Iran is proving, once again, what a new world we’re in.

I’m watching the news coming out of Iran. Just as a bottom line, I’m struck by the similarity of the right wing there and the right wing here. They’re sure they’re right. (Because God told them.) So is our right wing.

But that’s old news. The real news is how mainstream media is being marginalized more and more. None of the real news is being discovered and reported by the mainstream media. It’s being smuggled out by dedicated amateurs. Real analysis is being done by bloggers.

The talking heads are saying such predictable things! Republican politicians are sniffing around for something, anything, they can criticize President Obama for doing or not doing. Democrats think his performance has been ideal. And the talking heads ask the same questions over and over as they replay video that you can see on YouTube.

Back when, Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and especially Daniel Schorr (You can still hear his analysis on NPR!) built their reputation on their own integrity and their exclusive access to the wellsprings of the news. They had a lock on the market! When Dr. Daniel Ellsberg decided he couldn’t take the lies of the generals in Viet Nam any more, he needed someone with integrity to get the truth out. (History has labeled this “The Pentagon Papers”.) He leaked them to Daniel Schorr. Today, they would show up in a hundred blogs. The talking heads would find out about it after it happened.

I don’t have any exclusive sources in Iran, so I can only add my own opinions about what is happening there. (I can take the time and make the effort to make sure they’re well grounded and written as clearly as I can.) But there are dozens of bloggers who do have those excusive sources.

But if something happens in Color Country, I don’t have to wait for a guy with a microphone to ask me about it. I can get it out there myself way before they can get down here with their satellite trucks.

And in the meantime, I can provide views of the magnificent Color Country landscapes and focused information about what’s happening here - along with my own insight into what’s happening around the world and a platform for a conversation with the world in case they want to reply directly and not through some third party with an agenda.