Ackerman's Fluffy; MUGGER Gets an A for Quindlen; Please Unalternate Caldwell and Cockburn; Pellegrino's Got a Fan; Armond's Got a Fan?ro;”Just Kidding!; More

Well, someone's asleep at the presses again. Somehow, an operative at the Voice was able to sneak this fluffy beatitude ("Unquiet Graves," 8/22) onto the front page of your otherwise fine publication. Luckily it wasn't without its pleasant moments, however unintentional. Take for instance Spencer Ackerman's description of his chum on the Committee of Descendants of the Afrikan Ancestral Burial Ground: "McClean, who loathes the GSA and doesn't mind calling its black employees 'Africans in their skin tone only'..." How lovely! So the illustrious (and apparently Afrikan-born) Ollie McClean and her band of foaming agitators charged into a government office, demanding equal rights for skeletons five times as old as the city's oldest living resident and shouting epithets at black employees whom they deemed too civil-minded and pragmatic to be truly black. Given the evidence, I submit that we should immediately concede all of the Descendants' demands, cut them an Ed McMahon-sized novelty check for 40 bazillion dollars (or whatever the latest estimate is on punitive damages for slavery?check Howard U's statistics) and tap the GSA budget to erect a bronze statue of Mumia Abu-Jamal taking a whiz on the Statue of Liberty. Geez, guys, I know you got no love for the feds, but this is getting ridiculous.

J. Kitchen, Brooklyn

Claude Would Be Appalled

Tell William Monahan I liked his writing much better when he published under his own name rather than Claude La Badarian's.

Lisa Braun, Manhattan

JFK's Inflated Legacy

MUGGER: Your 8/22 column is quite a piece. Your mention of JFK brings up a question I have long puzzled over. Why is he considered a significant president? At 49, I'm not old enough to have really understood what was going on during his short presidency, so maybe I've missed something. It seems to me that the most significant events were the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis and his death.

Clearly, the Bay of Pigs was a fiasco. Maybe it was a holdover from Ike, but JFK didn't bring honor on himself there. JFK certainly gets credit for winning the Cuban Missile Crisis, but there seems to be a lot of opinion that the whole thing could have been prevented. This leaves us with his death, which is hardly an accomplishment. In all, not much of a legacy.

Mike Sheridan, Richmond Heights, MO

Gracias, De Nada

This new Christopher Caldwell/Alexander Cockburn alternating weeks thing is very unfortunate; their columns were definitely the highlights of your paper. Why have their voices been halved? Is it a money issue? You can't afford/don't want to pay the freight? Or is it their choice/too many other obligations? Then again, maybe you feel it's time for a change... In any case, please let us know why?it would be interesting. My best to Señor Cockburn, whom I first came across as the author of a chess book I enjoyed as a kid, and who still keeps me interested all these years later.

Jay Raibourn, Manhattan

Yes, Kevin, It's Because of You

Dammit, I was afraid this was going to happen. For years I hesitated to write you about how valuable and entertaining I found Christopher Caldwell's column, fearing that, perverse bastards that you are, you'd somehow be prompted, if only unconsciously, to drop the guy. And now you've gone and done it, if only halfway at this point, leaving me wishing that I'd said something after all: how Caldwell's column was, week after week, the best thing in your paper; that he wrote the wittiest prose and offered the wisest political insights. You were lucky to have him. Yet considering your crabby liberal readership, I'll bet you get more letters weeping and wailing over half-portions of Cockburn?whom I, for one, won't miss at all.

Kevin Watkins, Manhattan

The editors reply: You want the good news or the bad news first? The good news is that a number of new advertisers have joined the paper over the past few months. The bad news is that given the generally lousy economy and the unstable conditions for print media (cf. The Industry Standard), we felt the responsible act was to trim editorial space to accommodate these new ads. If you look at other weekly papers, you'll see our ratio of editorial to ads is still unusually high.

Is There Any Other Kind?

Hey MUGGER: When I responded to Anna Quindlen's personal, insulting column on GWB, Newsweek's website advised that personal insults weren't acceptable.

Brian Perkins Sr., Fort Worth

He's Overworked

No one could be as dumb as Russ Smith seems to be on the evidence of his writings, so I assume he must think his readers are a pretty stupid lot. Take this paragraph from his last "MUGGER" outing (8/22): I didn't even have to read Anna Quindlen's column to know from Smith's "refutation" that its argument is solid and irrefutable.

