Inconsolable Taki Fans; You're a Little Hawky, MUGGER; All-Knowing Heimlich; Leno's as Bad as the Vatican; Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand, Jim Knipfel?; More

Russ Smith: Why are you pushing aggression ("Look Back in Anger," 9/11)? It's not going to help. Can't you see that we have a lot to lose in this war? If we were to abandon Saudi Arabia, end the sanctions on Iraq and police Israel like we should, there would be no more terrorist attacks (from Muslims). Pride is a fatal flaw. If New York is obliterated by a nuclear bomb, you share part of the blame. You motherfuckers.

Ryan Murtha, Manhattan

Powell/Hillary in '04?

Alexander Cockburn: Courageous ("Wild Justice," 9/11)! Our craven Congress sat in rapt attention to the charismatic Netanyahu. We have apparently joined his fight to ethnically cleanse Greater Israel of Palestinians. Settlements, targeted killings, shooting stone wielding children, bulldozing homes belonging to relatives of Arab resisters, bombing apartment buildings that might harbor suspects, checkpoint harassment of all Palestinians?even pregnant women in labor. Is this state terrorism or merely self-defense? The next thing you know, Bush and Congress will send even more aid to Israel, postpone our search for Al Qaeda, attack Saddam and begin reorganizing the entire Mideast to suit Israel. The Democratic Party would surely recruit a lot of us moderate Republicans if they could persuade Colin Powell to run for president on their ticket.

R.T. Carpenter, Panama City, FL

What a Delicious Letter

Adam Heimlich does a great service to NYC and all of America with his review of Tamarind ("Food," 9/4). His writing surely must have taken him a long time. He has understood the subtle nuances of Indian cooking that he shares so freely to make his criticism valid. An honorable thing to do. Most reviewers would not bother explaining their knowledge to a reader as he has very kindly done in this review. Congratulations to him and to you for having a writer as dedicated to fair criticism.

I also would like to thank him for being brutally honest while not being simply mean and sensational. Being Indian, a culinary teacher and somewhat of an Indian food authority, I was humbled by his words. He said what I understood myself to be the flaws of Tamarind. Reading his review, I found myself, as an Indian, as a savvy diner and as a person always in search of a good meal, agreeing largely with all he said. Not always the case when I read reviews of ethnic restaurants.

Please accept my congratulations for elevating the review of ethnic restaurants from something very simple and often false to an art form, which is inspiring, intelligent and forthright.

I look forward to becoming a regular of your paper's food section and Heimlich's writing.

Suvir Saran, Manhattan

The Silver Lining to Taki's Departure

I'm very sorry to see Taki go, since I only discovered him in your pages a year ago. I subscribe to his sentiments about your paper?being independent and allowing your writers to preach their loudest without infringement, be they liberal or conservative or libertarian. Because of this, I plan to continue checking your pages regularly.

Matt Gilbert, Miami Beach, FL

So Fresh, Too

Taki and Pat Buchanan ("Top Drawer," 9/11). A beautiful pairing. May they both continue to move inexorably toward their white, Christian bliss. The pages of New York Press smell cleaner today.

Jim Dempsey, Hopkinton, MA

Equal Opportunity Molestation

Mike Signorile: The Vatican isn't the only one equating homosexuality and pedophilia. Jay Leno unrelentingly jokes as though the only pedophilia in the church is toward boys. After the L.A. cathedral opened, he said it is fully equipped?with swings, batting cages, etc. This was just the latest in a long line of outrageous scapegoating that pretends that no pre-legal girl has ever been approached by a Catholic cleric. Gay observers need to point this out and let Leno know that his simpleminded bigotry-with-a-smile is no more acceptable than the church's solemn intonations of bigotry.

L. Craig Schoonmaker, Newark

Yeah, People Like You

Is Jim Knipfel really so obtuse that he is not "exactly sure why people are so upset" with certain comments by Norman Mailer ("Daily Billboard," 9/9)? Surely by now he must realize that most Americans, except perhaps those "blame America first" simpletons inhabiting Georgetown, Cambridge, Berkeley or the Upper East Side, are sick and tired of uneducated and self-obsessed "celebrities" like Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand, Woody Harrelson and Robert Altman bashing this country with their truly idiotic remarks. Mailer befouls himself when through his own half-baked comments he throws his lot in with that crowd. Now, some may say that it's unfair to bunch a famous author like Mailer with mere dimwitted entertainers. Perhaps he is more of a mind with the supposedly intellectual America-haters like Noam Chomsky or Ramsey Clark. Fine. Like them, he's still spouting nonsense.

