I'm not sure that it qualifies as journalism given tthe lack of sources. It's unfortunate that Kall didn't elaborate on Bayh's manipulation of ballot access rules to ensure there would be no primary..

The story is well sourced. The rumour that Geitner may be on his way out could have been elaborated more. The explanations of CDS, etc are intelligible. So it's quality journalism

much detail related to the failure of the US gov't to establish priorities. A gov't which can authorize a $700 billion bailout in a few days should be able to find a way to handle the question who pays the cost of acute care for dangerously injured victims of an earthquake. This story details the failure and its causes.

More a scare story than a factual report. The author does not even bother to identify the source of the "erroneous report" except as the WWF. For all the info given the report could have come from the World Wrestling Federation.

A vacuous piece with little insightful information. Given the author's position as staff political reporter for the New Yorker some background on US near continuous involvement in Haitian crises would be expected.

No. The story is poorly written, weakly sourced and full of hedging phrases which appear designed to confuse. The fudging of facts is rampant. For example "extraordinary rendition is defined as " a tactic of capturing militant suspects". a phrase containg no concrete information. Or Obama is said to have stated "early on" that he was closing the "foreign detention network. When did Obama say this? And what are some examples of the Foreign Detention Centers?

More facts, less author opinion would have strenthened the piece. how about names of "intractable consevative democrats", "activists" for whom "Reid is a whipping boy". Blind quotes from "progressive strategists" does not a serious piece of journalism make. "

No. A great deal of begging the question despite his calls for adhering to a scientific view. And his lumping economic caused terroristic actions, i.e., Israel's occupation of Palestine and biblebelt buy-in to free market propaganda as a result of belief in religion isn't supported by his exposition.

It's a fun piece of journalism for the already informed. If you haven't already read Michael Pollan, it would would have liitle meaning. And a little more detail about Big A'g's influence on the farmers showing up to protest Pollan would have made for a better story.

Well done story. However some comparisons with US circumstances would have helped. Holland has a populations of 15 million the US 20 times that. How would that effect coverage? What kinds of innovation do Dutch insurance companies use to compete. No examples were given.

Info on which Dems object to Specter's deal with Reid. but no context or info on what perks come with committee chair. The author should have provided some info on why Appropriations is a powerful committee

Yes, Clear, well sourced, excellent web links to check background info. Provides more than enough information for reader to draw own conclusion rather than having to rely on the authors interpretation.

More hard supporting evidence would have been useful. Unsourced statements, e.g. police in Tucson and Phoenix reporting increases in drug related crimes weaken the article.

This is not quality journalism. It reads like much of the "attack social security" MSM biased journalism which shills for the finance industry.. There are statistics and then there are d.... lies. While the treasury is bailing out banks and insurance companies to which it has no obligation, By proposing that Treasury bond interest payments to SS are a drain on the budget this journalist implies that the US government might renege on its full faith and credit obligation to pay the ... More »

Somewhat Informative about Blankfein's speech. But pretty empty of analysis when discussing taxing stragies for capping Wall St pay bonanzas. Just rejecting tax caps w/o backup reasoning doesn't constitute good journaiism

What's not clear in this piece is the extent of the deception involved in reframing toxic/troubled assets as "legacy loans". Since this an opinion piece the author should have made the identity and intention of the culprits clearer.

The piece would be improved by including information on what is and is not legal iuse of state funds. Clearly there is something questioable about Senate reearch and printing arms being vailable only to the Republicans. Also Hakim quotes Senate Republicans as claiming they can't function on $3 million staff budget. Yet he provides no information to judge the accuracy of this statement.

Useful info. The piece would have been more useful if the reporter had included some stats on private insurance costs and how long COBRA coverage is available and what propsects there are for change with a ne administration in Washington.

The facts are set out clearly. Nevertheless a deeper analysis including some indication of what the LBGT community plans to do would have made a better piece.

It's more a teaser than a good piece of Journalism. Much more detail and context would be needed before one could give full credit to the thesis that the old dtandby "stages of grief " are "bunk". Nevertheless, debunking pieces are always fun to read.

Excellent job of providing facts. While the reporter gives us the facts, it dos seem a tempest in a teapot. Given the campaign finance legal bribery "customary" among US politicians why this particular contretemp deserves major story space in the NY Times is a big question.

An exceptional expose of how far off the mark US "liberal" think tank analysis has been in accounting for the realities of both Democratic and Republican supported Middle East policy.

An extraordinary exposition of a difficult topic by a distinguish economist. Greater detail on how the speculative process actually raises prices would have provided "added value" for the reader.

Interesting story. One detail, the possibility that the "protest permit" process was a scam to unmask possible protestors, could have used some supporting evidence.

The devil is in the details. This story provides enough detail to clarify the underlying lender scams, a lack of clear title, which are the basisi of many foreclosure actions.

The story links provide the details to back the reporters contention that Cindy MCCain is getting a media free ride.

This stoy reads like a PR/whitewashing piece rather than a news report. The authors write "TV news organizations face "unprecedented" scrutiny w/o supplying some supporting evidence. The statemet functions to absolve Fox News by implying that everbody does it . Critics are characterized as "self appointed" watchdogs (?) are there any othe kind. Michele Malkin is described as "trenchant" which means incisive,

A good story. Excellent information on what the report contains. and good contrast with Germany's power efforts. But an important element is missing. Cui Bono? Nowhere does the author provide information on why Labor would back peddle on micro energy. Or why it would be supporting new nuclear plants. Although it is implicit that the beneficiaries of this policy shift are major energy producers, details would have strengthen the story.

A very clear exposition of how a single individual can have an effect on international policy.

Good journalism but some more facts re thousands of "benefits" heterosexual couples enjoy as a result of marriage would have improved the article.

A feel good story with too many suspect statistics. Exports are up b/c a weak dollar makes US goods cheap. Corn production is up b/c the taxpayer is finanacing more subsidies, including ethanol subsidies. And fertilzer sales are up for the same reason. And an article that discusses "old economies and industrialization w/o mentioning global warming and an energy crisis is a "feel good" story and not a serious journalistic effort.

A bland story with lots of statistics but little analysis. Among the missing points is the effect on the climate change crisis from loss of the rain forest. No human details re the slavery charge.. and with so much land being taken for crops no mention of bio fuel of which Brazil is the number 1 world producer. An important story weakly covered