NYT Endorsed by Gov't Officials

Our elected officials, in a sense government employees since they do receive compensation for their "service", have been touting the NYT as their reliable & credible source for information. I'm sure you've seen them waving the NYT high in the air as though they were a newsy on the street (Xtra Xtra Read All About It!) or directly pointing to front page "news" items with the NYT masthead in clear view. There are a few problems with this blatant product endorsement:

BACK-SCRATCHING
1: As a former gov't employee (Park Ranger with National Park Service) I know that promoting a private enterprise is against government policy as it is seen as a gov't endorsement and provides an unfair advantage for the "promoted" company against competitors. Several weeks ago both Pelosi and Kennedy were in the bowels of congress pointing to the NYT as they criticized the Administration for "mistakes made in Iraq" as asserted by the NYT. And, Kerry has done the same.

The consequence or "payback" for this promotion is in the form of an official NYT endorsement for Kerry and continued support and promotion of the Democratic agenda by filling the pages of the Times with Dem talking points. It's a powerful symbiotic relationship--the NYT sets the agenda for the day or week and the Dem puppets go out and promote the NYT headlines. Who is really "pulling the strings"? Apparently, it's not Terry Macauliffe, he's not smart enough-- he's the MVP when it comes to gutter (read: dirty) politics, but leave the higher thinking, manipulation and mind-control to the masterful Karl Rove. After all, according to Conkrite, he's responsible for the Bin Laden tape. Now that's masterful. I guess T. Heinz was right-- Bin Laden did show up...is their some kind of inner-knowing within the Kerry campaign that would allow T. Heinz to make such a premonition? Nah... Just more string-pulling by Rove. He's playing those laser beam mind-control games again. He's smart.

I digress...

OUTSOURCING INTELLIGENCE
2: In addition, this resorting to outsourcing of information implies that the goverment is not suited for fact-finding or information gathering, analysis and reporting since these elected officials must look to outside resources, namely one outside resource(NYT), in order to obtain information rather than look to the experts within the organization. I can't imagine the Board of Directors or Executive Management of a large corporation going to industry rags for news on what's happening inside their company and then letting that news direct their priorities for their business. That's not only inefficient governance, it's incompetence.

I would prefer that my elected officials work with experts within the government, NGOs and institutes, etc who manage the data and then assimilate, analyze, report back and make recommendations to the public about what's going on in the world that is America. It's our public servants that are supposed to serve us, except they outsource their jobs and we pay for it.

GONE FISHIN'
3: It's the government’s job to track, coalesce, analyze and report data and that's usually, in part, where the NYT goes for their info, yet they extrapolate and spin the information to fit their particular perspective or premise. If the NYT is doing all the work, i.e. setting the agenda and making the case, why do we need Senators and Congresspersons? Shouldn't our elected leaders conduct due diligence on the matters for which Americans care most? Should they be outsourcing their jobs and allowing a capitalist enterprise to set the agenda for the nation? Shouldn't they lead rather than follow as they do the NYT-- hook, line and sinker?