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_______________ THE QUESTION THAT WON'T GO AWAY BY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS (03/16/99)
	Look, Salon, I know the Christian right neo-Nazis jump on your case for being "soft on Clinton," but that doesn't mean you have to publish the works of Christopher Hitchens. There are plenty of real reporters on your own staff who are willing and able to take factually based potshots at the president. -- Herbert Rogers Minneapolis I do not deny that the recent rape allegations against President Clinton are disturbing. And if this republic had the balls to impeach Clinton for "war crimes," I would weep with joy, being of the politically progressive persuasion. Of course, if this were to truly happen, I could only conclude that I had slipped into an alternate universe, since such an event is about as likely as hearing the mainstream media talk about anything except itself for more than three seconds. On the other hand, it is truly sad to see Christopher Hitchens once again saddle up for another ride on his moral high horse. I used to believe that Hitchens had more than a modicum of integrity, but since the Sidney Blumenthal fiasco, I see now that the seeming moral outrage he often displays in writing is clearly at odds with his penchant for fraternizing with the likes of Tim Russert and other fixtures from the corporate media whorehouse. Though ostensibly a leftist, Hitchens is basically cut from the same odious cloth as Dick Morris and George Stephanopoulos. His textbook-paranoid writing style also leaves much to be desired. -- Ian Brand New York Thank you for Christopher Hitchens' column illustrating the signal monster and his crowd of sycophants in and out of the White House. It is sad that it takes a Brit to voice conclusions that the American media talking heads should have been stating years ago -- but they are afraid, just as afraid as pusillanimous senators. The entire establishment -- including both the Democratic and Republican parties, the national press, the self-styled intellectuals in universities, the mainstream political churches and even the top military leadership -- all have been utterly discredited by averting their faces from this monster. Lots of us un-beautiful people out here in the flyover zones have only contempt for the pack of them -- "cynicism" in their definition. On a spiritual and mental level, there is no longer a United States; what was the work of my ancestors for centuries has been defiled, tortured and finally murdered by the Clintonistas, including the vast television-transfixed poll fodder rabble. God bless Hitchens for speaking out. -- Richard Douglas Clark, Ph.D., M.D. I am increasingly angry that you continue to employ Christopher Hitchens. His ravings have grown more lunatic with each passing week. Each time Hitchens' name is attached to a piece it's a bizarre diatribe against President Clinton. His most recent in Salon seems to say that because Clinton isn't able to disprove a rape charge, he's a rapist, the most vile of all men. This goes beyond his random speculation that Clinton is a war criminal or a liar: While both charges are repugnant to me, I can at least see the basis of Hitchens' argument. But to accuse someone of being a rapist, publicly, shouldn't that demand a higher burden of proof than Hitchens has ever provided on your pages? I would not dare to accuse anyone of any such crime without voluminous evidence. This is not a country in which the accused are guilty, where this kind of bizarre public vendetta should be aired lightly. This kind of feature cheapens and tarnishes the good work I appreciate from Salon. -- Derek Zumsteg While clearly, rape is beyond intolerable, using phraseology such as "hump the help" doesn't really bolster Christopher Hitchens' claim to be a male above the fray. If the help is a dog, monkey or cow, I suppose that might be an appropriate linguistic turn; but if the other party is a human being, it's amazingly insulting at the very least. While I agree that actions speak louder than words, words often help set the tone. Hitchens' indignation at the president's alleged behavior rings pretty hollow if that's how he himself views relations between the sexes. -- Diane Addante There are many of us out here who are tired of Christopher Tripp's, uh, I mean Hitchens' mean-spirited, detestable rhetoric, full of hollow, fantasized allegations regarding the president. Hitchens (aka Mr. Tripp) is more dangerous to this country than anything he accuses President Clinton of having done. It's time that Hitchens returns to his jolly old country and publish his crap in one of their Sunday tabloids, next to the story about the alien who screwed the 95-year-old woman who then gave birth to a baby with an alligator head. That would be more befitting his journalistic talents. I'll bet Sidney Blumenthal would second that suggestion. -- C.B. Abrams Louisville, Ky. SALON | March 19, 1999

R E C E N T L Y+| THE FABULOUS KINGDOM OF GAY ANIMALS BY SUSAN McCARTHY

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