Hitlers Debunker Hitlers Debunker I HAVE a few ...
Hitler's Debunker
I HAVE a few disagreements with Christopher X. Brodeur's thoughtful and engaging review of Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story ("Brodeur v. Rudy," 4/2). Does Brodeur actually believe that the tv-viewing audience does not already know that "[e]very single scene is a 'dramatized' retelling, like the bad 'reenactments' you see on tabloid television"? This would lead me to think that Brodeur thinks that the average viewer of, say, Man on the Moon, the Andy Kaufman bio-pic, or Mommie Dearest thought that the dialog was verbatim.
My biggest beef with this film was that the scriptwriters allowed the Rudy character to continually spew dialog about how he was responsible for the decrease in crime in New York City. Crime was on the downswing beginning in Dinkins' tenure, and continued to fall here in New York City as it did in almost every other city in the country. (In fact, the incidence of rape was way up under Giuliani's watch.) But he did get rid of the squeegee guys?I won't take that giant accomplishment away from him.
Marie Mundaca, Manhattan
Who Are We? Who Are You?
Your list of the 50 worst New Yorkers made this L.A. native's day ("50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers," 3/26). I haven't laughed so hard and so loudly since I don't know when. Who are you? How do I get to read more? I didn't even know half of your winners, but I'll be on the watch for them.
Dale Reynolds, Los Angeles
You Work in Oil?
Growing up in Texas, I was brought up with the impression that New York was pretty much the embodiment of everything that was wrong with the world. Given that seemingly every New Yorker of note ended up on your "50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers" list, it would appear that impression was correct.
Rod Nunley, Arlington, TX
Mommy, Brian Made Us Cry?
THE SATURNINE implication of publishing a list of the "50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers" and exonerating yourselves from such harsh, humorless, poorly researched and erratic judgment does not jibe with the ostensibly anti-elitist thrust of your paper. Is your staff disqualified from the list because y'all are not real New Yorkers or is it just because you're a bunch of stupid assholes?
Brian Shuman, Manhattan
Regime Change
As a longtime reader of your paper, I must say that something is fishy with your 50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers list?namely Number 10, William Safire. Last September was your annual Best of Manhattan issue and, as I recall, the Readers' Poll had him as the "Best Times Columnist." Even allowing for the bias in any voluntary response poll, how is it that the person who usually is voted the Best Times Columnist (I do recall him cited as such in your Best of Manhattan polls many times) has made a 180-degree turn?
Maybe it is just the factotum who wrote the Press piece. Anyway, what did the list say, other than a few picayune and dateless facts? There was not much in the way of evidence for making this Top 10 list, evidence being something "progressives" are immune to. In a nutshell, if this is the post-Russ-Smith direction of the Press, then maybe we should start showing some respect for the Village Voice. For the record, something else is amiss here: Safire doesn't live or work in NYC.
David Bee, Brooklyn
Soul Brothers
MUGGER: This is a short note to thank you for being truly enjoyable to read, a thought-provoking conservative pundit and a Red Sox fan not living in Boston ("MUGGER," 4/2). I am not a pundit, but am decidedly conservative in my thinking and a lifelong Sox fan who has suffered the slings and arrows of New York after 34 years removed from my beloved Boston. It is rare to find a fellow thinker and rooter wrapped in the same cloth as oneself. It gives me hope that I am not alone in my life choices, but that I am correct in holding each so dearly. Keep skewering the bastards.
Robert Blinder, Manhattan
Girl Zone
Re: Liana Marraro's "No Boys Allowed" ("New York City," 2/12). Thanks very much for this article. I'm going to live in the Parkside, another Salvation Army residence on Gramercy Park South when I move to NYC this summer and it's great to get a firsthand account on what it's like to live in such a residence. I was a little scared about the whole "Salvation Army" tag, but now I'm convinced that my stay in NYC is going to be even more exciting, living in a building entirely decorated in pink and with an atmosphere that is a throwback to the twenties. Where else can I get such a deal for such a price?
