Savaged Savaged Mike Signorile: Thank you for your ...
Mike Signorile: Thank you for your article on BSNBC; I thought it was just me ("The Gist," 3/5). You have confirmed my feelings and thoughts about this pathetic cable station. I personally call them the Puppets of Propaganda. They give a whole new meaning to the term yellow journalism. It sounds just right for Savage?what can one expect from a company that Jack Welch built and stripped of any integrity? The GOP will just love it, another station of angry white men and women sitting in their little "Situation Room" spewing their venom at the world. How sad that they call it news. Thank you again for writing such a great article. I wonder how Bill Gates feels about his company being associated with NBC now. I guess money is money no matter how dirty it gets.
Ann deBroux, Park Forest, IL
It's a Deal
Jeff Koyen: Everyone still remembers your article in Factsheet 5 that basically tore zine publishers a new collective asshole. As I recall, you accused "zinesters" (as was the popular term at the time) of "romanticizing squalor," among many other offenses to good taste. I knew you were right back then, and I spent more time in high school on my zine than my homework. So, what's the deal with the kind, even faintly nostalgic sentiments expressed in your recent article ("The Intro," 3/5)? Has American culture degenerated so much in seven or eight brief years that you've embraced the very self-involved scribbling you used to revile, simply because they benefit from comparison to a newer, rougher beast that haunts the culture? Or have you changed? Become kinder, mellower? Maybe those vigorous finger-fuckings you received in Prague jostled loose some bothersome insect from your rectal cavity. Whatever it is, I'm intrigued. I promise to keep reading as long as you keep your extended anal metaphors to a minimum.
Benjamin Kessler, Brooklyn
Gross Misconduct
I was really disappointed with J.R. Taylor's column, "I'm Supposed to Pay for This?" ("Music," 3/5). I have no problem with someone disagreeing with the content or policies of any given publication. What's wrong is that the overall contexts are missing.
First of all, who is covering a lot of these unsigned local bands other than NYRrock. com? Even if they don't have the latest dirt on local heroes like the Strokes, et al., don't those people get more than their share of press anyway? What about all the other bands? NYRock is one of the few places that they get coverage at. I would much rather see that than another story about the Strokes.
Why isn't anything being said about the overall state of online publications? Salon is the flagship of all of this and they're about to go under by many accounts. They've tried almost every trick in the book to keep themselves afloat financially and they've failed?their only hope right now is that some benefactor will throw money at them quickly. Slate is a great publication, but it's only alive because Microsoft constantly pumps money into it. As scary as the print publication market is at the moment, it's nowhere as bad as the state of online publications. No one has the answer to this question: What does it take to keep an online magazine going financially? If you have the answer yourself, congratulations?you're going to be rich, and a pioneer too.
I myself have questions about NYRock's policy for bands, but to ignore these things cheats your readers out of knowing what the real issues involved here are.
If you're going to get outraged about misdeeds in the industry, where's your anger over CMJ? Here's hoping that you take them to task for inserting their own compilations in radio stations' playlists without telling them?this affects a lot more people and much more of the music industry itself.
Jason Gross, Manhattan
Worthless Indeed
I'm sure J.R. Taylor has struggled through the musical world, guitar and songs in hand, breaking down barriers with his laconic wit, cracking wise and getting his music out there to a public eager to hear his creative side at work. Well, actually, I can't be sure because I don't know him. Apparently, he knows enough of me to attack my writing style and intelligence, and to think that me finding positive aspects to indie acts and their products is somehow a crime beyond words. Again, I'm guessing, because in researching his article, he didn't bother to contact me.
What would he have learned had he done so? Ahh, there's a good question, and one left unanswered. If the requisite for a critic is to needlessly attack artists and their music, holding them up to a scale of which the critic is the sole arbiter of, dispensing critiques much as an angry drunk would berate anything that moves, then I fail to fit the description. Perhaps Taylor, like so many others, imagines himself heir to the throne of Lester Bangs. Maybe Taylor believes his own prose cannot be touched by criticism, whose very words are golden, even in print. God bless you whitey, if you do. It's too easy to break the knees of youth and tell them they can't play their guitar, or their 4-track production sucks, or something clever and witty that makes for a good read.
