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Slate's Jack Shafer has so much sympathy for New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller that he's returning to the well once again to shed more tears into a bucket and defend his honor. If you haven't been paying attention, this is the story of how the Times sat on a Carvel whale-sized scoop that the Bush Administration was tapping phone calls without a court order.

Keller, pictured above, has declined to talk about the muted backstory for now and is practically telling everyone within earshot, "I'm not gonna pay a lot for this muffler!"

We'll leave the ethical debate to the pros but sweet chryst, sitting on a story for over a year?!? We can't keep a secret for longer than five minutes. All of this is to say we can't believe we sat on this scoop after the jump for over a day.

Hi There,

I wanted to let Gawker know that Nelly is having a surprise after party on New Years Eve at PM Lounge in the Meatpacking District. He is performing at MTV and then is going to PM right after. My friend works there and they have reserved 8 bottles of Cristal for him. They have the two main tables reserved for him and they won't sell them even though the place is almost sold out. Supposedly it's gonna be off the hook. I love Gawker so I wanted to contribute this inside scoop.

Happy New Year!

Let freedom ring.

More Sympathy for Bill Keller [Slate]
Sympathy for Bill Keller [Slate]