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Monday, December 31, 2007

This is good, but it's too late and doesn't in any way make up for hiring William Kristol
Posted by Jill | 1:22 PM
Editorial, today's New York Times:

There are too many moments these days when we cannot recognize our country. Sunday was one of them, as we read the account in The Times of how men in some of the most trusted posts in the nation plotted to cover up the torture of prisoners by Central Intelligence Agency interrogators by destroying videotapes of their sickening behavior. It was impossible to see the founding principles of the greatest democracy in the contempt these men and their bosses showed for the Constitution, the rule of law and human decency.

It was not the first time in recent years we’ve felt this horror, this sorrowful sense of estrangement, not nearly. This sort of lawless behavior has become standard practice since Sept. 11, 2001.

The country and much of the world was rightly and profoundly frightened by the single-minded hatred and ingenuity displayed by this new enemy. But there is no excuse for how President Bush and his advisers panicked — how they forgot that it is their responsibility to protect American lives and American ideals, that there really is no safety for Americans or their country when those ideals are sacrificed.

Out of panic and ideology, President Bush squandered America’s position of moral and political leadership, swept aside international institutions and treaties, sullied America’s global image, and trampled on the constitutional pillars that have supported our democracy through the most terrifying and challenging times. These policies have fed the world’s anger and alienation and have not made any of us safer.

[snip]

The White House used the fear of terrorism and the sense of national unity to ram laws through Congress that gave law-enforcement agencies far more power than they truly needed to respond to the threat — and at the same time fulfilled the imperial fantasies of Vice President Dick Cheney and others determined to use the tragedy of 9/11 to arrogate as much power as they could.

[snip]

These are not the only shocking abuses of President Bush’s two terms in office, made in the name of fighting terrorism. There is much more — so much that the next president will have a full agenda simply discovering all the wrongs that have been done and then righting them.

We can only hope that this time, unlike 2004, American voters will have the wisdom to grant the awesome powers of the presidency to someone who has the integrity, principle and decency to use them honorably. Then when we look in the mirror as a nation, we will see, once again, the reflection of the United States of America.


Now if whoever wrote this excellent editorial would inform the Powers that Be in the executive suite that every atrocity mentioned therein was applauded by the very man they've just hired as a columnist.
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4 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
The comments there are worth reading, as well.

I fully agree with your assessment of the schizophrenic relationship between the editorial pages and the news reporting at the Times.

Happy, New Year, Jill! Thank you so much for hosting this wonderful, gem of a blog! Your stylings and insights are always first on my must read list.
12/31/07, 2:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Actually, just after the breath of fresh air in the Kristol hiring, the editors at the New York Times are back to their old ways.

The editorial's a disaster, as is the Times' pro-genocidal antiwar policies.

American Power
12/31/07, 3:39 PM  
Blogger jim said...
Lest we forget, the ENTIRE media-plex sat on its thumbs around nefarious garbage like Yellowcake & the Downing St. Memos, even when it KNEW these were patent frauds - directly contributing to more than one million deaths in the service of a lie ... & has conveniently lost interest in people like Sibel Edmonds & Valerie Plame, in favor of more historically vital figures - like Lindsay Lohan & Mel Gibson.
1/1/08, 12:48 AM  
Blogger Distributorcap said...
jill

i just wrote a letter to Bill Keller about the Kristol hiring === i will post it letter.

i encourage others to write as well. may not do anything, but Keller has to know what a assinine move this was
1/1/08, 6:59 AM  
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