_______________LET'S GET THIS STRAIGHT BY SCOTT ROSENBERG (09/11/98)
	You make a number of interesting and valid points, but there are also Republicans, such as myself -- former Queens County Committeewoman, YR treasurer, etc. -- who look upon Mr. Starr as a miserable human being indulging in flagrant abuse of power and who has caused the U.S. to be the butt (pardon) of international ridicule. In short, I hope you realize that not all Republicans are gunning for the president. Embarrassing as his behavior may have been, it is nowhere near as disastrous as that of Starr. I hope you hear from other Republicans on this matter. Not all of us wish to appear as idiots! -- Elizabeth R. Baecher How interesting that you made Ken Starr's report available on your site on the same day you ran Scott Rosenberg's sanctimonious little piece, "Ken Starr, Web porn purveyor." While I don't necessarily disagree with Rosenberg, Salon unfortunately can't be above it all if you are simultaneously mired in it with Congress and every other news site that chose to make the report available. -- Tracey McCartney Nashville, Tenn.
_______________"EVERYONE WILL BE PUNISHED" BY JONATHAN BRODER (09/10/98)
	The strategy of attacking his critics will not save the president from impeachment, nor will it get him out of court when charged with perjury. He continues to act like a spoiled adolescent. It is just that now that he has clearly admitted his lying, no one believes him about anything and no one cares if he mouths the words, "I'm sorry." -- Marvin M. Brown Don't you think the American public will see this strategy for what it is: sour grapes. Nobody likes or listens to a crybaby. Take your lumps like true Americans. Do not try to justify the shortcomings of Bill Clinton by exposing the shortcomings of others. This is evidence of psychological denial; most of us learn to avoid the development of this personality trait in the first grade. -- Russ Wilkins If indeed everyone will be punished as this article infers, what of the omni-pious Orrin Hatch? Consider the messy divorce (very un-Mormon) and eventual demise of his first wife along with the subsequent cleansing of the facts surrounding the affair he had with his now second wife and his hypocritical ascendancy to the lofty status of moral arbiter of the Senate. Get off your bended knee(s) and let the Games begin ! -- Brent Bowman Your "everyone will be punished" mantra shows just how sick you liberals really are. When you cannot defend the "known liar" with facts and/or logic, just attempt to destroy anyone just for the sake of destroying. Why don't you just suck it up ( sorry, bad choice of words) and realize your "hero" should just be cast aside like any other piece of garbage. -- Bob Fuller
_______________LASHED BY LISH BY DAVID BOWMAN (09/01/98)
	I wish to respond to David Bowman's article "Lashed by Lish" because of several untruths it contained. I am the one who organized the class in Bloomington to which Bowman referred. Even though my association with Gordon Lish ended painfully, I can separate my own hurt and disappointment from my respect for him as a literary force and as a teacher -- thus, I find myself, in situations such as this, quick to rise to his defense. The class ran for five days, not two weeks. The ages of the women ranged from the 20s to the late 50s. Almost everyone, not only the men, wore shorts given the heat and the lack of air-conditioning in the house. Not that it is of consequence, but I don't remember any angry women, or small tight chins, or blunt pageboys, said description of the women being part of Mr. Bowman's unremarkable journal entry which included a description of the house in which the class was held. To my knowledge, the Lilly Library purchase of the archives had not yet occurred. I arranged this class for Lish because I wanted it for myself, having just finished a semester in which I commuted to New York City for his classes (only one of which, by the way, was held in the apartment of a wealthy woman). I had known Lish personally for more than 30 years (his wife, Barbara, was one of my closest friends) and on that basis I prevailed upon him to let me arrange the class at what was quite a bit less than his regular tuition. It might have been the following summer that the Lilly obtained the archives, but there was no connection between the classes and the archives other than the fact that he was granted, for subsequent summers, a parking permit and a campus classroom. That Lish spoke for several hours and did not invite questions or discussion should have been no surprise: It was part of the setup that I had carefully explained to every person who inquired about the classes. Nor should it have been a surprise that Lish is a controversial and quirky personality. Granted, Bowman expresses some admiration for Lish, but the vitriolic, mean-spirited and careless tone in which he writes is way out of line and in my opinion does not deserve to stand in print unanswered. At this point no one would be more surprised than Gordon Lish at my writing this letter, and I can only hope that you will print it out of respect for him and for the truth of the matter. -- Paula Chertok Portland, Ore.
