In his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Thursday, Attorney General John Ashcroft argued that critics of the Bush administration's domestic anti-terrorism measures "only aid terrorists." The next day, Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker told journalists that they had mischaracterized Ashcroft's statements and, in doing so, "became a part of the exact problem he was describing." Such statements by a leading public official and a prominent spokesperson for the administration constitute an attempt to shut down rational debate over the administration's policies by as

Peter Himler, who handles media relations for PR giant Burson-Marsteller, congratulated NY-based PR practitioners for acting "responsibly and sensitively in the face of these unprecedented and extraordinary events." O'Dwyer's PR Daily writes, "Himler said journalists turned to PR pros to get answers to questions, such as: Where do victims and their families go to seek assistance? Will insurance companies cover one's losses? How does one find out if his or her flight was canceled? Where can one seek professional grief counseling? What do I tell my kids?

According to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), "it is certainly valid to investigate whether either the Palestinian Authority or Israel have done enough to pursue suspected terrorists or to stop violence under their control," but the New York Times has omitted crucial facts about this latest cycle of violence, even though the paper has reported these facts in the past." The recent suicide bombings by the Palestinian group Hamas were in retaliation for the November 23 assassination of the group's senior West Bank leader, Mahmoud Abu Hanoud.