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Today's
Stories
March 17, 2008
Pam Martens
The
Fed's Wall Street Dilemma
Sasan Fayazmanesh
The US, Iran and the Policy of Dual Containment
March 15 /
16, 2008
Patrick Cockburn
How
to Destroy a Country in Five Years
Mike Whitney
Bearly
Alive: Investment Giant Rushed to ICU by Panicky Fed Chief
Ralph Nader
Of
Laws and Men
Robert Pollin
It's Still the Economy, Stupid
Diane Christian
The Poetics of Perversity: From Boccaccio to Spitzer
Wajahat Ali
Faking the Hood: a Conversation with Ishmael Reed
Tom Wright
/
Therese Saliba
Rachel Corrie's Case for Justice
Alan Farago
Back to Florida: Where Bushtime Began
Greg Moses
Raiding the Family Room in Texas
Michael Hudson
A Grand Global Bargain?
Martha Rosenberg
Why Hillary's Favorite Chicken Company is Eying China
John Goekler
Fourth Generation Warfare in a Fifth Generation Conflict
Uzma Aslam
Khan
A Letter to Barack Obama: Where's the Change, Barack?
Oren Ben-Dor
The Silencing of Gilad Atzmon
David Underhill
Mammon, Morals and the Mobile Tanker Deal
Fred Gardner
The Education of Eliot Spitzer
David Michael
Green
Why Spitzer Should Have Resigned (and Why He Shouldn't Have)
Rev. William E. Alberts
Jesus, Entombed in Heaven
Gail Dines
It's All About the John: Prostitution and Male Power
David Yearsley
Conducting, Anarchy and the Problem of When to Begin
Chris Clarke
Walking with Zeke: the Luckiest of Dogs
Poets' Basement
Anderson, Lodge & Subiet
Website of
the Day
Deviant Art
March 14, 2008
Paul Craig
Roberts
Watching
the Dollar Die
Don Santina
Vichy
Democrats: Pelosi and the Politics of Collaboration
Patrick Cockburn
Iraqi
Mother Vows Revenge on US: How She Lost Her Husband and Her Sons
Tim Rinne
StratCom
Rules! The Next War Will Start in Nebraska
Robert Fantina
In
Torture We Trust
Saul Landau
Letter
to the Presidents-in-Waitings
David Macaray
Common
Myths About Labor Unions
Franklin Lamb
Is
the Bush Administration Switching Horses in Lebanon
Michael Neumann
The
One State Illusion: Reply to My Critics
March 13, 2008
Paul Craig
Roberts
Republicans
and "Free Market" Zealots Bring Disaster to America
Mike Whitney
Meltdown
Looms Larger As Credit Markets Freeze
Assaf Kfoury
"One-State
or Two State?"- Sterile Debate on False Alternatives
Andy Worthington
Afghan
Hero Who Died in Guantánamo: The Background to the Story
Adam Federman
From
Autopia to Autogeddon: Cars Reach the End of the Road
March 12, 2008
Dave Lindorff
Bringing
Down Spitzer: It's the Big Brother Who Should Bother US
R.F. Blader
The
Spitzer Backlash
Yonatan Mendel
How
to be an Israeli Journalist. Never Write "Murder" or
"Palestine"
Jonathan Cook
One
State or Two? Neither. The Issue is Zionism
Bill and Kathy
Christison
Fallon
and Gates -- At Least One Cheer
James J. Brittain
Was
the U.S. Involved in Killing the FARC-EP Leaders
Ron Jacobs
"All
the Money You Make Will Never Buy Back Your Soul"
March 11, 2008
Paul Craig
Roberts
How
to End the Subprime Crisis
Ed O'Loughlin
How
Israeli Troops Invade Homes in Gaza, Brutalize, Smash and Steal
Ramzy Baroud
'Unwavering
Commitment' to Inequality
Kathy Christison
One
State or Two? The Debate Over Israel and Palestine
China Hand
PRC
Plays it Cool, as U.S. Tries to Amp Up Pressure on Iran
John Joslin
Thank
You, Nafta! Welcome to Weirton, Home of the Discount Cigarette
Mike Averko
Serb
Politics, Kosovo and the Moscow-Washington Divide
Ben Rosenfeld
Gavin
Newsom's Kneejerk Plan
Thierry Paquot
High
Rise, Low Spirits:The Curse of the Tower Block
March 10, 2008
Uri Avnery
"Kill
A Hundred Turks and Rest": The Five-Day War in Gaza
Col. Dan Smith
Scoring
the "Surge" and What Lies Beyond
R.F. Blader
Why
"Lock Them Up and Throw Away the Key" is Losing its
Sheen
Michael Neumann
The
One-State Illusion: More is Less
Bob Fitrakis
and Harvey Wasserman
Did
the Republicans Give Hillary Her Victory in Ohio?
