The Mail

What a disgraceful and reprehensible little man Matt Taibbi must be. His writing makes your skin crawl and leaves visions of maggots in garbage in its wake. I happened upon his "article" ("Pravda, Izvestia, Time," 12/29) purely by accident, and this will never happen again. Is this anti-American midget in a relationship with the editor of your paper? I cannot believe there is not some diabolical reason to let this cretin "write" in this forum. No legitimate news outlet would allow his garbage to be spewed like vomit on the internet. He wants to joke about bloggers? He wants to criticize Time magazine? How pathetic is that?

Shame, shame on New York Press. Pravda could do no better. How proud you must be to have this hack on your staff representing your "newspaper."

M. Vail, Detroit

Just Look at This Filth!

When I read hate mail in your newspaper directed to Matt Taibbi, I am reminded of those religious groups who covertly visit strip clubs in order to find pretenses, like the lack of a handicapped bathroom, to shut the clubs down. I do not understand, or want to understand, people who deliberately expose themselves to material to which they object in order to practice a sense of moral outrage.

I refer specifically to the letter from Will Misamore of Washington, DC ("The Mail, 12/29), who in addition to cheaply attacking Taibbi as an egotistical name-dropper, also admitted to following Taibbi's work all the way back to his days at the Buffalo Beast. Despite his familiarity with Taibbi's writings, Will Misamore could only provide two examples, which to his own admission were months apart. How this qualifies Taibbi as a name-dropper is beyond me. But I think it proves, without a doubt, that Misamore should never be allowed near a computer again.

To all the Will Misamores of Washington, DC, out there, if you do not like Matt Taibbi, or adult entertainment for that matter, stay the fuck away!

ÊMax Blythe, Moscow

More Collared Greens

Regarding Alexander Zaitchik's "Jesus Wore Birks" (12/15), thank you for printing this article. As a conservative Methodist, I have a tense relationship with Evangelical Conservatism. On the one hand, I have a lot more in common with most Baptists than I do the Christian left. (And yes, there is such a thing as the Christian left, it just somehow never turns up in print.)

On the other hand, there are many issues on which conservative Methodists cannot agree with the rank-and-file of the Christian right. Most are theological and philosophical issues (such as free will vs. determinism and so on), but some are social and political. A great many of us have been waiting for the rest of the conservative American Christians to understand that protecting the environment is far more important than protecting big business or the GOP.

I hope your article helps. I also hope that non-Christians reading it will realize that conservative Christianity is not some monolithic, brainless, GOP pep-squad. Though, I'll admit, the louder voices in our number certainly make it seem so.

Rev. John J. Wilks, Collinsville, TX

Sounds Like Fun

I really enjoyed Matt Taibbi's column ("Burn Christmas Burn," 12/22). It reminds me of my own drunken Christmas tradition when home for the holidays. We always started with a couple of six-packs and a pickup truck. Then we borrowed some assault rifles and any other guns we could get our hands on for the annual "Santa Shoot."

This involved cruising the neighborhood, swiping Santas, reindeers and wise men, and then taking them out to the woods. Next we'd set them up and blow the shit out of them with the guns. If we were feeling especially festive, and some beer was left, we would return them with their wounds, including powder burns.

I shudder to think what would happen to some bastard who got caught doing this in our modern, uptight, PC world. In the good old days, we were lucky if we made the police beat in the local paper.

Tim Gamble, Manhattan

Don't Steal This Book

Thanks very much for running Alexander Zaitchik's review ("Occupation Is Hell," 12/29). I'll be sure to finally pick up a copy of Christian Parenti's book in our store and look forward to the read.

Stacey Lewis, City Lights Publishers, San Francisco

HRC Repsonds

Michelangelo Signorile's recent column ("Beltway Backtrack," 12/22) mischaracterized the direction of some of us in the GLBT community. We don't know of a single GLBT leader advocating retreat from marriage. In the case of the Human Rights Campaign, we are adopting fresh tactics that push the throttle more aggressively toward our goals, including marriage equality.

