good pieces on the Gates-Crowley conflict

I was struck by Bob Herbert's op-ed in the Times today (Sat. 8/1). His characteristic voice is thoughtful and analytical; he is perceptive and responsible. I'm not saying that his furious piece today necessarily violates any of those values, but it's in a different voice. Like Eugene Robinson's tv appearance last week and Anna Deveare Smith's piece on the Huffington Post, it expands one's sense of where Professor Gates was coming from in his confrontation with Sgt. Crowley. I want to see what happens with the policeman who wrote the racist and misogynistic stuff to the Globe reporter. I hope the union and the general politics of Boston don't force the mayor to back down. I respect unions' determination to make wrongful dismissal as difficult as possible, but in pursuing that goal they sometimes achieve wrongful reinstatement. Frank Rich's piece (Huffington Post 8/2) seems spot on to me.