http://select.nytimes.com/...
I've said the the point of the main stream media is to engage in and report on debate as long as it's understood that the debate won't really change anything (hence the anger at dKos and you rabid lambs), but here's a marvelous example in John Tierney's column.
After declaring that Congress is the equivalent of feudal lords, filling bills with pork in exchange for campaign contributions, perpetuating their own power, and as part of that, taking their "droit de seigneur" to use pages as <
their sex toys, his solution is ..... end the page program and remove the temptation of sex with underage people, at least in the office. Talk about treating the symptoms, not the disease of an feudal, power mad republican caucus with downright bad people in charge.
Tierney, being a conservative and mainstream media, wants to luxuriate in his condemnation of Congress and congressmen. And being a conservative and mainstream media, he needs to make sure that nothing even approaching a change to end the status quo takes place. Apparently, making a congressmen chase young people through a NGO is as radical as he can bring himself to be.
Tierney was right: Congress is on the wrong track, but his conclusion that the solution is to move pages out of easy reach is idiotic given the problem HE IDENTIFIES. These same congressmen that the excoriates are still going to be in charge OF THE NATION. But instead of talking about transparency of the institution, open debates, no more secret bills voted on in the dead of night, rule manipulation, campaign reform, he just wants to move the pages out of reach and forget what he said about Congress being broken.
The pages scandal, Hastert's land deal, Delay's criminal problems, Abramoff, Ney, Cunningham, the Do-Nothing, not to mention the amazingly bad votes, are merely symptoms of a sick system of sycophancy and power mad people who are looking to leverage their votes into a lobbying job.
Don't treat the symptoms. Treat the disease, starting by cleaning house in November.