The leadership of HRC recently met in Las Vegas to chart the course post-November 2. We started with a very simple premise: We're not going to win marriage equality or anything else if we're forced to play on the political defense. That's the clear lesson of the 2004 elections.

Throughout the year, anti-gay extremists exploited fear of gay marriage to scare voters. They politicized the issue by forcing the Federal Marriage Amendment to votes in Congress and by pushing similar and, in some cases, more discriminatory amendments in thirteen states. All election season, they aired despicable political ads designed to win votes by demeaning our lives.

In Las Vegas, HRC mapped a course for us to grab control, play on the offense and go beyond politics to the personal by taking our case directly to the American people.

Our political agenda will become reality when we do what we know has been most effective for decades: that when we come out and talk to our parents, coworkers and friends, stereotypes dissipate and fairness wins. Translating to the political, more elected officials will support us if we have a direct and convincing conversation with their constituencies.

Over the coming months, HRC will deploy dynamic campaigns and initiatives that reintroduce us to the American people by telling the true hopes and struggles we face every day.

Finally, regarding Cheryl Jacques, we want to make it clear that she resigned because of a difference in management philosophy. This happens in organizations, large and small, nonprofit and corporate, and we wish her well.

The entire GLBT community is working through what has been a turbulent year, and it's crucial we stay united against our real enemies: the extremists working day and night to deny us equality.

Michael Berman and Gwen Baba

Co-Chairs, Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors

Washington, DC

Rest in Ridicule

I understand the need to be iconoclastic, but there's a difference between defiance and disrespect ("Arthur Lydiard, 87," 12/22). What Joshua Cohen seems to forget is that people who accomplish something in their lives are infinitely more important than those covering them. Lydiard was the story last week, his influence was the story last week-not Cohen, not his embarrassingly rhetorical last paragraph, not New York Press.

Eric Glandelone, Chicago

It's a Wonderful Oversight

I liked Russ Smith's column this week ("Citizen Kane," 12/29). Did you notice that the Los Angeles Times didn't bother to credit the writers of It's a Wonderful Life, even though they gave Republic Pictures a credit-in a footnote?

Here's the credit: Frank Capra, Philip Van Doren Stern, Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Jo Swerling, Michael Wilson. A lot of names-especially for their time.

Kate Coe, Los Angeles

The President: Erudite

It is interesting to me that Matt Taibbi seems not to recognize that Andrew Sullivan is as close to being a parrot as a human being can be ("Pravda, Izvestia, Time," 12/29). He can't form opinions about anything unless he has read someone else's first.ÊIt is also interesting to me that you are so "in the know" regarding President Bush's reading habits and intellectual curiosity.Ê

This sounds to me just like Time's famous "fly on the wall articles." I doubt the Secret Service would let you get within a block of President Bush.

Howard Lohmuller, Seabrook, TX

Power's In Trouble Now

This is the best article of the year ("Pravda, Izvestia, Time," 12/29). Taibbi and I are on the same page, and he may be the last sane person around. Thank you for seeing through the bullshit. I'll just stay on the margins where I belong, okay? God bless and keep you always for speaking truth to power!

Sharon G. Boone, Asbury Park, NJ

BAH HUM BLOG

Pursuant to Matt Taibbi's delightful column, "Burn Christmas Burn" (12/22), I'd like to direct your attention to a recent post on the blog "AmCop" which describes the "caganer," a fixture of Christmas in Catalunya .

Perhaps the integration of the "caganer" into the American Christmas tradition would lend it to the humanity, groundedness, and perspective it so clearly lacks.

Michael Dawkins, Brooklyn

Tax Flows: A Short Lesson

"Welcome to the Free Republic of Gotham" by Christopher Ketcham (12/29) missed some key issues that impact the city's budget and secession, and his critique concerning the amount of taxes New Yorkers send to Albany and Washington in relation to the amount of aid we get back is seriously flawed.

