalty.

and finally...

Jack Link's Beef Jerky has some funny f'ing commercials