Elke Johansson, Bergen, Norway
Sniff, Sniff, Sigh
Matt Taibbi rocks. He's so sharp, now you actually need another Nazi?ahem?conservative columnist to balance things out again. "The Intro" sucks. Leave that editor's note shit for GQ and Details. If Jeff Koyen really wants to post a column each week, make him actually write about something instead of just rant. Otherwise, I'm cool. Thanks.
Tom Patterson, Queens
J. Blow
Matt Taibbi is wonderful, but can't we have Christopher Caldwell, too? He is sadly missed. The new "Date Girl" feature is fun, too. Thanks for her discussion of CGSBs (3/26), a type of man I love. Who wants to be a football widow? Not me. But what's with not including J. Lo in your top 50 most loathsome New Yorkers? Even if she has gone Hollywood, she should have gotten a major mention just for trying to put on that NY aura again when convenient for "Jenny from the Block" and Maid in Manhattan. Ick.
Lisa Braun, Manhattan
Isn't That Batting "1.000"?
Jeez, folks. I write a letter to the editor ("The Mail," 4/2) for the first time ever in my 40-plus years. I assumed it would be edited?that's a given?but a rewrite? Good Lord! If I'd known I was going to be second-guessed, I might have applied for a position as a staff writer. Regardless, I still love your paper, and I'm kinda pleased. One letter in all these years, and one published. Batting .1000!
Jahn Bonfiglio, Manhattan
War Tourist
MUGGER: I was visiting NYC last week and picked up a copy of New York Press. It took me a while to get to your article ("MUGGER," 4/2). It certainly was not what I expected from a casual look at the New York Press. Your article was excellent and clearly exposed the overall shallowness and hypocrisy of most of the peace marchers. I am sure if Bush was for peace and the U.N. for a military solution in Iraq, most of these people would be marching for a just war to help the Iraqi people remove Saddam. Certainly, there are people in this group with noble convictions, but they are mostly misguided and have no solutions. Most are just out for the social party and the chance to be against Bush, the U.S. or whatever the flavor of the week is, no matter what it might be. It is clear this movement is not so much about war or peace but protesting that no matter what the U.S.A. does it is wrong. Sad.
George Benton, Newport, OR
The Pope Smokes Dope
SO MUGGER doesn't even want to get started on the Pope, who dares to disagree with the great George W. Bush and company on the war. What, exactly, is there to get started on? The Pope is simply following the rules of the just war doctrine that has been around to guide us Christians since the time of St. Augustine. It's a complicated thing, but it generally has to do with not endangering civilians unnecessarily, not launching so-called "preventive" wars in most cases (and pursuing extensive diplomacy and containment before one does so) and in all things seeing to it that violence is the last of all options.
It has to do with that Christ fellow and the Word of God and happens to be the kind of thing that separates Christian civilization from Islamic societies (which were seeking to violently conquer the world from day one). Bush might know this, if he actually studied the Bible by which he says he has been born-again.
But of course, St. Augustine and that old seven-language-speaking Pope have nothing on such leading lights of intellectualism as Bush, Rumsfeld and Franks. And all that old Catholic Church ever did is build the foundation of Western civilization, so what does it know? Why, it shouldn't even comment on the plans of a great mind like that of Bush II! Really, MUGGER, I've been reading you for a long time, and you're better than this. Without significant Catholic support, your Republicans would be nowhere, and the administrative head of Catholics happens to be the Pope. Can't we have a disagreement on certain issues without immediately falling to the level of public sniping, especially when the Republican party and we in the church agree on such things as opposing abortion? Oops. I forgot. You're pro-abortion. Just goes to show how people don't necessarily have to divide over differences of opinion, right? If they did, you would have to stop supporting your favorite party.
