I was on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” today. Topics were the Department of Defense’s clampdown on milblogging and blocking access to sites like YouTube and MySpace on military computers, and users manipulating “most popular” and “most viewed” ratings on Digg and other sites.

I was too nervous to tell anyone (except my mother, sister, and “friend”) beforehand. Somebody somewhere captured the clip, I’m sure. And how was your Sunday morning?

Update (11:56 a.m.): Short, short segment. Didn’t get to talk about Digg. I want to do more “talking head” shows because the exposure is great. I was told my name comes up when “Reliable Sources” producers are looking for bloggers, but I don’t get the call because I don’t follow hot-off-the-presses, timely political stories as much as I used to (and somebody’s been reading this). Dilemma.

Homeland (In)Security chief Michael Chertoff was in the Green Room briefly. I was this close to asking him how non-enforcement of immigration law secures the homeland. One of the security guys (bodyguard?) was giving me the eye. I guess the anger showed on my face.

Later…Clip below:

What I didn’t get to say on the air: I’m a fan of milbloggers and admire what they do. Their stories from “the front” are important. We conservative bloggers believe MSM tends to focus on negative stories coming out of Iraq. This is why milbloggers are important. They provide firsthand accounts of what’s going on, and they report positive stories the media won’t cover.

Under the old regulation, milbloggers were required to talk to their commanders if they had questions about whether a post contained sensitive or critical information. Under the new regulation, commanders and operation security officers must review a post before it’s published online. E-mails and discussion board posts fall under the new rule. Impractical? Of course. But — and this is unpopular, I’m sure — I defer to the Defense Department on this one. We are at war, and the enemy wants us dead. I have no doubt that Al Qaeda operatives are monitoring online communications. What may seem innocuous to me might be a goldmine to the enemy looking for strategic information.

Some milbloggers are concerned that commanders will ban blogging altogether so they won’t have to deal with the hassle. They also believe the new reg will have a chilling effect, that milbloggers will stop blogging. It’s very restrictive, and commanders and milbloggers won’t have much wiggle room. Still, we have to balance free expression and the need to share firsthand accounts about Iraq with security and safety.