SB 81: Baby Steps and Extreme Vigilance

SB81 has been passed, BUT there is still work to be done.

First, contact Governor Huntsman (801-538-1000) and strongly, but politely, ask him to sign the bill. It is also worth asking what position the Governor has taken on this bill.

For more background see: Help With SB 81 - Illegal Immigration and SB 81 - Illegal Immigration - Update

Second - contrary to news reports, who consistently get it wrong, the bill only affects businesses that contract with the state (not business, in general). Hence the baby steps to identity theft protection (see the “Help with SB 81″ post for links on this issue too).

Next, the bill may be good once it goes into effect. However, an amendment delayed implementation until July, 2009 (again, baby steps). That means criminal illegal immigrants will be released onto our streets (via parole, end of sentence, etc) and be allowed to earn tax money and public benefits while they and other ID thieves continue to use stolen children’s identities.

In addition, since Senator Jenkins and his group were successful in delaying implementation until 2009, his task force (SB 97) will be able to issue their report before the provisions go into effect. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that the task force is not much more than a mask for a study in excuses and spin to, ultimately, kill implementation of SB 81. The legislature may do so next session (2009). Hence the need for extreme vigilance, especially during the 2009 session to ensure that reforms are not spiked. This is even more important as 2009 (unlike this year) is not an election year.

Basically, they can pass SB 81 this year to cover their political butts during an election year only to rescind or gut the measures (thereby pleasing Chamber of Commerce, big business, and other lobbyists) after re-election. It would be a classic Machiavellian-style maneuver.

Continued vigilance over the next full year is crucial.

Finally, it is also worth observing that Representative McIff was able to put a provision in the bill to allow transporting illegal immigrants less that 100 miles (excluding that from ‘human trafficking’ provisions) in an, apparent, effort to appease groups who knowingly use illegal immigrant labor.

Illegal Immigration Humanity: The Ignored Victims (Update)

One of the greatest ignored victims of illegal immigration are those who’ve had their identities stolen. I’ve discussed why illegal immigration and identity theft are interrelated (plenty of background links in that post as well) - they need the SSN to work (and get credit lines etc). Unfortunately, children are the prime targets of this type of identity theft.

On Sunday, the Standard Examiner ran an editorial that the legislature needed to be more humane in their handling of State illegal immigration measures. The editorial focused only on the illegal immigrants and entirely ignored their victims. This isn’t the first time the media has chosen to ignore those impacted (see this response to a similar 2007 Editorial in the Park Record). From the Standard’s editorial:

Early last week, the Immigration Policy Coalition held a news conference at the Capitol. Its members include the Utah Manufacturers Association, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Utah Farm Bureau, and the message was a plea for gaining knowledge before taking action. Speakers argued against “onerous” and “burdensome” mandates to businesses that might be employing undocumented workers.

The Immigration Policy Coalition is urging passage of Senate Bill 97, sponsored by Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City. The measure would create a task force to study the various issues related to immigration policy and enforcement, and make recommendations.

First, the task force idea is a sham. We’ve been dealing with this subject for years and now is the time for action. The task force is simply a political ploy to kill the subject but give legislators the ability to spin and say they ‘addressed’ the issue this year.

Second, the Utah Manufacturer’s Association et al. have a complaint about “onerous” mandates. The proposed mandates they are referring to is employer identity verification using SSA-ICE’s E-Verify system. The system allows an employer to verify that their new employee is providing a legitimate SSN and not one that has been stolen. The system is web-based and, as I understand, returns a result within 15 seconds. Further, this system protects against all identity thieves (not just illegal immigrants) - fugitives, deadbeat parents, and other ID thieves will find it much harder to obtain employment. Additionally, such verification has helped capture fugitives such as the “King of Child Porn”. The only onerous part of these mandates is that the manufacturers and their cohorts will find it harder to employ cheap illegal labor (be it a fugitive or illegal immigrant) at the expense of our children’s identities.