James J. Brittain
Anti-Uribe
Protests in Colombia and the World
Missy Comley
Beattie
The
Passion of John McCain
March 8-9,
2008 Weekend Edition
JoAnn Wypijewski
The
Only Way to Fight the Clintons
Mike Whitney
Sorting
Through the Rubble in Post Bubble America
Peter Morici
Fed
and Treasury Fiddle as Economy Plummets
Ralph Nader
The
Silent Violence of Gaza's Suffering that Candidates Ignore
Jonathan Cook
The
Meaning of Gaza's Shoah
Steve Niva
Behind
the Israeli Escalation in Gaza
Bill and Kathy
Christison
Crisis
over Teheran's Alleged Nuclear Plans Nearing Climax
Hervé
Do Alto and Franck Poupeau
Bolivia:
Morales is Checked
Eric Walberg
To
Leave and Stay at the Same Time: Putin to Medvedev to…?
Scott Johnson
City
of A Thousand Foreclosures
Mark Scaramella
James
Brown's Gate
Bill Clinton
President
Clinton's Remarks on Naming William M. Daley as NAFTA Task Force
Chairman
Poet's Basement
St.
Thomasino, Engel, Davies and Willson
Website of
the Weekend
Hillary
Blackens Barack
March 7, 2008
Patrick Cockburn
Why
Iraq Could Blow-Up in John McCain's Face
Robin Blackburn
Question
for Barrack Obama: Why Afghanistan is the 'Right War'?
Saul Landau
The
Stupid Economy
Binoy Kampmark
When
Competition is Good: McCain and the Muddled Democrats
Chris Floyd
Crushing
the Ants: Admiral Fallon and His Empire
Andy Worthington
Spanish
Drop "Inhuman" Extradition Request for Guantánamo
Britons
Will Potter
Before
the Smoke Even Clears in Seattle: Bringing Out the T Word
March 6, 2008
March 6, 2008
Vincent Navarro
The
Next Failure of Health Reform
Forrest Hylton
High Stakes in the Andes: Colombia's Cornered President
Peter Morici
Why the Dollar is So Cheap
George Ciccariello-Maher
Counter-Attack of the Bureaucrats
John Ross
Taxi! Taxi! The Dark Side of the Oscars
Jacob Hornberger
No Standing to Lecture on Justice
Paul Watson
Illegal Japanese Whaling by the Numbers
Dan Bacher
Off the Deep End
Website of the Day
A Katrina Reader Online
March 5, 2008
Cockburn /
St. Clair
A
Great Day for John McCain (and Maybe Nader)
Joanne Mariner
After Guantanamo
Fidel Castro
The Raid on Ecuador: Underestimating Rafael Correa
Christopher
Brauchli
The Turkish Invasions
Steven Sherman
Obama and the Prospects for a Renewal of the Left
Dave Lindorff
Busting Bush & Co. in New England
James Murren
Bombing Somalia
Adam Engel
Necropolis Now
Website of Day
Remember Song
March 4, 2008
Wajahat Ali
Mumbo
Jumbo: Naming Names with Ishmael Reed
William Blum
How Could Hillary Have Known?
