CRACK ATTACK Crack Attack To Robert Ecksel ("New York City," ...

To Robert Ecksel ("New York City," 12/10) regarding the Harlem police department: If you and Ernie give up and don't go over McDuffy's head or insist on McDuffy doing something about the crack dealing, obviously it will persist. It is well-known to those who live in black and Hispanic neighborhoods that certain blocks/areas are "let go" by the department. Dealers know where they can deal. I dealt with the same situation outside my building in the Highbridge section of the Bronx. I kept going to the department and called the same detective every time the dealers were outside. The dealers knew they were not wanted in front of my building, but I have a daughter and I am relentless?being white has nothing to do with it. Hold the department accountable on a personal level. Do you have a landlord? Harass him or her, too.

Michelle Savarese, Bronx

In that Case, All Hope's Lost

Good to finally see a New York journalist with enough integrity to write a fair article about Scientology bashing ("Rotation," 12/3). I'm a 31-year veteran Scientologist originally from St. Louis, and it's rare as pre-cut diamonds in the rough to see somebody with clear thinking on the subject.

Scientologists are not trying to take anyone's land or churn up religious hatreds. We are actively promoting peace in the Middle East by handing out millions of "The Way To Happiness," the little non-religious moral code written by Hubbard, and we're hearing of Arabs and Israelis getting together because of it.

Bob Guignon, Clearwater, FL

L. Ronald's Kids

Well done for expressing views promoting religious tolerance and pluralism ("Rotation," 12/3). Demonizing a religion is contemptuous, but using children to carry the message adds insult to injury, and is indeed a form of child abuse. This sort of practice can later degenerate into systemic violence, as witnessed in the Middle East, where generations of kids are thought to hate people belonging to other religions.

Jean Larivière, Montreal

Taibbi's Chechen Model's Name is Ilsa

It's a shame that Matt Taibbi isn't running the State Dept. or DOD right now. After reading his article, I am convinced that what this "war" needs is a bunch of bloodthirsty killing machines in Iraq to keep order and ensure victory ("Cage Match," 11/26). But isn't the combat portion of this supposed to be over? Aren't we supposed to be keeping the peace now? No matter, I am sure that using the "Chechen model" Taibbi seems so fond of will be really effective.

Missy Hall, Glasgow, KY

Hear Hear

William Bryk, welcome back! We all missed you (well, at least I did). And as your article "T-Shirt Republican" ("Rotation," 11/26) clearly shows, you've still got it.

Richard Fried, Brooklyn

Read It Again, S-l-o-w-l-y

Regarding the article written by Paul Krassner about President Reagan ("Zen Bastard," 12/3): Do you ever read the articles by your so-called "writers"? From start to finish, I could not make heads or tails of what in the world he was trying to convey to us. What does this sentence mean? "You would've thought the screenplay had referred to a claim in the wife of Peter Lawford's biography of her husband that Nancy Reagan gave the best blowjobs in Hollywood."

The only possible explanation I could come up with is that he was on drugs again. The following is a direct quote from Krassner: "A producer, another writer and I were the pot-smokers on this show. We would smoke a joint while walking around the block."

The members of this small group must have been President Reagan's most trusted advisers. This has to be where he received all of his "facts" to write such an insightful article. Or, could it be that he was trying to blow smoke up our skirts?

Phillip L. Watts, Louisville

Just Doin' Our Jobs, Ma'am

Bless you for your coverage of the presidential turkey of a visit to Iraq ("Cage Match," 12/3). I don't consider myself a fringe ranter, but when I first heard of this stunt, I thought it was an obviously staged scene in league with gluing sesame seeds onto Styrofoam Big Macs for photo-shoots. I was amazed and disgusted by the slavering of the press corps over this silly maneuver. Thanks again!

Nancy A. Jackson, Monroe, MI

What about his Legacy?!?