Additionally, what about those people from Sudan, Zimbabwe, Tibet and the myriad of countries who don’t have borders attached to ours? These countries are typically much poorer and more oppressed than those bordering us. Those peoples can’t just run out across our border and that’s unfair. Why are we, effectively, only catering to those who have the greatest access - we ought to cater to all and make it fair.

Ultimately, the editorial and these calls for humanity are asking us to turn a blind eye to the victims and to our laws. That is not something most of us are willing to do, as demonstrated by the 2007 amnesty push. This issue has been around for years and the federal government has failed to address it and will, in the foreseeable future continue to avoid addressing the problem. In the meantime, our children’s identities (as well as our own) continue to be compromised. It is time to take action. As such I would urge folks to call the Senate (801-538-1035) and ask to leave a message for your Senator (Legislator lookup). Ask them to support Hickman’s SB81. While most employers are left our, the bill will mandate government and it’s contractors to verify employees identities before giving them your tax money. The bill will also revoke certain tax funded benefits and allow ICE’s 287(g) to be implemented.

Finally, I’ve noticed more services are available to check your and your children’s SSN to verify no one else is using it. I would highly recommend doing so. One service I’ve used is UCOURTS and have been quite satisfied with it. I haven’t tried any others thus far to comment on them, however. You may also click here for all my posts involving identity theft.

UPDATE: As I stated, the Feds will not be tackling the problem anytime soon: Hatch, Bennett: No federal immigration changes in sight:

Utah’s U.S. senators told the Legislature on Tuesday that changes to federal immigration laws won’t occur until after the next president takes office — and possibly longer.
<snip>
“I think the prediction it may be as long as five years is probably true,” Bennett said.

Week’s Iraq News Wrapup

First, it’s worth noting that yes there is still a war in Afghanistan (see The Long War Journal for more).

It’s been a while since I said much on Iraq and a lot of positive things have occurred. I hope most have tried to keep up, despite media inattention on the issue recently. If not, here are links spanning the last week (note: I don’t think they include links on the major decline in coalition and Iraqi casualties and attacks - you’ll have to look that up yourself):

The Good News:

Baghdad by night - juice bars, neon lights, bustling streets (11/18/07)
Qaeda chased from last Baghdad bastion (11/16/07)
Embattled Baghdad shows signs of hope (11/14/07 )
A ‘boots on the ground’ view:
Hot Air Audio: CPT Aaron Kaufman, US Army, on the surge and whether we’re winning (11/14/07)

Not-to-be missed pictures and background on a Christian Mass in Baghdad (church reopened). It includes Yon’s ‘thousand words’ photo/post of Muslims assisting Christians reopen their church (and put up its cross): Come Home

Today, Muslims mostly filled the front pews of St. John’s. Muslims who want their Christian friends and neighbors to come home. The Christians who might see these photos likely will recognize their friends here. The Muslims in this neighborhood worry that other people will take the homes of their Christian neighbors, and that the Christians will never come back. And so they came to St. John’s today in force, and they showed their faces, and they said, “Come back to Iraq. Come home.”

I asked Ice if the Muslims treat the Christians poorly in Iraq, and he said what other Iraqi Christians and Muslims have also told me: an unequivocal “No.”

The message may be getting out: Better security sees Iraqi refugees flood home

Problems on the Home Front:

Unfortunately, timeline politics is nothing new to Reid/Pelosi nor is it their only dangerous ploy to curry political points with the Code Pink types (nor is it limited to Iraq).

