Stuck On Stupid, Revisited, Revisited

Tuesday, I linked to a media gaffe Down Under. Today, Michelle Malkin at Hot Air has video, and a little video homage to the time-honored tradition of staging the news.

Update: On a more serious note, here's an example of media irresponsibility that could dramatically affect some soldiers' lives. There are allegations of some soldiers killing women and children in Haditha, Iraq, in retaliation for an IED attack which killed one Marine and injured another. It's pretty clear civilians were killed, but there is a big question as to why, and no question at all that the terrorists in Iraq use women and children to do some of their dirty work for them. These charges are being thoroughly investigated, and will, of course, be dealt with according to the law. (You'll remember Abu Ghraib. Although the media doesn't like to point out that justice was done, the guilty parties are now serving prison terms.) From what I've read in the blogosphere thus far on what happened, especially the military blogs, I tend to think the Marines are going to be exonerated, but regardless of whether they are or aren't, much of the media is handling this very badly.

Follow the link above to where The Mudville Gazette analyzes this headline to the story at a CBS affiliate in Denver-- Investigators: Unprovoked Marines Killed Civilians. Wow. Killed and injured Marines don't count as provocation? The Gazette tracks down the source of that headline, and it isn't "Investigators". Not to judge the media as a whole too harshly, but it seems that there is an attempt by some in that profession to try this case in the court of public opinion, prejudicing investigators, the country, and possibly the courts against them, before an ongoing investigation is even complete. Whether this is simply to sell papers and TV commercials, or part of an attempt to further the agenda of showing that the U.S. military is a criminal organization, I don't know, but if these soldiers are innocent, they will spend their lives carrying the added burden that comes from a part of the populace believing they are murderers, simply because the media said so. If you ask me, that's criminal.

HT: Instapundit

Update II: There's a really valuable perspective on the Haditha story, by 1st Lieutenant Jeffrey Barnett, at Michael Yon's Frontline Forum. This forum is a place soldiers in the field can express their views; and a soldier's point of view is something we civilians should all be giving lots of consideration when we are discussing military matters. They're the ones who can speak from experience.