Even
as the Wall Street Journal continues to provide important news
reporting, its opinion pieces grow ever snarkier and more deceitful. In the April 23, 2021 edition, readers will
see varying degrees in the representation of the truth contained in two opinion
pieces, each referring the American Civil Liberties Union.
In
an opinion authored by the Editorial Board, the Journal notes that the ACLU, true
to its longstanding mission, has joined conservative groups in opposing legislation
in California requiring organizations qualifying as charities to disclose the
identity of their contributors. (See https://www.wsj.com/articles/donor-disclosure-arrives-at-the-supreme-court-11619217816).
In this opinion, one could infer that the Journal
authors see the ACLU as fair minded, still willing to take controversial and perhaps counterintuitive
sides in litigation.
In
another opinion piece in the same online edition, (see https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-have-more-police-shootings-11619213893?mod=trending_now_opn_1),
Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. appears to suggest that any arrested person risks death
by resisting, even after police have subdued the arrestee. Did Mr. Jenkins imply that any degree form of
resisting arrest entitle police to punish the arrestee, seemingly with no constraint?
Mr.
Jenkins also even parts company with his usually like-minded editorial writers
at the Journal, at least insofar as his perception of the ACLU. Unlike the Editorial Board opinion noting the
ACLU remains an advocate, even for conservative-championed privacy and First
Amendment freedom, Mr. Jenkins characterizes the current ACLU as “lately
morphed into a pro-censorship promoter of progressive causes.”
Has
Mr. Jenkins concluded that he should continue to target and vilify the ACLU
even when it shares his views?