Dems threaten to cut Iraq purse strings (11/13/07)
Reid to Bush: Start withdrawing troops or else (11/13/07)
SecDef Gates cowboys up against the surrendercrat Congress (11/15/007)
GOP Senators: Take the war budget out of pork (11/16/07) - Congress had the will to pass the Defense Appropriations bill (with plenty o’ pork) - suggestion to use that pork to while waiting for Congress to knock-off the timeline politicking.
Pentagon ramps up fight with Congress (11/20/07)

The AP has also recently shifted tactics to hit on desertion rates. This post casts light on the figures and context they are using as well as a historical perspective (effectively showing the desertions stories seem to be an attempt to make a non-issue an issue):
Military Desertion Rates and the Associated Press

Pentagon stupidity: Military demands partial refund of signing bonus from wounded vets. Fortunately, they seem to have received the message loud and clear: Pentagon backpedals furiously on denying bonuses to wounded vets

Looking to the Future - Words of Warning:

Now that things are shaping up on the ground, it is critical that the Iraqi government step up:
U.S. begs Iraqi government to seize the moment before it passes (11/15/07)

Hitchens also chimes in: Something To Give Thanks For (11/19/07)

Finally, with Thanksgiving coming up remember to keep our soldiers, our allies, the Iraqis (and their government) , and Afghans in our thoughts and prayers.

Christmas is also around the corner. Go to America Supports You (linked on blog roll too) for plenty of ways to say thanks. You will also find legitimate organizations focused on helping our military servicemen/women as well as organizations that further enable our troops help others in need (in Iraq, Afghanistan…wherever) .

Seeding Political Ground (UEA and Vouchers)

This isn’t anything too shocking, it’s typical political maneuvering. Two articles caught my interest because of the contradiction by the UEA. From the first article:

The UEA’s Kuziak said the education community is fearful of repercussions for campaigning against vouchers.

“I had one of our elected legislators tell me specifically that education funding would suffer,” she said, declining to name the lawmaker.

First, I would bet that the ‘unnamed lawmaker’ is a pro-UEA lawmaker (providing their own talking point quotes - possibly Kory Holdaway, based on the second article…).

When I read the above it was clear to me that the UEA is seeding the ground for victim status if their demands aren’t met in the next session (and using the self-appointed victim status as a weapon). Fortunately,  Bramble did a good job exposing the ploy:

Bramble says the anti-voucher side will label any education reform proposed by Republicans retaliation. “I think you will see several reforms introduced. And when they are introduced, those who oppose vouchers will simply come forward and they will try to pigeonhole them as retribution.”

The UEA et al. are also attempting to expand their voucher win to say that ‘the people’ are with them and anything they propose (or oppose), is ultimately the will of the people. Again, that tactic isn’t anything new, but worth looking out for.

So where does the UEA contradict it’s victim status?  Here’s the key from the second article:

The UEA hasn’t decided which legislators it will oppose, said Vik Arnold, political director for the union. It plans to wait until after the upcoming session, giving legislators a chance to make nice with the union.

The anti-voucher coalition, Utahns for Public Schools, also will not disband, and will get involved in party caucus meetings and the 2008 election, Arnold said. 

In other words, the UEA etc are overtly telling legislators to vote their way or else.  They will be stacking caucus meetings to take out those that don’t toe the union line.  At the same time, they are preemptively claiming victim status.

Frankly, I’m not disturbed that the UEA wants its revenge, but gimme a break on the victim crap.  Nevertheless, I will give them credit on the tactic given the fact that the media will be a willing accomplice in promoting the victim status.  Reading the articles, it is clear on which side the media stands on this issue as they gleefully push the line of “comeuppance” and “reckoning”.

Finally, remember the legislature set up a ‘do no harm fund’ when they passed the voucher bill.  So where will the money in this fund go?

Plenty of interest groups will be gunning for the money, but I would like to remind legislators that that money wasn’t diverted from eduction or transportation, it was diverted from taxpayers.  I would expect that the money be returned to its rightful owners.

The Iraq Disconnect (and how to help)

Michael Yon has another excellent post up about the major disconnect (or “glass dome” we live under) regarding the Iraq war and what the current situation is in the country. The post is a sobering wake-up call on the importance on accurate AND timely information. I will excerpt the first few paragraphs of Yon’s post, but before I do so, I would beg of you to go directly to his post and read it in its entirety.

