_______________SCUMBAG OF THE YEAR AWARDS BY ANDREW ROSS (12/23/97)

Your Scumbag piece is very amusing but there is no judge "Hilly Zoller" in Cambridge, Mass. And, since the other names on your list were spelled correctly, I tried to find the humor but failed. Sorry. Hiller Zobel is his name. -- Hans Weise (Since corrected -- Ed.) While I do not agree in many respects with the commentary of Mr. Ross, I will acknowledge he has some valid criticisms. However, when one seeks to castigate people, the castigator should make sure his facts are in order. Specifically, his assertion that Lt. Kelly Flinn had a relationship with a junior officer is simply inaccurate. Ms. Flinn's actions were conducted with the husband of an enlisted woman. Any way you cut it, an enlisted person is not an officer and being the husband of an enlisted person does not make one an officer either. (Also corrected -- Ed.) Lastly, the assertion that Barry Scheck is somehow scum for vigorously defending his client is preposterous. The Simpson case and the nanny trial are not similar and the facts, despite the jury verdict, are iffy at best. A new trial might see a different verdict with formerly excluded evidence clearly indicating the innocence of the British au pair. -- Jeffrey G. Shook As an eight year veteran of the Air Force myself (1966-74), I certainly do not praise ex-Lt. Flinn. I am in favor of accuracy though. You state "She slept with an officer of junior rank." Well, if she did, she was a busy WAF since the guy in question was a civilian married to an enlisted woman. Other than that quibble, I agree with your basic assessment. Her real crime was disobeying a direct order and lying to a superior officer. The club rule is don't get caught, and if you do, keep it quiet. Violate the unwritten rules and you're dead meat. When I was in, I knew several enlisted medics who spent the night in the nurses BOQ. Other nurses knew about it and even some doctors. No one took official notice because they played by the rules and kept it quiet. Then again, much of military justice is oxymoronic. Your reference to the black trainers at Aberdeen may qualify or may not. Only the participants can say one way or the other with authority. -- Gary Greene Skimming through your First Annual, I couldn't help noticing the strong bias running throughout. I realize that, as a major publication, you have the right to that. Hell, it's even expected of you, and I can't honestly say I disagree with Suggested Liberal Opinion on most of the issues Ross ran through. I'm just surprised that you didn't bother trying to disguise the slant in the slightest; even when running a story from only one point of view, aren't journalists supposed to pretend they're giving the whole picture? That's my experience. Don't get me wrong; I love Salon. But don't you suppose "Fin de siècle" belongs more in the editorials section than directly beneath the "Newsreal" heading? -- Seraab You missed a few like "Versace: superfluous and better off dead" category; "Di: vacuity, fame and fortune," and "Madonna: argument for late term abortion," with that child she produced. -- John Shelley SALON | Jan. 5, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| FAMILY MYTHS, FAMILY REALITIES BY STEPHANIE COONTZ

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