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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
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The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
July 11, 2005
/ 4 Taamuz, 5765
Reporters aren't above the law
By
Michael Kinsley
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When Robert D. Novak first reported that people in the Bush White House had identified Valerie Plame as an undercover CIA operative, the New York Times reacted with high dudgeon. Plame is married to Joseph Wilson, a former State Department official who went to Niger in search of evidence of Iraq's effort to assemble weapons of mass destruction. He then wrote (in the Times) that he couldn't find much, and outing Wilson's wife appeared to be the Bush administration's revenge.
The New York Times editorialized: "If someone at the White House . . . revealed the name of a CIA operative to . . . stifle dissent over Iraq policy, that in itself would be a serious assault on free speech and an egregious abuse of power." It called Bush's "blanket denial" a "cover-up." It looks as if what the Times found so alarming is exactly what happened. The cover-up is crumbling. Wrongdoers may be exposed and punished. All no thanks to the New York Times.
The noble principle for which Times reporter Judith Miller sits in jail is the right of journalists to participate in efforts to stifle dissent, censor free speech, abuse power and then cover it all up. No? Well, not exactly. Secret sources can be whistle-blowers themselves, helping anonymously to expose corruption. That is why journalists say that anonymous sources are essential to freedom and democracy. But that is not the current case, and it may not even be the case most of the time.
In a ringing and utterly uncompromising editorial Friday, the New York Times noted correctly that even its earlier editorials about the need to expose and punish "an egregious abuse of power" had warned against any "attempt to compel journalists to reveal their sources." But these directives are irreconcilable. The "egregious abuse of power" was leaking secret information to journalists. The leaker has a Fifth Amendment right not to testify. If journalists have a First Amendment right not to testify, then the "egregious abuse of power" cannot be exposed or punished.
This isn't about the press's right to publish information. It is about a right to keep information secret. Even the Times acknowledges that sometimes the government's right to secrecy is more important (wartime troop movements is its single, melodramatic example). And even the federal government recognizes the social utility of a vigorous press going out of its way to avoid demanding trial evidence from journalists in most circumstances. From this, it is easy enough to imagine a compromise, ideally reflected in a journalistic shield law like that in most states.
One problem in getting from here to such a compromise was that Judith Miller, Matt Cooper and the others were being asked to break promises of confidentiality they had already made. That is hard. If journalists routinely make such promises and routinely are forced to break them, this will indeed create a general "chilling effect" on leaks.
But the real issue is whether the promises should have been made. Under a clear set of rules, the "chilling effect" would be limited not perfectly, but primarily to leaks that ought to be chilled and to promises of anonymity that should not be made.
A bigger problem is that no reasonable compromise would give journalists victory in the current dispute, in which the leak is not just evidence of a crime but the crime itself. Some journalistic voices (for example, The Post's editorial page) have decided the crime at issue isn't so egregious after all. The law against outing CIA agents is tricky, and the outing of Valerie Plame may not have broken it. This would be convenient, but it comes closer to illustrating than obviating the dilemma. Maybe, in any given case, no law has been broken, or the broken law isn't important, or there are other equally good ways to enforce it, or giving journalists immunity merely makes enforcing the law difficult rather than impossible. But what if not?
The biggest problem in the way of a compromise is that journalists who share the philosophy of the Times assert the right to decide unilaterally. Even if they acknowledge the possibility that their needs don't always trump everybody else's, they insist that their judgment does trump everybody else's.
Norman Pearlstine, editor in chief of Time Inc. magazines, made the essential point in agreeing to turn over Cooper's notes after the Supreme Court declined to review the case. He noted that even Richard Nixon, who claimed a constitutional right to protect the Watergate tapes, turned them over when the high court said he had to.
The Times's Thursday editorial asserts that this is a matter of "civil disobedience." In societies that are not democracies or lack a legitimate judicial system, nonviolent civil disobedience is an admirably restrained method of attempting political change. In societies where laws are democratically enacted and fairly enforced, for the most part, purposely breaking them needs to be justified by some enormous injustice.
The New York Times is an influential newspaper owned by a large corporation. It is claiming an exemption from one of the duties of citizenship. It has hired some of America's best lawyers to pursue this claim. And then, when the claim has been rejected, it encourages its employees to defy the courts and break the law. If that is civil disobedience, then almost any law anyone does not care for is up for grabs.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Michael Kinsley is Los Angeles Times Editorial and Opinion editor and former editor of Slate.com.
Comment by clicking here.
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