Smith, stripped of ad hominem abuse (and that leaves him naked), says two things: (1) "Anna Quindlen [says] that the current president...ought to see that all citizens take as much time off as he does." His response: "For this elitist...the notion that the president would figuratively flip the bird to vacation spots like the Hamptons [etc.]) is just more evidence that he's a moron..." Uh, Russ? She says other working Americans should have as much vacation time as Bush. She's talking about the length of time, not the place. This is called missing the point, or, if deliberate, changing the subject.

(2) "Quindlen predictably cites the relaxed working schedule of Europeans..." "Predictably" here is, I guess, a snide way of admitting "Quindlen cites relevant and irrefutable evidence for her position." A final ad hominem, and Smith concludes his rebuttal. What a moron.

James O'Meara, Long Island City

You'll Never Walk Alone

Thanks MUGGER?I thought I was the only one who found Anna Quindlen's article idiotic (8/22).

Ro-Ann Purgert, Chicago

His Own Angry Man

I think if Armond White is going to remain in the employ of Steven Spielberg then perhaps you should take him off of your payroll. His "Countdown to Crisis" article ("Film," 8/22) pulled off the impressive feat of being ridiculous, shrill, snobbish, boring and, as he quotes Newsweek's reference to A.I., frustrating. White's angry shilling for A.I. and Spielberg in general renders the rest of his article dubious. The very fact that he can barely conceal his rage at A.I.'s less than eager reception is so plain as to reduce the rest of his article to ornament, or filler.

I've never seen such absurd filler, though. His assessments of Memento and The Deep End, for example. Strangely, I am both someone "who like[s] to think they think" and someone who has seen La Jetee and Betrayal. Even more strangely, I'm not a "diehard film noir nut." And to top it all off, I liked Memento. White also claims that "[a]udiences didn't simply resist going to A.I.; critics discouraged them from going." Most people I know weren't discouraged, but did simply resist. Of course, maybe they just didn't realize how programmed they were by the Evil, Cold, Cynical, Anti-Spielberg Hip Film Critics Brigade (or ECCASHFCB, as I like to refer to those "toadying" bastards).

White's comments become weirdly discordant when he accuses Spielberg's detractors of being "philistines" and "snobs." For White to ridicule the moviegoing public's ignorance of Chris Marker (they've probably never heard of Stan Brakhage, either, the dolts), then turn around and call someone else a "snob" is truly risible. He then continues his strident defense of Spielberg, an endeavor that's not only depressingly familiar to Press readers, but also based in a kind of reverse snobbery that passes for iconoclasm, an elevation of the overlooked. This sort of thing sometimes works well and brings to our attention gems in the rough, but when it's tempered by outrage and a whinily obvious bias, it's mostly pointless, and so full of speculation and conjecture about the motives of those who can't appreciate A.I. that even anyone who might be converted is repulsed.

Armond White says that A.I.'s enemies and The Deep End's boosters are just like the infamous morons of '58, who oh-so-stupidly dismissed Touch of Evil and Vertigo, and that "[t]ime will bury their dumb assessments." Maybe, or maybe they're people who will feel it was $10 better spent back in 2001. At any rate, Mr. White's articles are becoming embarrassingly one-note and strangely childish in their rage. "Dumb, corrupt critics...ringleaders of that cultural insensibility"? Fine, just please stop writing about it. We've heard you, week after week after week. Better yet, how about just "moviegoers are big stupids who only listen to poo-poo head critics, and A.I. rules." Run that next week, and cede the remaining space to Matt Zoller Seitz.

John Robertson, Manhattan

Or the Babbling of a Brook

In regard to the article "Not So, Swift" by Christopher Caldwell (8/22): Though Mr. Caldwell tries very hard to twist the facts in such a way as to defend his argument, he is, in the end, unsuccessful. In speaking of Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift's hypocritical stance of being against gay marriage while supporting gay rights, he asserts that the two opposing ideas are not incompatible, saying, "That's like saying that, if you voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, you must vote for reparations for slavery." This comparison is not at all the same thing. The appropriate comparison would be "if you voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, you must vote for legal marriage between African-Americans or other ethnic minorities." I don't know if Mr. Caldwell is gay himself, but I would doubt it: if he were, he would surely realize how ignorant and illogical his assertions are. Reading such drivel is like listening to a gurgling baby. Ridiculous.