But in the long run, who wins? The critic, who elevates his own status in his own mind? Hardly. By doing so, he further removes himself from the music he so cherishes, and a handful of bands, long ago popular, become his gods. I've dealt enough with those types, and enough with hack writers trashing me, enough with Bangs-wannabes who view the world from their parents' basement. I don't care. Music criticism, for the most part, is a worthless endeavor, and anyone who doesn't see that point is an idiot. And whenever creativity and the business world clash, guess who takes it on the chin? So, go ahead and attack the site, attack my writing and be confident in the belief that your story has somehow made the world a better place to live. And if it's any concern of yours, the change in policy didn't affect my remuneration one cent. But thanks for asking. Oh, wait.
Bill Ribas, Pittsford, NY
Homeland Defense
Here we go again: I guess I was naive enough to believe that with the departure of Russ Smith and his gang, New York Press was about to enter a golden age where anti-Semitism (and anti-NY Yankee sentiments) would be left at MUGGER's own doorstep and never soil your pages again. But, how wrong could I have possibly been? The last two press runs of New York Press completely dispelled any illusions I may have been harboring to the contrary. First, Alan Cabal rears his head ("New York City" 2/26) by claiming that the Prime Minister of Israel "stood up in the Knesset and said, in front of G-d and everybody: 'We, the Jews, control America, and the Americans know it.'" Since I wasn't there, I can't confirm or deny that PM Sharon said it. However, I can state, with full confidence that I don't believe for one second that someone whose enemies even admit is an extremely intelligent man, would say such a thing. No way. I demand that scandalous statement be verified and confirmed by your paper.
Just as I was getting my footing again after that incredible statement, New York Press knocks me down again in the very next issue with a quick one-two punch in the form of Joshua Cohen's "The Chosen Peephole" (3/5). Wait a second; I have to compose myself after reading just the title again. It's interesting, that as I am writing this, news is blaring out of all media that at least fifteen of those "Peephole" were just murdered this morning in Israel by a Palestinian homicide bomber with many dozens others injured. Oh, before I forget, these "Peephole" that were just murdered were almost all students returning from school. Cohen should get a kick out of that. But wait, I digress.
Believe it or not, I am not writing to complain about this disgusting and depraved article. I do not want any control over what you publish. This is America, which gives you the right to express yourselves in any way that you want to (except that you can't lie to us and get away with it).
So let's forget the fact that this one article will forever brand your paper as anti-Semitic if there is no apology from the publisher. The sheer grief that you will experience from your readers (of all faiths) after running an article like this will be overwhelming. My personal opinion is that this article will lose many more readers for you than you could ever possibly gain from it. This is not exactly an advertiser's dream feature.
What brings me to your pages today is the use of the following racist terms: "Jew-run", "Jew angle" and "Jew-boy" in Cohen's article.
Enclosed below, is an exact quote of the incorrect usage of the word "Jew" as found in The American Heritage Dictionary, Third Edition, (page 967), published in New York by Houghton Mifflin in 1992:
"USAGE NOTE: It is widely recognized that the attributive use of the noun 'Jew', in phrases such as Jew lawyer or Jew ethics, is both offensive and vulgar. In such context, Jewish is the only acceptable possibility."
Your paper must cease and desist from using the language of hate to describe various segments of your own readers, no matter what their race or creed. The only appropriate use of this type of hate language in your paper is for the purpose of reporting incidents and events that have happened.
When I called New York Press' publisher, Chuck Colletti, for him to address my concerns (which he graciously did), he pointed out to me that the writer himself was Jewish. I told Colletti that I am not at all surprised that a Jewish man wrote this article. As a matter of fact, only a "self-hating" Jewish guy like Joshua Cohen could actually write such an article here in New York City. As Cohen himself stated in the article (I'm paraphrasing a quote from his own Rabbi) "Why are you worrying about Jewish pornography when your people are being murdered in Israel?" Unfortunately, it is very unsettling how timely the Rabbi's statement was.
