Like you Didn't Know--Outrage-- Oh Please

Pentagon Files Prove Pentagon is Profiling Reporters

WASHINGTON — Contrary to the insistence of Pentagon officials this week that they are not rating the work of reporters covering U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Stars and Stripes has obtained documents that prove that reporters’ coverage is being graded as “positive,” “neutral” or “negative.”

This week's "fat in the fire" is the discovery that the Pentagon is using Rendon Reports to rate the work of reporters' coverage. Big Whup. Listen Dudes: grow up. Get Used To It. Your work has always been rated. In one way or another your work has always been rated. Your reputation ALWAYS precedes you. Like you did not know. Has for years and years. Like you did not know. This has been going on since most of you required your mom to change your diapers. And before. Cam Ne. Remember Cam Ne. No of course not. Most of you stalwart stewards of journalism have the memory retention of toilet paper. Cam Ne, 1965, was the Zippo lighter village. Morley Safer's footage of Marines setting fire to the village with their Zippo lighters was a big hit with Marines in the Corps. His claim for godhood status. Marines-Never-Forget. Fast forward 18 months and Jack Burton Newbie-PVT. has just reported on base and gets assigned duty driver during a "MUCHO importante", big pow wow meeting with Huge Mucksmuks from other nations to observe Marines hitting the beach. Duty driver Jack Burton did not make sense as Jack has just reported on base. Jack protests to Top. Jack can navigate from his barracks to the newspaper office. That's it, Top. Top: You're it. Go. Go I went. Of course, Jack got good and proper lost. Made his passenger, unfortunately, late. His passenger--a writer involved in the Zippo lighter village thingie. I think he understood the resentment. Why he would even bother to show up on base is beyond me. During the entire navigation fiasco, the writer never bitched and never said a word except to answer "No" when I asked him if he knew where we were supposed to go. Huuumm. You think he knew?