I won't comment on your endorsements of NYTimes opinion writers (I have a very low opinion of all of them, ESPECIALLY Friedman), but I will comment on the trend

I won't comment on your endorsements of NYTimes opinion writers (I have a very low opinion of all of them, ESPECIALLY Friedman), but I will comment on the trend you're noticing. I've noticed it too and it affects all layers of the paper, not just the opinion pages. The news reporting has become much worse as well. Distorted, biased, propagandized. Dubious sources. Anonymous political operatives leaking rumors to the NYTimes for pure gamesmanship in their ongoing partisan (and internecine) warfare. The NYTimes has become a pawn in a geopolitical and national power game being played by factions that have very little accountability and no transparency. On top of this the Times has really raced to the bottom to get more eyeballs on ads. They have succumbed to market pressure to cater to their audience's biases and preferences. They are optimizing for FB shares and retweets just like everyone else in the business. This is destroying our society. The Times will not be judged kindly by history. I call this the "Fox News-ification" of American society. Fox started it and it worked for them so now everyone is doing it. We're suffering the consequences of it.