The Times Sunday metro section carries a left-wing column that goes unbalanced by any right-wing column. The latest column complains about helicopter noise in the Hamptons:
"Quality of life truly is being diminished for commercial greed and the convenience of the same people who burned the economy," a longtime Shelter Island summer resident said to me.
"When I look up at small planes and choppers I see a fleet of middle fingers across the sky."
If Shelter Island residents are as angry about the air traffic as the Times columnist claims they are, you'd think the Times columnist could have found one of them willing to speak with her on a non-anonymous basis. As it is, the anonymous quote is ridiculous. How does the complainer know that the helicopter passengers are "the same people who burned the economy"? Is the idea that anyone who in 2014 is rich enough to afford a helicopter ride to the Hamptons is morally culpable for the financial crisis of 2008? This is Times anonymous sourcing at its worst — the use of the veil of anonymity to smear an entire group of people, without evidence or justification.