_______________THE SALON REPORT ON KENNETH STARR BY DAVID TALBOT (09/10/98)
	It is hard to understand why the mainstream media is not reporting these very important issues concerning Starr. I believe there are many Americans that do not even know half of this because it is rarely mentioned on the "news," and if they did, I believe they would be appalled. The fact that Ken Starr used the Office of Independent Counsel in an attempt to remove a sitting president is cause for outrage. He created the setting and personally set up the crime. It sickens me he used taxpayer money to do this. If Starr and his allies are permitted to get away with this, I believe it will threaten future presidents, the Constitution and our government. This is serious and borders on treason. -- Diana Simmons Albuquerque, N.M. As onerous as you may find Ken Starr's behavior, the fact remains that the president has admitted to impeachable charges. Rome may have been ruled by bread and circuses, however our guiding documents establish a rule of the letter of the law and public opinion; no matter for or against should supersede that or the whole system is a sham and no one and no right is protected. -- Art Fish This is the most heart-wrenching article I have read on this whole sorry business. I just want to cry when I think of what the media is now doing. Is the American public that blind that we can't see a McCarthy when he's bringing down our country? Will the religious right take over and brand all of us who don't agree with them with 666? Thank you so much for writing this report. I wish more people could read it. I know there are a lot of people who feel the same. What is wrong with the media? -- Sandra Cline
_______________SALON'S COVERAGE OF THE CLINTON CRISIS
	It seems to me that the Clinton team needs a good, one-line theme that says the truth and that also sticks: "The day a president is impeached for a sex scandal will be the day democracy dies in this country." They ought to be repeating that one 1,000 times a day. -- Jackie Marcus Seemingly orchestrated as part of a Grand Ol' Plan, Starr's report to Congress certainly seems a vendetta. If the combatants claim Clinton has harmed both the office of the presidency and the Republic, then might not the blame apply equally to the Grand Ol' Planners and Starr? In my more extreme emotional reactions regarding this whole mess, the term treasonous behavior would seem to apply to Starr, Scaife and anyone else attempting to force Clinton from office. -- Bill Rees You have graduated from Clinton apologists to Clinton anarchists. You prefer a total meltdown of our legislative branch over the constitutional alternative. I am amazed and ashamed for you. -- Michael Baumann Just when I was wondering where the "liberal media" was hiding, I found your site. It's very gratifying to at least find one publication that isn't afraid to say that Ken Starr's primary purpose is to get Clinton, just as Susan McDougal has been saying for years. I've read several newspaper articles that quote your magazine, so evidently the word is getting out. Keep up the good work. -- Terry Louis The end is coming, at least for one unpatriotic SOB! What are you fairies going to have to do then? Jump on the queer agenda! That would fit your mentality. We're here. We're queer. And we're in your face! Ha! Ha! There will always be a place for low-lifes in this country; so nothing for you to really worry about. Ha! Ha! -- Jim Hyde Your magazine is nothing more than an apologist for immorality! You would like nothing better than to help the amoral Clinton administration stay in power. Your magazine willingly and without moral restraint hopes to bring about the salvation of the immoral Clinton administration and ultimately the moral debasement of this nation! If your editors had even a smidgen of the morality of Sen. Moynihan you would not support perjury, witness tampering, obstruction of justice and abuse of power by the Clinton administration! Your stance on behalf of such acts, which go to the heart of the rule of law that has sustained this nation, are repugnant to all Americans who believe that no one, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, are above the law. By their acts they have violated the law and thus even they should bear the consequences of such violation -- otherwise anarchy will be the end result! Hail Caligula!!!! -- Robert Graves I have been "beside myself" for several years over the continuous attacks on our president. You're like an oasis in the desert of fair journalism on the coverage of Clinton. I can only hope and pray that more Americans have access to your articles, and an open mind to read them. -- Tom Schreckengast SALON | Sept. 17, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| RAIN ON THE PARADE BY JEFFREY OBSER

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