Sunday, July 02, 2006

Editor Keller: Who died and left you president?

Who died and left you president of the United States?

Dear Bill Keller:

Remember me? We met in the elevator here at The Oregonian recently. Your decision to expose a secret program to track terrorist funding got me to thinking I had better write and apologize. I don't think I was sufficiently deferential on our brief ride together. I treated you like the executive editor of The New York Times who used to work for The Oregonian. I had no idea I was riding with the man who decides what classified programs will be made public during a war on terror. I had no idea the American people had elected you president and commander in chief.

Yes, I'm being sarcastic. What's that they say -- sarcasm is anger's ugly cousin? I'm angry, Bill.

I get angry when a few unauthorized individuals take it upon themselves to undermine an anti-terror program that even your own paper deems legal and successful. I get angry when the same people decide to blow the lid on a secret program designed to keep Islamic terrorists from killing Americans en masse.

3 comments:

John Sobieski said...

I urge everyone who has a NYT subscription to cancel. Unfortunately, everyone I know has done so already if they had a subscription.

Unknown said...

geoff:

No I was not. Ten years ago I was still voting Democrat but then they went an d lost their freaking minds.

And what has your comment got to do with the subject at hand anyway?

Barry Dauphin said...

Geoff,

The First Ammendment, shortened to Freedom of the Press for these purposes, belongs to the people and is not the exlusive prerogative of professional journalists. The press members are citizens of the country, but this is not their freedom, it is all of our freedom. With freedom comes responsibility. If the press act irresponsibily, it would be damend silly for us to hold our tongues.