ouch. a right righteous fisking of tom friedman

i like tom friedman. at least he brought what i thought was some reason to the table in discussions about the middle east, and the problems that existed/s between various factions. but lately, i've been very uneasy about the apparent lack of true news writing in his columns. by that i mean he's doing less journalism, and more editorializing. sure, his column has been advertised as an analysis rather than straight report, but still, one expects a certain honesty in someone of his stature. today, New Sisyphus fisks a recent friedman column, and damned if he didn't finally put a finger on what has made me so uneasy lately. i'm not stupid, but i am loyal to those i consider worthy. i've like friedman for some time, and it is finally getting through my thick head the loyalty is misplaced.

along those same lines, i have to say my long held esteem for Col. David Hackworth has totally and completely tanked. for years, i followed his remarks, and felt he had the soldiers and sailors at the top of his concerns list. he's had various websites, with newsletters and columns, and i've avidly followed them. about a year and a half ago, i started feeling some serious changes had taken place on his website, and in the columns he'd occasionally get published in the papers. what finally hit home was his endorsements of the texas ang paperwork that cbs tried flying in an attempt to take down the president. then it hit me. this now is the hackworth that in a fit of pique ran off to australia, toss his medals, and joined a kook anti-nuke movement. i am so brokenhearted i can hardly express my sorrow. this is a man that, as a military leader of warriors, has few if any peers living. this is a man that should be wearing the Congressional Medal of Honor for actions in Vietnam. this is a man who's books were magnets to me, to be read, and passed on to active duty kids going into danger. this is now a man that i must, in my mind, no longer view as my hero, but just another asshated moonbat. it really really sucks when your hero becomes an object of much deserved derision as another whackjob bleating inanities and idiocy. i salute and revere the man col. hackworth was. i'm beginning to despise the man he has become.