I sincerely hope no one on your staff (or their family) will ever have to experience dealing with Alzheimer's. What a tragic and painful disease. Figuring your paper would be politically vicious toward former President Reagan was a no-brainer ("Zen Bastard," 12/3). However, to have such a degrading, cynical and mean-spirited characterization of a former president of the U.S. and his wife as they struggle with a horrible disease is simply sad.

Congrats on achieving your goal?contributing to the debasement of both decency and the institution of the presidency. I imagine your staff was too busy laughing in self-righteous indignation to think about your legacy or what the picture says about a man who cannot defend himself anymore.

Peter Avery, Manhattan

Heartland Homie

MUGGER: Thank you for your column on Nov. 26. It was straightforward, and it enlightened this conservative. I love to read the various commentaries, but yours was to the point and more understandable for someone without a Harvard education.

I am a patriotic American who has worked since age 17, paid taxes, never taken assistance and believe in personal responsibility and the "American Dream," although it gets tough sometimes. I am a Christian and admire President Bush. I know he is not perfect, but none of us is.

There are people like myself out here in the Heartland who hate all the hypocrisy and hatefulness that accompanies the political process. Thanks for writing a great column.

Nita Brackin, Cape Girardeau, MO

Moore's Theory

MUGGER: How do you do it? Nailed them again, by being truthful and honest, especially ketchup Kerry. The deeemonrats remind me of Custer's Last Stand; maybe you've heard this: The ground was white at Custer's Last Stand. Why? The Indians kept comin' and comin' and comin'. Sort of reminds me of the deeemonrats, except they keep comin' with their vitriolic hatred of President Bush for having stolen their power, so they think they have no better alternative, no better solution, except the same appeasement the Clintons offered for eight years, which didn't work, hence 9/11. Looking forward to your next article, as usual.

Doris Moore, Newark, OH

And About that Moon Landing?

How do we know that Bush really made that Thanksgiving trip to Baghdad ("Cage Match" 12/3)? Because his press office says so? Like they haven't put out a continuous stream of lies.

When I heard about the Thanksgiving photo op, my first thought was, the whole thing was probably staged, filmed stateside with ringer soldiers, when Bremer was summoned to Washington a couple of weeks ago. We have all grown up with a steady diet of Hollywood movies, and if it has taught us anything, it has taught us how easy it is to make anything appear real on film.

Linda Ross, Chicago

Populus What?

The only question one comes away with after Taibbi's piece on Turkey Day in Baghdad ("Cage Match," 12/3) is, what did GWB and Condi disguise themselves as? Visions of Alfred E. Neuman and Oprah's best friend blur with attempts of locating a photo that includes Rice. The allusion to the Stockholm Syndrome is definitely a double entendre. It's time to print and distribute a t-shirt emblazoned with the old?what else?Roman adage: Populus Vult Decipi; Ergo Decipiatur.

Signorile's piece about Hillary and the senator from Rhode Island ("The Gist," 12/3) brought back some memories about the first time I saw Hillary in Little Rock. No more thick-lensed eyepieces for Hillary known by some not admiringly and admittedly partisan Arkansans as " Have Balls Will Travel Hillary."

Armand De Laurell, Little Rock

SuperMUGGERman

Mugger: I always enjoy taking a trip to your Bizarro World. This week you were in top form as Head Apologist for the Sham President and his Baghdad Pudpull (MUGGER, 12/3).

Saying that he "went to Iraq" is like claiming I climbed in the tiger cage when all I did was go to the zoo. Far as I can see, his only "accomplishments" have been two: 1) Master of Smugness in the Spin Department, and 2) he's well on the way to becoming the least fiscally conservative prez in history?even when you don't count military/terror spending increases. (Real-man conservatives ought to be braying for his head on a platter.)

He doesn't have a truthful bone in his body. And then, just as I was sitting down to clue you in, this crossed my desk: According to Reuters, "British Airways said yesterday that none of its pilots made contact with President Bush's plane during its secret flight to Baghdad on Thanksgiving, contradicting White House reports of a midair exchange that nearly prompted Bush to call off his trip." Hah.