R. Schramm, Woodside

That a Compliment or Insult?

MUGGER: Do you think that the FBI and the DC police could be persuaded to take a few detectives off the Chandra Levy hunt and assign them to finding Maureen Dowd? She seems to have been kidnapped months ago and her place taken by the editorial board of a suburban high school newspaper.

Gene Salorio, Storrs, CT

Writers vs. Hustlers

MUGGER: I do not profess to speak for Thomas M. Paynter of Las Vegas ("The Mail," 8/22). But my interpretation of Mr. Paynter's point is that Andrey Slivka is, at bottom, just as much a part of the clueless Eastern seaboard media elite as any of the Sulzbergerian hacks at the Times or The Washington Post; a group you (rightly) vilify in your column. I may be wrong, but judging from what I have seen in Slivka's writings, I suspect he has little work history apart from sitting at a word processor putting his thoughts into typescript. Nothing wrong with that if one can find a buyer for such work, of course, that being the nature of the free market. It does not, however, prevent his coming across as an insufferable bore who has little understanding of those of us who do "hustle" to make a living.

David Mann, Concord, CA

Nor Should Californians

I think it's time for Alexander Cockburn to come home. He's been on the road too long in his Plymouth Barracuda or whatever he's guzzling gas in. His tiresome strip-mine piece ("Wild Justice," 8/15), with the particularly bitchy lines about Laura Bush and Texas, only points out that New Yorkers shouldn't drive cross country. The boy needs a rest.

Jim Lehan, Manhattan

We Shudder to Contemplate It

I say, Mr. Strausbaugh's comments regarding Laurie Anderson ("Daily Billboard," 8/20) were right on the button. Ms. Anderson's contribution to our common musical oeuvre began and ended in the early 80s. She was that decade's answer to Yoko Ono, with an appeal that attracted both disaffected poofters and the close-cropped fems for whom ambient sounds and meaning-challenged lyrics were ambrosia. I had the pleasure of attending a few of her "concerts" here in the provinces when she was in her heyday. Much then was said about very little, what? Apart from her liaison with Lou Reed, one finds small interest in her accomplishments these days.

John Carroll, Richmond, VA

Can't Bite the Hand, Bob

I admire your paper. But there's one annoying cliche you guys can't seem to wean yourselves from: incessant Upper West Side bashing. (Andrey Slivka is only the most recent offender: "All along the Upper West Side this week you'll hear the sound of piggybanks breaking open," "Daily Billboard," 8/21) It's getting tiresome. Not all of us voted for Ruth Messinger. Please find another liberal punching bag. (I nominate Tribeca.)

Robert Sabat, Manhattan

Strokes and Slaps

More Slivka, please! His piece about looking for pieces of lost civilization in the hinterlands of South Jersey was great ("Culture," 8/8). His writing is always insightful (if meandering) and I truly agree with him that the bulk of America is being turned into a wasteland of sprawl, of McDonald's and Wal-Mart, with no place for a human body to assimilate itself.

Sometimes Andrey is a bit too elitist (the 8/1 "Webbys 2001" thing with all his references to "whiteboys" and "whitegirls"?please), but there isn't a better writer in your paper, though he must share honors with Matt Zoller Seitz and Slackjaw. As for MUGGER, after years of reading him I figured it out. Sure, your political discourse is pure shill for the right, no questions asked. But it's not your views that make me scratch my head, laugh out loud on the PATH train or throw the paper down in disgust. It's your writing. You plain suck. You state opinion like it's fact without any backup. In my book, anyone who writes like you is clearly either an idiot or a lazy-ass.

Michael J. Smoyer, Hoboken

One Man's Meat

Hey Slivka, The Atlantic Monthly also had an article about American indifference to the Rwandan genocide (after the admissions article and a Garrison Keillor piece) ("Daily Billboard," 8/22). Was that some messed-up shit or what? Maybe not as messed-up as the state of college admission scams, though. Rwanda's a world away from Harvard, Princeton, Tufts and Yale, ain't it?

