[Vision2020] 'Doonesbury' Creator Offers GWOT Blog Site

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (October 12, 2006) Daily Roundup edition of the Army Times -

FINALLY, A blog that I truly believe in.

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'Doonesbury' creator offers GWOT blog site

Associated Press

NEW YORK - Though often bitterly critical of the war on Iraq in his comic
strip "Doonesbury," creator Garry Trudeau now is offering readers a chance
to get a closer, mostly unfiltered view of troops' experiences in their own
words.

"The Sandbox," a new addition to his Doonesbury Web site, lets viewers read
the comments of service members. It's a version of a military blog - one of
many that already are available on the Web.

"The Sandbox"
http://gocomics.typepad.com/the_sandbox/

"This is GWOT-lit's forward position, offering those in-country a chance to
share their experiences and reflections with the rest of us," Trudeau
writes, using an acronym for the "Global War on Terror."
 
He wrote that he hopes to let readers see "the unclassified details of
deployment - the everyday, the extraordinary, the wonderful, the messed-up,
the absurd." He said the postings will be "lightly edited."

Recent postings came from an injured soldier who, while on leave in the
states, met the crew chief who evacuated him; a sailor stationed in
Afghanistan who complained that most Americans "look at this war as little
more than a television event"; and a soldier on leave who was slipped a $100
bill by a passer-by (the soldier tried to give it back and wrote that she
plans to donate the money to the Army Emergency Relief Fund).

Many of the postings on "The Sandbox" provide a link to the service member's
own blog.

Other military blogs touch on a wide array of commentary from service
members, some of it supportive of the war, some critical and others simply
detailing military life. Many provide photos, videos or a chance to comment
or communicate with the blogger.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Pro patria,

Tom Hansen
Vandalville, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.