Bill Keller is the current majordomo at the New York Times. He has also been at the vanguard of the recent spate of stories, driven by leaks, that have revealed secret government programs meant to stop (or at least discourage) terrorism. Some of these stories have provided operational details about how the government is using technologies and partnerships with other entities to gather information about terrorist activities. Today, President Bush condemned the recent disclosure of a program designed to track terrorist financial activity. Bush claims that revealing these methods undercuts the government's efforts to combat terrorism.
Is this a valid charge? Not to Bill Keller. In a series of public pronouncements, Keller has essentially stated that his organization can pretty much publish anything it damn well pleases, consequences be damned, because the public's right to know trumps everything.
If that is the case, then Keller is in the wrong job. He should be president and should make sure that everyone in the federal government, from the most lowly USDA inspector through John Negroponte and even the President, should now start operating at a level of total transparency. By why stop there? I think that we should stand naked in the public square. Let's have the New York Times work in a sheer glass office tower with glass walls, including the bathroom stalls. The public, after all, has a right to know. Besides, considering that two of the largest window makers in the U.S. are located in Minnesota (Andersen Windows and Marvin Windows), it should be a great deal for the local economy here. To hell with bricks and stucco! We've got nothing to hide!
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