Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________NEWT'S GLASS HOUSE BY STEPHEN TALBOT (08/28/98)

I had an idea why Newt was muzzling himself -- thank you for filling in the blanks. And, a big thank you for exposing reporters like Maureen Dowd for the sanctimonious poison-spitting toads they are. Like a gay, ex-Catholic friend of mine recently put it: "I like Clinton because he fucks." You are maintaining your fine record on the "scandals."
I used to think the idea of "trusting" a news outlet was laughable, like trusting Nixon or Reagan. But when I read about the president's impending confession in Salon, I knew it was true. Thanks to your articles (and your terrific "Letters" column!), I know I'm not alone.
-- [Name withdrawn]
Chicago

_______________IS BIN LADEN A TERRORIST MASTERMIND -- OR A FALL GUY? BY LOREN JENKINS (08/27/98)

I find it appalling that Salon would print an article so factually incorrect. Where has Jenkins been for the last week? Her article, dated Aug. 27, 1998, was printed well after the facts she omitted were made public. One of the recent embassy bombers admitted that he was trained in several Pakistan camps by bin Laden and attended "how to" camps by bin Laden. It doesn't take any leap of faith to believe that bin Laden ordered the bombings. If Jenkins thinks she is going to get any closer than an omission of being trained by the head terrorist when dealing with a well-seasoned, underground, educated and rich terrorist, she is even more naive than she is inaccurate. Someone needs to write a retraction or, at a minimum, a correction. It is hypocritical of Jenkins to use the Lewinsky credibility garbage when she herself has left out such strong facts contradicting her viewpoint. She should apologize for furthering the credibility of such B.S.
-- Jim Cady

_______________THE XY FILES BY AMY VIRSHUP (08/25/98)

Thanks for the delightful XyWrite article. I spent some of the best years of my career using XyWrite, as a reporter at CMP Media from 1989-95. We standardized on XyWrite for PCs, and an Atex publishing system, for all but my last few months there, when the company switched to an MSFT Word standard. Then I switched to Computerworld, where they were still using XyWrite -- and so far as I know they are STILL using it at Computerworld. Then I came back to CMP a year ago, to become a Word user.
When I was at Computerworld I began to get tired of XyWrite and the lack of access to the Windows clipboard, so I downloaded a copy of UltraEdit, a shareware text editor. Since 99 percent of XyWrite is plain ASCII text, I was able to easily write a few shortcuts in UltraEdit that would enable the software to read and write XyWrite files so I could share files with my colleagues.
There is something deeply satisfying about using a computer program that's little-known and run well. It's like knowing about the perfect little neighborhood restaurant. Currently I feel that way about a document management program called Zoot, which I use for most of my journalistic note-taking in phone interviews, and for keeping track of Internet clippings.
-- Mitch Wagner
I have enjoyed Salon since the beginning, and wanted to say that I particularly enjoyed this article. It delights me to see people holding out against the rapid pace of technological progress, and sticking with a product that serves their needs. Of course, one reason for this delight is that I am in a similar position: I am a NotaBene user.
I was sorry to see that the article did not mention NotaBene, a word processor based directly on XyWrite, but designed specifically for the academic user. It began with a Ph.D. student unhappy with his word-processing alternatives as he embarked upon his dissertation: He decided to write the perfect word processor first. (This is an unusual variant of delaying tactic; most Ph.D. students settle for endless trips to the library to enlarge their bibliographies.)
His quest was largely successful, and I think my own dissertation was much easier to write because of NotaBene. But now I stand at an unhappy crossroads: NotaBene is about to release its first-ever Windows version, and I must choose whether to follow it into the bland uniformity of the Microsoft Look or to reject the upgrade and thus become increasingly incompatible with the rest of the world
I am glad to hear that there still are some XyWrite holdouts left, but sad that their numbers seem to be diminishing. It's a shame that good products don't always get the good marketing and success that they deserve.
-- Karalee Harding

