Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________PORTRAIT OF A POLITICAL PIT BULL BY RUSS BAKER (12/22/98)

In all the back-and-forth about your coverage of the Clinton scandal and the associated exposure of the skeletons rattling in his accusers' closets, I see the names of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas mentioned repeatedly as the precursors to this whole mess. The refrain -- and it appears in other periodicals as well as Salon -- is that the Democrats greased the skids for themselves by unfairly going after poor Bork and Thomas.
I might be inclined to agree on the Thomas case, if only because there were so many good reasons to shoot down his nomination (notably his almost nonexistent background) that were overshadowed by the bizarre he-said/she-said that dominated his confirmation hearings. But Bork? Forget it.
Robert Bork was purely and simply the victim of his own paper trail. The basic anti-Americanism of his views was there to see in his publications (which make for far more extensive reading than Thomas' résumé). It was a happy day for the United States when Bork's nomination went down the tubes, and anyone who's read his screed "Slouching Toward Gomorrah" can only thank God this guy didn't make it to the Supreme Court.
-- Steven Hart
Highland Park, N.J.
No matter how the Republican Prosecutorial Party tries to avoid a comparison between Rep. Dan "Romeo" Burton's sexual dalliances and those of President Clinton, they can't. If the president is a scumbag, then Burton is too. So too are Reps. Henry Hyde, Bob Livingston, Helen Chenoweth, Newt Gingrich and the Flynt Nine that are waiting for Larry's other shoe to drop. The GOP says that the American people will forget what they have done by the time the next election comes around. Well, I for one will not forget, and the rest of the American people will not either. Together we will vote to turn the Republican Party out of Congress!
-- William Michaels

_______________ASK CAMILLE: MEN: FAIR GAME FOR BANAL FEMINIST OFFICE HUMOR BY CAMILLE PAGLIA (12/23/98)

I was recently turned on to Salon Magazine, and considered it a progressive and positive addition to the media glut. That is until I surfed to Camille Paglia's column, obviously Salon's attempt at a fascist Ann Landers. Her comments concerning three Jews sent to an Ohio town meeting are totally outrageous. The United States' decision to bomb Iraq, an Islamic country, has absolutely no bearing on its religious orientation. And Paglia's insinuation that the religious beliefs of government officials is a consideration in national security issues is disgusting. Perhaps Salon is no better than the Drudge Report with its stated goal of pissing off a majority of viewers/readers for the sake of publicity.
-- Matt Marcus

_______________ON TELEVISION: TV (1998) BY JOYCE MILLMAN (12/21/98)

Joyce Millman's writing on the year in TV and on other topics throughout the year is delightful, insightful, entertaining and on the mark. I look forward to much more.
-- Mike Hlas
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
I was pleased by Joyce Millman's picks for TV in Salon's year-end edition. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "NYPD Blue," "The Practice" and "The X-Files" all are amazing shows. In the past, I haven't been a fan of TV, probably due to the fact that up until last year I worked late nights. After moving into the 9-to-5 world, I soon became addicted. Television was never this good in my youth. I must have gotten back into the TV habit at the zenith of the medium's creative life. My only quibble: "The Drew Carey Show," "That '70s Show," "Dharma & Greg," "Spin City" and "Will & Grace" all have proven to be solid shows, even if they are just "shitcoms." A better balance of comedies and dramas next year would make me a happy reader.
-- Richard Fitzgerald
I was browsing your site and I saw "Worst Shows of the year" and "The Howard Stern Radio Show" was listed. Give it up! "The Howard Stern Radio Show" is the most creative show that's hit the airwaves in years, or for that matter, since the history of television. I bet your critic has never even seen "The Howard Stern Radio Show," because if she had, she would realize that it's pure genius.
-- Dave Artisan
N E X T+P A G E+| Pulitzers for Poniewozik, and more on Salon's year-end coverage

_______________PORTRAIT OF A POLITICAL PIT BULL BY RUSS BAKER (12/22/98)
	In all the back-and-forth about your coverage of the Clinton scandal and the associated exposure of the skeletons rattling in his accusers' closets, I see the names of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas mentioned repeatedly as the precursors to this whole mess. The refrain -- and it appears in other periodicals as well as Salon -- is that the Democrats greased the skids for themselves by unfairly going after poor Bork and Thomas. I might be inclined to agree on the Thomas case, if only because there were so many good reasons to shoot down his nomination (notably his almost nonexistent background) that were overshadowed by the bizarre he-said/she-said that dominated his confirmation hearings. But Bork? Forget it. Robert Bork was purely and simply the victim of his own paper trail. The basic anti-Americanism of his views was there to see in his publications (which make for far more extensive reading than Thomas' résumé). It was a happy day for the United States when Bork's nomination went down the tubes, and anyone who's read his screed "Slouching Toward Gomorrah" can only thank God this guy didn't make it to the Supreme Court. -- Steven Hart Highland Park, N.J. No matter how the Republican Prosecutorial Party tries to avoid a comparison between Rep. Dan "Romeo" Burton's sexual dalliances and those of President Clinton, they can't. If the president is a scumbag, then Burton is too. So too are Reps. Henry Hyde, Bob Livingston, Helen Chenoweth, Newt Gingrich and the Flynt Nine that are waiting for Larry's other shoe to drop. The GOP says that the American people will forget what they have done by the time the next election comes around. Well, I for one will not forget, and the rest of the American people will not either. Together we will vote to turn the Republican Party out of Congress! -- William Michaels
_______________ASK CAMILLE: MEN: FAIR GAME FOR BANAL FEMINIST OFFICE HUMOR BY CAMILLE PAGLIA (12/23/98)
	I was recently turned on to Salon Magazine, and considered it a progressive and positive addition to the media glut. That is until I surfed to Camille Paglia's column, obviously Salon's attempt at a fascist Ann Landers. Her comments concerning three Jews sent to an Ohio town meeting are totally outrageous. The United States' decision to bomb Iraq, an Islamic country, has absolutely no bearing on its religious orientation. And Paglia's insinuation that the religious beliefs of government officials is a consideration in national security issues is disgusting. Perhaps Salon is no better than the Drudge Report with its stated goal of pissing off a majority of viewers/readers for the sake of publicity. -- Matt Marcus
_______________ON TELEVISION: TV (1998) BY JOYCE MILLMAN (12/21/98)
	Joyce Millman's writing on the year in TV and on other topics throughout the year is delightful, insightful, entertaining and on the mark. I look forward to much more. -- Mike Hlas Cedar Rapids, Iowa I was pleased by Joyce Millman's picks for TV in Salon's year-end edition. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "NYPD Blue," "The Practice" and "The X-Files" all are amazing shows. In the past, I haven't been a fan of TV, probably due to the fact that up until last year I worked late nights. After moving into the 9-to-5 world, I soon became addicted. Television was never this good in my youth. I must have gotten back into the TV habit at the zenith of the medium's creative life. My only quibble: "The Drew Carey Show," "That '70s Show," "Dharma & Greg," "Spin City" and "Will & Grace" all have proven to be solid shows, even if they are just "shitcoms." A better balance of comedies and dramas next year would make me a happy reader. -- Richard Fitzgerald I was browsing your site and I saw "Worst Shows of the year" and "The Howard Stern Radio Show" was listed. Give it up! "The Howard Stern Radio Show" is the most creative show that's hit the airwaves in years, or for that matter, since the history of television. I bet your critic has never even seen "The Howard Stern Radio Show," because if she had, she would realize that it's pure genius. -- Dave Artisan N E X T+P A G E+\| Pulitzers for Poniewozik, and more on Salon's year-end coverage