Bill Quigley
The Cleansing of New Orleans
Ralph Nader
The Prince Harry Solution
Patrick Irelan
Oil and Health in Venezuela
James J. Brittain
/
R. James Sacouman
Uribe's Colombia is Destabilizing a New Latin America
Norman Solomon
The War Election
Jacob Hornberger
Hillary in Waco: the Missing Apology
Andy Worthington
Guantánamo and the European Parliament
Mike Averko
Kosovo and the Press
Website of the Day
Tex-Mex Primary
March 3, 2008
Jennifer Loewenstein
Gazan Holocaust
Alan Farago
American Politics and the Faltering Economy
Richard Gott
Colombian Deaths in Ecuador
Wajahat Ali
Who Speaks for a Billion Muslims? Analyzing the World Gallup
Poll with John Esposito
Paul Craig Roberts
The Mukasey Conspiracy: a Bi-Partisan Attack on the Constitution
Robert Weissman
When Multinationals Say Adieu
Uri Avnery
Good Morning, Hamas
Martha Rosenberg
When Your Meat is a Downer
Eva Liddell
Leave the Next Dance for Bill
Michael Donnelly
Will Ferrell Does Flint
Website of the Day
Muddy Waters: Train Fare Home Blues
March 1 / 2,
2008
Alexander Cockburn
The
Race Card
Paul Craig
Roberts
The
Political Trial of Don Siegelman
Kathleen and Bill Christison
Nader the Best Antidote to American Imperialism
Nelson P. Valdés
Cuba After Fidel
Christopher Brauchli
Meet Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev: Friend of Bill, George and Dick
Ron Jacobs
Inside the Secret City: Bomb Making at Oak Ridge
John Ross
The New Conquistadores: Spain's Reconquest of Mexico
Robert Fantina
Posturing Over Patriotism: Obama and Those Lapel Pins
Robert Weissman
Hidden in Plain Sight: Human Rights Hypocrisy
Mohammed Omer
Fear in Gaza
Remi Kanazi
Barack Obama and the Politics of Xenophobia
Bob Jackson
Why is Yellowstone Destroying Its Bison Herd?
Richard Rhames
Casual Threats: Loaded with Mercury
Franklin Lamb
Lebanon Awaits the Arrival of the USS Cole
Rannie Amiri
Showboat Diplomacy: US Warships Steam Toward Lebanon
David Michael
Green
The Three Faces of Hillary: the Politics of Flim-Flam
Conn Hallinan
Notes from the Southern Cone
Faheem Hussain
Prince Harry of Afghanistan and the Meaning of Normalcy
Poets' Basement
Gibbons, Orloski, Gardner and Ford
Website of
the Weekend
The Palestine Chronicle Needs (and Deserves) Your Help!
February 29,
2008
Matt Gonzalez
The
Obama Craze
Jonathan Cook
Academic Freedom? Not for Arabs in Israel
Joshua Frank
Obama and Israel
Anthony DiMaggio
The Unilateral Presidency: Signing Statements and the Rollback
of American Law
Linn Washington, Jr.
Cop Abuse in America
Binoy Kampmark
Hubris and Nemesis
Robert Bryce
Energy Efficiency May be a Good Thing, But It Won't Cut Energy
Use
Sonja Karkar
Australia's Government Continues Its Love Affair with Israel
Dave Lindorff
A Manchurian Candidate in the White House? Obama or Bush?
Website of
the Day
Olduvai George
February 28,
2008
Patrick Cockburn
"Iraq"
Falls Apart
Fred Gardner
The Birth of NAFTA
Michael Levitin
The Crisis in Kosovo is Just Beginning
William S.
Lind
The Fake State of Kosovo
David Macaray
A Ray of Hope for Organized Labor
Stephen Fleischman
Nader's Latest Run: Monkey Wrench or Cattle Prod?
George Wuerthner
The Myths of Forest Health: Why Ecological Logging is an Oxymoron
Laura Carlsen
The North American Union Farce
Carl Finamore
Why the Delta-Northwest Deal Hasn't Taken Off
Michael Dickinson
The Day I Bombed the House of Commons
Website of the Day
Plane Stupid
February 27,
2008
David Rosen
Playing
the Race Card: Obama, Love Across the Color Line and Political
Dirty Tricks
Vijay Prashad
Bomber John: McCain and the 100 Year War
Harvey Wasserman
Incident at Turkey Point: Did Florida Go to the Radioactive Brink?
Andy Worthington
Guantánamo's Shambolic Trials: Pentagon Boss Resigns,
Ex-Prosecutor Joins Defense
Wajahat Ali
Pakistan for Sale: an Interview with Ayesha Siddiqa on Pakistan's
Military Economy
Peter Morici
The Auction-Rate Securities Fiasco: a Drama of Greed and Betrayal
Stephen Philion
Conspiracy Theory, Fears of Betrayal and Today's Anti-War Movement
Michael Donnelly
Obama by Unanimous Decision
Erica Rosenberg /
Janine Blaeloch
After the Land Deals: Will There
be Any Wilderness Left to Protect?
Website of
the Day
Dress Blues
February 26,
2008
Debbie Nathan
Confessions
of a Gitmo Guard
Alan Dershowitz
v. Frank Menetrez
On Finkelstein
Harvey Wasserman
How Ohio Got Nuked
Michael Colby
Ralph Nader vs. the Fundamentalist Liberals
Gary Leupp
Condi vs. Putin on Bullying Belgrade
David Orchard
The New Conquistadors: Canada in Afghanistan
Martha Rosenberg
The Big HRT
Fran Shor
The Electoral Circus and Nader's Sideshow
Serge Halimi
The Dom Perignon Socialist Manifesto: Bernard Henri-Levy's Plan
for the French Left
Global Balkans
Neo-Liberalism and Protectorate States in the Post-Yugoslav Balkans:
an Interview with Tariq Ali
Website of
the Day
Texistentialism
February 25,
2008
Roger Morris
A
Death in Damascus
Anthony DiMaggio
Military
Bases, the Media and the Democrats
Ralph Nader
Why I'm Running
Patrick Cockburn
Iraq Broils
Paul Craig Roberts
Kosovo and the Empire Crazies
Peter Morici
Bernanke's Failing Policies: a Long Recession Looms
Dave Lindorff
General Welch's Whitewash: What We Still Don't Know About That
Minot Nuke Incident
Saul Landau
/
Farrah Hassen
Fanatics, Mountebanks and Drillers: a Bloody Oil Film
Heather Gray
James Orange, Civil Rights Legend
Robert Weitzel
Accomodating Torture
John Halle
Kucinich Goes Down
Website of the Day
Do the Trunk Monkey!
February 23 / 4, 2008
Alexander Cockburn
The
Mushrooming Clouds That Hang Over McCain
Paul Craig
Roberts
Obama
and Global Trade
Wajahat Ali
Omissions of the Commission: an Interview with Phillip Shenon
on the 9/11 Commission
Ralph Nader
Neutering the FDA
Jürgen
Vsych
"What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?"
