Enjoy!

From our Mailbag 01/12/01 - 01/27/01

Sometimes we do manage to hit a nerve... As long as it not your last one!

From Jennifer Blue, Glendale, CA, USA:

yes yes i see you taking a streetcar named desire to elysian fields. moss abounds as does that seemingly frail yet enduring filigree lattice work on balconies.

your glass house piece was inspiring for me. i have been contemplating the fear vs. love motivation in many areas of my life since i read your piece. thank you.

kisses,
miss blue


From S. L, (No City Provided,) USA:

SUBJECT: Commet on Web Page

First off, start by reading the Constitution, or even the pledge of Allegiance, this country is a REPUBLIC. Yes, that means that mob does not rule. Our Founding Fathers set this country up this way because there were too many ignorant people. While this is not a personal attack, I just think you need to get your facts right. I think you should also consider this the Democratic Party has a campaign to get as many people to the polls as possible, no madder the education level, they will even drive them and feed them lunch. Now the irony in people being to stupid to vote and the Democrats claiming that those are mostly their votes is quite obvious. Today is 1/15/01 and they reported on the news that even with all the so called "obvious but ruled illegal" vote's counted President Elect bush had a net gain of 6 votes. So where does that exactly leave you in your argument.


ROD RESPONDS: Thanks for visiting G21 and for writing. Unfortunately, since you did not reference which of the 1,000 articles on our Web site you are complaining about, I don't know which author to send this comment to or how we could possibly respond.


From Faye R, Lecompton, KS, USA:

SUBJECT: Your RDR

Rod-

You've got us all in tears - good tears, mind you - with your latest musings.

Thanks for the new year's present - of reminding us that it's ok to be human and above all, to be ourselves.

It's the reality checking that hampers the growth, but it's oh so difficult, not to do it and not to compare.

Thanks.

Faye R.
Lecompton, KS


ROD RESPONDS: Faye,

Thanks for visiting the G21 and taking the time to write. It's appreciated. I hope those are tears of joy. Mine are.

With Love,
Rod


From Jennifer Blue, Glendale, CA USA:

Subject: slow motion.

hello rod,

your current rdr piece is just as inspiring as your current glass house piece. the quote from the maltese falcon is priceless for me right now. you are speaking w/ my soul. from one tattered slow-mo learner to another, i am seeking the treasure map you have evidentally found.

it is good news that you have found a way w/your mother. i know that it has been a difficult odyssey for you.

surly and surely yours,
miss jennifer blue


From Jeff W., Columbus, OH, USA:

Your friend's message:

Heroes are hard to find...no strike that. They're damn near IMPOSSIBLE to find. Jesse Jackson let his little head get his big head in trouble and now he's gonna have to take the heat. Guess I understand Roberta Flack's song "Jesse" a little better now...or is that "Reverend Lee?"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Jesse Jackson? That's just my baby daddy By Jimi Izrael

http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2001/01/19/daddy/index.html

The reverend can be forgiven for his affair because the flesh is weak. But so is his game -- why did he get caught?


ROD RESPONDS:

Jeff,

Thanks for sending this along. I guess I have to say, as I did during the Monica Lewinsky deal: this *ain't* news. I'm sure some current writer at the G21 will decide differently (after all, the Enquirer is Tom Hart's meat and bread.) I continue to believe, as Izrael points out, that the man who doesn't follow his dick should cast the first stone.

All men are dogs. To hold anyone, public or private, to a higher standard than we hold ourselves is just bullshit. If anything, Jackson should be applauded for taking care of the baby and the baby's momma.

Was he stupid for getting caught? Yep. So were lots of other guys from Hart to Livingston. But how many brain cells are in any man's pud?

(Why do you think I've been so forthcoming about my own sexual transgressions? I don't want anybody to claim that my "high moral stance" is compromised by my sexual past, if it should ever come to that. I make it public knowledge that I fuck around --- and note this: *FOR MY OWN PROTECTION.* That way "the dirt" is neutralized.)

I know this opinion of mine won't be embraced by many, but I consider most of them hypocrites anyway.

Rod


From Douglas McDaniel, Telluride, CO, USA:

SUBJECT: G21 Special Edition: The Bush Inaugural

Rod,

This is great stuff. I'm blogging it, post haste, if I have the strength.

I'm taking the train to Colorado today. I will be there by Wednesday.

By the way, what is the status of the stuff I sent you. I'll try to give you a call around mid-morning.

Really, this is an incredible document. Talk about the right guy being at the right place at the right time. Well done. Well done. That whole thing about thebarbed wire, a vivid little metaphor for our new situation in the U.S., is totally, like, Glasnost Lost.

Douglas McDaniel
Equal Opportunity e-Publisher
Mythville MetaMedia
http://mythville.blogspot.com/


From Lionel R., Los Angeles, CA, USA:

Rod, I was reading your stuff about the coronation of the thief. I understand now what it felt like with the coming on of the Civl War.

The '60s were childplay. These guys are terrifying, and personally I think they're the same guys who killed Kennedy. I sent you my Bush piece, didn't I? It got around a bit. Anyway, just wanted you to know I feel like a comrade from what you're writing. It's good and important.