Jack Seney, Queens
Pod's People
MUGGER: I enjoyed your piece about the tv reporting of the war in the latest New York Press and found little to disagree with ("MUGGER," 4/2). I thought that you might want to try WNYE Channel 25 at 7 o'clock each night. The show is called Le Journal and is a broadcast of the French 10 o'clock news. Two nights ago they interviewed an ex-pat Iraqi filmmaker who accused the host (and the station) of persistent pro-Iraqi bias in its reporting. Citing his experience as a film editor, the Iraqi gentlemen was precise about the ways that the French network used editing to slant its reporting. There followed a wonderful give-and-take that despite becoming quite heated was always polite and respectful. The reporting is, in my opinion, quite anti-American and somewhat pessimistic on how the war is going for the coalition forces, but is very interesting because it has film of Iraqis in Baghdad that the American news services can't get. By the way, it's subtitled. Hope you enjoy it.
Elliot Podhorzer, Brooklyn
But I guess you were a little slow that day, so I'll amplify it for you. I believe he wants to live in a world where the U.S. is not some wayward bully that attacks at whim. In a world where the goodwill from sister nations?after the worst attack on our soil, ever?isn't squandered over a greed-driven war for oil. In a world where the average American would be cognizant of all the evil regimes that our government has supported and nurtured over the years, thereby understanding even a little as to why there is so much resentment, hatred and fear of our country all over the world. In a world where blind sheep who use the term "freedom" fries are regarded as the ignorant fools they really are; in a world where those who would label someone as unpatriotic without tangible proof of treason would be guilty of libel and dishonored themselves. I know I'd like to live in that world. By the way, where's Osama?
Henry Mena, Brooklyn
A Fart in the Wind
I'D LIKE to congratulate the New York Press on its timely cover story ("Brodeur v. Rudy," 4/2). In the article, longtime Press contributor Christopher X. Brodeur reviewed the USA Network's television movie Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story.
Of course, New York Resident readers already knew what Brodeur thought of the movie, since we published his review of Rudy in our March 24 issue, before the film aired. In fact, the only reason the Press could even run its Brodeur story in the April 2 issue was because Brodeur had received an advance copy of the movie?through the New York Resident, for which he was supposed to write the piece exclusively.
Don't fret none?you're in good company. A whole bunch of stories that first ran in the Resident have been used as reference by the New York Times, W magazine, New York, the New York Post, WABC-TV and WCBS-TV, among other media outlets. Press readers interested in checking out Brodeur's original review of Rudy can log on to resident.com.
Mark Rifkin, Editor-in-Chief, New York Resident, Manhattan
The editors reply: Seems that Mr. Brodeur wanted to write a longer, more thoughtful piece in a newspaper that would actually be read. For the record, New York Press has had a relationship with the author since at least 1996. But thanks for making us feel better about our place on the local food chain. And Mark, will you write us an article about what it feels like to be on WABC-TV? Or has a shorter, less interesting piece on the same subject already appeared in your toilet?
Where'd Ya Read That? The Resident?
Christopher X. Brodeur has succinctly expressed what I have felt all along. Giuliani was a prick that was so caught up with himself and self-righteous bullshit that it made me sick to be a New Yorker. I think that most New Yorkers have a really short memory in the wake of 9/11. I was appalled to see that he received knighthood because of actions that would have been taken by any reasonable leader during a crisis. Was he a hero? Hell, no. All this Napoleon with a bad comb-over did was say the obvious, get into a nice safe bunker and surround himself with the likes of Bernard Kerik (another asshole on a power trip).
Most people seem to forget that Giuliani wasted millions of dollars on those barricades that were supposed to protect pedestrians in midtown. Then he shut down strip clubs and porn shops. I am not necessarily against this, but how dare he make a statement on the moral fiber of the city while shtupping the heinous Judith Nathan. And let's not forget the fact that he got his first marriage annulled to marry Donna Hanover and produce two scary-looking kids. I read somewhere that his first wife was a cousin of some sort. I am not certain of this, but it would only bolster my belief that he probably was not a stud in his younger years.
Thank you Christopher Brodeur. Now all you have to do is work on the self-righteous Bloomberg. I believe that he will be the death of New York City.
