Good God. We can’t quote people who are outraged! What if they say mean things, like, “this is a monstrous and unconstitutional thing that should not even be considered in a free society” and we have nobody on the other side to talk about Jack Bauer so as to balance reasonable anger with, you know, some crazy? What if they’re upset and thus, you know, uncouth? What if theyraise their voices? Dear Lord.
The last decade has accelerated the decline of newspapers in no small part because they failed absolutely to take a stand on any of the major moral issues of our time. Yes, corporate ownership, and yes, marketing and distribution, but also this ongoing campaign to marginalize anyone with a stake in the outcome of anything, as though there is a Pulitzer Prize in bloodlessness.
A.