The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 2 of 11)

br> -- R.D. Murphy br> Imperial Beach, CA /p>

I'm sorry but, while I'm sure Mr. Beston means well and is reputable, I am not equally sure about the source on which he draws. How do we know that John Colapinto actually wrote the piece called "The Young Hipublicans" that appeared in the New York Times on Sunday? Further, how do we know that whoever actually wrote the piece really went to Bucknell or that the folks named in the article are real people? How do we know that the NYT in its ongoing affirmative action activities isn't attempting to rehabilitate Jayson Blair by allowing him to ghostwrite for others?

We have been frequently, frequently burned by the NYT. Time and time again, it has published falsehoods and half-truths. How do we know that Mr. Beston hasn't been hoodwinked by yet another instance of NYT style journalism? It is, I believe, reasonable to expect the NYT to print some sort of statement of authenticity, some confirmation that the most basic standards of fact checking and certification have been used for everything they print. The old glib and untrue masthead representation is no longer believable or acceptable.

p>And, I fear, Mr. Beston has fallen to their low standards by not making such representations to his readers. We expect so much of from him than we do of the National Enquirer or the New York Times . br> -- unsigned /p>

Paul Beston's piece, which was excellent for its thought-provoking examination of 3-day weekends in general and the de-memorializing of Memorial Day in particular, contained what I consider a glaring flaw. He wrote: "This week, the New York Sun ran its final series of capsule obituaries of fallen American soldiers from the Iraq campaign. The paper puts the final tally of dead at 138, a number severe in human costs but infinitesimal from a military perspective."

Mr. Beston, from a military perspective that final tally feels more like 138,000.

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Environment, Books, Law, Military, Iraq, Iran, NATO