An Extremist Lawyer's "Legendary Compassion"

Documenting and Exposing the Liberal Political Agenda of the New York Times.



February 11, 2005

An Extremist Lawyer's "Legendary Compassion"

"Lynne F. Stewart, the activist defense lawyer convicted yesterday of aiding terrorism, has spent her life passionately defending some very unpopular clients.Long before Ms. Stewart took up the defense of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric on whose account she was convicted yesterday, she was taking cases that no one else wanted. Ms. Stewart's compassion is legendary, her friends said.Some say that Ms. Stewart never gave up the ideals of the 1960's." - From reporter Sabrina Tavernise's February 11 profile of extremist left-wing lawyer Lynne Stewart, convicted on charges of aiding Islamic terrorism.



"Clinton Haters" to Blame for Hillary's Fundraising Controversy

"A tangled tale of a slick operator, the first couple and dogged Clinton haters." - Cut-out line to a February 9 story from Raymond Hernandez and Ian Urbina on a fundraising investigation involving Hillary Clinton. The reference is to Judicial Watch, a watchdog group that has lodged complaints against both political parties.



How Dare Condi Call Iran Totalitarian

"[Condoleezza] Rice was applauded and criticized, flattered and cross-examined during her maiden voyage to Paris as secretary of state. During her 24-hour visit, the former national security adviser and Stanford University provost and professor charmed her hosts with her gushing praise for France but alarmed them with her ideological zeal - which included branding Iran a totalitarian state.Indeed, at a private breakfast on Wednesday with six French intellectuals at the American ambassador's residence, Ms. Rice revealed her steely, deeply ideological side. She shocked at least some of her guests by branding Iran a 'totalitarian state,' said four of those who took part." - Elaine Sciolino, February 10.



Broadcasting Video of Captured Iraqi Terrorists "Troubling"

"In the first week after the elections, the Iraqi Interior Ministry and the Mosul police chief are turning the tables on the insurgency here in the north by using a tactic - videotaped messages - that the insurgents have used time and again as they have terrorized the region with kidnappings and executions. But this time the videos, which are being broadcast on a local station, carry an altogether different message, juxtaposing images of the masked killers with the cowed men they become once captured. The broadcast of such videos raises questions about whether they violate legal or treaty obligations about the way opposing fighters are interrogated and how their confessions are made public." - Christine Hauser reporting from Mosul, February 5.



Business vs. "Civil Rights Groups" on Tort Reform

"The votes, which cleared the way for final passage of the measure, were applauded by business groups who support it and were criticized by consumer, civil rights and labor groups. Republican leaders in the House have said that they will swiftly approve the measure next week if the Senate does not amend itThe legislation is widely supported by businesses that are often defendants in such suits. It is strongly opposed by consumer, environmental and civil rights groups, which say the legislation would close the door to many meritorious claims." - Elisabeth Bumiller and Stephen Labaton, February 10.



Should Repubs Apologize to Harry Reid?

"Mr. Reid is hugely popular in his home state, Nevada, and is appearing more often on national television, where strategists in both parties say he comes off as reasonable and even-handed. For his part, Mr. Reid seems determined to respond to Republicans tit for tat. One of his first acts as minority leader was to create a Democratic 'war room' to communicate the party's message on Capitol Hill. On Monday, when Republicans sent the document around the country via e-mail, Mr. Reid promptly went to the Senate floor to denounce it as a 'hit piece' and called on Mr. Bush to repudiate it. On Tuesday, he stepped up his complaints, again reminding reporters of Mr. Bush's campaign promise to be a 'uniter, not a divider' and of the president's pledge after his re-election to reach out to Democrats.'[Republican strategist Charlie] Black said there was no reason for Republicans to apologize to Mr. Reid, and they did not." - From a Sheryl Gay Stolberg profile of Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, February 9.



Bush's "Austere" $2.57 Trillion Budget, Take One

"By any measure, the new budget is austere. It calls for deep cuts next year in almost every category of domestic spending outside the mandatory entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, which are based on laws adopted in previous years." - Edmund Andrews and David Rosenbaum, February 8.



Bush's "Austere" $2.57 Trillion Budget, Take Two

"While drawing up an austere budget for the rest of the government, the Bush administration has been moving to scale down its own operations, paring positions in the West Wing and openly encouraging employees from the first term to consider moving on." - Elisabeth Bumiller and Anne Kornblut, February 8.



The Ward Churchill Chilling Effect?

"Many students interviewed on campus in recent days said they feared that the lines being drawn around Professor Churchill were also creating boundaries about what could be freely and safely talked about in the United States." - Kirk Johnson on radical left-wing professor Ward Churchill, who referred to the victims of 9/11 as "little Eichmanns," February 11.



"Exclusionary Politics" by Conservatives Over Bunny Show

"For adults, the fuss over a PBS children's television show featuring an animated bunny - and real lesbian mothers - was nothing new. But for Emma Riesner, 11, who was supposed to be a star of the now-controversial episode of 'Postcards From Buster,' what began as a participatory social studies lesson has become a harsh lesson in exclusionary politics." - Arts reporter Julie Salamon, February 5.