In praise of the NYT?

Our favorite paper, the NYT, has taken a beating here on occasion for various reasons: religious insensitivity, quirky China coverage, and sitting on Snoopgate among others.  But as someone who subscribes (on weekends) to the actual paper, I'm allowed to access TimesSelect, which really has some neat features.  For one thing, there's a blog by Chris Suellentrop, called the Opinionator, which performs a kind of "best of the web" filter for NYT readers.  I only noticed its existence last evening, but it's been around for about a few weeks.  Also, Nick Kristof, who's doing the most important "columnizing" I know about, is also blogging here.  Kristof, whose work on Darfur and the scourge of sex trafficking warrant the highest praise possible, is reason alone.  The Opinionator promises to be good also, based on the early returns.