Raj Ramrattan, Manhattan
Gucky Cookies
MIKESIGNORILE: Don't count on the Supreme Court overturning Lawrence ("The Gist," 4/2). You didn't mention that Scalia's evil twin, Thomas, votes with him most of the time. And then there's O'Connor, the supposed result of 200 years of feminism, who may just decide that men can't be allowed to control what they do with their bodies. As to Rehnquist and his cookie-baking gay neighbors, you forget that the South enjoyed permanently employing black people as cookie bakers, farm hands and sexual outlets for many years. With the Supreme Court, it's best to prepare for the worst. After all, they still haven't quite gotten over Dred Scott.
Donald Gecewicz, Evanston, IL
Albany Speaks
I'M NO fan of Rudy, but that was quite an exercise in screed ("Brodeur v. Rudy," 4/2). If you want to tell the truth about the mythical tough crime-fighter Rudy, then remind everyone that the real reason crime receded during his administration is the enactment of the Safe Streets, Safe City Act. This law provided the funding to rebuild the city's criminal justice system after it had been savaged in the mid-seventies. As former state police and DEA boss Tom Constantine?a genuine tough cop?has repeatedly noted, it was only when the Post ran the headline "Do Something, Dave"?after the murder of a tourist from Utah on a subway platform?that the state did something about the appalling crack-fueled lawlessness that had become epidemic in New York City.
Terry O'Neill, Albany, NY
Saucy Carbonell
MUGGER: I don't think you are a dreamer ("MUGGER," 4/2). I agree that you acknowledge Aaron Brown as a cunt. But you should admit you play him in tabloid format, because I haven't seen another point in your article but the shadow of your smirk.
Leandro Carbonell, Manhattan
But He Had Lynn Bishop Killed!
Annie C.J. Roche, Jersey City
San Andreas Fault
MUGGER: Jesus f'n Christ, Christopher Carbone and Don MacLeod, from their online comments ("Daily Billboard," 4/2) are breathing examples of the old joke: The powers that be were handing out brains, these two thought they said "trains" and replied no thanks, we'll wait for the next one! Fucking idiots, for Christ's sake one uses the most despised anti-American, anti-Western liberal values asshole there is, Robert Fisk, as his source (well, maybe Pilger is worse). These brain-dead boobs are prime material for either Saddamized human shields or, better yet, suicide bombers. I know the Press prides itself on allowing all viewpoints access, but sweet Jesus, shouldn't there be some semblance of intelligence involved?
Mike Daley, San Andreas, CA
Less than Zero
I guess I'm naive for thinking that Bush's awful performance at his press conference would be a news subject itself. Thank you Matt Taibbi and the New York Press ("Cage Match," 3/12). But the question that remains unanswered is "Why?" Why does Bush get this unprecedented deference? At least Ronald Reagan?Mr. Teflon?had charm, wit and style. But Bush has none of these. He's the emptiest of suits. A total zero. What is the phenomenon at work here?
Gerald S. Rellick, Santa Ana, CA
Sieg Allah!
MUGGER: A columnist recently drew a parallel between Iraqis defending the regime and the common Russians battling to the death against the invading Nazis in WWII. I will grant the author that a percentage of the Iraqi soldiers are not fighting for Saddam but are rather fighting for their country, their homes, their families?much to their credit and honor. However, it would be naive to believe that the coalition forces in Iraq, in any way, resemble the Nazis who marched into Russia some sixty years ago. As the Nazis pushed into western Russia (Operation Barbarossa), they were initially greeted by thousands of Russians as true liberators who would soon free them from Stalin's madness. In a short time, though, the common Russian realized that the Germans were even crueler and more murderous than Stalin was, if that was possible. Those that weren't shot outright or shipped away to Nazi slave camps decided it was better to fight for the devil you know than the one you don't. Stalin greatly helped matters by declaring the defense of Russia "The Great Patriotic War"?a perfect title to motivate a fiercely patriotic people. So the Russians consequently fought like tigers and died by the millions.