Knipfel quotes Mailer, "Patriotism in a country that's failing has a logical tendency to turn fascist." What drivel. America is failing? In what ways? Does Mailer know something that the hundreds of thousands of foreigners who come here to make it their home don't know? It might turn fascist? When does he expect this to happen? Did any such thing happen during previous wars? Does he really believe that a Hitler or a Mussolini, a Tojo or a Lenin will come to power here? No, Knipfel, the problem isn't just one of America-bashing. It's also people saying utterly stupid things that have no basis in fact or logic to make a point, and then dignifying such twaddle by couching it in pompous, empty expressions like "so [the country] can become even greater," that upsets people.

Paul DeSisto, Cedar Grove, NJ

A Little Deyab'll Do Ya

I just heard that in honor of Russ Smith, the lyrics to "New York, New York" have been changed. They now read: "Start spreading the hate..."

Larry Deyab, Brooklyn

Bravo, Guillermo

Congratulations for running William Bryk's article on Santa Anna ("Napoleon of the West," 9/4). While the historical info contained therein fascinated me, the article's primary charm was that it dared to not pump up an Hispanic tyrant, to not blame the gringos for his nation's woes and not tie his folly to a call for more American money, penance and acceptance of unlimited immigration. The article points out the fundamental flaw in Hispanic politics: bravado. That a potentially great nation like Mexico has been screwed by Santa Anna's type for centuries is not news, but Bryk's article resonates as newsworthy here in a society that goes to great lengths to not criticize Hispanics. If we really want to help them, we'd compel them to read the article?in English!

George Petros, Manhattan

Soulmate

MUGGER: I was in my third year of law school in April 1995 in Oklahoma City. I had one friend and several acquaintances killed in the Murrah Bldg. I had to endure Bill Clinton almost literally standing on the dead bodies of the victims at the site blaming Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh for the bombings, all the while ordering the Justice Dept. not to investigate obvious leads pointing to Middle Eastern and perhaps Iraqi connections to the bombing because it might be politically inconvenient. Then on top of that there was the endless whining and whaling of the media. No one who had any connection to that event was ever allowed to try to forget and move on with life. You could not watch a local news telecast for months without the event being thrown in your face. It was a great relief to move away from that city and all of the media-induced self-pity that fall. The media just can't leave well enough alone. They are like the loud, annoying aunt who won't shut up at a funeral. I definitely understand what you are feeling today.

John C. Kluge, Killeen, TX

Oh, the Church Would Get Busy, That's for Sure

Michelangelo Signorile: I loved your latest on the Vatican's stealth campaign to rid the church of its gay clergy ("The Gist," 9/11). Just whom are they trying to fool? We can count on the fact that things won't move too quickly, however, because there are so many gay priests (and bishops and perhaps cardinals) that their removal would decimate the ranks, and then, pray tell (pun intended), what would they do? Enlist only those who are admittedly asexual? What they need to do is abolish their impossible vow of celibacy along with purging themselves of their guilt-ridden, warped view of sexuality.

The vow of celibacy?where did that come from? Correct me if I am wrong, Michael, but I recently read an article written by a protestant minister, saying that celibacy was instituted (back in the church's beginnings?I don't know when) because at that time the church, which allowed priests to marry, did not want to support the widows and dependents of dead priests because it was too expensive. Hence, the decision was made to disallow marriage and establish celibacy. Therefore, it was an economic reason, not a moral and spiritual one, that brought about the edict of celibate priests. Is this true?

Along these lines, isn't it profoundly controlling, crazy-making and sick of an institution to demand that its servants deny their sexuality, thereby cutting off a basic human instinct inextricably and biologically wired within all of us? It is similar to demanding one can breathe only two times a minute or, similarly, that one can pass gas only once per day. To do more than that would be a mortal sin. Oh-oh, you'd better pass the Gas-X, or I'll have to go to confession again!

