Shut up. Yes really, that’s what the paper of record thinks. There is, you see, a debate on in New York at the moment about whether Manhattan should have a football stadium (it probably shouldn’t – at least on the terms that are now being proposed – but that’s a discussion for another time) currently being fought via TV commercials involving or invoking firemen. This unseemly participation of blue collar workers in the political process has upset the grandees over at the New York Times:

“New Yorkers don’t admire their firefighters for their political savvy or keen judgments on economic development. We look to them for one thing, to be there when they’re needed for real emergencies. And that doesn’t include being pitchmen for the latest product in need of a hero.”

In other words, the New York Times believes that the firemen should just shut up. Strangely, I can’t recall the paper taking a similar stance with the celebrities now so active with MoveOn.org. Perhaps I just missed the paper that day.