Government efficiency

Seattle's airport yesterday was chaotic. Potential airline passengers had to stand in a queue perhaps three football fields long to have their luggage and their bodies scanned for weapons and banned substances. This was your federal government at work. Government health care will be equally efficient if it ever comes to pass.

O. C. Register and the Orange Diocese

The Orange County Register's opinion pages today contains lots of criticism, in an opinion piece by opinion writer Steve Greenhut and in letters to the editor, of the local diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop Tod D. Brown. Greenhut and some letter writers chastise the diocese and Brown over lack of openness. In particular, they argue that Bishop Brown should have disclosed earlier that he once was accused of abusing a child in the 1970s.

Fair enough but the bishop's and the diocese's critics ought to be even handed. Greenhut ought to reveal his relationship with the Catholic Church and the identity of his sources. A principal Greenhut source is plaintiff attorney John Manley. Manley ought to disclose how much he has been paid representing plaintiffs in lawsuits against the church. Criticizing the church has become a cottage industry. Those who are making a living doing this ought to come clean.

News reporting

Reporters report what they want to hear or hear what they want to report -- and perhaps see what they want to see, and then report that. The newsmaker has a minor role -- and actual events and facts about those events have a minor role too.

That's this old fool's conclusion after seeing Petreaus and Crocker testify and seeing Bob Gates talk to Jim Lehrer last night -- and then reading the LAT reporting on same.

LAT reporter Julian Barnes reports this morning that Bob Gates hopes to reduce U.S. forces in Iraq to half present strength by the end of 2008 and says that's a more dramatic reduction than Bush has spoken of. That, Barnes says, means that Gates and Bush are not on the same page.

Everybody hopes what Gates hopes, except those who hope for a political bump from our defeat. The president probably hopes we can bring the troops home the day after tomorrow. But he and Gates and Petraeus and Crocker and everyone else who loves this country must be realistic. Half strength by the end of 2008 may not be possible.

It's risky to say what you hope if you're president of the U.S. or commander in Iraq. If what you hope doesn't happen then reporters, talking heads and political opponents will say you mislead them. Some may accuse Gates of that if troop strength in Iraq isn't down to one-half by January 2009. But he clearly expressed to Lehrer a hope, not an expectation.

Lexington

In the Sept 15th issue of The Economist, Lexington admits joining other media outlets, the Duke faculty and Duke's president in taking the wrong side in the Duke rape case. Good. But the Duke faculty has never admitted to guilt in the fiasco, according to The Economist, demonstrating the accuracy of the consensus view of university faculties, which is that they are hot-beds of political correctness gone berserk.

The Economist on Petraeus/Crocker

In its Sept. 15th issue, The Economist says Petraeus and Crocker did not wow them, Petraeus was spinning and Crocker was unconvincing except when he said that removing U.S. troops now would be disastrous for Iraq. For that reason alone, U.S. troops should remain in Iraq for now, according to The Economist.

Whatever. Wouldn't want to be optimistic. Best to be cynical and protect your rep.

Chemerinsky v Drake

In the LAT's opinion pages today, both Chemerisky and UCI's Chancellor Drake speak. Chemerinsky says the controversy is all about academic freedom and free speech. Drake says it's about an excellent university and a world-class law school. Drake is right. Chemerinsky's interests and objectives are not compatible with UCI's

LAT reporting on week's events

The LAT's reporting all this week has been about troop pullouts. Today is no exception. It's as if that's all Petraeus, Crocker and Bush have talked about all week. The WSJ picked up on that earlier this week and wrote about it in an editorial.