The Mail

THEMAIL

THIS WEEK: Godzilla meets the next generation, William Bryk's new homie in Atlanta is buying, and when is an acceptance speech just an acceptance speech? PLUS: Jack Miller's Pub in Jersey City is not a creepy place and anyone who says otherwise never knew Jack Miller and wouldn't know "class" if it camped out in their fridge.

WE'RE ALL TOKYOANS NOW

Thank you for publishing Jim Knipfel's cover story "Acts of Godzilla" (8/11). As Knipfel points out, the creature is indeed due a reconsideration. With our own experiences and memories here in New York similar to those of Tokyo's residents around the time Gojira premiered in 1954, we can better relate to the original and its themes. Times have certainly caught up with us!

And thank you especially for not wasting a single stray electron on the horrible remake Columbia Pictures did in 1998.

Jim Ryan, Manhattan

HOOKERS, MARK, WHAT ABOUT HOOKERS?

Concerning the article "The Conservative Case Against George W. Bush" by William Bryk, (8/4) that may be the finest piece I have read all year!ÊIf Bryk ever gets to Atlanta, tell him I'm offering to buy him dinner and drinks.

Mark Fee, Fayetteville, GA

BENIGHTED MASSES

Most political speeches are full of platitudinous rhetoric, so this criticism of Kerry's speech rings a little hollow to me (Matt Taibbi, "The Liberal Case Against John Kerry," 8/4). I am not an enthusiastic supporter of Kerry, but the author probably ought to be disabused of the idea that the average American exercises good judgment on political choices after absorbing information from a broad range of sources.

I spent a significant portion of my 51 years in the blue-collar world, and I can assure you that the vast majority of the population, although not necessarily stupid, is disengaged and ignorant of political, social and economic affairs, even issues that directly relate to them. They only pay attention to these matters shortly before an election, if at all, and cast their votes based on dubious criteria at best. This is obviously a gross generalization, but I assure you it is a valid observation for which there are of course exceptions (I find my professional friends often disagree with this cynical characterization because they think the average citizen is like their professional colleagues-not so!). The repetition of themes is unfortunately necessary to get through to an apathetic public.

The author's criticism sounds a bit more like shallow carping than a reasoned critique.

Mark Fengya, via email

STFU? LGF?? SPEAK ENGLISH!

As always, William Bryk has a thoughtful, well-written article where he uses real examples of Bush administration policies going against conservative principles ("The Conservative Case Against George W. Bush," 8/4).

Matt Taibbi, however, once again shows that he is a hack. It was a nomination acceptance speech, Matt! If you really want to criticize the Kerry/Edwards campaign about its support of (or lack of support of) liberal issues, at least use some substantive fodder for your criticism. One nomination-acceptance-speech frisking is hardly "The Liberal Case Against John Kerry." I suggest reading the Kerry/Edwards campaign website. It has policy outlines galore. If, after you have read it, you still have problems with their proposals, then by all means offer up your criticisms and suggestions. But until then: STFU! You are far less knowledgeable than your average ill-informed commenter on LGF, and your writing is worse.

Dave Seay, Manhattan

A.C. PHONE HOME

Regarding Alan Cabal's "Miracles and Wonders," (7/28), the article states "Olson-and Felt-were said to have called from inside locked lavatories. No Airfone there." There are models of phones which are wall-mounted in the airplane, not at individual seats. I don't know whether this type was available in any of the planes.

The user walks up to it and grabs the phone handset (similar to a normal cordless phone at home), inserts a credit card and takes the handset back to his/her seat or other places on the plane. The user can make as many calls as desired until the handset is returned to the base unit. However, it seems unlikely that even if this type of phone were available in the planes, that someone could go through the motions needed without attracting attention from the terrorists.

Regarding the "indestructible" passport, it is possible, although seemingly improbable, that any given item could survive a situation such as 9/11. While many pages were utterly destroyed, individual pieces of regular 8.5 x 11 paper survived the bombing of the Oklahoma federal building.

John Albrecht, via email

SATIRE ASIDE?

I am an old 60s liberal and was a big fan of and subscriber to Paul Krassner's The Realist. Despite Krassner's fanciful portrayal of Lyndon Johnson as a necrophiliac and other flights of indiscretion, I found much workable data within those pages. In retrospect, Krassner's mag was one of the sources that told the truth about the Vietnam War. In those days, as in the present, one had to seek the truth and did not find it in the popular media.