The Saddam regime, Stalin-like, is attempting the same motivational propaganda tactics by declaring that this is not a war for Saddam but rather a war against the infidel invader. He has also flavored the patriotic rhetoric with a Muslim style call to arms, i.e., "jihad." Remember, he tried this back in 1991 when he melodramatically changed the Iraqi flag, adding the inscription "allah akbar" hoping to get the world's Arabs to rise up against America. It didn't work then, and since then the call to jihad has become trite, even to Iraqis at war.
If the United States and Britain were carpet-bombing civilian targets and shooting ten Iraqi men, picked at random, SS-style, for every allied soldier killed by a sniper, for example, then the common Iraqi civilian would indeed pick up a gun and turn himself into a "Great Patriotic" soldier. But the U.S. and British army is not the Waffen SS. The U.S. and British soldier is proving that he is sincere in his efforts to free a people from a tyrant and give them back something better. On breaks from the bloody business of war, the Brits and Yanks pass out candy to kids. These small acts of kindness do not go unnoticed.
America is waging war in Iraq, but it is also waging peace. There is no cruelty, mass murder, rape and enslavement of civilians in the wake of this army. Instead, food, water and medical supplies are being trucked in by the ton. Wounded Iraqi civilians-and even enemy soldiers-are being given the same medical aid as our own soldiers; to the point of being MediVac'd by helicopters to our own field hospitals.
Nevertheless, Iraqis will fight because they are a proud people and the Iraqis in particular have a national reputation amongst fellow Arabs as being especially pugnacious. But the day they feel that they can surrender, without shame, because of the good fight they have put up for their fellow Arabs to admire, is the day they will stop. Hopefully, America will not gloat when that day arrives, because gloating will make any hope of real friendship between a vanquished Iraqi people and a victorious America impossible for a hundred generations to come. And that would be even more tragic than this unfortunate but necessary war is already.
Eric Mowrey, Bursins, Switzerland
Hand Holding, Punch Throwing
MUGGER: Don't pull punches; it's unbecoming. You quote Bill Clinton ("MUGGER," 4/2), who predicted that "this war is going to be over in a flash," and you quote Bill Kristol's critique that it is irresponsible for a former president to make such a statement, as it does not prepare the public for the possibility of a longer conflict. But you leave out the heart of the matter: By predicting a lightning-quick victory, Clinton clearly seeks to raise expectations to a level that can only hurt his successor. Specifically, if the war does end in a flash, it is because it should be over quickly. If the war goes longer, then it is because of Bush's ineptitude. It's politics as usual.
This remarkably simplistic public relations strategy comes from the same guy who was filmed (seemingly unawares) dancing with his wife in their bathing suits in their backyard, and who vowed to pick up a gun and fight for Israel should Iraq attack. Somehow he didn't figure that the public might suspect that his dance number was an attempt to convey to the public that he in fact had a good relationship with Hillary, or that someone might notice that his brave promise didn't cover the possibilities of attack by Syria or Egypt, more immediate threats to Israel. (Maybe Clinton should have also promised to defend Israel should North Korea attack.)
Mike Signorile: A simple distinction to help you along with your constitutional analyses ("The Gist," 4/2). The Supreme Court is deciding whether state government has the right to outlaw sodomy, not whether they should in fact exercise such right (if you need help with this distinction, which is fairly obvious to any second-year law student, I'd be happy to walk you through it).
Douglas Segal, Manhattan
Objective: Objective
MUGGER: I read your column on tort reform and was surprised to find myself in agreement with you ("MUGGER," 2/26). But now, with your latest (4/2), we're back to Bizarro world. You wrote recently, "Do any of them remember the 'quagmire' of Afghanistan?" Uh, MUGGER, do you understand the situation in Afghanistan today? Sure, the battle is over, but the mission will probably never be completed. The "country," if you can even call it that, is a bloody mess, the warlords are back in control outside of Kabul, and the U.S. is doing absolutely nothing to stem the tide. In fact, we seem to have already written off nation-building as a goal and we're wringing our hands of the whole mess.
