‘Joe the Reporter’ says “stop reporting!”

Remember ‘Joe the Plumber’, the presidential campaign sideshow who went on to become a mouthpiece for the McCain-Palin ticket? But Joe's real name is Samuel and he's not even a licensed plumber – now he's doing another job he's not qualified for: he’s been shipped to Israel by the conservative outfit Pajamas TV to work as a ‘war correspondent’ (honestly, I’m not making this up).

Joe's weighing in on the roll of reporters during wartime, which basically amounts to “sit down and shut up.” I'm posting Joe's quote in its near entirety because it’s just so good:

“I'll be honest with you: I don't think journalists should be anywhere allowed war. (sic) I mean, you guys report where our troops are at. You report what's happening day to day. You make a big deal out of it. I think it's asinine. You know, I liked back in World War I and World War II when you'd go to the theater and you'd see your troops on, you know, the screen and everyone would be real excited and happy for ‘em.”

I guess it escaped Joe that the whole reason people were able to see troops on the screen was because of the work of intrepid war correspondents, some of whom, like the late Ernie Pyle, gave their lives to bring the story of the war home and were beloved by the troops they covered. But no, Joe apparently rather than having a free press would like one where the government controlled what we did and didn't see, which if you think about it is kind of an odd position for a self-described conservative to hold since they usually view government as something not to be trusted in the first place.

Past that, banning war reporters in this modern world doesn't mean the story won't get out. The Israeli military has banned journalists from entering Gaza, defying an order from the Israeli Supreme Court in the process, yet the Net is filled with reports, blog posts and YouTube videos showing the war from inside Gaza.

Meanwhile we'll keep an eye out for more of Joe's dispatches from the front...