Mainstream Op-Ed Writers & Editorials You Shouldn’t Miss

Mainstream news outlets don’t often dare to go too far to offer editorials or opinion pieces that eloquently serve to set the record straight. We live in a time period where newspaper editors urge “balance” instead of aggressively being the watchdogs of government and big interest groups like corporations, business, banks, etc.

I’m able to read the NY Times on my Blackberry anytime I want and the more I read it, the more my respect grows for their editorials and op-ed writers. No matter how mainstream the NY Times remains, or the fact that it is still alive because the richest man on the planet, Carlos Slim, has invested millions of dollars into it, the publication is not afraid to single out the right-wing nuts in government today.

It’s important that in a publication such as the NJP, we celebrate those writers in mainstream media that are still solidly bringing out the truth and exposing the cowardice, lies, and corruption in America today.

NY Times Columnist Bob Herbert

1. Bob Herbert

Talk about a man who does not hold back and is not at all afraid to tell it like it is. Mr. Herbert does not fail to satisfy progressives with his to the point columns. My most recent favorite was his July 23 piece titled, “Thrown to the Wolves.”

In Thrown to the Wolves, Mr. Herbert offers his views on how the White House handled Shirley Sherrod’s firing. Here is a quick portion from the piece:

This woman was thrown to the wolves without even the courtesy of a conversation. Her side of the story? The truth? The administration wasn’t interested.

And the blame for that falls squarely on the people at the very top in the White House. Why didn’t President Obama or Vice President Joe Biden or Rahm (call me Rahmbo) Emanuel, or somebody somewhere in the upper echelon say, “Hey, what the heck are you doing? You can’t fire a person without hearing her side of the story. This is not the Kremlin. Are you nuts?”

Mr. Herbert goes on shedding some light at how quickly the White House reacts to any criticism from the right-wing, even if the criticism has no basis or the accusations are false.

This opinion piece is something everyone in our government should read and write a memo about so that in the future, any claim, accusation, criticism, or argument coming from the right-wing or FOX News is thoroughly examined before any decisions are made.

The Legendary NY Times Columnist, Paul Krugman

2. Paul Krugman

The legendary Paul Krugman is second to my favorite journalist on the planet, Bill Moyers who unfortunately has retired. Mr. Krugman’s op-ed pieces often get bounced around the social media sites and get passed along to progressives all over America.

Like Bob Herbert, Krugman is fearless in expressing what he sees wrong in American politics and the economy. My recent favorite op-ed he wrote was his July 4 piece, “Punishing The Unemployed.”

Weeks before the Senate finally voted to extend unemployment benefits, the NY Times had been running frequent editorials urging that politics be put aside to help those who needed their unemployment benefits. Krugman’s piece was yet another punch to the Republicans in the Senate that had filibustered a vote for the extension.

Here are a few lines from his op-ed:

The answer is that we’re facing a coalition of the heartless, the clueless and the confused. Nothing can be done about the first group, and probably not much about the second. But maybe it’s possible to clear up some of the confusion.

By the heartless, I mean Republicans who have made the cynical calculation that blocking anything President Obama tries to do — including, or perhaps especially, anything that might alleviate the nation’s economic pain — improves their chances in the midterm elections. Don’t pretend to be shocked: you know they’re out there, and make up a large share of the G.O.P. caucus.

In “Punishing The Unemployed,” Krugman exposes the reasons why the GOP staunchly refuses to do the right thing by pointing out their strategy: blame the unemployed, claim that the GOP is the party for “fiscal responsibility,” and refuse to acknowledge that the country’s economic woes were created under the Bush-era.

3. NY Times Editorials

Let’s hope that our government officials and the corporate world are reading the NY Times editorials — and of course the NJP. But it was today’s editorial that perhaps wins the cake: “Xenophobia: Fear-Mongering for American Votes.”

In this editorial, the NY Times defends the 14th Amendment and warns against the GOP’s attempt to change it. You see, the GOP is desperate for votes in November so any way they can find to pander to the craziest right-wingers in America or anyone else who would listen, it’s what’s they are going for.

In this case, the GOP led by Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, wants to do something about defining who should be an American citizen, arguing that births of people who are born here must be examined in order to avoid, “anchor babies.” The NY Times, however, doesn’t waste time exposing what the GOP true intentions are.

Here is a portion of today’s NY Times editorial:

People like Mr. Sessions, who pride themselves on getting the Constitution just right (on, say, guns), are finding this language too confusing. “I’m not sure exactly what the drafters of the amendment had in mind,” said Mr. Sessions, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, “but I doubt it was that somebody could fly in from Brazil and have a child and fly back home with that child, and that child is forever an American citizen.”

It’s true that air travel was not a big focus in 1868, but this is not about a horde of pregnant jet-setting Brazilians, if, indeed, such a thing even exists. The targets are Mexicans, and the other mostly Spanish-speaking people who are the subjects of a spurious campaign against “anchor babies” — children of illegal immigrants supposedly brought forth to invade and occupy.

Yes, there is hope. Mainstream media is not totally lost. As independent media continues to grow, facing many obstacles, it may be doing something to keep our bigger competitors to stay true. We have to support those voices that we can identify with, we have to remain together.

Follow Dolores M. Bernal on Twitter

Be Sociable, Share!