Daric Desautel, El Paso

Ranchy Remark

MUGGER: You take more vacations in a year than I do in a lifetime (8/22). I guess that's why you identify with Bush so much.

Robert J. Anderson, Manhattan

Madonna?

MUGGER: I have to say that after reading your comparison of the Sox and the passing of a child...(8/22). Since the ultimate disapointment of '86, I have always maintained that the only thing that could possibly be sadder (for me) anyway would be the passing of a family member. It's not like we could ever be any closer.

Regarding "That Smell"?so you know who it was written about, and why?

Jon Lerner, Highland Park, NJ

Send a Check for the Beer

The 8/22 paper was another great issue. At a time when interesting reading and sensible political analysis are a rarity on the Internet, New York Press is an almost daily pleasure. What better way to spend a Tuesday evening than having a vodka martini (or two) while reading MUGGER, Caldwell and Strausbaugh? Hell, I'm even starting to like Slivka, and would especially like to buy Jim Knipfel a beer (or two).

M. Van Voorhis, Alton, IL

Hi. Bye.

MUGGER: Read your work for the first and last time (8/15). You're one sick person, but so typically right-wing. Sad piece of work.

Name Withheld, via Internet

Danzig Was a Wimp

Thanks for the great new look into Taki's private life, even if he had to use that nom de plume "Claude La Badarian." Also, someone should remind Tanya Richardson ("Music," 8/15) that the guitar player from Def Leppard once kicked Glenn Danzig's ass and sent him crying back into his trailer.

Gil Jawetz, Brooklyn

Bronx vs. Midwood

Spencer Ackerman's article about the changing of the guard at Bronx Science ("Live & Learn," 8/15) unfortunately served to confirm the nagging suspicion that I've had about the school's performance and reputation over the last 10 years. It is one thing to read about Science falling behind Stuyvesant by such measures as Intel Science competition winners, and I know the establishment of similar schools elsewhere around the country has provided additional stiff competition.

However, when I read about Science falling behind Brooklyn's Midwood High, which as a neighborhood high school cannot pre-select its students, something must be terribly wrong on 205th St. My best wishes and congratulations to Principal Reidy, who certainly has her work cut out for her.

Howard Hirsch, Carson City, NV, Bronx Science Class of '67

A Lone Voice

Scott Pellegrino rightly took WEVD's Sam Greenfield to task in his article "The Little Station that Couldn't" ("New York City," 8/15). Greenfield, who is better likened to a switchboard operator than a talk show host, is completely consumed with his 15 minutes of fame. While his 90-year-old senior citizen listeners adore him, anyone with a heartbeat feels that he runs a worthless program. His ratings?or lack thereof?prove this. Greenfield's comment about not being left-wing enough for Scott, and that Karl Marx doesn't do radio, demonstrates his sarcastic, bitter and hostile personality. The issue at hand was the content of his radio show, but Greenfield resorted to bringing up the employment history of Scott Pellegrino. Greenfield is a charmless version of the character "Pat" from Saturday Night Live and will arguably go down in history as someone who could not hack it in New York, the number-one market.

Chuck Farn, Maspeth, NY

Two Full Slabs and a Bucket, Please

MUGGER: If you want to know where to eat, cultivate a couple of locals who know locals (8/22). Within 10 miles of my home in rural Alabama (about 17 miles outside of Montgomery), I can get you ribs to die for in the community of Waugh, which is where I spent my childhood. And in 20 minutes, give or take, I can sit you down in the "city" (Montgomery) for killer fried chicken. The point is that you don't need to know everybody in the South, you just need to know somebody who knows somebody.

Mary McLemore, Pike Road, AL

C. Everett Kook

MUGGER: Thanks for digressing from the political dregs of August and giving us some good takes on the Red Sox and Jimy Williams' demise (8/22). Jimy Williams is a great baseball guy. He will never be outcoached between the lines. He is an unfortunate casualty of the likes of Dan Duquette and the Carl Everetts of the baseball world. He may have lost the respect of his team, but I for one have to question where the core of respect lies. Williams did a masterful job of keeping the Bosox in the middle of the division race despite the loss of Nomar and Pedro. Guys like Everett are a cancer in the clubhouse and on the game. Duquette should get the ax, and if you "Chowds" are lucky he will. I think the Bosox are just a break away from getting over on the Yankees. Dumping Duquette is the break they need. I haven't given up hope on an Astros vs. Red Sox World Series. Forever the optimist...

