The NY Times' surrender and how it can recover

The New York Times, journal of record, hasn't published even one Danish cartoon; and it doesn't acknowledge that's a sign it’s been silenced by fear of Islamist rage.

But at the same time, the Times is telling Muslim moderates they should speak up and act more strongly against the Islamists (Silenced by Islamist Rage, Feb. 25).

Here's a bit of the Times' gratuitous opining, after which I offer the Times some advice:

It is not the West that is most threatened in this crisis. The voices of moderation in the Muslim world are the ones that are being intimidated and silenced.

Those few journalists and leaders who have spoken out against the rioting have been vilified and assailed, and even jailed.
…
In most of these cases, the legal action represents attempts by cowed authorities to appease the Islamists.
...
It is time for moderate Muslims to abandon the illusion that they can placate the Islamists by straddling the fence.
….
They must do so because their future is at stake — not Denmark's.

Their future is at stake; not Denmark's? And not ours?

The Times recently joined almost all other Americans news organizations in a quick and base surrender in the face of Islamist rage. It surely knows democracy can't long survive without an informed, fair and free press.

So how is it the Times can publish an editorial that's so out of touch with reality?

Instead of telling Muslim moderates to be braver, why aren’t the Times and other news organizations acting in support of moderate Muslims and in defense of a free press? One way to do that would be for news organizations to select a day on which they'll all show at least some of the cartoons.

If news organization have such a day, I'm sure thousands of bloggers will also publish or link to the cartoons, even if doing so will be a repeat of what many of them have already done.

But if news organizations that repeatedly printed Abu Ghraib photos and defended Piss Christ as art won't do that, can they seriously claim not to have surrendered to Islamist rage?

Meanwhile, the Times should take its editorial advice to moderate Muslims and put it somewhere out of sight. It doesn’t look good to be telling other people to be brave while you’re practicing appeasement.

Michelle Malkin has more on the Times editorial, including a letter to the editor.