Lionel


From Marilyn P., Austin, TX, USA:

SUBJECT: Left/Right America

Hello,

I was reading your coverage of the Bush inauguration, and I noticed this comment in the second page of your assessment, listed as the first change that you saw among the people in the crowd:

"There was a new Left in America that is comprised mostly of young people. The problem, in my view, is that they are extremely politically naive (See "Lamentations" below.) They paint everything in stark black and white. This gives them the weakness of not understanding all of our common humanity and our common flaws. Too many of the 20-something protestors I encountered had *no tolerance.* They looked at anyone who disagreed with them as a lesser human and The Enemy...."

Although you see this as a weakness, it strikes me that this is exactly the narrow world-view of many conservative Republicans of the Christian Right--the folks whom no Republican dares to anger, even one who wants to pass as a moderate to the world at large. You and I may deplore such extremism, but it strikes me that, unfortunately, young people are reacting in a natural way to the events of the last eight years.

When you see a duly elected President investigated unceasingly by a Special Prosecutor whose actions are supported by the most influential members of the opposing party, and when this is your first experience of politics, you may well tend to think of political extremism as a requirement of political activism. The events of this past election certainly did nothing to dispel that notion.

Over the years that I have worked in a small high school as an English and French teacher, I have noticed that students have become increasingly reticent about discussing their personal beliefs on any subject. This is partly because when they do, they are increasingly likely to find themselves in a confrontation with those of the opposing side. Logic and reason take a back seat to emotion and volume in these exchanges. They think that this is the way you "discuss differences" in our society.

And recent events certainly do not prove them wrong, on either side. This is the new generation, and I think we will see more of this in years to come.

Best wishes,
Marilyn P.
Austin, Texas


ROD RESPONDS: Ms. P.,

Thanks for visiting G21 and for writing! We appreciate hearing from our readers.

Your assessment is certainly a valid one... But I want to hope it isn't also a prophetic one.

If social discourse devolves to be a strictly adversarial exercise, rather than a means of working through ideological differences toward solutions that support the common good, then one outrage or another will lead to the belief the violence is the *only* means of solving whatever problem caused that outrage. History *and* international current events show us where that leads.

Best,
Rod


From Nadi L. (No City Provided,) USA:

SUBJECT: The Bush(ed) Parade

You sure told it like I saw it on TV.

Even from the comfort of my easy chair in front of the TV the whole thing was staged as Booring.

The only thing the new President did that was in the least heroic was to let his wife accompany his dangerous walk up the avenue, and I guess you can see that was said tongue in cheek.

He (and the Republican Party), I imagine think they have pulled the coup of the century, but I wonder if they can control the American people once they begin to lose patience with the control freaks? Ý

I hope so as I would not want to see WWIII erupt in our back yards, and I am afraid it easily could. We can put up with a lot of stuff, but we do have limits.

NadiL


From Rolf G, Berlin, GERMANY:

Mr. Amis,

I just wanted to write you and let you know that yours was the best coverage of the American inauguration I have seen on or off the Web. You may not know it, but what you are doing at G21 is important and appreciated by many.

Keep up the excellent journalism!

With Best Regards,
Rolf G.
Berlin

In The World's Magazine General Mailbag This Week

(See? We stopped calling it Spam.)

From Celeste, (No City Provided,) USA:

G21 DAY ONE - Unamerican.com Redux has an article/interview about the owner of Unamerican.com.

You should know that I am currently in the process of trying to force Unamerian.com to take down webcontent that they plagiarized from my website.

Do you support internet plagiarism? Because fearbush (part of unamerican.com) has plagiarized my "Smirk-O-Rama" website, word for word, including tables and typographical errors.

I'm a big believer in internet freedom...I revel in it. But plagiarism is for total losers that can't think up their own web content.

His page where he has plagiarized my work is at: http://www.unamerican.com/fearbush/index1.html

My "Smirk-O-Rama!" page is at http://www.politicalamazon.com/smirkorama.html.

Starting from the table on both pages on down, he has plagiarized everything on my page.

The question obviously is this: is ANY of the content on his site original, or is it all plagiarized?

I would hope that you would re-think your tacit endorsement of unamerican.com on your website. He could very well steal YOUR content next.

And even more sick...this guy killed his girlfriend's cat for revenge. What kind of people do you endorse, anyway? There is info about it all over the internet. Here are two links: HREF="http://www.noapologiespress.com/thatbastardsez/Rantings/ranting4c.html"> Suck bangs (like hos, y'all) HREF="http://www.metafilter.com/comments.mefi/536#204">Metafilter | Comments on 536

--Celeste
POLITICAL AMAZON: Heal THIS, *sshole
POLITICAL AMAZON: MEDIA ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT


ROD RESPONDS: Celeste,

If you had read the text of the interview featured at G21, you'd know that it is in no way an endorsement. If anything, it seriously questions Mr. Kumar's motives and his ideology.

James Squeaky is a friend of ours who now runs the site MisterRidiculous.com, and the person whose cat was killed by Srini. That was over a year ago now.

As to the plagiarism issue, I believe that is between yourself and Kumar and wish you luck in resolving it.

Regards,
Rod

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