GRITtv: What Next? A Pro Slavery Voice?

The publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer is defending having John Yoo, the father of the torture memos, on the payroll. It?s quite some defense: "What I liked about John Yoo is he?s a Philadelphian," Brian Tierney told the New York Times "He went to Episcopal Academy, where I went to school. He?s a very, very bright guy.." Having gone to the same school apparently means that it?s okay that in a hearing in 2008 Yoo demurred when asked if it it was okay to bury a detainee in the ground alive, and claimed their was no treaty and no law that outlawed the torturing of a detainee?s children: Asked ? If the president deems that he's got to torture somebody, including by crushing the testicles of the person's child, there is no law that can stop him? Yoo said there was ?No treaty? and that ?it depends on why the President thinks he needs to do that..? Publisher Tierney claims the hiring of Yoo is all about airing contrasting views in a paper generally thought of as ?knee jerk? liberal. What next -- a pro-slavery voice -- to add a little contrast to all that knee jerk human rights stuff? In fact, the Philadelphia Inquirer already has a long line-up of conservative columnists, including Michael Smerconish and Rick Santorum. If the paper really wanted to diversify -- how about Noam Chomsky? The noted MIT linguist and anti-imperialist scholar writes for papers just about everywhere but here -- and is without a doubt very bright. And guess what ? he was born in Philly ? How about showing Chomsky some brotherly love, Mr. Tierney? Chomsky has the added advantage of being able to recognize a criminal act when he sees one.