Steven Arnerich, Manhattan

How About "Refused"?

I'm not exactly sure whether I am amused, bemused or confused about the gay-marriage brouhaha ("The Gist," 11/26). As an aging gay gentleman whose partner of 20 years died back in '84, I can appreciate certain economic and social benefits that society offers to "married couples." However, when I consider the "virtual reality" of so many marriages today, I can't help but wonder if even heterosexual couples should be allowed to marry. There seems to exist in this country a sort of serial polygamy in which one may have as many spouses as one chooses provided they are chosen one at a time and must never, as may be the case in certain Mormon enclaves, cohabitate in the aggregate. In the old days, marriages lasted because women were so lacking in certain economic and social rights that they had to depend on the "breadwinner" for their sustenance. Admonitions to marry a doctor or a lawyer made sense; becoming a "gold digger" was a sensible career choice.

Today's divorce statistics belie the "family values" so beloved by the Christian Taliban. The religious aspects of today's straight unions also leave much to be desired. People who never see the inside of a church or synagogue tell the clergy what they want by way of liturgy and music and plan the whole show for their own aggrandizement. Paying off the costs of limousines, special dinners, the wedding showers, the stag "orgy" and, of course, the reception to end all receptions quite often lasts longer than the "marriage." Last but not least is the spectacle of the unblushing bride dressed in white mincing down the aisle in her Prada pumps. Surely this is as meaningful a definition of "chutzpah" as is the orphaned patricide.

I ask my gay brothers and sisters: Is this really what you want? Alas, I'm afraid it might be.

Cristino Xirau, Manhattan

Mission: Accomplished

I am staggered by the revoltingly poor taste of your Dec. 3 cover illustration. The image of Ronald Reagan, his eyes completely crossed as a glob of drool dangles from his lip to his chest, is simply repugnant. Even more scandalous, however, is the portrayal of a woman nearby, presumably Nancy Reagan, on her knees, fellating one of the former president's doctors.

We Reaganites thank this nation's 40th president for restoring America's malaise-plagued spirits, reviving a battered economy and retiring communism to the realm of political theory. Of course, Reagan's detractors have their criticisms and are free to express them.

But a responsible publication should not stoop so low as to lampoon the condition of a 92-year-old man befogged by Alzheimer's disease. Nancy Reagan, still healthy at 82 years of age, could have dismissed her husband to a rest home and moved in with someone in better physical and mental shape. Instead, the former first lady stands beside her man in sickness, as loyally as she did in health. She and a team of doctors and nurses treat the ailing ex-president day in and day out. Nancy surely does not deserve to be depicted performing oral sex on one of her husband's caregivers.

Your cruel, callous, mean-spirited cover belies the myth that the left brims with compassion for those in need, while the right holds the weak in contempt. Your horrid front page reveals just how insensitive and vicious liberals can be.

Deroy Murdock, Manhattan

Natt Weinerdogg is Back!

I really do not wish to appear as if I'm playing God, judge and jury with you people (judge not lest ye be judged, or along those lines), but...

Having taken some days off from work to be with my family during the Thanksgiving holiday, I picked up a copy of the Dec. 3 issue. On the cover was a charming cartoon of a drooling, seemingly uncomprehending Ronald Reagan. In the background, Nancy was on her knees in front of the doctor, taking the temperature of the sawbone's, er, manhood, with her mouth.

Let me make this crystal clear?few presidents in American history did more damage and received more credit than "Reagan Hood." I still remember my late paternal grandmother Blanche E. Weiner's face (R.I.P.) turning purple and steam coming from her ears whenever she talked about Reagan; the nicest thing she had to say was, "He's such a moron."

But is it really necessary to plaster such an obscene, sexually explicit cartoon on the front page of your newspaper, mocking the tragedy of Alzheimer's? C.J. Sullivan's "Bronx Stroll," as usual, was excellent (although the block I live on is Sedgwick, with no e). So was the masterpiece on the "Air Train" to JFK ("Page Two").

