The Paper of Record Drops the Gloves

I read the New York Times every single day, and I can tell you that it is NOT a liberal publication—not like the (old) Village Voice, Mother Jones, or The Nation. In fact, the Times led the mass media pack in uncritically repeating the lies of the Bushies, back before this I-Wreck ever began. But on Sunday, the Times finally took off the gloves and swung bare-knuckled and straight: the full text is here, and here's a brief sample:

President Bush has turned the executive branch into a two-way mirror. They get to see everything Americans do: our telephone calls, e-mail, and all manner of personal information. And we get to see nothing about what they do.

Everyone knows this administration has disdained openness and accountability since its first days...Vice President Dick Cheney sets the gold standard, placing himself not just above Congress and the courts but above Mr. Bush himself. For the last four years, he has been defying a presidential order requiring executive branch agencies to account for the classified information they handle. When the agency that enforces this rule tried to do its job, Mr. Cheney proposed abolishing the agency.

The Times could now take the next step, and neutralize a good deal of the lousy karma it generated for itself in the Judy Miller days, by joining tens of thousands of American citizens and a growing list of members of Congress in this:

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