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Notes Photo February 4, 2013

A Deeper Look at the Chrysler "Military Homecoming" Super Bowl Ad: Like We Can Really Be Whole Again

Are we more whole again? Or, are we the marks for a special-edition product campaign that plays on the vulnerability of returning troops and on the heartstrings of American media consumers?

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Notes Photo February 2, 2013

Obama Firing a Gun. (Or: Why Skeeter Attack a Major Backfire)

The Obama skeet shooting photo, in my mind, is the second most stunning White House photo after "The Situation Room."

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Notes Photo January 23, 2013

Some Thoughts on the Eerie "Skeleton Photo" of the French Soldier in Mali

There's a universe of difference now between the content and context of the image on the ground and what happens once swept up into the media and social media sphere. That is why the French military freaked out when it saw Mr. Call of Duty.

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Notes Photo January 16, 2013

NRA's Bizarre Obama Attack: It's All About the Children

When someone asked me to explain the NRA's vituperative web attack on Obama's children for having armed security, I had two answers. The first is seething anger.

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Notes Photo January 14, 2013

No Pants Subway Ride – Enlisted Edition

It's quite confounding to see a soldier stripping for a photographer for the national newswire.

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Notes Photo January 8, 2013

“A Well Regulated Militia, Being Necessary …”

The point here is not that we should eliminate the right to keep and bear arms, but that the conditions that animated the original intent of this amendment no longer abide.

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Notes Photo December 17, 2012

Ft. Connecticut

Perhaps the issue is not just how to curtail the availability of assault weapons but how do we as a culture, overall, start to demilitarize?

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Notes Photo December 11, 2012

Domestic War: A Not-So-Innocent Shot from Michigan's "Right to Work" Protests

The power of riot helmets seeming to germinate amongst the file cabinets shows us how ephemeral boundaries are when the suppression of progressive movements are involved.

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Notes Photo December 10, 2012

The Machine Gun Gun Show

Perhaps what's so captivating about these photos is the pleasure of the pure release of power.

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Notes Photo December 6, 2012

Bradley Manning Fit to be Tied

Is this court drawing the illustration of a suicide risk, or the government's fantasy to do the job itself?

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Notes Photo December 3, 2012

Saber the Moment: Gay Wedding at West Point

Given the importance of ritual in military affairs, incorporating the traditional saber arch truly melds gay marriage and military culture.

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Notes Photo November 25, 2012

Israel: The New Normal

The number, power and range of the recent barrage represents a new reality permanently altering the status quo.

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Notes Photo November 20, 2012

Top Brass: As Much About Surface

Sure, top dogs from the different branches look impressive, but isn't that the issue?

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Notes Photo November 19, 2012

Gaza Press Center: State Media-on-Media Violence

That the Gaza Media Center was used by international media as well as journalists partial to Hamas, and journalists either ended up in the hospital or send running in the streets is an unacceptable threat to the press.

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Notes Photo

Petraeus: Partying on a Nickel

The point of the photos here is that many senior officers and their wives are awed by the people they suddenly hang out with, people they're not accustomed to calling friends.

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Notes Photo November 18, 2012

Instagram: For IDF with Love

Meditating on this, I'm wondering how many other Israelis could actually be this childlike and naive when it comes to the circumstances at hand.

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Notes Photo November 14, 2012

The Petraeus Women: AP Goes Tabloid

The way this story is going, I can imagine the next phase of the FBI investigation boring into why these women (or their relatives) don't have blinds on their windows.

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Notes Photo November 12, 2012

Collecting Kisses for the Troops

Of course, we know that the wars over the past ten years have brought a string of moral failures, but that was just massacres and such.

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