When I lived in Akron, Ohio there was a newspaper reporter named Kenny Nichols who had a column called the “Town Crier.” As I recall, he never reported bad news. He even once reported on a slight oddity in our family, to whit one particular year my parents anniversary was number 40, my older sister’s was number 20, mine was number 10, and my younger sister’s was number 5, a perhaps slight but nevertheless interesting occurrence.

Sometimes we have occasion to pillory the messenger. We have at times yelled at the bringer of bad tidings. We have been angered at parents and others who tell us things we didn’t want to hear, such as “you aren’t old enough to do that.” In the long history of passing the news, going all the way back to the town crier, seldom has there been occasion to strangle the messenger such as we now face.

We are now more at risk due to the more than unfortunate revealing of the U.S. government attempts to protect its citizens (including me and them) by tracing the flow of money to terrorists from and into the USA. Now, I am told by the New York Times that the citizenry had a great need to know of this program, which ‘bordered on being illegal’ in their opinion. Those who see conspiracies when their ‘superior’ rights are ‘being trampled’ seem to feel no regard for the rights of all to be protected from those who pray for our destruction to be displayed on world-wide television. The perpetrators of death appear to have an ally working in their behalf in the Big Apple under the guise of a daily newspaper that has the stated objective to give its readers “all the news that’s fit to print.”

Perhaps I’m an old fashioned rube (not being a resident of that great City). But, it seems to me that trumpeting to the world (I readily acknowledge the international reach of the rag) the details of a, perhaps, little known program that has the potential to track and eliminate funding of terrorists has very high positive and very, very low negative repercussions for the average, over-average, or even way above-average financial American transaction initiator. In other words, only those who have the potential of being discovered as sending money to already identified terrorists have anything to worry about. The average guy (of which there are approximately 299.9 million and counting) has nothing to worry about. My own perception is that anyone who wants to look at my, or anyone I know financial dealings is in for a very dull, and short lived investigation.

It may have slipped their collective mind that we are currently involved in a fight to the death. The ‘enemy’ fails to identify itself until they have struck. Generally, not even showing a face, rather choosing to hide behind a mask (very brave, are they not?) and spewing ugly things about how we all deserve to die at their unmerciful hand.

I am disgusted, appalled, unnerved, and mostly angry that an “institution” of such high reputation, has besmirched itself in so unseemly a manner. There is no room for apology, not of even the most abject and groveling. They have sullied the heroic efforts and deaths of the victims of September 11, 2001, and the brave volunteer army of this great country and our allies. I do not expect every person, newspaper, or even all of the party in power to be gung-ho in favor of any policy. But I do expect sane and thoughtful discourse. It appears to me that the Times has it in their mind that protection of terrorists and those potentially funding them is preferable to protection of the very city in which they publish their inglorious “News.” Kenny Nichols would be ashamed.