The "quagmire" of Iraq is not similar to Vietnam, but it is a quagmire nonetheless. We will win this battle, we will depose Hussein and we will take over Iraq, but then... What? Sure, we'll move on to Iran, to Syria and so on, all in good time, and in the meantime we'll secure the oil fields and rebuild the oil industries. But what about the people? What about the living conditions? What about the schools, the hospitals, the infrastructures, etc.? We can't even pay our own teachers and doctors. Do you think our compassionate conservative president will spend one dollar (oh, sorry, I meant Euro, since the dollar will fall out of international favor soon) on Iraqis, or Syrians, or anyone else in the Middle East?
The Project for the New American Century's goal is nothing less than to create an American empire, except not one built on American ideals, but American capitalism. (Could that be the same capitalism that has created such widespread hatred in places like, oh, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, etc? Connect the dots, MUGGER.) And it's a very peculiar capitalism at that? Why is it that the company responsible for capping the oil wells in Desert Storm couldn't even bid for the same job in the sequel? Because the contract was signed, sealed and delivered in secret to cronies of the current administration. Do you know how maddening that is to hear after we spent six years and tens of millions of dollars investigating a standing president for a real estate muddle?
Democracy cannot thrive without an educated public and without a free media (something we are losing quickly here in the U.S.). You chastise and mock the "left-wing media." The media rolled over and played dead the minute George W. took office. How in the heck could Bush's first press conference have had five reporters ask questions about Clinton's pardons yet not a single question about the most contentious election in American history?
Because it was scripted, as has every press conference Bush has held since his election been. In other words, the supposed "left-wing media" is anything but. It has become a public relations office of the administration. A majority of Americans believe that Hussein was behind 9/11 when not one piece of evidence was ever corroborated. Indeed, almost every shred of "evidence" has been shredded and proven false. Yet most of America doesn't even know, because the retractions are always buried.
Page One! Iraq is shooting scud missiles it claims it doesn't have! (Two days later, it is recanted on page 18.) Page One! We found a chemical plant in Iraq! (Two days later, it is recanted on page 19.) Page One! Iraq shoots down our boys! (Two days later, it is admitted to be an accident caused by pilot error on page 20.) Do your job. Report. Inform us. And stick to the facts, not the administration's spin.
Kenny Herbert, Brooklyn
Go Bo Sox
MUGGER: My brother is a die-hard Red Sox fan (we grew up in Newton, MA), and I'm a Yankee fan with a soft spot for the Sox. How's that for cognitive dissonance? Many people had hoped that the Curse of the Bambino would not survive into the new century. I think maybe they were right, but what they forgot was the Curse of the Duquette. Letting Clemens go in his "twilight" wasn't like letting the Babe go, but created a whole new load of bad karma for the Sox to work off through penance and tribulation.
Doug Levene, Wilton, CT
Rebel Yell
Re: Mark Gauvreau Judge's "The Big Chill" ("Daily Billboard," 3/31). Neil Strauss' whole obsession with insisting on revolution aside, perhaps the lack of rebel music in mainstream pop can be chalked up to a nation's indifference and ignorance, combined with a music industry's interest in selling complacency. The music industry stands to make money off of self-proclaimed pimps and gangsters, and until it can figure a way to cash in on a rebellion, it doesn't seem like high school kids will be memorizing Billy Bragg lyrics any time soon.
Bill Manning, Queens
Ball Play
MUGGER: The Astros always find a way to fold in the stretch, and this year will be no different ("MUGGER," 4/2). The Cardinals have been one playoff win away from the series for the last three years. The late season addition of Scott Rolen really completed the team, and if he wasn't hurt for most of the playoffs things would have probably been different last year. So look for the Cards to finally break through this year, and for both the Yankees and Braves dynasties to begin to crumble as each fails to make the playoffs (as you predict) for the first time in recent memory. I'd love to see a Cards-Bosox rematch of the 1967 series.
Larry Kaufmann, Madison, WI