Bill Kristol and the New York Times

After I recieved a form email from the Times I concluded that they received more than a few missives re: Bill Kristol. If you can't figure out why their response is lame I have laid out a simple explanation in this week's issue of Black Agenda Report. As always Glen Ford hits the nail on the head in the introduction.

"Where once corporate media perversely reasoned that lies and truth should have equal standing in their pages and broadcasts, they now rate multiple lies as far more valuable than a universe of truth."

I had wanted to write about the plight of Iraqi Pulitzer prize winning photographer Bilal Hussein for some time. The elevation of the lying propagandist Kristol was a perfect opportunity to talk about Hussein's imprisonment by the U.S. military. First read BAR, then take a quick perusal of the Times lies regarding their lies.

Thank you for your e-mail concerning Bill Kristol. We appreciate your interest and your taking the time to let us know how you feel.

Mr. Kristol's column will be appearing on the Op-Ed page, where we offer arange of diverse opinions -- often differing from our own editorial opinions. Given that we are a news organization that believes in vibrant political discourse, we have brought Mr. Kristol on board after a long andt houghtful search through the ranks of strong conservative voices.

Will you -- or will we -- agree with him? Probably not very often . . .but that is the point of offering multiple views and providing intellectual diversity. We hope the column will engender open debate and discussion in the democratic tradition of newspapers. And we hope that you will continue to read and to express your views to us. We very much value your readership.

Sincerely,
Catherine Mathis SVP,
Corporate Communications
The New York Times Company

If you know you won't agree with him very often, why hire him? That question is rhetorical. The Times and the rest of the corporate media can't handle the truth because they aren't interested in it. They are only interested in doing the bidding of powerful monied and political interests. Kristol is Exhibit A.