Thursday, May 20, 2004

PANTS ON FIRE AT THE NYT. The New York Times continues to subvert its truth telling function to its dislike of President Bush and the war in Iraq. The NYT reported the find of sarin gas as that of a "trace". But the amount found is enough to kill 50,000-60,000 people. A gallon of this stuff takes out the city of Odessa. Why is this important? The NYT does not want to admit there are any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Is 50,000 a mass? I think so.

Here is a question for the NYT. How far do you go before you pass partisanship and become a simple liar. I suggest going back to the basic job of a newspaper, that of printing the news, and truthfully. Save the editorial for the editorial page, where you can rant and rave about the President all you want. But, in your reporting, why not just say they found a gallon of sarin and it is enough to kill 50,000 people? You have added an opinion when you replace the fact with an interpretation, saying the found a "trace". You have also mischaracterized the finding, since trace implies an insignificant amount. I promise you would not find it insignificant if it was released in the New York subway as it was in Tokyo. OK, I admit, I think you lied.

No comments: