But Safire's recent work--unburdened by factchecking, unchallenged by editors--shows he is more intent on manipulating than interpreting the available information. His February 11 masterpiece is evidence his commitment to scoring political points exceeds his commitment to the truth. Under the cover of opinion journalism, he is dishing out disinformation. How is that of service to the readers of the New York Times?

george and laura became engaged only six weeks after their first date, and married only six weeks after that.

Update: The full Sunday Times story, which costs money, contains the following paragraph that the Australian's free version, linked to above, does not: "Kerry declined a request from The Boston Globe to authorise the release of military records that could reveal more about his injuries and treatment. The Sunday Times submitted a similar request and was told the records might be released in future."

In the 213 years since the ratification of the Bill of Rights, the charter of American democracy has been amended only 17 times. And that number counts both the approval and the repeal of Prohibition.

"There was a period," the Blade reported, quoting a platoon medic, "when just about everyone had a necklace of ears."
The list of major news organizations that have yet to acknowledge the Blade series includes NBC, CBS, CNN, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report and the Wall Street Journal.
Readers of the New York Times waited eight weeks to hear about the Blade investigation, at which point they encountered, on page A24, a meandering article by John Kifner--a piece that confirmed the essential facts of the Blade investigation but failed to convey the depth and emotional power of the series itself. "The Kifner piece," says Michael Sallah, who co-wrote the Blade series with Mitch Weiss, "was their way of kissing it off. I expected more original reporting from the Times."


"If we can go thousands of miles in order to bring democracy to other countries," Rangel said, referring to Iraq and Afghanistan, "certainly for a country that is 600 miles from our shores we should be prepared to do the same thing."