Additionally, I would ask that you consider assisting Michael Yon in his critical endeavor. I will be pitching in and for those of us who never want anything for Christmas (seriously annoying your mother, wife, etc) - consider putting Mr. Yon on your list. You can securely donate through Yon’s homepage (click “support the next dispatch”) or through the link at the bottom of each post (or click here).

Here is the excerpt from “Resistance Is Futile“:

All describe the bizarro-world contrast between what most Americans seem to think is happening in Iraq versus what is really happening in Iraq. Knowing this disconnect exists and experiencing it directly are two separate matters. It’s like the difference between holding the remote control during the telecast of a volcanic eruption on some distant island (and then flipping the channel), versus running for survival from a wretch of molten lava that just engulfed your car.

I was at home in the United States just one day before the magnitude hit me like vertigo: America seems to be under a glass dome which allows few hard facts from the field to filter in unless they are attached to a string of false assumptions. Considering that my trip home coincided with General Petraeus’ testimony before the US Congress, when media interest in the war was (I’m told) unusually concentrated, it’s a wonder my eardrums didn’t burst on the trip back to Iraq. In places like Singapore, Indonesia, and Britain people hardly seemed to notice that success is being achieved in Iraq, while in the United States, Britney was competing for airtime with O.J. in one of the saddest sideshows on Earth.

No thinking person would look at last year’s weather reports to judge whether it will rain today, yet we do something similar with Iraq news. The situation in Iraq has drastically changed, but the inertia of bad news leaves many convinced that the mission has failed beyond recovery, that all Iraqis are engaged in sectarian violence, or are waiting for us to leave so they can crush their neighbors. This view allows our soldiers two possible roles: either “victim caught in the crossfire” or “referee between warring parties.” Neither, rightly, is tolerable to the American or British public.

Today I am in Iraq, back in a war of such strategic consequence that it will affect generations yet unborn—whether or not they want it to… [click here to read the rest!]

Michael Yon Update - Food for Baqubah

As I prefer people reading his dispatches, instead of just looking at excerpts.  I’ll limit this to links, for the most part.  The last couple of dispatches involve picking up food for Baqubah from a warehouse in Sadr city.   Yeah, it sounds mundane, but it isn’t - it shows how something so simple sounding can have a powerful synergistic impact on a Mayor and community and provide a wealth of background on the violence (an al Qaeda’s tactics) in Iraq.   It’s also yet another example of the drive-by media’s ‘if it bleeds it leads’ blinders, ultimately missing the critical mission.   Anyway, the second (final) dispatch was posted yesterday afternoon.

At one point, Yon notes:

After the food came the fuel, water and electricity, and each was its own mess, each calling for more “Where is Tonto? Call him!” More “Tontos” emerged and were brought in to the process, each a catalyst to change.

Want to know more about who/what these Tontos are? …

Bread and a Circus (Part I)

Bread and a Circus (Part II)

Totten also has an interview with an interpreter (warning: this interview is not for faint of heart).  The interview gives more background why some Iraqis get involved in planting IEDs etc and what can be done to prevent it.  He also talks about life under Saddam, al Qaeda’s brutality, and his opinion of what will happen if the US leaves right now.

Winning in Iraq (in the NYT!)(update)

This is an op-ed written by Michael E. O’Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack Brookings Institution, published in today’s New York Times. Both are left-leaning folks, who have been critical of the war. I think Pollack was Clinton’s National Security Advisor. I’ve posted some snippets below but (as usual) suggest reading the entire op-ed as it includes some cautionary notes on other improvements that need to be made in the future. Excerpts follow:

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

Today, morale is high. The soldiers and marines told us they feel that they now have a superb commander in Gen. David Petraeus; they are confident in his strategy, they see real results, and they feel now they have the numbers needed to make a real difference.

