Gray Lady Breaks Potter Embargo, But Without Spoilers

When you are the New York Times, while you call others to account for even the most debatable of ethical lapses, you are yourself above the law.

Today's Times reviews Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, confessing that the reviewer purchased the book from a New York bookseller before the publisher's legally allowed date and time.

We thank the Uebermenschen at the Gray Lady for not lacing their review with revelations of plot that spoil the reading experience for those of us who are waiting for a legal reading experience. We applaud the law-unto-himself reviewer, Michiko Kakutani for the impressive catalog of Rowling's virtuosity provided by the review.

But we demand that Kakutani and all associated with this egregious violation of ethics be sentenced to time in Azkaban. At the very least, we wonder whether, if brought to the bar in a civil suit by Scholastic, Kakutani and associates would claim a first-amendment privilege not to reveal sources when asked who was the bookseller who violated the contractual obligation not to release copies before 12:01 a.m. on July 21.

So as long as Kakutani lists Rowling's eclectic inspirations, we call out Kakutani's and the Times's one most important influence: Friedrich Nietzsche.