It's getting hard to keep up with all of the news from Washington - witch hunts, conspiracy theories and Republicans tearing each other apart over who is ideologically pure and who is apostate. It's a real set of carnival sideshows. Andrew Rosenthal More Quotes by Andrew Rosenthal More Quotes From Andrew Rosenthal I like to say that a 'Times' editorial presents a strong opinion based on reality. Andrew Rosenthal say opinion strong reality The American system of civilian control of the military recognizes that soldiers' attention must be fixed on winning battles and staying alive, and that the fog of war can sometimes obscure the rule of law. Andrew Rosenthal law winning sometimes war Editorials are, obviously, pieces of opinion journalism. They are not intended to be dispassionate, balanced accountings of a news situation or issue. They present a strong and strongly argued position and do not necessarily present or even take into account the opposing position. Andrew Rosenthal journalism situation opinion strong If something is presented as a fact, it has to be correct. Andrew Rosenthal presented correct fact something Opinion pages have an impact on public debate, and they sometimes reveal things the government would rather have kept quiet. Andrew Rosenthal debate opinion government sometimes Free speech is one of the founding principles of our republic. Andrew Rosenthal free free-speech speech principles The right of free speech cannot be parceled out based on whether we want to hear what the speaker has to say or whether we agree with those views. It means, quite often, tolerating the expression of views that we find distasteful, perhaps even repugnant. Andrew Rosenthal say free speech want The editorial page is where you'll find our opinions, while the letters columns and the space for Op-Ed contributors are a forum for debate and discussion. Andrew Rosenthal find you debate space An Op-Ed by a Republican criticizing the Democrats, or vice versa, is easy to come by and not that interesting. But a Democrat who takes issue with his or her party, or a Republican who does that, is more valuable. Andrew Rosenthal more party easy interesting I read on my iPad. But honestly, I prefer print. Andrew Rosenthal ipad read prefer honestly When I was young, I colored in the line drawings in vintage editions of the Oz books that had been handed down through generations in my family. This was a bad thing to do. Andrew Rosenthal down bad vintage family Charles Blow's memoir 'Fire Shut Up in My Bones' was a breathtaking piece of writing. Andrew Rosenthal bones shut-up fire writing I read 'The Hobbit' but not a single one of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. I had to lie about this pretty much all through high school. I still say it apologetically. Andrew Rosenthal lie single high-school school One of the hard truths about the new digital world is that we have to be prepared to acknowledge when an experiment is not going to work, and to take action. Andrew Rosenthal new action work world There are so many reasons to mark the passing of the great Joe Cocker - as many songs as he wrote, recorded and performed in his remarkable concerts. For me, Cocker was also the only performer who successfully covered and even improved on The Beatles. Andrew Rosenthal only who great me Even the king of phrasing, Frank Sinatra, did not do as well as Joe Cocker with his reinterpretation of 'Something' by George Harrison, which Sinatra called the greatest love song ever written. Andrew Rosenthal king something song love Joe Cocker never sounded forced. Crazy, perhaps, but not forced. Andrew Rosenthal forced perhaps never crazy I can still remember the first time I heard a Beatles song. It was the fall of 1964, my second year in an American school after my family moved back from overseas, and I was standing on the corner of 64th street and First Avenue with my friend Larry Campbell. Andrew Rosenthal family time song school Music was transmitted over the airwaves in the '60s - for free, even - astonishingly enough without Bit Torrent. Andrew Rosenthal without free music enough I long ago lost track of the number of times the Obama administration has assured everyone that its vacuum-cleaner approach to electronic surveillance does not threaten the privacy or the rights of Americans. Andrew Rosenthal everyone privacy lost long