In Ramadi, for example, we talked with an outstanding Marine captain whose company was living in harmony in a complex with a (largely Sunni) Iraqi police company and a (largely Shiite) Iraqi Army unit. He and his men had built an Arab-style living room, where he met with the local Sunni sheiks — all formerly allies of Al Qaeda and other jihadist groups — who were now competing to secure his friendship.

We traveled to the northern cities of Tal Afar and Mosul. This is an ethnically rich area, with large numbers of Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens. American troop levels in both cities now number only in the hundreds because the Iraqis have stepped up to the plate. Reliable police officers man the checkpoints in the cities, while Iraqi Army troops cover the countryside. A local mayor told us his greatest fear was an overly rapid American departure from Iraq. All across the country, the dependability of Iraqi security forces over the long term remains a major question mark.

But for now, things look much better than before. American advisers told us that many of the corrupt and sectarian Iraqi commanders who once infested the force have been removed. The American high command assesses that more than three-quarters of the Iraqi Army battalion commanders in Baghdad are now reliable partners (at least for as long as American forces remain in Iraq).

In addition, far more Iraqi units are well integrated in terms of ethnicity and religion. The Iraqi Army’s highly effective Third Infantry Division started out as overwhelmingly Kurdish in 2005. Today, it is 45 percent Shiite, 28 percent Kurdish, and 27 percent Sunni Arab.

In the past, few Iraqi units could do more than provide a few “jundis” (soldiers) to put a thin Iraqi face on largely American operations. Today, in only a few sectors did we find American commanders complaining that their Iraqi formations were useless — something that was the rule, not the exception, on a previous trip to Iraq in late 2005.

How much longer should American troops keep fighting and dying to build a new Iraq while Iraqi leaders fail to do their part? And how much longer can we wear down our forces in this mission? These haunting questions underscore the reality that the surge cannot go on forever. But there is enough good happening on the battlefields of Iraq today that Congress should plan on sustaining the effort at least into 2008. [emphasis added]

Another thing worth noting about Petraeus is that he firmly believes in second chances (big time - check the link). It would be nice if Reid and Congress would bother giving him a first chance.

UPDATE: Plucked this from a HotAir post (the post also has links to an interview with the NYT’s John Burns - a worthy read):

The Prince of Darkness on Reid - Democrat Ethics Efforts

I’ve excerpted Novak’s column (Reid presses stealth attack on ethics legislation) below. As usual, I would suggest reading the entire piece (it is fairly short, and to the point). Excerpts follow:

When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid picked up his ball and went home following his staged all-night session last week, he saved from possible embarrassment one of the least regular members of his Democratic caucus: Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska. Reform Republican Sen. Tom Coburn had ready a defense authorization bill amendment to remove Nelson’s earmark funding a Nebraska-based company whose officials include Nelson’s son. Such an effort became impossible when Reid pulled down the bill.

That Reid’s action would have this effect was mere coincidence…But Reid also is working behind the scenes with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to undermine transparency of earmarks and prevent open debate on spending proposals such as Nelson’s.

While Johnson used chicanery, Reid resorts to brute force that shatters the Senate’s facade of civilized discourse. Reid is plotting to strip anti-earmark transparency from the final version of ethics legislation passed by the Senate and House, with tacit support from Republican senators and the GOP leadership.

At stake is the fate of Coburn’s “Reid Amendment” previously passed by the Senate — so called because it would bar earmarks benefitting a senator’s family members such as Reid’s four lobbyist sons and son-in-law.

In requesting the 21 CSI earmark, Nelson did not disclose his son’s employment there…Inclusion of Nelson’s son, however, would be required if and when the ethics bill provision passes.

When the defense authorization bill came up last week, Coburn prepared amendments to eliminate the Nelson earmark and the most notorious earmark now pending in Congress: Rep. John Murtha’s proposed $23 million for the National Drug Intelligence Center in his Pennsylvania district. Reid’s game plan to satisfy anti-war activists with an all-night debate averted debate for now on these two earmarks.

