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Times Watch for January 8, 2004

On Reagan and AIDS, Times Catches Up
With Times Watch

     Thursday's Times corrects a December 16 piece by Dudley Clendinen falsely accusing Ronald Reagan of having never mentioned AIDS during his presidency: "He indeed mentioned it in public in the mid-1980's; occurrences included a directive by the president in 1986 for the surgeon general to prepare a major report on AIDS that would outline research efforts and ways to seek a cure for the disease."

     The Times correction is welcome, of course--though it comes three weeks behind Times Watch, which countered the claim the day after Clendinen's article appeared.

• AIDS | Corrections | Gay Issues | Ronald Reagan

The Times Cancels Christmas (Trees)

     A do-gooder asks the Times science Q&A columnist C. Claiborne Ray: "What is the environmental impact of the loss of evergreens for Christmas trees?"

     Ray lets out her inner Grinch, quoting as her expert a liberal scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council who criticizes the Christmas tree industry: "Tree farming is really the lesser of two evils. [NRDC's Dr. Allen Hershkowitz] points out that the trees have a short replacement cycle, harvested every six to nine years, and are grown quickly with chemicals to suppress competing flora, stimulate growth and kill pests. These herbicides, fertilizers and insecticides run off and add to water pollution."

     How about a fake tree? Not good enough: "Alternatives present their own problems. 'Artificial trees come overwhelmingly from nonrenewable petroleum-based products, and refining them also produces some of the most hazardous chemicals,' Dr. Hershkowitz said. If practical, it would be better to plant a growing tree in the yard and decorate it for years, or skip greenery altogether, he said."

For the rest of C. Claiborne Ray, Christmas killjoy, click here.

• Christmas | Environment | C. Claiborne Ray

E-mail TimesWatch Director, Clay Waters, with TimesWatch feedback at cwaters@mediaresearch.org