Fidel Castro
Watching the US Presidential Campaign from Havana
Andy Worthington
Britain's Guantánamo
David Macaray
Unions Under Assault
Jeremy Scahill
The Real Story Behind Kosovo's Independence
David Krieger
Stanley Sheinbaum
Caging the Cold War Monster
Ron Jacobs
Building for the Future
Michael Garrity
The Last, Best Hope for the Northern Rockies
Brian McKenna
Higher Ed's "Civic Engagements" Get Dumbed Down
Missy Beattie
Over the Hill with John McCain
Fred Gardner
American College of Physicians Takes Pro-Cannabis Stand (Mostly)
Boris Kagarlitsky
The Growth of the Russian Labor Movement
Mike Ferner
Kick That Barrel
Dan Bacher
On the Trail with the Border Angels
Christopher
Ketcham
Hillary Goes Where Obama Fears to Tread
Poets' Basement
Davies and Buknatski
Website of
the Weekend
Obama
Mariachi
February 22,
2008
Mike Whitney
The
Bonfire of Capital
Jason Hribal
Elephants and the Circus: The Story of Janet
Liaquat Ali Khan
Arresting Musharraf
Joshua Frank
That Obama Glow: the Nuclear Industry's Golden Child
Dave Lindorff
Vicki's John: Ask Not What She Did for Him, Ask What He Did for
Her!
Liliana Segura
When Torture is Old News: McCain's Blonde Diversion
Robert Fantina
Castro, Bush and Cuba: a Fiasco Waiting to Happen?
Yifat Susskind
The ABCs of Death: Bush vs. Africa's Women
Norm Kent
Pushing 60 with Pot
Website of
the Day
Bush Gets Down in Liberia
February 21,
2008
Saul Landau
Fidel
Steps Aside
Elizabeth Schulte
Left Behind, With No End in Sight: America's Long-Term Unemployed
Helen Redmond
Health Care as a Human Right
Benjamin Dangl
Undermining Bolivia
Michael Levitin
Kosovo's Dilemma
Liam Leonard
Fear and Loathing on the Emerald Isle
Patrick Irelan
Land and Food in Venezuela
Linn Cohen-Cole
Poor Ohio: a Second Letter to Hillary on Her Ties to Monsanto
Michael Simmons
Daydream Believer: John Stewart, the Miles Davis of Folk Music
CounterPunch
News Service
A Message from the Women of Okinawa to US GIs
Website of the Day
Cop Abuse in Shreveport
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St.
Patrick's Day Edition
March 17, 2008
A Conversation
with Jeffrey Toobin on the Supreme Court Since 9/11
Disrobing
the Nine
By WAJAHAT ALI
Nine black robes lead the highest judiciary
in the land. Nine black robes, nominated by the President and
confirmed by the Senate, control the federal judiciary with a
final and binding interpretation on the Constitutionality of
federal laws. Nine independent, opinionated, passionate and political
minds hold the power to declare the legality of abortion, prayer
in school, and affirmative action.
These nine individuals are examined in light of landmark decisions
in Jeffrey Toobin's best-selling book, The
Nine. Toobin, a CNN legal analyst and New Yorker
journalist, recently sat down for an exclusive interview to discuss
the Court's recent ruling in the controversial Bush v. Gore
decision of 2000, the future of abortion in Roe v. Wade,
the legality of the anti-terrorism measures in the post 9-11
America, and the strengths and failures of the media's coverage
of the Iraq War.
ALI: For many Muslim Americans,
and the general populace as well, the War on Terror has brought
about an "abuse of Executive powers" to the detriment
of civil liberties and Due Process rights of the American citizens.
Furthermore, we see the detention of non-combatant individuals
in Guantanamo Bay, warrant less wiretapping, the Terrorism Surveillance
Act and so forth. How pervasive, if at all, have post 9-11 "security"
measures encroached on Due Process rights of American citizens
and the "human rights" of the international community
in general?
TOOBIN: This has been
one of the key issues in the Supreme Court since 9-11. The battle
between the Bush administration and - to the great extent the
court--about how much civil liberties can be trimmed back in
the interest of preserving National Security. One of the themes
of my book, and one of the striking things of the Supreme Court
over the past 7 years has been that the Court has rebuked the
Bush administration repeatedly, and said it's behavior and its
system, in particular Guantanamo, does not work and is not permissible
under the Constitution.
That struggle continues and
there's another case before the court now, but the court has
several times said to the Bush administration, "What you
have done is not acceptable."
