What Should Senate Do?

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

A new Gallup poll (search) out today shows that a solid majority of Americans believes Supreme Court Justice Nominee John Roberts (search) should be confirmed by the Senate. Less than a quarter say he shouldn't be confirmed. And while 61 percent say the Senate should insist that Roberts discuss his views on abortion, a vast majority of those asked said his views on Roe v. Wade (search) should not disqualify him. Overall, a majority said they expect a "major fight" over Roberts' nomination.

A Matter of Order

The New York Times, under the headline, "Government Defies an Order to Release Iraq Abuse Photos," has reported that "Lawyers for the Defense Department are refusing to cooperate with a federal judge's order to release secret photographs and videotapes related to the Abu Ghraib (search) prison abuse scandal."

Related

But, in fact, the judge's order was not to release the photos — it was to prepare them for release by blacking out any identifying details. The Defense Department (search) did that. The New York Times has now issued a correction, saying it "misstated" the government's actions.

Getler Says He's Troubled

Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler says he's "troubled" by a report in his paper last week. After two men were killed in Prince George's County, Maryland, police issued a statement saying, "…four suspects are described as black males, possibly late teens or early twenties. One of the suspects is about 5'7", 22-25 years old ... cornrow hairstyle." The Post published the descriptions, but left out their race.

Editors insist the information was "not specific enough ... to avoid a mass of innocent black men being 'suspects.'" But Getler says knowing the suspects' race could be helpful, and "[that's] what's important."

Gone From Guardian...

A week after we told you that the British left-wing newspaper The Guardian was refusing to sever ties with a reporter who belongs to a radical Islamist group, the newspaper has now fired him. The Guardian says Dilpazier Aslam refused to resign from the group.

Farewell to ‘Fail’?

And from the wonderful world of education, an officer in England's Professional Association of Teachers (search) is urging the education union to ban the word "fail" in classrooms across the country, insisting students "need encouragement rather than being told you haven't done very well."

Specifically, Liz Beattie, the organization's Federation Secretary in Suffolk, says children's aspirations to learn are crushed by the words "fail" and "failure." So, she says, teachers should use the phrase "deferred success" instead. According to the Times of London, her motion will be formally introduced sometime this week.

— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report

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