I appreciated your obvious concern over this matter during our conversation, Colletti. Best of luck on your new venture. I truly hope that your reign at New York Press will finally put an end to Russ Smith's long line of anti-Semitic articles (not from his own pen, but from the pen of his writers, e.g., Taki and George Szamuely, including Smith's sheer enthusiasm for publishing anti-Semitic comments in the New York Press readers' mail.
I would ask the new management team at New York Press to undertake the following: First, confirm and verify Alan Cabal's reporting of Sharon's statement and report to us the truth about what was said. Second, apologize to all of your readers for using racist slang to describe a segment of your own readership. And third, please end MUGGER Smith's policy of allowing reader's hate mail to be published with the person's "Name Withheld." Notice that I didn't ask you to stop publishing hate mail; I just don't think that it is responsible for the New York Press to publish it anonymously as it has done many times in the past.
Barry Wolk, Manhattan
The editors reply: We, too, believe that "Name Withheld" is not an acceptable signature on The Mail page. This practice will end, except for the rare occasion when the letter-writer must be protected. As for Joshua Cohen's article, we will not be drawn into a "Who's the better Jew" contest. Despite language that some might find offensive, we reject accusations of anti-Semitism. We thank and respect Mr. Wolk for his comments, and would like to know what he thinks about Heeb magazine's popularity in the Jewish community.
We Paid $2, Too
Following my complaint about Alan Cabal's absurd claim that Ariel Sharon stood up in Israel's Knesset and said, "We, the Jews, control America, and the Americans know it," either Cabal or the editors responded that the "Chicago Reader published a June 28, 2002 report on the question."
Well, I looked up the article in question (paid two bucks for it, in fact), and I am appending it below, in its entirety. As you will see, the article goes to some lengths to demonstrate that no documentation whatsoever exists that Ariel Sharon ever said any such thing. Moreover, Cabal totally invented all by himself the detail that Sharon made the alleged remark in the Knesset. That does make it a better lie, since it seems to assure readers that the remark exists in the public record.
But as you can see from the article that Cabal claims as his source the original allegation was that Sharon made the remark in private, so that it could never be documented, and the report appeared on a variety of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian websites from which it was further distributed, despite the absence of any documentation, in order to harm Israel, Ariel Sharon and Jews in general. Not only is the report a falsehood, in short, but the article in the Chicago Reader that Cabal claims as his source came to the same conclusion.
Consequently, I again suggest that you owe your readers a large-print apology; that you should dump the inventive Cabal from your pages for journalistic incompetence in the service of racism and that the editors figure out why they accepted this absurd report long enough to allow it into print.
Again, I would appreciate your response to this letter, and again, I refer you to my website for some examples of accurate journalism from Israel.
David Margolis, Brooklyn
The editors reply: Like everything else in this paper, the Sharon quote was sourced to our satisfaction, and we stand by Alan Cabal's right to repeat controversial statements in an opinion essay. For a thorough, if inconclusive, discussion about the quote in question, we refer readers to the aforementioned Chicago Reader article (June 28, 2002).
Good Grief
Matt Taibbi: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I thought I was the only one thinking that way, and it isn't exactly something you can say out loud and still be accepted in today's society ("Cage Match," 3/5). The one thing he forgot to mention is the whole industry springing up called grief counseling, especially in schools (silly me, I thought that is what parents, family and friends were for). Anyway, thanks to Taibbi, and your paper for allowing it!
Kelly Church, Roeland Park, KS
Cabal's Cabal
Excellent parody by Alan Cabal of the lunatic left ("New York City" 2/26). His paranoia regarding being taken away in the middle of the night, his calls for the assassination of the president and his constant approving references to his own drug use really sound like he really believes this stuff. Faithful to the last detail. Even his attack on Ariel Sharon was certifiable. Maybe Cabal knows when the next meeting of the elders (of Zion) will be? I wouldn't mind attending.
Douglas Segal, Manhattan
Phew!
Re: "Billboard" (3/5). You wrote, "to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." This is not code. It's James Joyce. Your applicant was pretentious, yes. But not encoded.
