UPDATE IX: The London Telegraph attacks the right wing Blogosphere in a major way....Embittered', the ever hateful and bitter Mahablog, who cannot string two words together without spitting out venom, who calls me "ever-brainless" and a "dimwitt"...

NEWS: - Senate Prepares For Scheduled Immigration Vote - Bush Quiet on Immigration Bill Veto - Lawmakers push official English - GOP strategists urging Bush to tout strong economy - Crisis Pregnancy Centers Targeted in 'Crackdown on Deceit' - DHS......

As for the folks bashing this gal, I have no time for folks who are brave in the face of no adversity.

From the London Telegraph... The freed American hostage Jill Carroll arrived home after 83 days of captivity in Iraq yesterday......

I don't think so. I will give the same "benefit of doubt" that a reporter would give anyone, and that is zero. I think she now has to prove her story to everyone, now that she has changed her story.

One thing for sure is that she is or will be worth a lot of money from her latest story.

I now wonder if the money is the reason for her story change.

I have thought it was a put up kidnapping from the get go.

Propaganda only works if the propagandist believe what he/she is saying. Any statement Jill Carroll uttered before she was in US Military custody should be treated as suspect because she was in an unsafe situation.

This is not due to any action on Bithead�s part. Rather, it is due to actions on the part of those in the hobby he inhabits. I�m sorry to say, that it�s a sad fact that he has a bit of a reputation to overcome. A reputation, possibly, he�s not directly responsible for.

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Former hostage Jill Carroll left Germany on Sunday aboard a commercial airliner headed to Boston, th...

Throughout my coverage, I've not only noted the wide range of reactions - from Left and Right, but also that drawing conclusions as to Jill's intentions requires information that only time and distance can provide (of course, I'm saying this far mor...

Now, I ask for the time to heal. This has been a taxing 12 weeks for me and my family. Please allow us some quiet time alone, together.

It seems a reasonable request. But as I recall, you're a member of the press. A press who has, alas all too often been guilty of not providing families in such a situation with privacy. One would hope with your new understanding of the need for privacy under such conditions, that you will encourage your fellows at the paragraph factory to lay off of like people during such situations the future.

There was nothing in what we saw before this statement was released that gave us any indication that this was not simply another apologist for the terrorists, or at best someone who was under the Stockholm like influence of her captors. (I drew , personally, the latter conclusion, which was perhaps, the more kind of the two to draw. )

It's possible that my judgments of Caroll have been a little harsh. She is certainly in a business that has been quite deserving of harsh judgments. Yet, the conclusions drawn, were completely logical and given the history of the press completely justifiable, and credible. Her statements here certainly douse a lot of the flames that were set by her initial statements upon release. However there will have to be some time and some further action before they are completely credible, I fear.

This is not due to any action on Jill Carroll's part. Rather, it is due to actions on the part of those in the business she inhabits. I'm sorry to say, that it's a sad fact that she has a bit of a reputation to overcome. A reputation, possibly, she's not directly responsible for.