It’s Witch-Hunt Season
by Paul Krugman | The New York Times | August. 29, 2010
The last time a Democrat sat in the White House, he faced a nonstop witch hunt by his political opponents. Prominent figures on the right accused Bill and Hillary Clinton of everything from drug smuggling to murder. And once Republicans took control of Congress, they subjected the Clinton administration to unrelenting harassment — at one point taking 140 hours of sworn testimony over accusations that the White House had misused its Christmas card list.
Now it’s happening again — except that this time it’s even worse. Let’s turn the floor over to Rush Limbaugh: “Imam Hussein Obama,” he recently declared, is “probably the best anti-American president we’ve ever had.”
John Meacham is one of the thoughtful reporters in the print and TV media today. His last article for Newsweek is a good example of his writing, thinking, and belief that our nation will live through this anxious time. His understanding of history informs his hope and belief in people and the ideals of America.
Let Reformation Begin at Ground Zero
by Jon Meacham | August 28, 2010 | Newsweek
The debate over the Islamic center in lower Manhattan—the mosque with a pool and a prayer room—is not a matter of being for religious liberty and thus for the center, nor is it one of being against the center and therefore a bigot. Sometimes life offers such stark moral crises. This is not one of them.
The families of 9/11 victims and other people of good will would like to see the center moved to another location, farther from Ground Zero. That is not an outrageous thought, and it is not a bigoted one. In the end, the right thing to do, in my opinion, is to build the center on the site its organizers and the mayor favor, and hope that those who go there to worship (and to swim, for that matter) do their part to reform their religion. There is little more important in the war on terror.