Andrew Horwitz, Brooklyn
Darling's Darlings
J.R. Taylor: I know NYRock.com publisher Stu Newman and the rest of the gang at NYRock.com on both a personal and professional level. I have never met a group of people more interested in supporting the thriving local music scene. While I understand your misgivings about mixing money with reviews ("Music," 3/5), NYRock.com has created an opportunity for lesser-known bands to get a review and some much-valued press for a very small amount of money. As the music industry continues to change and proliferate, paying for press in the form of a review will likely become more commonplace. Personally, I applaud the efforts of NYRock.com.
Jenna Darling, Manhattan
Fishwrapper
I just finished reading Jeff Koyen's article and I agree with him concerning the sad state of independent publishing and how print is definitely superior to websites ("The Intro," 3/5). Publishing a magazine is tough work (especially, as in the case of most independent magazines, the publisher is also the editor, writer, art director, etc.) and it can quickly drain a healthy bank account. The web will never kill print (although I'm the genius that predicted in the 80s that CDs would never kill vinyl). And I'm sure Koyen didn't want to be self-serving and mention in his article that he published a great independent magazine, Crank, a few years ago. It's sorely missed. Good luck, Jeff.
Mike Signorile: The only trouble is that the so-called code of conduct never applies to anyone on the left. Phil Donahue is free to call anyone who disagrees with him racist, bigoted and homophobic, but Savage can't say that GLAAD wants to make perverted behavior mainstream ("The Gist," 3/5). I don't listen to Savage, but it's utter hypocrisy to say that liberals encourage free speech?they move heaven and earth to prevent anyone else exercising it.
Mary McLemore, Pike Road, AL
Insulting Slobo
Mike Signorile: I have listened to Michael Savage on the radio a number of times. Can't take too much of him. Just makes me tired, and the man is either stupid or laughing all the way to the bank. The trouble is he is like a person yelling fire in a theater. He's got to be what Milosevic was to his people: a loose cannon spewing hate and divisiveness. He should be taken off of our airwaves. They are our airwaves. I wish there was some kind of board that represented all facets of our nation that passed judgment on all who wish to have open access to the minds of our youth as well as our aged who are easily alarmed/frightened. I have to say that I am surprised to hear that MSNBC is taking the goofball seriously. Dr. Laura used to like to advise people to be polite when faced with awkward situations. Savage is not polite.
Michael John Smith, Houston
Everything's Allowed Here
How does Theodore Hamm manage to read with his own rectum obscuring his view ("Books," 3/5)? His admiration for Jack Newfield's new screed obviously got him excited, since he has such a hard-on for Rudy. Rudy Giuliani is a racist like Martin Sheen gives a pig's butt about Saddam's genocidal treatment of his own people. I live on the Upper East Side, and am white. Rudy did nothing for my neighborhood, except get a few homeless folks into decent shelters or hospitals. But for those African-Americans who live in high-crime neighborhoods, he cut all crime by staggering numbers, and his policing policies kept about 10,000 minority homicide victims breathing, so they could vote for someone else. Meeting with the Sharptons of the world is something we'll leave to Terry McAuliffe, thank you very much. As for the city's other black and Latino leaders (like David Dinkins?) that Rudy didn't care to share a dais with, they certainly have a distinguished record of delivering for their constituents and keeping relations harmonious. Don't be as thick as your namesake?keep yourself from veering so far left, or you might wind up driving off the bridge! (Cheap shots are still allowed, right?)
Mike Offit, Manhattan
Please, Name Names
Is it really too much to ask? I don't want to name names, but you have several regular writers that are guilty. There's no shame in admitting you don't know something. If you don't know shit about economics, that's fine. It just makes you look foolish when you pretend that you do. It wouldn't make sense to criticize art if you knew absolutely nothing about art. There's just as little point in analyzing the economy when you have no idea about even the simplest economic concepts.
Jabairu S. Tork, Boston
Viva la Marlene!
