Because they are convincing reasonable people that there is a risk of infringement from linking. If reasonable people believe this, reasonable people won't make Web pages.

Crazy people get to say crazy things without drawing fire because no one takes crazy people seriously. People take NPR seriously, so when it tells harmful lies -- and persists and persists and persists in telling those lies -- it needs to be taken to task.

As I said, I would trade 1000 NPRs for the Web. NPR's respectability makes it a danger to the Web. I would be just as hard on any other major American news agency that took this position, regardless of its politics.

That's not a circular firing squad. This isn't a left-right thing, it's a freedom-repression thing.