These days, with the threat from the right greater than we have ever seen in my lifetime, I am appalled by his analysis of the Democratic Convention ("My Name Is Rumpleforeskin," 8/4). Satire aside, let's have a more constructive approach, or is that too much intellectual work for you, Paul? I think I learned from Krassner that a government can be taken from within far more easily than from without; witness Nazi Germany, for instance, and consider our loss of freedom due to the "War on Terror."

Come on Paul, let's have some substance!

Gary Weldele, Long Beach, CA

BREAKING RANKS

With all due respect to MSG Colin Campbell, morale and unit cohesion may be high in his unit, but large organizations like the Army conduct surveys to get a view of the big picture-not always visible from one spot on the ground ("The Mail," 8/4). Fifty-two percent of soldiers report low or very low personal morale. Seventy-seven percent characterize unit morale as low or very low. Three-quarters have no confidence in their leadership.

There's just no good way to interpret these numbers. Sgt. Campbell can turn as many pretty phrases and issue as many bold journalistic challenges as he likes-when three-quarters of your forces think that the command structure doesn't care and/or isn't competent, something is dreadfully, terribly wrong, and the future is not a pretty place.

Landon W. Schurtz, Antioch, TN

NADER, RAIDED

Just read Greg Bates' "Who's Afraid of Ralph Nader?" (8/4). Bates' examination of Nader and the Dems is refreshing and true.ÊHowever, there is a potent omission in this article: the Green Party. Ralph Nader has cut his electoral (if not all political) ties with the Green Party, which nominated another candidate, David Cobb. Nader's running in this election will do nothing for building a progressive third party that could challenge the other two. This time Ralph does not have a nationwide party system with local affiliates, running candidates from park board to senator in every state, as do the Greens.

Nader '04 as a sole presidential effort contradicts Ralph's raison d'etre to deconstruct the two-party hegemony and allow open-access elections. The Greens in 2000 gave Nader an entire enterprise in which to run for office, and he helped secure the Green Party as the most progressive and viable alternative to the duopoly. However, Nader running as an independent now could severely harm the Green Party's negligible status and legitimacy in several states (a certain percentage of national election votes is required by many states in order to maintain registration as a third party, imperative for automatic ballot access and funding). All the work the national Green Party achieved in building a viable, progressive alternative party in 2000, with Nader as its leader, may be erased in 2004 with Nader to blame.

Mick Schommer, Brooklyn

REPEAT: NOT A CREEPY PLACE

Ms. Jennifer Blowdryer recently reviewed the Canton Tea Garden in Jersey City ("Eats and Drinks," 7/28). At the end of the article, she called the local tavern, "a creepy bar I would have been dying to see in another life." Jack Miller's Pub has been in existence for 35 years and has never been referred to as anything but a class act.

Jack Miller's Pub is a family-owned business, since Jack's passing a little over a year ago. The family traditions have not changed at all in this short time. Celebrities from all over come into Jack's because of the reputation he and his family brought into the city. When I say celebrities, I mean governors, mayors and sports legends, etc. There are too many to list.

It's a shame Ms. Blowdryer couldn't stop into Jack Miller's before she maliciously decided to write about it. It would be nice to write an apology to the Miller family; they don't deserve to be maligned by someone who has never even stepped into their establishment.

Bob Fitzgerald, via email

EVEN A COLD GRILLED-CHEESE SANDWICH?

This isn't "The Liberal Case Against John Kerry"; it's a pathetic foul-mouthed whiner who didn't like Kerry's speech at the convention (Matt Taibbi, 8/4). As a liberal who isn't terribly thrilled about John Kerry's nomination, I would vote for a grilled-cheese sandwich instead of Bush. There are some honest problems with John Kerry and his record, but instead of talking about his record and how it does or doesn't match up to a liberal's values the way the other article, "The Conservative Case Against Bush," does, Taibbi wastes our time with this childish drivel.

Get us some real analysis. I don't care if the writer is anti-Kerry. For nearly a year, I was anti-Kerry myself. What I care about is some intellectual honesty. The article's title implies that we're going to learn why a liberal should vote against John Kerry. Instead we're told why a conservative will vote against John Kerry and how hypocritical Democrats are for saying that the American flag belongs to all of us. What a terrible article.

Allen Smith, Decatur, GA

WE MEANT THREE HEADS

The conclusion is inescapable: New York Press is not worth the paper it's printed on. What sort of mentality could give rise to the colossal ignorance of "One Head Is Better Than Two" (Page Two, 8/4)? Anybody who can read and reason knows this procedure was done in stages, to increase the chances of success. Which idiot on your staff sees a "sideshow" as a "star attraction"? The piece is unsigned.