What about this issue of sexuality and sexual expression? Who made it so evil? I'm not talking about pedophilia and inappropriate sex where one is victimized. I'm talking about the healthy expression of our bodies. Who said it was evil to use our bodies for sexual pleasure, having an orgasm with oneself (oh my God) or with a partner, be it the opposite sex or (oh my God again) the same sex? The nearest earthly experience that we can have of God is the ecstasy that we feel during orgasm. Who laid down the law that this was dirty? The Bible? I'm not going there. It is a book of arcane stories and rules written by sexist, frustrated, fearful, controlling men, and it has been translated, retranslated and hence warped ad infinitum. Unfortunately, this warped message of sexual guilt has done untold damage to people for thousands of years.

What the Pope and all of his anointed ones need is to undergo radical therapy that rids one of sexual guilt and inhibitions. (Dr. Ruth comes to mind.) They could repeat to themselves on a daily basis: "My sexuality is a beautiful expression of God. I lovingly accept my sexuality. I am innocent. I am free of guilt. It is okay for me to fully enjoy the body that God gave me. I am free to express myself as I am." After the cure, they should smoke a good joint and go get laid?by the partner of their choice, be it straight, gay or whatever, and enjoy the heck out of it. With the abolition of celibacy and acceptance of sexual expression, perhaps then the church could get busy doing what it should have been doing all along: embracing and celebrating our humanness in all of its glorious colors, textures and possibilities.

Michael Lewis, Mission Viejo, CA

He Ain't All That

Re Kurt Thometz's "Pimpology: Regarding Players, Hoze, Johns & The Life" (8/7). I don't know why, really, but I am fascinated with pimp culture and have either seen or read virtually everything mentioned in the feature. I would have no beef with the article, which I enjoyed very much, but then I saw a play the other day called Dark Dizays. I went to see the show because it is about pimp life, amongst other things, and like I said, I simply cannot resist (maybe I always wanted to be a pimp). But can you believe it, the play stars a real reformed pimp named Yunny Tibbs? No joke! He proudly states it in his bio, as well as my confirming it after the show. And he's pretty good too. He plays what he knows?a pimp. I was very satisfied. I notice you have the show in your listings, so I guess you know about it, but how could you not feature this guy in your article? I read about it in "Page Six," how come you didn't give this guy any love? He gives the term "player" new meaning.

Tim Hawkinson, Manhattan

As Are We

As the first and only "Top Drawer" award winner, I'd like to thank Taki for a wonderful dinner several years ago at Elaine's with former United Nations arms inspector Scott Ritter. I will miss Taki Theodoracapolus' weekly blasts in New York Press at taboo subject matters, as well as his delicious bonfires against the vanities of the jetset. Truly, Taki's was an original voice in an increasingly bland mediocracy.

Taki's conversational style will also be missed. Who else in the social-climbing New York media will have the balls to go after, say, Harvey Weinstein?

Although I am a man of the left, and Taki is a man of the right, that night at Elaine's we both agreed on the heroism of Mr. Ritter. Even now, as the calls for war against Iraq reach fever pitch, Scott Ritter continues to put his reputation on the line for speaking out against a hard-headed and hawkish administration.

I remember that boozy evening at Elaine's clearly: Taki was a whirlwind of activity. I see Taki patrolling the room, making sure everything?from the wine to the meal and even the seating arrangement?was perfect. As the evening wore on, Taki was also the perfect host: chatting with Elaine Kaufman, the proprietor; talking to me about his time in Sudan (I am Ugandan); joking with Christopher Buckley, his old friend; eloquently toasting the guest of honor, Mr. Ritter, and, all in all, giving every person in attendance a beautiful evening.

That whirlwind quality of Taki's came out in each of his "Top Drawer" columns. Farewell, for now, Taki; already I am nostalgic.