Tracy Meadows, Brenham, TX

Mass Bay Views

It's great that we will still get Christopher Caldwell and Alexander Cockburn if a pity that we can't get both every week. Caldwell pointing out that our Gov. Jane Swift's stepson Brian Hunt is a bit muddled in his thinking exhibits a keen grasp of the obvious ("Hill of Beans," 8/22). The lip ring, the nose ring, the black nail polish, all displayed to best advantage in the local newspapers, were evidence enough that we were not dealing with a deep thinker here. Brian's career at the ripe old age of 25 is enjoying a meteoric rise; he's working at Starbucks. Nobody apparently told young Mr. Hunt that Slacker took place a decade ago; these days a 25-year-old should be busy getting over the bankruptcy of his first or second dotcom startup.

To be fair, Brian's major "issues" appear to involve his worthless layabout father; the gratuitous hit on his stepmother, our esteemed governor, was essentially collateral damage. Still, I have to say that I am really enjoying the Swift administration. Dogpatch apparently having been moved from Arkansas to Massachusetts, I can't wait to see what our favorite swamp Yankees are going to get up to next. New York can only envy Massachusetts; we have a whale of a governor.

Tim O'Brien, Scituate, MA

Back on the Chain Gang

Although I have heard of powerful men in the South snatching black men off the street and forcing them to work for a number of years without pay, I had no idea that large American corporations had enlisted the prison population to fuel their profit margins with cheap labor. I read Alexander Cockburn's article ("Wild Justice," 8/15) and found it disturbing to say the least. Thank you, and I look forward to reading other columns of his in the future.

Charles Branklyn, San Francisco

Don't Play with...

MUGGER: You picked the most dangerous firework of them all to play with and got burned. I set off a nice, safe neighborhood display every year, but won't let my kids near those stupid sparklers. I love your insight and humor, but learn about fireworks and stick to the subjects you understand.

Bill Cleary, Duluth, GA

'Cause Baby, Look at You Now?

MUGGER wrote about his recent visit to the Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah (8/22). What he did not mention was the gravesite of the songwriter Johnny Mercer and his wife. This is my favorite location in this old and wonderful and slightly spooky cemetery. There are two large marble gravestones and beneath their names and dates each includes the title of one of Mercer's songs. Johnny's stone lists "And the Angels Sing" while his wife's stone reads "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby." Isn't that wonderful?

Ralph Knisley, Staten Island

Get Marv Kadesh on the Horn!

MUGGER: I was sorry to learn of your less than happy vacation in South Carolina. My wife and I have vacationed on Seabrook Island for the last two years and have fallen in love with the area. Seabrook is about a 35-minute drive from Charleston, which has an historic area, comprised of block after block of lovingly restored pre-1800s homes, that is absolutely beautiful. The shopping streets are being "prettified" so I guess that it will look like Savannah's River St. all too soon. There are many wonderful restaurants specializing in "Low Country" cuisine. (The entire area is the "Low Country," a name that I had never heard before.) This includes dishes like shrimp and grits (it's really wonderful). As for Seabrook Island, it's been developed as a private resort community so it's very quiet and peaceful. The beaches are immaculate and the grounds spectacular. We love the entire area and I just wanted to share the info with you.

Elliot Podhorzer, Brooklyn

Georgia on His Mind

MUGGER: When Savannah became the first settlement in the new colony of Georgia?founded as a buffer for South Carolina against the Spanish in Florida?Gen. Oglethorpe intended it to be a refuge for poor Protestants in debtors prisons. He ended up recruiting anyone who would go to what promised to be a difficult life. Of the 99 settlers in the new colony, a third were Jews. Until the census of 1820, a majority of the nation's Jews and Catholics lived south of the Mason-Dixon line. Immigration from Europe and the Civil War changed that.

Michael Parrino, Seneca, SC

Your Sweet Gentility Is Crystal Clear

MUGGER: I read your articles all the time in Jewish World Review and I thought I'd cross over to see your paper. Excellent columns and articles. Glad you visited our state (I work for the city of Myrtle Beach), sorry you had some problems. Remember, we're genteel, not perfect. Hope you didn't have too bad a time. Keep up the great work.

