All right. Three quotes. Who could settle on just one? The last was not published in the Times, but stated by their editor at a lecture in England.
Yup. Criticizing the NYT again. I read the Times every day, and they have some great stuff. But their editorials, op eds, and thinly veiled "news analysis" opinion pieces frequently make me nauseous. The term "effete elitists" comes to mind. I’ll take the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal anytime.
The NYT worldview on American morality:
"Our humanity has been compromised by those who use Gestapo tactics in our war. The longer we stand idly by while they do so, the more we resemble those ‘good Germans’ who professed ignorance of their own Gestapo….It’s up to us to wake up our somnambulant Congress to challenge administration policy every day. Let the war’s last supporters filibuster all night if they want to. There is nothing left to lose except whatever remains of our country’s good name."
— Columnist Frank Rich, October 14.
The NYT worldview view on business and the economy (I cannot resist a comment on this one. Read the second sentence a couple of times. How stupid is that?):
"More broadly, if the object of public policy is to maximize society’s well-being, more attention should be placed on fostering social interactions and less on accumulating wealth. If growing incomes are not increasing happiness, perhaps we should tax incomes more to force us to devote less time and energy to the endeavor and focus instead on the more satisfying pursuit of leisure."
— Eduardo Porter, in a signed editorial November 12.
The NYT view of itself:
"…we are agnostic as to where a story may lead; we do not go into a story with an agenda or a pre-conceived notion. We do not manipulate or hide facts to advance an agenda. We strive to preserve our independence from political and economic interests, including our own advertisers. We do not work in the service of a party, or an industry, or even a country. When there are competing views of a situation, we aim to reflect them as clearly and fairly as we can."
– From Executive Editor Bill Keller lecture, delivered in London November 29.
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