History in real time

An event is not to be given the historians' once-over until 20-25 years _ a generation _ have passed, according to the old rules. You need some distance on it for meaningful analysis.
As someone who squirreled away tons of stuff about 9/11 in the days and weeks following it for my children's understanding of not only the then-fresh facts, but of the emotions wrapped around them, I think there's something to be said for thoughtful consideration of the current record.
With that in mind, I applaud History Channel for "Band of Bloggers," the online package it will launch next month on history.com. The net will be serving up soldiers' and Marines' uncensored dispatches from the fields of Iraq and Afghanistan transmitted by cell phones, computers and digital cameras. A companion TV special will premiere in the fall.