I began reading the entirety of the first section of the New York Times at nine years old, and continued that practice, more or less, for decades.   I regarded The Times with a sort of reverence, as have many in this country and the wider world, and now see that its influence, because of its history and standing in the culture, is much wider than one might think for a newspaper, even a so-called “paper of record” that “sets the news table” for the United States.  For example I have heard, way too many times, that a friend or colleague “didn’t see [the story] in The Times” so it couldn’t be real or relevant. With legions of people like me, whose psycho-emotional posture underwent a thoughtless daily reset by The Times for decades, its influence on the mindset of our nation cannot be overestimated.  How could it possibly be true that, as the New York Times goes, so goes the nation?  Yet it is true, and the...(Read Full Article)