As Rocket Man’s post of

As Rocket Man’s post of the excellent Barbara Amiel column below suggests, we generally find little that we like, and much that we dislike, in the New York Times. In catching up with the paper over the past two days, however, I have found two articles that are each worthy of your attention.
For those whose memory does not run back to the Nixon administration, Leonard Garment should be described as one of the most remarkable members of the administration. A Jewish, jazz-playing (he plays clarinet) attorney and Nixon confidant, he broke every stereotype applied by the liberal media (such as the Times) to the administration. Sunday’s Times carries Garment’s moving recollection of Duke Ellington’s seventieth birthday celebration at the White House. As part of the celebration Nixon awarded Duke the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a distinguished assemblage of jazz musicians gave a concert in tribute to the Duke. Garment’s piece notes the release of the recording made that evening, more than 30 years later. With his trademark good humor, Garment introduces the story this way: “On Tuesday [today], a tape that contains startling new revelations about the early days of Richard Nixon’s White House will be released. Sorry, folks, it’s not what you think.”
On Monday, William Safire’s column “Of Turks and Kurds”
foreshadowed a part of the Bush administration’s case for war against Iraq that the administration has not yet made. The column is a must-read.