London Bombing Pushes Miller Sainthood Off The News

If there is anything good that came out of the London bombings, it is the fact that it will slow down the media's attempt to bestow sainthood status on Judy Miller and I am glad of that. It appears I am not alone in my view that there is no reason to start callin her St. Judy. In this article from zzLA Times In the midst of the media's love-fest for Judith Miller, 1st Amendment Martyr, it's easy to forget that Miller's questionable journalistic ethics left her in the doghouse only a year ago. Indeed, when it came to leaks, the only people busier than White House staffers last year were the denizens of the New York Times' newsroom, who fell all over themselves to excoriate Miller to competing publications. According to a June 2004 story in New York magazine, for instance, one anonymous co-worker said: "When I see her coming, my instinct is to go the other way." By many accounts, Miller is rude, competitive and heartless, willing to pursue a hot story at any price. In at least one instance, she reportedly used the name of a source who had provided information only on condition that her name not appear. [snip] If a source with a clear political motivation passes along classified information that has no value for public debate but would endanger the career, and possibly the life, of a covert agent, is a journalist ethically permitted to "out" the no-good sneak? You bet. And if the knowledge that they can't always hide behind anonymity has a "chilling effect" on political hacks who are eager to manipulate the media in furtherance of their vested interests, that's OK with me. But Miller still won't testify. Even though, ethically, there should be no obligation to go to jail to cover for a sleazeball. It's possible (though not likely) that Miller is covering for a genuine whistle-blower who fears retaliation for fingering, gee, Karl Rove, for instance, as the real source of the leak. But I have another theory. Miller's no fool; she understood the lesson of the Martha Stewart case: When you find yourself covered with mud, there's nothing like a brief stint in a minimum-security prison to restore your old luster. Poor poor Judy. No sainthood, and she goes to prison to try and improve her image to no avail. She can still hold the title of "Queen of Occupation" for Iraq however. MORE....