Your paper is free, but not free of stupidity. It's hard to believe anyone could be so cynical. You must be a Republican doing schtick, expecting us to take you seriously.

Ben Calderone, Levittown

WE'LL BE PUBLISHING PICTURES NEXT WEEK

Michelangelo Signorile's "Young George in Love" was great (7/21). Bush and Bandar sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. You could take it a step further with some phone calls. George W. has a real gay side to him. He had a gay lover from South Africa, with whom he was caught in the act, George H. and Barbara in Kennebunkport. Call Earl Spencer, Lady Di's brother. In England. He knows.

Name Withheld, Waterbury, CT

OK, WE'LL TELL HIM

You can tell Matt Taibbi that I find his supposedly scathing article denouncing Christopher Hitchens as a coward is both childish and laughable ("Shoveling Coal for Satan," 6/30).

While I don't agree with Hitchens on everything he says, I do agree with his denouncement of Fahrenheit 9/11. That movie was lower than crap. It was full of lies and anti-Bush propaganda. I'm surprised that Moore hasn't been sued for such flagrant lies.

Kenneth Scheurkogel, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

RIGHT ON TOP?

Only thing to do, Matt, is vote for Bush (Matt Taibbi, "The Liberal Case Against John Kerry," 8/4).ÊAt least we know where he stands. Right on your head.

Richard P. McDonough, Irvine, CA

THEY HAVE CARDS FOR THAT?

As a card-carrying non-conservative, I thank New York Press for the excellent article (William Bryk, "The Conservative Case Against George W. Bush," 8/4).ÊIt displays thought and careful analysis instead of the spleen and bile that is too common in political journalism today. I look forward to reading carefully thought-out writing from perspectives different from my own.ÊI've even changed my mind from time to time based on such reading. The articleÊdid reinforce some of my opinions about George 43, I must admit.ÊThe viewpoint you reflect had aided me in my 45-year-long retreat from socialism to what I sometimes refer to as "left-wing capitalism," of which I am an enthusiastic running dog.Ê

Judd Conway, Beaverton, Oregon

MERE WORDS

Matt Taibbi's "The Liberal Case Against John Kerry" is insightful and very effective in pointing out the dishonesty that is essential to political crusades (8/4). Another example of political mendacity is "The

Politics of Hope," as Kerry/Edwards phrase it, which has changed slightly from candidate Clinton's self-portrayal as "The Man from Hope" Arkansas.

Democrats like to hold aloft banners emblazoned with hope to condition their followers (and anyone else they can herd along) into believing that they cannot rely on their own abilities to provide for their material well-being. Meanwhile, Democrat pols busy themselves with imposing more taxes and regulations every year to help the little guy, thereby insuring that the little guy, trying to earn an honest living-or a prospective employer, trying to create a productive business-must struggle with financial and legal hurdles that get steadily bigger and more infuriating.

Meanwhile, the airwaves are saturated with public service announcements that softly and seductively whisper from what is clearly a long list of some grave threat to one's health and well-being, always with the moral that a government hotline, or government agency, or trained emergency worker is standing by to help. In truth, politicians and government have never produced a dime's worth of wealth, and can't help anybody. Instead, they rob Peter to pay Paul, all the while lying to keep themselves in power and chips.

Mendacious Democrats can count upon swarms of lying Republicans to keep them company. While Cheshire-smiling Dems offer to help out with worries about money, grim and sober Republicans pro-offer family values, which they insist on upholding by sending sons and daughters off to fight in non-defense wars, and moral clarity, which they uphold by lying about WMDs, imminent military threats and preemptive strikes. At home, they prosecute a war on drugs that guarantees drugs can profitably be smuggled into households, schools, and prisons, while bullying innocent Americans with asset forfeiture and door-bashing raids. Every year, we are treated to another government report that the Feds are winning the war on drugs.

There's a surefire way to tell when politicians are lying: Watch their lips move.

Mark Humphrey, Great Falls, MT

FOUR FOR FOUR ON 8/4

Your August 4 issue was probably the best since Taki and company left. Bryk, Taibbi, Bates and Signorile each in his own way scored a bull's-eye in their treatments.

Edgar Moutoux, Manhattan

FOR THE SUGGESTION BOX

What a marvelous piece by Mr. Taibbi ("The Liberal Case Against John Kerry," 8/4).I sincerely hope he plans to disassemble President Bush's acceptance speech in a similar fashion.

I suspect the final analysis willÊdiffer only as to state of birth.

Thomas Dahlgren, Silverton, ID