Kindred Spirits

It appears that there's a military blog, Duffel Blog, that serves much the same purpose for the military community that CM plays for the higher ed community.  I especially liked the attitude of the Pentagon press secretary, related in a Washington Post article on the blog, and wish that higher ed administrators would follow suit:

The Duffel Blog reached a milestone of sorts when the Pentagon’s main Twitter account began following the site in September. Jennifer D. Elzea, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the step was taken to help the Defense Department “maintain situational awareness.” It probably also had something to do with the fact that the Pentagon press secretary had become a huge fan.

George Little, who stepped down from the post last month, said the blog had become a “must read,” and he counseled public affairs colleagues to monitor it closely to spot what narratives were taking hold and which messages were falling flat.

“It helps put many things in healthy perspective, even when it’s a little over the top or overly satirical,” Little said. “In the very serious world we live in at the Pentagon, a bit of levity can actually help advance the mission.”

Also, as a blog post in the Crampicle network today points out, Duffel Blog occasionally tackles education-related topics.  

And in completely unrelated news, Harvard had a bomb scare today.  Maybe somebody was worried the grading on this semester's batch of exams might be a bit stricter than usual?