Books, angry reporters, catherine seipp, david cay johnston, new york times, outrage

David Cay Johnston Is Constantly Irked About Something Or Other

David Cay Johnston, the New York Times tax reporter most recently heard calling Wesley Snipes a coward, is already upset about something else! Seems that his own paper published a less-than-loving review of his new book, and Johnston is desperate to correct the record. He does not love lawsuits! He does not hate corporations! He's a registered Republican, for chrissakes! Google it, why don't you? To be fair, we haven't read his book, so he may be making perfectly legitimate points. The thing is, Johnston does the "How could you possibly criticize a genius like me?" routine all the time. He got in an identical argument with the National Review over his last book, and then got one of the most hilarious reamings of the past decade from that magazine's media critic, Catherine Seipp, for being a sanctimonious ass. Even Dan Okrent, the NYT's first public editor, basically called Johnston an "asshole" (as commenter Seeräuber Jenny noted). Maybe he should learn to let some things slide. DCJ's full letter after the jump [via Editor & Publisher].

To the Editor:
Jonathan Chait's review of my book "Free Lunch" (Feb. 3) ignores its central thesis and neglects to disclose that he wrote a competing book.

He writes that I embrace litigiousness to solve societal problems. In fact, I describe litigation as "scary and nasty" and show ways to reduce lawsuits. My solution is for taxpayers to cover the full costs of Congress, ending legalized bribery.

Chait writes that I regard corporations as "inherently malevolent," which is ridiculous given that I am chairman of the board of a small corporation with big ambitions. He says I regard deregulation as "evil," when I wrote that deregulation is a fantasy and I show new regulations that thwart market capitalism, drive up prices and hinder competition. The only things I call "evil," citing the Bible, are policies that take from the many to give to the rich.

Chait twists words I use to describe the shared values of those Democrats and Republicans who favor people over corporations to make them appear as my views, not a description of theirs.

Chait misleadingly connects me to a faction of Democrats and calls me a left-wing populist, even though I am a registered Republican, a matter of public record that is posted all over the Internet, and without mentioning that classic conservative values drawn from Adam Smith, Andrew Mellon and the Bible are invoked throughout "Free Lunch."

"Free Lunch" is full of news, hard facts and plain English explanations of how market capitalism has been perverted. Chait did an excellent job of one thing — hiding what "Free Lunch" actually says from readers of The New York Times Book Review.

David Cay Johnston
Rochester, New York

9:12 AM on Sun Feb 3 2008
By Hamilton Nolan
1,151 views
13 comments

Comments

plasticene at 09:33 AM on 02/03/08
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I've met this guy. Talks your ear off about himself (I"ve had his resume drilled into my head) and doesn't give a rat's ass about you. Is that a requirement for working at the Times?
davidcayjohnston at 11:24 AM on 02/03/08
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Gawker editor,
Please send me your snail mail address and I will gladly send you a review copy of Free Lunch. Please contact me at my mac.com address: davidcay
Stark_pigeon at 12:36 PM on 02/03/08
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I don't know. Come to think of it, I've been in an office at the NYT and talked about a star reporter with one of the management, and the person in management said, "Who is that?"

Apparently, you don't have to know much about others, even within your own organization.
famousauthor at 12:45 PM on 02/03/08
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Most reporters don't earn enough to pay income tax. Then there are those on the New York Times who need to become experts on it. I see a great future for this guy as a celebrity endorser for H & R Block.
gawkimo at 01:06 PM on 02/03/08
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I read the guy has like 11 kids. Anyone who feels a needs to breed like that is inherently a selfish asshole. But I like his views on American tax policy, thus deflating my snark.
EnviousJuno at 01:45 PM on 02/03/08
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TANSTAAFL, bitch.
artynimue1 at 02:16 PM on 02/03/08
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@Stark_pigeon: Apparently, you should hang around with brighter people, even if they are "one of the management" "in an office at the NYT."
annasballs at 03:28 PM on 02/03/08
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11 kids AND he lives in Rochester. Imagine how cranky you'd be. The grey grandpa beard doesn't help.
Astroblack at 03:42 PM on 02/03/08
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In our community he would be called a "daddy bear". Being a married Republican, he is probably also a bottom. I'd hate fuck him.
Stark_pigeon at 05:42 PM on 02/03/08
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@artynimue1: Suffice it to say, I wasn't "hanging around" with this guy. It was a business meeting and it was not social.

Perhaps I should hang around with you. You seem bright.
ihateyourescalade at 10:52 AM on 02/04/08
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@gawkimo @annasballs: In defense of DCJ:

He has eight kids. He was raised as a Mormon and had six in his first marriage, when he was very young. He has been married to his second wife for over 20 years. They have two children.

The review of Free Lunch was by a writer for a pro-Republican magazine who basically used the entire review to deride "liberals." The review was more about pushing the reviewer's political agenda than discussing the ideas in Free Lunch.
gawkimo at 08:40 AM on 02/05/08
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Duly noted. I want to like the guy. But with eight kids I'm not going to his house for dinner.
sokafka at 02:58 AM on 02/16/08
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My Father, David Cay Johnston, has spent his life exposing injustices, taking on big issues and powerful institutions way ahead of anyone else and at times taking serious personal risks, like when he hunted down a killer the police failed to catch (winning a fifth trial and freedom for an innocent man), or when he exposed the brutality and political spying of the
LAPD, a decade BEFORE Rodney King, when the news media treated it as if the just-the-facts fantasy of Dragnet was real. He also revealed news blackouts that ultimately forced the sale of six TV and radio stations. For the last 13 years, my Father has shown the corrosive effects of government rules that hardly anyone knew about, resulting in laws being passed, regulations changed, criminals being prosecuted and something like a quarter of a trillion dollars (over a decade) of tax dodges being stopped because he figured them out and exposed them.

You say he's irked. I'd say he has spent his life looking out for your liberties, holding government and big institutions accountable and never flinching.

Of course attacking journalists who refuse to just reword press releases and actually investigate promotes and rewards bad journalism and threatens democracy.

I also see my Father offered you a free copy of his book so you could find out how government helps the rich and big companies force you to give them money even when you do not do business with them. Instead of anonymous potshots how about taking a look at the public service he provided by reading his book.