_______________SALON'S COVERAGE OF THE CLINTON CRISIS (01/21/98- 08/31/98)

Just hit your magazine. What a piece of old hippie trash. Jeez, I'll be glad when all you boomers die of old age. You get more stupid the older you get. I thought "your generation" was supposed to "hope you die before you get old." Too late. You are old and out of date. Why don't you just retire to Florida with the rest of the geezers?
-- Michael Poindexter
Let's see, Russia's about to collapse; the Stock Market is down 357 points; Dick Gephardt is walking away; Gore is under investigation; Asia's in turmoil; Latin American markets are sliding down; the weapons inspector in Iraq quits and charges the Clinton administration with being soft after all this noise about terrorism.
And I haven't even mentioned Monica.
I don't think you and the rest of the corrupt crowd of White House flacks can stop this train. Clinton will resign before the end of his term in disgrace. And we haven't heard one page of Ken Starr's report yet. Not one page. Can you imagine when the women of this country hear what Bill Clinton was doing to Monica? Spin that away if you can.
-- Greg Gallagher
I have been following the Clinton/Starr thing with only partial attention, because the whole thing has seemed smarmy and sordid -- something to avoid, like impetigo. I recently was reminded of a plan from the mid-'80s called SURE, Send Urine to Reagan Everyday, which was a protest against the burgeoning use of piss tests in all facets of life advocated by President Reagan. The person who reminded me said the efforts of Ken Starr were of the same caliber, and deserved a campaign of their own. So, we came up with some ideas, which are listed below:
Does anyone have an address to send blue clothes to Starr? I really think the guy is a nuisance and a jerk, and I'd gladly donate blue spunky clothes to the cause. What could we call it? Busybody Uses The Things He Expects Are Damning (BUTTHEAD); Special Prosecutor Underthings National Klavern (or kinship, kinsman) (SPUNK); Special Prosecutors Use Nauseating Knickers (SPUNK); Jail Incarceration Zeal Collection: Lewinsky Or The Headman (JIZCLOTH); The Jerk Is Zealous (The JIZ); Damn Republican Enthusiasts Save Spunk (DRESS). I am just throwing out some ideas. I like JIZCLOTH myself.
-- Bill Smith
SALON | Sept. 1, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| MY HAWAIIAN HONEYMOON BY CINTRA WILSON

