WITCH AND BOOK BURNING

Crackdown on intellectuals and artists gathers momentum

No question: John Ashcroft is the worst attorney general in history. ... Somewhere, the anthrax terrorist is laughing. But the Justice Department, you'll be happy to know, is trying to determine whether it can file bioterrorism charges against a Buffalo art professor whose work includes harmless bacteria in petri dishes. ...
Perhaps most telling is the way Mr. Ashcroft responds to criticism of his performance. His first move is always to withhold the evidence. Then he tries to change the subject by making a dramatic announcement of a terrorist threat.
-- New York Times columnist Paul Krugman