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| Fifth Column | |
| NYT Editor Bill Keller Responds on Banking Story | |
| 2006-06-26 | |
Some of the incoming mail quotes the angry words of conservative bloggers and TV or radio pundits who say that drawing attention to the government's anti-terror measures is unpatriotic and dangerous. (I could ask, if that's the case, why they are drawing so much attention to the story themselves by yelling about it on the airwaves and the Internet.) Some comes from readers who have considered the story in question and wonder whether publishing such material is wise. And some comes from readers who are grateful for the information and think it is valuable to have a public debate about the lengths to which our government has gone in combatting the threat of terror. It's an unusual and powerful thing, this freedom that our founders gave to the press. Who are the editors of The New York Times (or the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and other publications that also ran the banking story) to disregard the wishes of the President and his appointees? And yet the people who invented this country saw an aggressive, independent press as a protective measure against the abuse of power in a democracy, and an essential ingredient for self-government. They rejected the idea that it is wise, or patriotic, to always take the President at his word, or to surrender to the government important decisions about what to publish. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #19 In times of war you can have a presidental finding that remains secret but is of a Marshal Law type force. Since Lincoln we have always had a few on the book. Bush could take care of the Times iffen he wanted to. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-26 21:27 |
| #18 Lock Keller and other executives up. 10 Years in the Pen. He keeps mentioning "the power given by the nation's founders" as if he is trying to influence anyone reading his trash that the power to put lives of Americans to the edge of the enemies blade is what the founders gave him. Lets show him the true interpretation of what his paper has done, counter-intelligence for Al Qaeda, openly and publicly. |
| Posted by: Gromosh Elminegum5705 2006-06-26 20:57 |
| #17 Thought about this, lotp. Bush has blown it. This and the NSA are Plame cases. Government employees have broken the law by talking to the NYT. The NYT should be forced to finger the miscreant or see it's ace reporters spend time in the slammer till their lips looses. Bush has everything he needs. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-06-26 20:27 |
| #16 We DO need to guard against sedition. The problem is that there is a vocal group who are determined to sabotage both the war and the Administration. Right now they control much of the media as well, so they influence the attitudes of enough people to make Administration action difficult. My point is that we all need to counterbalance that. We need to get the word out to everyone who's not a true believer in that other camp. You can bet your stock options that Keller would never have published this if Bush's poll ratings were in the 60-70% range. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-26 19:55 |
| #15 "Dave, I just don't think prosecution by itself will work - or even will go the way you might hope." You may be right; but if so, why are we putting our sons' and daughters' lives on the line over in Iraq and Afghanistan, if we're not willing to guard their backs against sedition here at home, sedition that is not only negating everything they have done, but making life infinitely more dangerous for them while they are over there? |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-06-26 19:35 |
| #14 I sent the obligatory letter to the NYT, but I also sent one to our local UnionTrib, which subscribes to the NYT news service. In San Diego, this might make a diff, if more readers demand the local find an alternate news source |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-06-26 19:29 |
| #13 Dave, I just don't think prosecution by itself will work - or even will go the way you might hope. Not until/unless the average American makes it VERY CLEAR that s/he will no longer tolerate this shit. Makes it clear to editors, to advertisers, to politicians. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-26 19:19 |
| #12 If I was prez I would have the IRS deal with the NY Times. Suddenly, chief editors and such would all find 6 or 7 year IRS audits randomly choosing them for detailed investigation. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-06-26 18:49 |
| #11 "But I think if Bush prosecutes the NTY he will be doing exactly what Keller and his buddies want. That could be disastrous for the WOT..." Yes, it could; and maybe it would. Then again, it might not. But one thing's absolutely certain, and that is that a disaster has already befallen this struggle against the evil of Islamic imperialism: the ongoing, continual, relentless campaign by the entire liberal establishment in this country to undermine the war, including the Democratic Party, their paid propagandists in the media, and their indoctrination cadres in our schools and universities. Day after day it goes on, without end. And with each passing day, their cynical, defeatist murmurings, urging America to give up and go home, work their insidious evil. Do you seriously think we have ANY chance whatsoever, so long as this goes on? I don't. Prosecute the bastards who've been feeding the media classified information. Try them. Convict them. Sentence them. AND THEN EXECUTE THEM. All of them. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-06-26 18:45 |
| #10 I heard NY Congressman Peter King on the radio. He is livid and claims that this IS an attempt to aid and assist al Qaeda. He says there is no other reason to make this process known. It is entirely legal, has been going on for years, (after all, why does SWIFT provide this service) and the need to front page this story smells of desperate provocation. King said that freedom comes with responsibility and now freedom of speech has been compromised. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-06-26 17:58 |
| #9 I understand the frustration and anger, YS. I share it. But I think if Bush prosecutes the NTY he will be doing exactly what Keller and his buddies want. That could be disastrous for the WOT *UNLESS* there is a clear groundswell of public opinion against both the press and the leakers. We need to give him cover on this. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-26 15:53 |
| #8 Exactly. Arrest and prosecute Keller for espionage. The two reporters, too. Let a federal court sort it out. Hopefully, they'll all get 25-to-life at hard labor and old Schultzie will go broke when the Times gets remaindered. Shoot the goddamn leakers. That'll send a message. |
| Posted by: mojo 2006-06-26 15:36 |
| #7 lotp This is beyond average joes writing "sternly worded letters". Bush needs to prosecute the NYTs. Anything other shorter then that is as usefull as banging your head on the wall in frustration. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2006-06-26 15:11 |
| #6 So what have YOU done in response to the NYT, Yosemite? How many letters and phone calls have YOU sent out??? |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-06-26 14:32 |
| #5 Maybe Bush jabbing his finger for emphasis will scare him enough to not publish further secrets. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2006-06-26 14:17 |
| #4 Better yet get a list of the advertisers in the NYT and write them letters telling them, in no uncertain terms, that you will *not* consider their products as long as they advertise in the NYT. If they get enough letters then the NYT's revenue will dry up. This is a way that all of us can help fight the WOT. Does anyone have a list of advertisers? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2006-06-26 14:02 |
| #3 nobody should think that we made this decision casually, with any animus toward the current Administration, or without fully weighing the issues. The fact that the NYT still calls it the NSA evesdropping program gives the lie to this. If you want to hurt the NYT, ignore it. It is simply and attention getter for advertisers. The advertisers are now going away because the readers are going away. We can expect more and more outrageous behaviour from the NYT as it struggles to keep our attnetion. The cruelest thing we can do is to ignore it. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-06-26 12:58 |
| #2 I wrote a letter to the publisher. I would suggest all rntburgers do the same. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2006-06-26 12:46 |
| #1 F*cking Traitor! Eat sh*t and die, roast in hell forever! |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-06-26 12:02 |