Gratuitous trash

In yesterday's LAT, James Gerstenzang reported that President Bush issued Presidential Medals of Freedom to six people including Laurence H. Silberman, a former federal appeals court judge. The reporter cites Silberman's contributions on national security issues and then quotes liberal law professor (Gerstenzang's description) Herman Schwartz as saying Silberman has been "fiercely partisan, pugnacious and very political." Presumably, that means Silberman tooks some positions that Schwartz didn't like. Citing the quote was entirely gratuitous. It served no purpose except to take down Silberman a little.