Ron Mwangaguhunga, Brooklyn

White Flight

Good riddance to that racist anti-Semite Taki ("Top Drawer," 9/11). Having departed to go into the hate business with Pat Buchanan, he's now in his element. When our "predominantly white society rooted in Christianity" came to this country, they did exactly what Taki intends to oppose in his new job: they forced the indigenous population into their immigrant culture. But, of course, they weren't really immigrants, were they? They were "settlers" who brought with them the eternally superior culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Well, as much as Taki would prefer it, naturalization does not require signing on to Western philosophy. It certainly doesn't require conversion to the white race. At least Russ Smith will no longer have to explain away Taki's malignant presence in his pages as a noble exercise in giving access to all opinions.

Al Silver, Manhattan

We Second That Emotion

Just wanted to let you know how much I've enjoyed Taki's column and offer hope that his new endeavor is successful and that we occasionally find him on your pages in the future.

Kit Winterer, Beaufort, SC

Immigrants Can Be Middle-Class Too

Why is it that the sympathies Christopher Caldwell feels toward the "proles" of the North Shore ("Hill of Beans" 8/28) do not extend to the "Alabama car wash owner"? Just another example of Caldwell's well-known anti-Southern animus, I reckon.

In fact, despite Caldwell's Gore-like worries about sprawl, 90 percent of the American landscape has not been "transformed into some Alabama car wash owner's idea of a neato urban landscape." Leaving aside the regional slur (what, Caldwell, car wash owners have sophisticated taste in New Jersey?), the booming growth of the 1990s occurred almost entirely in major metropolitan areas.

Rural areas have remained mostly stagnant, or even lost population, as in West Virginia. When I visit my ancestral homeland in Randolph County, AL, I don't see sprawl, townhomes and McMansions; I see the same, familiar rural landscape I've seen for four decades. It's the Atlanta suburbs where I grew up that are choking on development. Drive or fly across the country and you will see that there are still vast swaths of America that are undeveloped.

I don't know what to make of Caldwell's claim that "the middle and upper-middle classes" are "getting bumped out of places like Osterville, MA, or Half Moon Bay, CA, or Everett, WA?and into places like Chandler, AZ, or Arlington, TX, or Gaithersburg, MD." Speaking only for myself, I got "bumped" from Rome, GA, into Gaithersburg, MD, when I landed my dream job in nearby Washington, DC; somehow I don't quite feel like a Depression-era Okie or an Ethiopian refugee.

Speaking of refugees, the population growth of Gaithersburg?and surrounding Montgomery County, MD?has nothing at all to do with Americans "getting bumped" from other, more "authentic" locales. It mainly has to do with immigration. Between 1990 and 2000, according to the Census Bureau, the non-Hispanic white population of Montgomery County decreased by 29,135, even as the county's total population increased by 116,314. The Asian/Pacific population increased by 36,997 during the 1990s, while the Hispanic population increased by 44,920. As the Montgomery County Planning Board put it: During the 1990s, "minority population grew by 145,439 and total population saw an increase of 116,314. Minorities accounted for 125 percent of the County's population growth in this period."

I don't know what Caldwell was trying to say about "the middle and upper-middle classes" who are supposedly "getting bumped" into Gaithersburg, but the basic population data don't seem to support his thesis?as he would have known, had he bothered to do a Google search.

Robert Stacy McCain, Gaithersburg MD

Coney Island Idyll

MUGGER: I'm glad you haven't abandoned Coney Island as a family destination but am sorry you had a disappointing time (9/4). If I may, here are my suggestions for a perfect day at Coney Island. First stop: Nathan's for lunch. Order the traditional dog and fries but be sure to look for the Frogs Legs and Chow Mein on a Bun on the menu. I'm always reassured to find them still there. While lunch settles, you have your choice: the Aquarium, the Cyclones' Stadium, the Coney Island Museum and Sideshow. Just be sure to walk along the boardwalk to get there. (I used to enjoy a game or two of skee-ball until they replaced all the old models that had flip-number scoring with digital scoring that may or may not work.) For thrills, it's on to the Wonder Wheel. It's impressive to behold and scrupulously maintained. Choose a swinging car for maximum effect. No matter how many times I ride it, that first dip always takes me by surprise. Finally, visit Denny's on Surf Ave. for soft banana ice cream. While you're enjoying it, cross the street to the B and B Carousel and admire the hand-carved horses and working calliope. I lived outside of New York for five years and I knew I was homesick when I started dreaming about Coney Island and the Wonder Wheel. Since my return, I, too, make a yearly pilgrimage and I'm never disappointed.