Quinton Payne, Monck's Corner, SC

Original Thought

MUGGER: Alan Dershowitz is Yasir Arafat's illegitimate son. It's the only possible explanation.

C. Hite, Gastonia, NC

MUGGER, Man of Contradictions

MUGGER: First time I've read you, old boy. Anyone who can anger me and make me laugh in the same column is okay by me. Keep it up.

Leslie Lovett, Aldergrove, British Columbia

Dynastic Rule

MUGGER: Why do you conclude RFK couldn't have run in '68 if JFK had not been assassinated? (8/22) As an undergraduate student in the early 60s, I recall the joke used to be that JFK would serve eight years, RFK eight years, Teddy (pre-Chappaquiddick) eight years and then it would be 1984.

Jack Rippy, Lake Forest, CA

Must He Elucidate?

MUGGER: Wait a minute?which is the "wrong side of 50" (8/22)? I read your column and agreed with 99 percent of it, but I take issue with your comments about age. Hair in the ears and aged over 50 are not the proper criteria for judging a person's worth. Although much of the over-50 generation has sold out for creature comforts (as if no one else has), not all of us are stupid.

In terms of Anna Quindlen?you're right on. I dropped my subscription to Newsweek largely because of her nauseating column of liberal drivel. Of course, their editorial policy in general (see the recent issue on the Boy Scouts) is enough to turn one's stomach. Thanks for your good article.

Mike Stubblefield, Seattle

Needed Saying

Great column on Quindlen and Hertzberg, MUGGER. Congrats.

Gene Fairfield, Fairfield, CT

Jimy, Jimy, Jimy

MUGGER: I love the Red Sox, so I'm pretty much on your side (8/22). But what's your problem with Jimy Williams? Considering the team has been without Nomar and without Pedro for half a season, has a poisoned clubhouse (thanks to Carl Everett and other whiny veterans) and a terrible GM?well, Jimy did a great job. Who cares what lineup he put on the field? He kept them within striking distance of the Yankees, a much better team. And if you think finding an everyday spot in the lineup for Shea Hillenbrand is a good idea, you are dead wrong. The guy can't take a walk to save his life, and his stats across the board aren't that much different from the equally inept Jose Offerman's. He makes this Red Sox fan long for the days of, hell, Scott Cooper.

Russell Thomas, Ithaca, NY

O Wise MUGGER

MUGGER: Yours is a must-read column at all times; it doesn't matter what the subject matter is. You teach people common sense and, lest they forget, that there's more to life than instant self-gratification. I find the elder President Bush's interview especially endearing and you pointed out how he has always been a decent human being (8/22). I'm looking forward to more of your wisdom and observations.

Raquel Rivera, Lake Forest, CA

And Tinker Toys

MUGGER: I'll try to feel your pain over the Red Sox?looks as though the boys in the Bronx are going to go meekly this year. Thanks for your column?I no longer pick up The New York Times. However, please bone up on missile defense before you say anything positive about the dumb and dumber idea. The ABM treaty may be outdated, but it's totally embarrassing to think educated adults actually think the NMD plan could work. Clearly Bush still plays with his Legos before all those siestas.

Marc Safman, Long Island City

There'd Be No Trees Left

MUGGER: I, too, have noted that the highly touted Utz potato chips are inferior to Wise (8/22). And whatever happened to "Charles Chips"? Thought they were the best?ever try them? Speaking of the Bosox's propensity for tormenting their fans (See Yankee Fan heroes Offerman, Beck, Kim, Lowe), did you notice Kerrigan's embarrassingly jet-black dyed mustache and hair? Ooooh, he looks so young now, eh? Maybe he should wear his hat backwards too. Reminded me of that All in the Family episode where Archie dyed his hair in order to appear younger for a promotion. Anyway, the managerial change won't matter much, will it? Furthermore, as mediocre as the Bombers have been, it's still enough to repel the Sox. Don't even fantasize in your wildest dreams about them overtaking Oakland.

Taking on Bobby Flay now? Sic 'em Russ. Catch his whining on the Food Network's Iron Chef challenge when he lost to a Japanese competitor? (I really better find a life.) How bizarre is an indoor stadium complete with banners and cheering fans for a cooking contest? What's next? A "Vacuuming and Dusting" network? I can never get enough of you slapping elitists Anna Quindlen, Maureen Dowd or Joe Conason around. Why don't you come up with an "Enemy's List," a la P.J. O'Rourke? Keep up the good work.