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_______________NEWT'S GLASS HOUSE BY STEPHEN TALBOT (08/28/98)
	I had an idea why Newt was muzzling himself -- thank you for filling in the blanks. And, a big thank you for exposing reporters like Maureen Dowd for the sanctimonious poison-spitting toads they are. Like a gay, ex-Catholic friend of mine recently put it: "I like Clinton because he fucks." You are maintaining your fine record on the "scandals." I used to think the idea of "trusting" a news outlet was laughable, like trusting Nixon or Reagan. But when I read about the president's impending confession in Salon, I knew it was true. Thanks to your articles (and your terrific "Letters" column!), I know I'm not alone. -- [Name withdrawn] Chicago
_______________IS BIN LADEN A TERRORIST MASTERMIND -- OR A FALL GUY? BY LOREN JENKINS (08/27/98)
	I find it appalling that Salon would print an article so factually incorrect. Where has Jenkins been for the last week? Her article, dated Aug. 27, 1998, was printed well after the facts she omitted were made public. One of the recent embassy bombers admitted that he was trained in several Pakistan camps by bin Laden and attended "how to" camps by bin Laden. It doesn't take any leap of faith to believe that bin Laden ordered the bombings. If Jenkins thinks she is going to get any closer than an omission of being trained by the head terrorist when dealing with a well-seasoned, underground, educated and rich terrorist, she is even more naive than she is inaccurate. Someone needs to write a retraction or, at a minimum, a correction. It is hypocritical of Jenkins to use the Lewinsky credibility garbage when she herself has left out such strong facts contradicting her viewpoint. She should apologize for furthering the credibility of such B.S. -- Jim Cady
_______________THE XY FILES BY AMY VIRSHUP (08/25/98)
	Thanks for the delightful XyWrite article. I spent some of the best years of my career using XyWrite, as a reporter at CMP Media from 1989-95. We standardized on XyWrite for PCs, and an Atex publishing system, for all but my last few months there, when the company switched to an MSFT Word standard. Then I switched to Computerworld, where they were still using XyWrite -- and so far as I know they are STILL using it at Computerworld. Then I came back to CMP a year ago, to become a Word user. When I was at Computerworld I began to get tired of XyWrite and the lack of access to the Windows clipboard, so I downloaded a copy of UltraEdit, a shareware text editor. Since 99 percent of XyWrite is plain ASCII text, I was able to easily write a few shortcuts in UltraEdit that would enable the software to read and write XyWrite files so I could share files with my colleagues. There is something deeply satisfying about using a computer program that's little-known and run well. It's like knowing about the perfect little neighborhood restaurant. Currently I feel that way about a document management program called Zoot, which I use for most of my journalistic note-taking in phone interviews, and for keeping track of Internet clippings. -- Mitch Wagner I have enjoyed Salon since the beginning, and wanted to say that I particularly enjoyed this article. It delights me to see people holding out against the rapid pace of technological progress, and sticking with a product that serves their needs. Of course, one reason for this delight is that I am in a similar position: I am a NotaBene user. I was sorry to see that the article did not mention NotaBene, a word processor based directly on XyWrite, but designed specifically for the academic user. It began with a Ph.D. student unhappy with his word-processing alternatives as he embarked upon his dissertation: He decided to write the perfect word processor first. (This is an unusual variant of delaying tactic; most Ph.D. students settle for endless trips to the library to enlarge their bibliographies.) His quest was largely successful, and I think my own dissertation was much easier to write because of NotaBene. But now I stand at an unhappy crossroads: NotaBene is about to release its first-ever Windows version, and I must choose whether to follow it into the bland uniformity of the Microsoft Look or to reject the upgrade and thus become increasingly incompatible with the rest of the world I am glad to hear that there still are some XyWrite holdouts left, but sad that their numbers seem to be diminishing. It's a shame that good products don't always get the good marketing and success that they deserve. -- Karalee Harding
_______________SALON'S COVERAGE OF THE CLINTON CRISIS (01/21/98- 08/31/98)
	Just hit your magazine. What a piece of old hippie trash. Jeez, I'll be glad when all you boomers die of old age. You get more stupid the older you get. I thought "your generation" was supposed to "hope you die before you get old." Too late. You are old and out of date. Why don't you just retire to Florida with the rest of the geezers? -- Michael Poindexter Let's see, Russia's about to collapse; the Stock Market is down 357 points; Dick Gephardt is walking away; Gore is under investigation; Asia's in turmoil; Latin American markets are sliding down; the weapons inspector in Iraq quits and charges the Clinton administration with being soft after all this noise about terrorism. And I haven't even mentioned Monica. I don't think you and the rest of the corrupt crowd of White House flacks can stop this train. Clinton will resign before the end of his term in disgrace. And we haven't heard one page of Ken Starr's report yet. Not one page. Can you imagine when the women of this country hear what Bill Clinton was doing to Monica? Spin that away if you can. -- Greg Gallagher I have been following the Clinton/Starr thing with only partial attention, because the whole thing has seemed smarmy and sordid -- something to avoid, like impetigo. I recently was reminded of a plan from the mid-'80s called SURE, Send Urine to Reagan Everyday, which was a protest against the burgeoning use of piss tests in all facets of life advocated by President Reagan. The person who reminded me said the efforts of Ken Starr were of the same caliber, and deserved a campaign of their own. So, we came up with some ideas, which are listed below: Does anyone have an address to send blue clothes to Starr? I really think the guy is a nuisance and a jerk, and I'd gladly donate blue spunky clothes to the cause. What could we call it? Busybody Uses The Things He Expects Are Damning (BUTTHEAD); Special Prosecutor Underthings National Klavern (or kinship, kinsman) (SPUNK); Special Prosecutors Use Nauseating Knickers (SPUNK); Jail Incarceration Zeal Collection: Lewinsky Or The Headman (JIZCLOTH); The Jerk Is Zealous (The JIZ); Damn Republican Enthusiasts Save Spunk (DRESS). I am just throwing out some ideas. I like JIZCLOTH myself. -- Bill Smith SALON \| Sept. 1, 1998