Donna B. Thomsen, Brooklyn

Fawning Rebuttal

I was shocked to see Christopher Caldwell reply to my letter to the editor in New York Press this week ("The Mail," 9/11). He seemed ticked off by what I wrote. I want to apologize. I am a huge fan of his writing and certainly did not mean to give serious criticism of Caldwell, much less accuse him of laziness and use of cliche. However, this does seem to show why I am always getting in trouble with cops during traffic spots and why I seem to offend people with what I thought were harmless jokes!

When I read Caldwell's column, I completely concurred with his observations about the new wealth that has taken over civilized areas in America. I thought his use of the phrase "a very different kind of wealth" just might have been his way of poking fun. Since he notices cultural events like the co-opting of Clash and Smash Mouth, I thought he was doing something similar with this newly popular phrase.

In short, I was trying to be absurd. I was surprised my letter was printed, much less responded to. Caldwell has written so many columns that I have clipped, copied and sent to others. I would never be so presumptuous as to critique his style. In fact, I consider him, along with William Bryk, a teacher.

To illustrate how influential I consider his writing, I can show its "trickle-down" effect. Caldwell wrote an article about the controversy over whether Bob Kerrey may have committed war crimes in the Vietnam War. He jokingly referred to Kerrey as the William Empson of war crimes, due to the nature of the Senator's friends' defense of him in the media.

I was not familiar with Empson, but I went to the library and read 7 Types of Ambiguity. I was impressed. Subsequently, I recommended that book to a friend in grad school and he tells me that insights in that book contributed to his decision to break off with his fiancee. There are other examples, but I made my point.

Tom Phillips, Manhattan

Go Yanks!

MUGGER: Good job. I'll root for the best team money can buy with you tonight.

Fr. Gregory J. Lockwood, Cincinnati

Touching a Nerve in Ol' Birmingham

"Say what you will about Alabama, [sic] the state will always greet you with weirdness." Say what you will about J.R. Taylor, but that Alabama native will always greet you with bullshit and poor grammar ("Music," 7/24). It's a shame he still can't write well, after all these years of pretending to be a writer. It's more shameful that his efforts at writing manifest his racism, via his concern about parking his SUV in a racially integrated neighborhood. This SUV-driving Republican should concentrate on his day-job (which I am confident involves no writing) and leave black Alabama musicians alone.

Scott Boykin, Birmingham, AL

Sure Thing

MUGGER: Thanks for sponsoring Taki!

James Grimaldi, Denver

Meanwhile, in Europe...

Russ Smith: The New York Times of World War II had much greater analysts of war and politics than the hacks of today ("Look Back in Anger," 9/11). Even reading the below article today on Japan's war aims by Hanson Baldwin, military analyst of The New York Times, should bring admiration. Starting with a concise recapitulation of Japanese actions following Pearl Harbor to include:

(1) attacks on Pearl Harbor

(2) attacks on Midway Island

(3) bombing of airfields in the Philippines

(4) destroying a British gunboat at Shanghai

(5) bombing and blockading of Hong Kong

(6) bombing of Singapore

(7) landing in Thailand with full connivance of Thai government

(8) and attacking American and other shipping in the Pacific

Baldwin pondered what this meant. Then he summarized his conclusions as:

(1) Considerable initial successes for the Japanese and severe losses for the United States.

(2) Japanese attempts to neutralize British-American naval and air bases by bombardment.

(3) Japanese attempts to sever lines of communication with the Philippines by reducing usefulness of Hawaii and by capturing Guam, Wake and Midway.

(4) Possibly a daring attempt by an attack upon Midway to bring the weakened Pacific Fleet into action against a superior Japanese fleet near Midway. This to be followed by a similar attempt against the two or three British battleships based at Singapore. In other words, to nullify superior Allied naval strength by striking while these forces were dispersed.

(5) Investment of the land approaches to Singapore by landings in Thailand and Malaya.

(6) Reduction of Hong Kong by bombardment, blockade and siege.