Jim Casaburi, via Internet

Pot vs. Kettle

MUGGER: I agree with you. Anna Quindlen is a sick and mean-spirited liberal of the Molly Ivins school. She writes one feeble column every two weeks and whines about GWB taking a working vacation.

Mario Goveia, Toledo, OH

Damned Svelte Fool

MUGGER: Loved your column; I wish you'd bash that damned fool Sharpton often and hard (8/22). Use the liberal's technique: repeat your position often and loudly.

I also agree with your views about the Kennedys, though I doubt Robert would have managed to succeed anywhere other than New York. They'll elect any nut up there.

Tom Parvin, Plano, TX

You Forgot the Fantabulous Peyser

Letter writer Barry Popik mentions that several of his friends may boycott The New York Times ("The Mail," 8/15). Big Deal. My own boycott of the Times is two years old and I have been reading happily ever after. The Post has a lot to offer that the Times does not, such as Sowell, Will, Buckley, Michelle Malkin and Michael Meyers. While none of the above may be as exciting as The Great Taki, remember that the Times made Susan McDougal out to be a "political prisoner" until the Post reported the truth?that McDougal was accused of stealing $150,000 on credit cards from her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Zubin Mehta.

Harry Voorhees, Manhattan

Blame the Victim

Charles Glass: Right on, Chuckie boy: the usually docile Italian police shot an unarmed Italian kid ("Taki's Top Drawer," 8/15). The kid was 23 years old. I was getting married at that age after having graduated with a BA from McGill University. I wasn't a kid. As for unarmed?the kid was about to lob a fire extinguisher at the docile policeman who just happened to be a young kid, too. Try taking a fire extinguisher to the head for laughs sometime, Chuck. As for the old yawn-making stuff about the brutal imperial pasts of the Europeans, after having been exposed during my schooling in Canada's two official languages to the pretensions of two of those imperial traditions, all I can say is that the reason the French held Indochina and the British the Indian subcontinent as well as most of Africa was because the people they colonized were basket cases and still remain so. Charles Glass should he be serious about realpolitik in the real world, give up quoting Henry Luce as scripture and look at Thomas Sowell on the subject of why some nations turn out to be leaders while the destiny of others is to be led.

M. Woods, via Internet

You Prefer Bazoombas?

Johnny Scorpio: I read your article entitled "Do the White Thing" (7/25). This was the first time that I ever read New York Press, and sadly I was very disappointed. I expected to read an article about the tensions of racism between blacks and whites. What I got was an article about a white man venting his obvious racist feelings toward blacks. I'm not a racist, you say. I couldn't discern that from the tone of your article. In relating the story of your attack by "a crazy black fellow," you refer to his girlfriend as "his woman," then "his girl," and finally "his bitch"?never his girlfriend or lady. According to what you say, this "crazy black fellow"'s girlfriend never once did you any harm. She wasn't the one who punched you and I doubt that she urged your attacker to do so. So why is it that you refer to her in these insulting terms? (Oh, I forgot?this is the same man who referred to his girlfriend's breasts as tits.)

John Frederick Moore wrote a similar article, "Guilty, Though Not Charged," in the same edition of New York Press, and he did a fine job of conveying his feelings about racism to us, the readers. You could take a lesson in good writing from him because ultimately, you did not do "the white thing." You did the racist thing.

Selinda Paris, East Flatbush

What You Said

Alexander Cockburn: You mention media collusion in your "War Crimes" article, and you are closer than you think. Reference the article on Worldnetdaily of 3/3/00 by Geoff Metcalf, "Army Psyops at CNN," subtitled "News giant employed military psychological operations personnel." The two-week psyops familiarization course for NCO's I took at Fort Bragg scared the hell out of me. (My college psych courses weren't even close.) These people are true artists, and their soldiers and officers are on "lend lease" throughout "various sectors of society" as part of a program called "Training with Industry." They are crafting news and are the infrastructure that makes it all "work." When I took that course in 1979, they told me that if I used anything I learned there against American civilians it would mean 20 years in Leavenworth. My, how times change.

Mike Hutchison, Gettysburg, PA