ALI: Name me one example.
TOOBIN: I think the biggest
example was in 2004 when the Bush Administration said people
could be confined in Guantanamo without access to lawyers, without
access to courts. The Supreme Court very clearly and very emphatically
said, "No. You have to give them Due Process Rights."
In 2005, the Court said not good enough. So, it's a real struggle.
ALI: How has the Supreme
Court reacted to the 4th Amendment Due Process violations, specifically,
in the Warrantless Wiretaps?
TOOBIN: The Supreme Court has
not decided those issues as of yet. Those issues have mostly
been in the political realm so far, not in the courts. So, the
issue of warrantless wiretaps, the issue of surveillance generally--due
to much of the Patriot Act--has not really come up.
ALI: Do you see it coming
up anytime soon on the docket?
TOOBIN: Not really, because
the cases haven't made their way through.
ALI: Let's first talk about
"Bush v Gore."
Your book spends
considerable time on the 2000 Supreme Court decision that essentially
handed Bush the hotly contested Presidential election, saying
the Florida recounts would be a constitutional violation. Many
say this was a landmark and outrageous act and the court acted
rashly and recklessly with their decision. Describe the influential
impact of that decision not only on the political-cultural landscape
of America but also amongst the relationships between Supreme
Court Justices themselves. Did Al Gore and others act appropriately
in giving into the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore?
TOOBIN: Wow. That's a big question.
As I make clear in the book, I think Bush v. Gore was
very much a low moment in the history of the court. I think the
Court really behaved badly, and I think the Court should've let
the recount proceed. It was just a really disappointing moment
in the history of the Court. Certainly, the Justices in the minority
were heartbroken, but they are in the business of getting along
with each other. And, so it didn't poison relationships. They
put their nose down and got back to work.
Did Gore react appropriately?
I think Gore had to concede that the Supreme Court had final
authority. One of my favorite quotes about the court is one Justice
Robert Jackson said, "We are not final because we are infallible.
We are infallible because we are final." They are final,
because they have the last word. I think they were wrong. I think
Gore believes they were wrong. But, there are no appeals in the
Supreme Court.
ALI: What was the impetus
for the Court to make such a rash decision so quickly?
TOOBIN: I think given
the fact the new President had to be inaugurated January 20th,
they had to move quickly since they were already in mid-December.
I didn't think they had to move as quickly as they thought they
had to move. But, certainly the case had to be expedited. Frankly,
I think the much smarter move, which the dissenters recommended,
was to not get involved at all. Let the Florida courts handle
the Florida recount and stay out of it.
ALI: Of course we can all
assume here, but do you think there would've been a difference
if the Florida courts would've handled it themselves?
TOOBIN: Well, this is a great,
historical question, and there have been subsequent recounts
with ambiguous results. I think the only fair answer is if Bush
had lost Bush v. Gore we don't know who would've been
President; we don't know how the recounts would've turned out.
Since the Court decided the way it did, the election could only
have been won by Bush. So, a decision for Gore would have let
the votes be counted and let the chips fall where they may. A
decision for Bush was a decision to make Bush the President.
ALI: We see each administration,
whether Republican or Democrat, try to fill Supreme Court vacancies
(when they arise) with ideologically like minded individuals.
What presidencies, in your opine, have gone against the partisan,
ideological divide in their Supreme Court nominees and chosen
"the best candidate for the job" regardless of ideological
affiliation? Do you see any differences in the likely Supreme
Court nominees of Clinton and Obama (assuming they win)? Similarly
for McCain (assuming he wins?)
TOOBIN: I disagree with the
premise of your question. I don't think there is such a thing
as a best nominee independent of politics. I think given the
kind of issues that are before the Supreme Court, there are inherently
ideological distinctions to be made. That is not something that
is a criticism of the Court or the Justices; I think that is
just a realistic assessment of the issues the Court gets. I think
there's a huge difference between whom Obama or Clinton would
nominate, or whom McCain would nominate. I don't see a big deference
between Clinton or Obama, but I do see a huge difference with
McCain.