Reid, the soft-spoken trial lawyer from Searchlight, Nev., in his tumultuous 6½ months as majority leader, has tended to suppress free expression in the self-proclaimed World’s Greatest Deliberative Body. Last week, he cut off an attempt to respond to him by Sen. Arlen Specter, the veteran moderate Republican, in an abrupt way that I had not witnessed in a half century of Senate-watching. Neither had Specter. When Specter finally got the Senate floor, he declared: “Nothing is done here until the majority leader decides to exercise his power to keep the Senate in all night on a meaningless, insulting session. … Last night’s performance made us the laughingstock of the world.” It may get worse if plans to eviscerate ethics legislation are pursued.

Obviously, pressure needs to be applied to both parties, but so much for the Democrat leadership campaign promises of meaningful ethics reform. Don’t count on the media covering this, either.

The Hidden Massacre (Why We Fight - al Ahamir)

The Main Steam Media still has not picked this up (Robert Reid from the AP is now aware, but no story, yet).  I’ve mentioned it, previously.  A brief correction: the correct name of the village is al Ahamir.

Before I go on, I implore anyone reading this to go to follow the links to Yon’s site and read directly from him.  Please do not just consider the parts I’ve posted here enough.  They are not!

Yon recently put up a post which generated some controversy and has just addressed the issue.

First, here’s the bit that started it:

At first, he said, they would only target Shia, but over time the new al Qaeda directed attacks against Sunni, and then anyone who thought differently. The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11 years old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man’s words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, “What did he say?” Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.

In his most recent post, Michael Yon goes on to state:

As I write these words just a few miles from the graves I saw, the resulting controversy about whether what the man said was true, or whether his words should have been written if the writer couldn’t verify them, seems precious. There is no imaginary line of credulity that al Qaeda might cross should it go from beheading children to baking them.

No unnamed Iraqi stringer claimed that al Qaeda had taken over Baqubah. Al Qaeda said this through the press. I sit writing these words in Diyala Province just a short drive from where the self-proclaimed leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was killed by a bomb delivered by a US warplane. Al Qaeda: the organization that gleefully bragged about murdering roughly 3,000 people by smashing jets full of civilians into buildings and earth. Al Qaeda in Iraq: who proudly broadcast their penchant for sawing off the heads of living breathing people, and in such a manner as to ensure lots of spurting blood and gurgles of final pain, in some cases with the added flourish of the executioner raising up the severed head and squealing excitedly.

These are the same terrorists I often come face to face with: not on television or in magazines, but on bloodstained streets ablaze with human carnage. I remember the charred corpse of a small Iraqi boy. I remember the wailing Iraqi parents and countless other scenes that I am likely to see again and again. Back in 2005, terrorists here were intentionally attacking children. I shot the photo below on a day when they drove a car bomb through a crowd of children who had run out to American soldiers on patrol.

In the more than two years since that awful day in May 2005, I’ve witnessed innumerable instances of the work of terrorists of many stripes. One clear indicator of just how bad a terrorist group is, is when battle-hardened soldiers—and writers like me who travel with them—don’t find it hard to believe a story which purports that al Qaeda had baked a child and set his roasted body out as the main course at a lunch for his parents.

People at home might find it incredible, improbable, even impossible. Yet here in combat with al Qaeda, the idea is no more improbable-sounding than someone saying “The chicken crossed the road.” Maybe the chicken crossed the road. Maybe not. The veterans I’ve been talking with here have no difficulty imagining the chicken crossing the road, or al Qaeda roasting kids. Sickening, yes. Improbable, no.

Make no mistake, leaving Iraq early WILL result in mass genocide and horrendous acts, likely exceeding those witnessed in Rwanda, Cambodia, and the Sudan.  Further, al Qaeda will be strengthend and will bring their ‘theology of death’ with unmerciful violence and hate back to our shores.  We’ve seen their acts towards ‘fellow Muslims’ and the innocent people of Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no question of their brutality and lust for blood and pain.

