I don't get it. Is it so horrible to hear an opposing point of view? I personally look forward to reading editorials from the right and left side of the spectrum every morning. But for some reason the Times readers always seem fearful of opinions they don't agree with -- to the extent that they're ready to cancel their subscriptions. This behavior has even been noted by Andy Rosenthal, the Times editorial page editor. He told Politico that he fails to understand "this weird fear of opposing views," also stating, "The idea that The New York Times is giving voice to a guy who is a serious, respected conservative intellectual — and somehow that's a bad thing, how intolerant is that?"

This behavior is made even more ridiculous by the fact that the NY Times continues to retain left-of-center columnists Maureen Dowd, Paul Krugman, Bob Herbert, Frank Rich and Nicholas Kristof -- so their editorial "balance" is still weighted heavily to the left.

And as far as Kristol being wrong on Iraq, perhaps it would be wise to revisit this quote:

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."

No, that wasn't Kristol. It was Hillary Clinton.

Democracy thrives on the free exchange of ideas.

Sandy Berger, in "preparation" for his appearance before the 9/11 Commission, smuggled documents out of the National Archives, destroyed at least some of them, and apparently made false statements to investigators about what he'd done. But for some reason, the Justice Department allowed him to plead guilty to a mere misdemeanor. He even surrendered his license to practice law rather than come clean. Even more bizarre, we've never been given a full account of what documents were taken so that we could figure out why Berger did this. And what's even more bizarre is that the mainstream press has remained silent rather than demanding disclosure.

"According to the lead prosecutor in the case Berger only took copies of classified information and that no original material was destroyed; however, there is notable controversy and speculation that he might have removed or destroyed originals of other unknown documents as well."

And pah-leeze, we're talking wikipedia here.

Berger said he could not find any additional documents and claimed he must have thrown them away. According to the NARA report, "He had destroyed, cut into small pieces, three of the four documents. These were put in the trash. By Saturday, the trash had been picked up. He tried to find the trash collector but had no luck."

Yes, take it from a place where facts can be edited by anyone. That's the ticket.

From an article by Byron York:

"There’s been some confusion in the last few days about the latest development in the classified-documents-theft-and-destruction case of former Clinton national-security adviser Samuel Berger. When Berger announced that he had agreed to give up his law license, some readers wondered, perhaps hopefully, whether that meant the Justice Department was still pursuing the case"

"Berger’s voluntary disbarment has nothing to do with the Justice Department or Capitol Hill. It is entirely the result of Berger’s desire to head off an investigation by the District of Columbia Bar. By giving up his license voluntarily, before an investigation was set to begin, Berger effectively closed another probe into his activities."

Yeah, I guess lawyers with nothing to hide are always giving up the license to their livelyhoods.

No, I'm afraid YOU miss the point. Berger plead guilty and took his punishment only after he had no alternative but to give up his license to practice law in order to cut off further investigation. In other words, he plead guilty to prevent further investigation.

all his "Loose Change" talking points. Time to go. It's just too darn embarrassing. Buh-bye.

Having read your last post, I offer this quote, especially for you:

"When you resort to attacking the messenger and not the message, you have lost the debate."

-- Addison Whithecomb

What a remarkable braintrust you've gathered here. Why it's a regular think tank! How will the Cato Institute ever compete? Or the Brookings Institution? Or the Heritage Foundation? Wow!

No, actually the comparision is one of left and right. You see, what you describe as "the uncensored, unfiltered reader-supplied comments on Glenn's blog" (or what I've described as a remarkable braintrust) is the left. And The Cato Institute, Brookings Institution, and Heritage Foundation are the right. So it's simply left vs. right. Translation: When I asked how will those institutions possibly compete with the remarkable think tank Glenn has assembled here, it simply meant how would the right possibly compete with the left. See? It's not such a big mindbender.

No, actually the comparision is one of left and right. You see, what you describe as "the uncensored, unfiltered reader-supplied comments on Glenn's blog" (or what I've described as a remarkable braintrust) is the left. And The Cato Institute, Brookings Institution, and Heritage Foundation are the right. So it's simply left vs. right. Translation: When I asked how will those institutions possibly compete with the remarkable think tank Glenn has assembled here, it simply meant how would the right possibly compete with the left. See? It's not such a big mindbender.

Brilliant!

Ah, even more name calling. And even more brilliant!

OMG, they're here! Hide your children! No one dare make the mistake of posting to the wrong thread! It's punishable by death!

As in your mindbending "Apples and Oranges" analysis?

Cheers.

But you can cure your own, Arne, by spelling "stoopidity" -- s-t-u-p-i-d-i-t-y.

Cheers.

That's how you spell "stoopidity" in bizarro world. Cheers.