Blog attack on the New York Times

[Onlooker]

A search in Google for New York Times and and the appropriately named Swift program shows that the right-wing blogs and their other websites are viciously swift-boating what may be the finest paper in America. Rather than talk about the legimate privacy issues, not to mention respect for our laws and the laws of our allies, they are simply accusing the New York Times of all sorts of crimes, even treason. They of course do not mention the LA Times which printed the Swift story on the same day as the Times did or the Wall Street Journal which reported the story a day later.

Since our Congress provides no oversight to the administration and the Courts seem to give the administration a free hand, our free press is the last defense against a power-hungry and corrupt administration. I for one am going to subscribe to the Times (which I have often thought about doing), but I also think that if the right wing succeeds in muffling our free press, then there's nothing stopping Bush from effectively scrapping the Constitution.

[Hugin]

1. Also, support a local newspaper...

No need to stovepipe your support.

[BOSSHOG]

2. rove knows his audience

They are incredibly ignorant and easily manipulated. As we hunt and peck, rove is in the basement of the white house thinking up the next "outrage" that will fire up the base; the base which has no concept of constitutional liberties.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Let 'Em Keep It Up

This incident has given a wake-up call to a lot of journalists and newspapers around the country...that cold chill many of us have felt about this regime's abuse of power and trampling of the Constitution is being felt first-hand in many newsrooms around the country. Where the right wing noise machine was considered an iritant at first and then a "power to be reckoned with" over the past five years has now jumped the shark as its now being felt as a direct attack not just on the New York Times but on the print media in general.

Many publications rolled over for fear of being called "liberal", but now they see how far this has come. The attempts to "balance" the news has now given way to bullying and intimidation...with the possibility of a government attempting to persecute and censor the press and doing to the First Ammendment what this regime has done to the Fourth and various others. Methinks they've gone a bridge too far...and the revenge will be sweet.

I'd love to see the booosh regime attempt to throw a New York Times reporter in jail or shut down the paper for this story...as it will bring court cases that will expose this regime's astroturfing and abuse of the media. So, bring it on, wingnuts...the Times has never lost a First Ammendment case and, especially since this story was also given to the LA Times and Wall Street Journal prior to the Times publishing, it open up a can of worms the wingnuts will regret for decades to come.

[AndyTiedye]

5. We Could Lose Those Court Cases With *This* Supreme Court

I'd love to see the booosh regime attempt to throw a New York Times reporter in jail or shut down the paper for this story...as it will bring court cases that will expose this regime's astroturfing and abuse of the media.

[Lerkfish]

4. This just shows that the neocons have no loyalty. they used NYT and

Judith Miller to catapult their propaganda running up to the war. They quoted NYT (and their own planted stories), praised them continuously.

Why anyone or any organization thinks they can have a reciprocal relationship with neocons is beyond me.

Reminds me of what someone told me when I lived in Las Vegas: you don't want to be enemies and you don't want to be friends with the mob. You don't want them to even know you exist. Because they only kill their enemies, but their friends they screw first and then kill them.

[SoCalDem]

6. Why NOT? It worked when they wanted Rather out

and it worked when they wanted to trash Kerry..

The bluster by *² and DeadeyeDick was just a coded "call to arms" for the nutso supporters.. They are "on it" now and I can only hope that newspapers will start reporting the REAL story.. What is that?

The real story here is about how the president and his adminsitration are and have been USING the press to advance their bogus agenda and then going ballistic on any media outlet that DARES to report the truth..

Is there anyone out here besides me who thinks that "sitting" on the wire-tapping story for a YEAR benefitted ANYONE but *²?

Had the NYT been smart enough and brave enough, *^#178; might be cooling his heels in Texas instead of still in the White House..

For FIVE long years the press has been ignoring their responsibility, and it looks like they woke up too late..

Would Alito and Roberts be on the Supreme Court if junior had been sent packing?

*² and Deadeye WANT the issue to go to SCOTUS.. They are pretty darned sure they now have a court that will "see things their way" and it's in their interest to shut the media up..

If everything's a secret and everything's related to "security", just what CAN the media report on anyway??

missing girls
sharks
celebrity births
white house t-ball
American idol "scandals"

etc

[Ron Green]

7. Et Voila!

This is what the masses want anyway, not any boring stuff about the "Constitution."