NYT In Denial on Terror Plot

NYT In Denial: "Unclear" if Religion Played Any Role in Terror Plot
"It is unclear what role, if any, religion played in the attack Mr. Shnewer and the five other men are charged with planning." - May 14 story by Alan Feuer on the "Fort Dix Six" terrorism suspects.
Reality Check: "The FBI first got wind of the alleged plot in January 2006, after an unidentified store clerk alerted police to a video that showed the men firing assault weapons, calling for jihad and yelling 'God is great' in Arabic, officials said."- From the May 9 Washington Post.


Sarkozy's "Ruthless Us-Against Them Attitude"
"While Ms. Royal has pledged to protect and unite France, Mr. Sarkozy has often taken a ruthless us-against-them attitude, stressing there is no place in France for young people who do not respect the law or for immigrants who do not embrace French values.... In this election, authority apparently is deemed to be more important than compassion ."- Reporter Elaine Sciolino on the victory of tough-on-crime French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, May 6.

"Livid" Conservatives Fueled by "Anger" Over Bush's Immigration Plans
"But the Sept. 11 attacks derailed [President Bush's immigration reform] plan, and by the time he set out to enact it in his second term conservatives were livid over what they called deplorably inadequate efforts to secure the border. That anger, repeated nightly on talk radio and by the CNN host Lou Dobbs, remains, and is seen within the Republican Party as a motivating force for conservative voters in the next presidential election." - Robert Pear and Jim Rutenberg after Senate passage of a Bush-style immigration reform bill with amnesty provisions, May 18.

1993, Anyone?
"Giuliani also used the French connection in a speech to the Heritage Foundation. During the speech, Mr. Giuliani invoked Ms. Royal to imply that Democrats, especially Mrs. Clinton, would bring about 'socialized' health insurance. He's leveled that charge before, but the French connection gives it a sort of...je ne sais quoi. The Clinton campaign dismisses such comparisons."- Post on the Times' blog "The Caucus" by Sarah Wheaton, May 8.


Blame "Legal Gaffes," Not Evil Men, for Gun Massacres
"After two years of pleas by Senator Lautenberg, the White House finally endorsed a proposal that would give the attorney general authority to stop people on the watch lists from buying guns. This, of course, was only after Virginia Tech stirred public anxiety - hardly much Capitol concern - about what legal gaffe will next drive up the toll of victims."- End of a May 10 editorial on gun control.

Pot, Meet Kettle: Fox News Is Biased?
"Two members of the Ottaway family, a minority partner in Dow Jones & Company, released scathing statements yesterday saying that a takeover by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation would ruin Dow Jones and its crown jewel, The Wall Street Journal....The Ottaways' statements left no such ambiguity, questioning the journalism and the ethics of Mr. Murdoch and of News Corporation properties like the Fox News Channel and The New York Post, known for their right-wing political bent and racy tone."- Richard Perez-Pena, May 7.