Hope for peace and freedom continues to rest in us, our allies, and, most importantly, the Iraqi (and Afghan) people who increasingly assist our soldiers in their mission (see Yon’s posts).

Finally, the drive-by media had been saying no benchmarks would be met according to the upcoming report (which was only intended to monitor progress towards those benchmarks, not actual attainment), this appears to be inaccurate.  Senator McCain delivered a good speech on Iraq today which discusses why we must stay and achieve victory.  Thanks to Sen. McCain for his leadership on this issue.

As an aside, let me say that, while the immigration debate was a tough slog for many of us, I will, without hesitation, support any candidate who is dedicated to victory.  The war, for me, trumps all other issues (we can have our battles on the other stuff, as with President Bush).

War Roundup (big update: Yon - al Hamira massacre)(updated)

*Latest update is at the bottom of this post

UPDATE: Yon has a post up related to the massacre he documented in “Bless the Beasts and Children” (linked below). I suppose I should’ve been more angered by the main stream media’s piss poor coverage (ie non coverage) of this, but I’m just too used to the selective MSM typically only running with stuff that fits their agenda. I guess I’m somewhat numb to their attitude. Yon isn’t:

As the investigation unfolds more pertinent details, I’ll continue to update the story. But the biggest question rippling across the internet–“Why hasn’t the mainstream media picked this up?” –is something only representatives of mainstream media can answer.

… their malaise is inexplicable. I do not know why all failed to report the murders and booby-trapped village: apparently no reporters bothered to go out there, even though it’s only about 3.5 miles from this base.

On this question of media selectivity, the blogosphere has become incensed that big media mostly ignored the murders, especially given that there are reporters currently in Baqubah.

My original post follows:

Basically, this is going to be a set of links to milblogs etc with some updates to catch up on the war (in Iraq) since I’ve been quite focused on the immigration stuff lately. Good luck finding these stories in the national media:

Why we fight: Bless the Beasts and Children (Michael Yon - if you haven’t looked at his last few weeks worth of dispatches, now would be a good time to catch up).

Bill Roggio has lots of updates (here are just a few):
Iran, Hezbollah train Iraqi Shia “Secret Cells” (high value Hezbo captured). Remember, Iran provides a lot of funding and weaponry to Hezbollah (Iran may have demanded a bit of return on investment closer to home). I think the media has touched (barely) this but has avoided the ‘Iran in Iraq’ issue long known to exist.
Half of Baghdad Secured (slaps around the NYT’s predictable we’ve failed knee-jerk reaction)
Coalition Forces Rout al Qaeda Elements South of Ramadi

BlackFive (again, lots more at the blog):
Command Sergeant Major Ciotola on Harry Reid - MUST READ of the DAY (the closing quote is priceless)
General Wolff in Iraq: Democratic Senate Caucus is Wrong

Milblog:
Fightin’ 6 Marine’s blog - they’re in Anbar. Also includes video.

Let’s not forget Afghanistan. The Mudville Gazette has an excellent ’service’ that provides summaries and links (heavily comprised of milblogs) for both Iraq and Afghanistan. Check out the latest Dawn Patrol post.

UPDATE: Instapundit has one journalist’s reaction (must read), it entirely captures the agenda thing I mentioned in the ‘Yon update’ above. Excerpt:

…Our words, images, arguments and skills can’t stop the killing. Only the rough soldiers and their guns can solve the problem, and we won’t admit that fact because the admission would weaken our influence and our claim to social status.

So we pretend Yon’s massacre – and the North Korean killing fields, the Arab treatment of women, the Arab hatred of Israel, etc. - doesn’t exist, and instead focus…

Please don’t be surprised. We media are an interest group not much different from the automakers, the unions, and the farmers.

For what it’s worth, Happy Independence Day - brought to you by the “rough soldiers” of the past, maintained by the “rough soldiers” of the present and future. See also: The Americans Who Risked everything.