And while your "alternative" weekly sister prints almost nothing but good things about itself, you almost exclusively print letters criticizing your own publication. Why spoil such wonderful, fact-oriented, unbiased, thorough, fair, even, tell-it-the-way-it-is journalism and editorial policy?journalism and editorial policy all New York's daily and alternative newspapers need to emulate and learn from?with such crudeness and vulgarity?

Nathan F. Weiner, Bronx

Sounds like the Boy Scouts

As a very open-minded agnostic, I believe I can take a fairly fair-minded view of "cults," religion and belief systems in general, which is why I felt compelled to respond to Alan Cabal's "L. Ron Hubbub" ("Rotation," 12/3). I have spent some time studying this belief system, and while it is hardly as dangerous as a crusade, jihad or inquisition, to cast it in a warm, cozy light is disingenuous at best and foolish at worst.

First, Scientology as a belief system is based on salvation through time and money. Even Catholicism under its worst popes, in its most corrupt days, wasn't quite this crass. One could, at least, simply buy an indulgence. To advance in Scientology, you must spend countless hours taking classes and pony up large sums of dough. Like Masonry, it requires adherents to invest and invest again in order to learn its "secrets." Many folks have spent over a decade of their lives and in excess of $100K to learn that there simply aren't any there. To say the least, this is intellectually dishonest; some might call it criminal.

From the article, you'd have no idea of the large (and growing) numbers of disaffected former Scientologists who rose through the ranks only to find that they'd been cheated. Critical to their disaffection is the doctrine of "Thetans," those past-life spiritual lampreys that supposedly impair us every day. But this "unique" doctrine has a very dark side. Did you know it is common practice to tell adherents that they can overcome their need for medical attention once they "purge themselves" of "bad Thetans"? It would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous. I know of several cases of fatalities and near-fatalities among Scientologists, some of whom were under the "care" of others who encouraged them to refuse medication. It reminds me of Christian Science, though I don't believe Christian Scientists hold people against their will until they "get better."

Moreso, the Scientology organization is extremely reactive (so much for "Clear"); some might say belligerent. It has been known to use every deceit in the book to keep its followers in line and beat its opponents. Over the years, it has even been caught using illegal methods to spy on government agencies, other groups and private individuals. Threats and intimidation tactics are common. Lawyers are afraid to confront Scientology for fear of retribution. The "cult" has in the past (and to my knowledge still does), harassed, intimidated and blackmailed current and former members, either to quiet them or force them to remain in the group. Anyone familiar with the process of "auditing" knows of what I speak. Scientologists say auditing is no different than Catholic confession. But there is a significance difference?the private thoughts and secrets you tell a priest do not go into a church database! These are just a few small examples of the many problems with the "cult" of Scientology.

Suffice it to say, there are well-spoken, decent Scientologists out there. Like most people in most groups, the average Scientologist aims to do the right thing, even if this view of "right" is heavily skewed by the indoctrination of the "church." But the same can be said of just about any member of any group or religion. Hey, we know there were a few decent Nazis too. But that doesn't make their organization any less dangerous, or any more savory.

Steve Steinman, Los Angeles

More Turkey Talk

Congratulations to Matt Taibbi for his honest treatment of the hokey Bush publicity stunt ("Cage Match," 12/3) of flying to Baghdad on Thanksgiving. The ploy was just so transparently hokey. But like so much in this freakish Bush era of twisted priorities, it was disheartening to see the event treated so respectfully by the mainline media. A common headline was "Bush Stuns the World." Stunned, my ass! This is exactly what we have come to expect from Karl Rove and his Frankenstein creation (minus the bolt through the neck). Rove knows that the key is to appeal to the fear, gullibility and stupidity of the American public, and sadly, it works only too well.

Gerald S. Rellick, Santa Ana, CA