(7) Probable eventual attempts to seize the Philippines, possibly delayed, however, until Japanese attacks on American connecting links with the Philippines have progressed.

Hanson Baldwin set a standard for American war analysts and reporters that has not been approached in following years. Anyone reading the prescience with which Baldwin anticipated the future pattern of the conflict in the Pacific must be awed, and then if he has any curiosity, the reader should compare the professionalism and expertise of Baldwin with the inept amateurs writing today for The New York Times, or any other major newspaper for that matter. The specialists on the newspapers of today have been more concerned with such issues as women in combat roles. These bunglers, having no clue as to the great difficulty in carrying a 70-pound pack in humid heat and difficult terrain, have been prideful in their ignorance. Yet they have reserved the right to sneer at anyone challenging their limited knowledge. To be fair, these writers on the military have been perfectly aware that a woman in combat will decrease the likelihood they, their children, their newspaper colleagues and their children would be asked to contribute any service that would require they place their lives in jeopardy. Yet, they have confidence they have the gods on their side.

Dick Earley, Springfield, PA

Russ Smith replies: Mr. Earley makes a valid point about specific aspects of the Times' World War II coverage. However, what I wrote about was the paper's lack of reporting on Hitler's Final Solution. Had the Times not been concerned about being viewed as a "Jewish" paper, it would have served its readers, and the rest of the media that followed its cue, far better.

Wishful Thinking

MUGGER: Get over it, little man. Your whiny rants about The New York Times are starting to really suck. How would you feel if that weird Moonie paper ran it, or Rupert? Look at the London Times. How much stupidity do you really want? Be careful what you wish for.

Phil Ericsson, Manhattan

Fellowshipping

Mike Signorile: I am a great fan of yours, and appreciated points made in your recent article about the Pope's comments to Brazilian bishops ("The Gist," 9/11). One point of contention, which isn't a big one, is that your comments about the American Catholic Church is a misrepresentation, but a very common one. The church that I believe you were referring to was the Roman Catholic Church in America.

I make this point, as I am certain that you now are getting the gist, because there is an American Catholic Church, an ACCUS and a United American Catholic Church. The United American is my current denomination and I, a gay man of 48, in a 29-year relationship, am about to be ordained into the transitional deaconate, on my way to the priesthood. UACC is an autocephalus denomination that is not currently serving under the auspices of the Church of Rome.

Since our main goal is to help those who are not welcome in Roman Catholic circles to again worship God and His Beloved Son, without demands that they cease loving other men/women, we are cautious not to further disenfranchise them by misrepresentation. It is our goal to bring the Eucharist to others without the judgment from earth. That job, we leave to the proper authority.

I do love your work, very much, and this minor point isn't a showstopper by any means, but might be good fuel for a later article. Wouldn't it be nice to help the disenfranchised find their own way?

Wishing you peace, and someday I hope to meet you so that I may give you a very big hug.

Robert Ray, Boca Raton, FL

Swamp Fever

MUGGER: It is with heavy heart that I once again address you from the quivering land of the great swamp. Bouncing off the fall foliage and into my ear are the drums telling me that Taki is "no mo," as the guides down here say!!

Does It surprise you to know that "Gresham's Law" works even in the backwoods swamps of this land? That Taki can be driven out by the likes of M. Signorile is beyond the comprehension of mere Southern possums?

As we have seen the last 10 years, the good is often driven out by the dross and evil...need I elaborate... I think not!

America, as we, you and I, know it...is gone..."gone like the wind"?errr so to speak!!

Our only hope was to keep the Goths (or is that Huns, I missed that week?) away, for one more generation, for our children... But that is not to be.

They are at the gates...no, far worse, they are inside the gates and protected by those of this land that hate America first!!

I shall miss Taki as he kept me somewhat sane and gave me hope?even where hope was faint.

They don't make them like that anymore?pity.

A.H. Watson, Holden Beach, NC

He Will

MUGGER: At least someone is speaking the truth. I can't believe that The New York Pravda Times ran a column by that cunt Susan Sontag on the eve of the 11th. I hope you comment on this disgrace during your next column. Keep up the great work!

James F. Shanley, Manhattan