History repeated itself yet again this week, with new charges of treason and anti-Americanism being directed against the New York Times.

There's nothing new about conservatives attacking the Times, of course. It's been going on for as long as I can remember, certainly. What's strange about this particular attack is the impetus. I'm sure you know what's happening, of course, but let's record it for posterity's sake. A while back, the NYT reported on an government info-gathering program aimed at terrorist-connected bank accounts. There was nothing unusual about the program or the reporting, but the right wing flew off the handle. Why? Good question.

The program was never that secret; information about it has been on the White House web page for more than four years. That's not why I'm perplexed, however. What gets me is that the article was largely positive.