Xenophon
Quick! Without checking any reference materials, including ye olde internet, what can you tell me about Xenophon and the Ten Thousand? Show off your knowledge via the commenting feature.

I Don't Trust Clark Kent
A conversation with the former and soon-to-be-former ombudsmen for The New York Times and The Washington Post, I forget whom is whom, was broacast on The NewsHour last night. (The interview was actually recorded a few weeks hence.) When asked why the public's faith in the major media outlets seems to have been shaken by the events of the past few years (from Jayson Blair to Dan Rather and "memogate" to Newsweek's anonymous sources), the ombudsmen's explanation was that their respective papers hadn't done enough to oppose the Iraq War in the months preceeding the invasion. Byeh? They said that their papers hadn't done enough to oppose the Bush Administration. They didn't say that their papers hadn't done enough to uncover the real status of Iraq's WMD stocks, they said that they hadn't done enough to oppose the administration. You fucking douchebags, the job of the press is to report the truth, not to oppose those in power simply for opposition's sake. And these are the ombudsmen of two of America's supposedly most venerable papers, the men who are supposed to be the papers' watchdogs, keeping both institutions on the straight and norrow. And both ombudsmen said their papers hadn't done enough to advance the opposition to the war. My Bog, I could hardly believe my ears. On the other hand, I suppose I should salute their honesty; for once, individuals connected with two majors papers actually said that the job of their news organizations is to oppose George W. Bush. Not to tell to truth, to oppose W. That may be the first completely honest thing said by anyone working at The New York Times and The Washington Post in a very long time.

And this week's new issue of Newsweek had Mark "Deep Throat" Felt on the cover, of course. Because there is nothing the media likes to report on more than the media itself, and Newsweek is owned by the Washington Post Company. I hate to sound like a broken record, but this really bothers me.

Safety vs. Security
In other news, my second, mostly part-time lifeguarding job just got wiped out of existence. What, there's one little shooting at Bluebell Beach and the lifeguards get phased out in favor of increased security patrols? It's Flint, man, people are supposed to get shot in Flint. The city has a reputation to maintain, after all. It's okay, though; I'll miss the money, but I wasn't really looking forward to getting that much sun.