McCain is on record as saying
Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Republicans don't believe
in racial preferences. So, it's a huge, huge difference
ALI: If McCain comes in,
is it safe to say that they will try to come in with a right-wing
judicial candidates to "pack the Court?"
TOOBIN: "Pack the Court"--I
don't think that is a fair--I think a Republican like McCain
will appoint Justices in line with his own views, which is the
right of every President. He will appoint Justices who are very
conservative on law enforcement, who will believe in broad Executive
Power; people who don't believe the Constitution protect a woman's
rights to abortion. These are issues that different between the
parties.
ALI: Americans have heard
the term "Judicial Activism" and "packing the
court" frequently in the past 5 years from the Republican
Party. The former relating to a complaint that liberal judges
legislate from the bench, implementing "laws" when
their role is simply that of a judiciary commenting on the constitutionality
of certain legal actions. The latter referring to an overt and
concentrated effort to fill the Supreme Court with "right
wing" judges. Is it healthy for a functional democracy to
be an ideological majority of any group on the Supreme Court?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, I think
this is question for the voters. If they keep Republicans as
President then there should be a majority of Conservatives on
the Court, because that's how our system is setup. So, I don't
have a problem with that. It's a reflection of the voting populace.
ALI: Let's talk about Abortion
and the abortion cases: Roe v. Wade and Casey. From your
experience as a reporter, legal analyst, observer and commentator
on politics and society, why does this issue and specifically
this legal decision, arguably more than any other, inspire such
vehement and feverish debate and passions? What is the future
of Roe v Wade and Casey?
TOOBIN: I think those are two
great questions. Abortion has become the single, most important
issue in the Supreme Court. First of all, there is immense practical
significance to the Court's ruling. If the Supreme Court overturns
Roe v Wade, then abortion will be illegal in about a third
of the country the next day. It's an extremely practical change.
Second, abortion is now symbolic of a whole political mindset
that relates to women's rights, to sexual revolution, and banning
abortion is--historically--an extremely important thing to some.
So, that's why Roe v Wade is such a big deal. I take McCain
at his word. He says he wants it overturned and he will appoint
Justices who will do it, and I think that's true.
ALI: There has been increased
corporatization of American media and journalist outlets. Most
in America, regardless of their political ideology, almost 70%,
openly say they no longer trust the "news" and believe
it to be biased. Furthermore, there has been domestic and international
criticism regarding "embedded journalists" during the
Iraq War and the media's susceptibility to tow the Administration's
line and refusal to ask probing questions regarding military
intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and the motives behind
the war. Now, you're a reporter from CNN, a respected news station
and a reporter from New Yorker, an influential and intellectual
magazine. Do you believe the masses' skepticism and cynicism
towards news media outlets is warranted? Should the media be
criticized for their handling of the Iraq War?
TOOBIN: Certainly. The news
media gets a lot of criticism, and it deserves a lot of criticism.
We're an important part of the country. We're an important institution,
and we should get the same type of scrutiny we purport to give
others. So, I think scrutiny is a great idea. I think the news
media's performance, particularly in the lead up to the war of
Iraq in 2002-2003, was a low moment for the news media. I think
there was an absence to skepticism--that was really wrong. I
think we've largely made up for it. Particularly I think in Bush's
second term we've seen a very aggressive and intelligent news
media performance. So, I think we're imperfect, but more good
than bad.
Wajahat Ali is Pakistani Muslim American who is
neither a terrorist nor a saint. He is a playwright, essayist,
humorist, and Attorney at Law, whose work, "The Domestic
Crusaders," (www.domesticcrusaders.com)
is the first major play about Muslim Americans living in a post
9-11 America. His blog is at http://goatmilk.wordpress.com/.
He can be reached at wajahatmali@gmail.com
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