Good stuff. Usually when they sneer at bloggers they preface it with lip service about the theoretical virtues of citizen journalism or nutroots-powered politics, just to prove that they’re populists at heart. Not here. Note the choice of metaphor: you can practically smell the filth as the riffraff befouls the white marble Hall of Liberal Justice.

Times Executive Editor David Boardman was dismayed at our outburst.

In an internal memo to the newsroom, he wrote, “A good newsroom is a sacred and magical place in which we can and should test every assumption, challenge each other’s thinking, ask the fundamental questions those in power hope we will overlook.

“… It is about independent thinking and sound, facts-based journalism,” he continued, “the difference between what we do and the myopic screed that is passed off as ‘advocacy journalism’ these days.”

Not buying that? I can’t blame you. The hallowed halls of journalism that I was privileged to enter more than 20 years ago are looking more and more like the New York subway. The walls covered in bloggers’ scrawl, the platform crowded with any yahoo with a camera and an open mike. All are headed to your computer screen or television for the 15 seconds you’ll give them before moving on to the next hot spot.

That’s not how we do things at this newspaper.

Here, every morning, some 20 smart, educated, well-read and diverse people gather around a table and talk. We offer opinions on how stories were approached, written and presented. We say what worked, what didn’t, and how we can do it better next time.

A little smarter, a little better, a little braver, a little more ethical even when they refuse to correct erroneous stories or donate overwhelmingly to one party while politely declining to mention the fact. America’s priesthood, baby — the intercessor you dumb, ill educated, unread, monolithic rabble need.

Exit question: Why not just cop to the bias so that you can cheer all you want?