It was surprising to see him join City Comptroller William Thompson, former New York City Comptroller and State Comptroller Alan Hevesi (along with Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton) in repeating the same old tired mantra of continually blaming both Washington and Albany day after day for our local fiscal problems. They make great sound bites on the six o'clock news, but offer no new solutions to the current fiscal crises facing New Yorkers.

For starters, billions of dollars have been lost over the past decade and up to the present due to administrative costs. Moving tax dollars from the city, county and state level to Washington and back eats scarce tax dollars in overhead costs. Year after year, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan documented how New Yorkers send more money to Washington than we get back. Many of the 50 states could make the same argument. This imbalance also holds true in the distribution of federal and state aid among the 62 counties of New York state. Within New York City, residents of Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island (or each of the 59 community planning boards) don't always get back the same amount of money sent to City Hall, Albany and Washington. You could take this analysis down to the local census tract level. Since this imbalance will never change, we would be better off leaving tax levies at the most local level of government. There will be significant savings in administrative costs and a greater percentage of locally generated revenue remaining in our communities.

Abolishing irrelevant government offices such as Public Advocate, Borough President and our New York City Council could save taxpayers significant monies. Our 59 community-planning-board district managers are far more effective in representing local neighborhoods. Why have duplicate public offices whose occupants continue making little contribution in the management of municipal government? In the day-to-day lives of most New Yorkers, no one would notice the loss of these public officials.

Looking to Albany and Washington to solve our municipal fiscal crises is the same old song going back to the 1960s. The success of federal aid programs to New York City and New York state is dependent upon many issues. Do they submit grant applications on time? (And how often have we read newspaper articles over the years of [with?] missed deadlines?) Will City Hall and Albany continue to provide the local matching funds necessary to obtain federal grants? Are current federally funded programs being completed on time and within budget? Are all federally funded, staff positions exempt from any current or future hiring freezes? Failure to fill grant-funded staff positions could delay implementation and adversely affect management of projects. This, in turn, could make it more difficult to compete against other cities and states for limited federal discretionary dollars.

Elected representatives in Washington impact our level of federal aid each year. Remember the old saying, he who has the gold, rules? With Republicans in charge of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, it was a tactical mistake for New York City-with the one lone exception of Staten Island Congressperson Vito Forsella, to elect all Democrats. More sophisticated cities and states are building bridges across party lines by sending down bipartisan, balanced delegations to Washington. Meaning no disrespect to our new resident senator Hillary Clinton, but has she been able to build any bipartisan coalitions to bring us any significant additional formula or discretionary financial assistance?

While our economy was prospering during the 1990s, too many elected officials-on a bipartisan basis and on all levels of government-continued to appropriate billions of dollars in pork-barrel projects known as "member items" in an attempt to grease the wheels of reelection. These taxpayer-generated revenues should have been used to reduce long-term debt, which is in the trillions of dollars. Government surpluses from this growth period should have been saved for a rainy-day fund to assist us when tax revenues decline during economic downturns. Prior to the events of September 11, 2001, our economy was already in a slowdown. This resulted in a direct decrease in tax revenues and corresponding reduction in government assistance at all levels. Big Brother on the Potomac has his own budget shortfalls and long-term debt now over $8 trillion! He will not be able to be as generous in the future.

Taxpayers live within their means, and so must government at all levels-city, state and federal. Any growth in government spending must be held at a rate below inflation. It isn't a sin for any agency to continue operating within the same level of spending this fiscal year as last year. With a two percent inflation rate, there are many good managers in the public sector who, like their private-sector counterparts, can find some cost savings to provide the same level of service with a little less money. Why not reward municipal employees with significant financial awards for those who come up with ways city agencies can operate more efficiently? Both Washington and Albany have their own deficits and are in no position to solve all our problems now!