Mike Signorile: I cannot believe General Electric and Bill Gates have stooped so low. How come Bill Gates turned out so nutso when his dad seems so great? I have written all of the above, including Bill and Melissa Gates, questioning their sanity and have also decided never to buy another product from GE as long as I live and I really mean it. Michael Savage is the straw that broke the camel's back. Our news industry is dead. Prime time is filled with "reality"?yeah, right?shows that are so stupid, I swear they are trying to turn the American people into even more thoughtless, air-headed fools than they already appear to be. It is the dumbing of America 24/7 and I do not think it's unintentional.
I feel like moving to Paris. People in Europe study history, art, love long, relaxing lunches with lots of good French wine and above all, are not materialistic. They love conversation, not sitting in front of a boob tube. They are perfectly happy riding a bicycle or driving a silly-looking car that goes forever on a gallon of gas. They love sex?any and all sex is just fine by them. Vive la France and to hell with what our country has become?entertained and educated by the likes of Savage and led by George Bush, a man with absolutely no conscience.
I have never been so disgusted in my life and I'm not exactly a spring chicken even though I still feel like one! Sadly, I don't think our country will ever be what it once was?I still have hope, but the brainwashing of Americans by our press and media is hard to fight. You take care and I love your articles?as George would say "Keep 'um coming."
Marlene Wagner, Monee, IL
Get Yer Reviews Here
J.R. Taylor's slam of NYRock.com ("Music," 3/5) and its policy of charging artists to have their CD reviewed might have been warranted to a degree, but as he states explicitly, "The indie rock press usually settles for extorting ads from record labels in exchange for a review or article."
I can't see the major difference in paying twenty bucks for a guarantee that a record will be reviewed and paying 500 bucks for an ad in Magnet magazine that will "encourage" the staff to take the record more seriously.
What Taylor's article fails to explore is the low level of quality in music journalism as a whole. He expends a lot of energy slamming Bill Ribas, a writer who might not be perfect, but at least he could identify that a tune on my record used 9th chords. Is the implication here that the writing in Spin, Rolling Stone, NME and the Village Voice is much better?
Dan Shuman, Brooklyn
Remote Control
I read Michelangelo Signorile's article on Michael Savage ("The Gist," 3/5). Normally, I take Signorile's columns as just more prepackaged left-wing whines, but in this case he hits the nail squarely on the head. I am on the right side of the political center on many issues. In some ways Savage is right: Immigration is out of control, and culturally we have become a coarse and vulgar society. That having been said, however, I still find Savage repugnant. His brand of strident shrieking gives reasoned arguments about such topics a bad name. My belief is that his show on tv will burn itself out very quickly. There'll be no need for boycotts or letter-writing campaigns; it will just flat-out fail. Given his past as some sort of huckster for herbal cures and several other jobs over the years I find myself wondering if the guy stumbled into the talk-radio gig and found his niche pandering to an audience he knew existed. If so, more power to him; I believe in a free market of ideas. But that same free market will likely turn the channel selector to something far less offensive and grating.
David J. Mann, West Hills, CA
White Hassle
Even though, on the whole, I agreed with Armond White's review of Daredevil?it was pretty lousy?I find myself perplexed by one statement he makes: "[Michael Clarke] Duncan plays the comic book's white villain as a black villain, unfortunately evoking the convenient racist dynamic Tim Burton resorted to at the end of Batman." ("Film," 2/26).
I had to rack my brain as to what White was referring to in Burton's film, and I can now only assume that he is talking about the single black henchman the Joker employs during a fight sequence near the film's finale.
I'm inclined to agree with White when he accuses Antoine Fuqua's Training Day of racism, because Denzel Washington does, indeed, play the black villain as a composite of practically every white stereotype about the "disgruntled black man" against Ethan Hawke's angelic caucasian. But Duncan and the black actor, who barely even appears in Batman, as far as I can tell, do no such thing. I fear White is being too reactionary?just because a director casts a black actor as the bad guy, does that necessarily make the filmmakers racists? Does that mean that blacks can never play villains, ever? What about Harry Lennix in Julie Taymor's outstanding film Titus? And by that line of reasoning, what would White's reaction have been if Daredevil had been played by a black actor as well? Or if Kingpin was white and Daredevil black? Then would everything be "okay," as it were?
