Calling George Washington

The New York Times, a newspaper located not far from where the World Trade Center used to stand, righteously refused to publish the incendiary Danish cartoons, out of "respect" for Islam. No less proudly, the Times has taken to exposing every American national security program it discovers, "no matter how legal the program, how carefully crafted to safeguard civil liberties, or how vital to protecting American lives," Heather Mac Donald writes. In the same vein, a few trenchant questions from Andrew McCarthy:

What on earth would George Washington have made of Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, and his comrades in today’s American media? What would he have made of transparently politicized free-speech zealots who inform for the enemy and have the nerve to call it “patriotism.” Who say, “If you try to isolate barbarians to make them hand up the other barbarians, we will expose it.” “If you try to intercept enemy communications — as victorious militaries have done in every war ever fought — we will tell all the world, including the enemy, exactly what you’re up to.” “If you track the enemy’s finances, we will blow you out of the water. We’ll disclose just what you’re doing and just how you’re doing it. Even if it’s saving innocent lives.”

What General Washington would have done is move against the Times in the same way he took on the Tories at Trenton.