Perhaps it is because they are so slow, biased, and time pieces for political effect. This article is a supposed "revelation", that the Bush Administration gave the go-ahead after 9/11/01 for the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans without search warrants, in order to search for evidence of terrorist activity.

See the piece here: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/politics/15cnd-program.html

The article is a long look at how the Bush Administration enacted a policy in which a domestic warrant would be circumvented, and permission to allow for wiretaps and e-mail monitoring would be placed under the purview of the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a "secret Washington court that deals with national security issues."

Alert Conspirators will note that James Bovard, author of "Feeling Your Pain" (about the mismanagement and injustices of the Clinton Adminstration) had written about this troubling policy in his most recent book, "The Bush Betrayal", released nearly two years ago. This is not new information, and Senators who expound on how shocking this revelation is smacks of pure political motivation. They have known for at least a year.

In fact, the NYT report itself seems to be politicaly motivated. It is acknowledged in the article that the paper had this information for a year. Why it was released on the day the (admittedly poisonous and anti-constitutional) Patriot Act was up for a vote in the US Senate, and a day after a good election turn-out in Iraq remains a question.

There is also breaking news that the NYT is backing a book on the topic. It's nice to know that the "paper of record" feels so comfortable holding back on telling the masses about such an important story. Once it is in their best interest financially and politically, they let the information fly, and help prop up windbags in Congress who will begin acting shocked by this "sudden revelation".

Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty

Feeling Your Pain: The Explosion and Abuse of Government Power in the Clinton-Gore Years

Terrorism and Tyranny: Trampling Freedom, Justice and Peace to Rid the World of Evil

The Bush Betrayal