In three
hard-hitting editorials, the paper gave expression, in unvarnished,
well-argued, and concisely-honed paragraphs, to outrage over the shameful
behavior of the Bush Administration in three instances -- White House defiance
of Congressional investigations; the Blackwater mess; and the stem cell
fiasco.
The first
editorial, "In Contempt" slammed the refusal of two of Bush aides,
Chief of Staff Josh Bolton and former White House counsel Harriet Miers to
respond to congressional subpoenas to testify in the United States attorneys
scandal.
Their disregard
for congress's right to call witnesses was, as the paper said, not only an
illegal obstruction in a lawful probe of an abuse of authority by the
government, but also a dangerous effort to upset our careful system of checks
and balances.
The second
editorial, "Prosecuting Blackwater," reprimands the Bush
Administration for its continuing failure to impose penalties on the lawless
behavior of the Blackwater guards who killed at least 14 Iraqis in an
indiscriminate and unjustified shooting spree last September.
Finally "A
Stem Cell Achievement" chastises President Bush for hobbling stem cell
research because of the religious right.
While the Times has at
moments given pause in the past over events like its flawed coverage of the US
decision to invade Iraq, its editorial pages continue on most occasions to
hold high the flag of progressive thinking in America. Imagine this country
without this paper.