Sometimes, film characters are bad guys (or, for that matter, good guys) who just happen to be black. White's logic would severely limit black actors in the types of roles they can play. I concur that racism in the popular arts is rampant, but it's unfair of White to cry "rat" every time a black man or woman plays a character of questionable morality.
Mike Signorile: I read your column regularly, and do my best not to bother you with mail, though it's tempting. Considering you haven't heard from me recently, I think I'm managing my tongue pretty well. However, please allow me one brief comment about Michael Savage ("The Gist," 3/5).
Just why do you think Savage's book sits near the top of the New York Times bestseller list? Just why do you think MSNBC, in their pitiful attempts to attract ratings and compete with Fox News, is going after Savage? I'll tell you. It's because the majority of Americans are sick and tired of you whiney liberals and leftists who seem to think you should be the only ones to have carte blanche with the media, most especially the major networks.
The networks themselves realize that fewer people are buying the left-leaning bullshit they want to pass off as news. Hell, if they don't change their tack the only ones left watching them will be those who live in "Gore" states. Why were Phil Donahue's ratings so miniscule? Because he represents a bygone era, as far as the media is concerned. He's archaic.
I know this is a hard pill for those in your camp to swallow, but the fact remains: America is still mainly made up of fairly conservative folks who believe in traditional values, and who appreciate the heritage that made this nation great and strong. Deal with it. See your therapist. Better yet, call Dr. Phil. Even better, call Dr. Laura. She will set you straight (pun intended) in a hurry! Always a pleasure to talk to you.
Paul Chaney, Tupelo, MS
Out of eXile
Re: Matt Taibbi's column ("Cage Match," 3/5): So fucking true. What a great article. Thanks.
Stephen Saunders, Manhattan
Draft Riot
James Traub wants the draft brought back ("MUGGER," 3/5)? I'm thinking we should do it, MUGGER, starting with Traub and Charlie Rangel. (Let's waive that silly age rule?why discriminate?) Then we draft trial lawyers next and all those laid-off journalists. Let's have John Edwards, ambulance-chaser extraordinaire, lead the pack of drafted legal eagles. We're worried about people being killed in a war? Hey, with those folks on the front lines, we'd have the least desirables of our entire society gone. No big loss. But to be fair, your friend Richard Parsons could provide a million AOL coasters to throw at the enemy and confuse them. A thousand free hours of what!?
Skip Press, Burbank, CA
Left-Wing and Liberal
Mike Signorile: Your article about your concerns about the MSNBC show, for Michael Savage, is a bit over the top ("The Gist," 3/5). Don't fret and worry yourself so much. Are you concerned that the truth might actually get to people? Because it sure seems as if you are trying to censor what Michael Savage has to say. Do you think that the only people that should be able to voice their views are people like you? We are getting sick and tired of hearing from all the whiney, wimpy, left-wing, liberal loony perverts like you. Maybe it's time for you to shut up!
Sylvia Brenner, Geneva, IL
Noted
Rereading a column by William Bryk I noticed a potentially slanderous mistake in his essay called "The Empty Robe" ("Old Smoke," 6/19/2002): "Gordon had been due to testify before a special state commission investigating the Healy scandal. Even that came to nothing: Healy was acquitted three times." Actually, Gordon was about to testify to the commission investigating Vice; namely, police officers and "stool pigeons" who were entrapping innocent women in prostitution rings. The way Bryk conflates the "Healy Scandal" (Judges paying off Tammany for appointment) and the Vivian Gordon scandal is an insult to the memory of Martin J. Healy and everyone associated with Cayuga Democratic Club.
Tom Phillips, Manhattan
Twasn't Vizzini
Ned Vizzini characterized the borough of Brooklyn as "indie rock poserville" ("Picks," 3/5). Brooklyn is not Williamsburg. Fuck you! Enjoy your rent-stabilized edgy East Village lifestyle and seven dollar drinks.
Azeglio Machlin, Brooklyn