"Don't run stories..."

The lesson here cannot be overstated: a free press is an essential condition for democracy. How else can the body politic inform itself sufficiently to make the best choices for the country? Here's how it works: when bad people do bad things, journalists tell us about them; we vote for the politicians whom we think will stop the bad things and do good things; if the journalists convince us that the politicians are not doing a good job, we vote them out and replace them with better politicians. This spirals upward through decreasing corruption, better-spent resources, economic improvement and a better life for everyone.

Thank you, dear Editor, for printing that story. We must insist always that you keep showing us the tarnish so that we can remove the rot within.