EDITOR: I'm curious to know why The Stranger would suspend its usual commitment to tough political reporting with this week's Howard Dean piece ["Tough Guy," May 15]. You all pick favorites and I like that, but Dan Savage and Josh Feit never give ANYONE a free ride quite like Sandeep Kaushik did in his starry-eyed hagiography of Howard Dean. I'm fine with Dean and really appreciate a Democrat who mobilizes the left, but that article was an embarrassment in its lack of balance. Do you guys really think that met the usual standard? It's a pretty common phenomenon for reporters to get smitten with the candidates they cover on the road--think Journeys with George--but that's what editors are for.
Jeremy Barnicle, via e-mail
TO THE EDITORS: I'm dangerously close to shitcanning The Stranger forever. You all have gone completely around the bend with your gayer-than-thou content. Every issue really does seem to be centrally gay-oriented. The problem here is that I really don't care what gender you fuck, in the same way I'm sure you don't care who I fuck.
Why is this a problem? Because it's boring. I'm growing weary of having your sexual preferences in my face when all I'm looking for is some quality reading and entertainment. You've become so much of a joke that when I have breakfast with my friends at the Mecca on weekends, we wager the first round of drinks on an over/under bet of how many pages of quasi-political gay whining we have to muddle through before we get to anything meaningful.
I'm only writing this because I care, and I sincerely hope you pull your shit together soon.
Curt Nelson, via e-mail
CHARLES: Jeez, Mudede, just a tad arrogant? People in Tacoma are grieving, rethinking city government, struggling to pry open the police culture that feeds and hides both domestic abuse and cronyism (endemic in metropolitan police forces everywhere--but not, of course, in Seattle). But for you it's just another opportunity to be snarky about Tacoma's pretensions ["City of Destiny," May 8]. No matter how much you love them, Tacoma needs to cut back on the girlie shows and military machismo--which always seem to go hand in hand--to save women's lives. Tacoma should forget art, you say; probably forget clean government too, and just keep the focus on fighter jets and sleaze, all to avoid boring you.
Alison Slow Loris, Tacoma
EDITOR: Thanks for the piece on the upcoming LEIU (Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit) conference in Seattle ["Watching the LEIU," Amy Jenniges, May 15]. Protesters have good reason to keep an eye on the LEIU--and its sponsors. I followed the link to the conference website to discover that among its sponsors is none other than ChoicePoint. If that name sounds familiar, it should. ChoicePoint is the company that advised Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to purge the names of 8,000 ex-felons from the voter rolls--despite the fact that not one of these people was actually guilty of a felony. The rest is history. If you want to learn more about ChoicePoint, check out Greg Palast's book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. Prior to its wrongful "cleansing" of voter roles in the 2000 presidential election, ChoicePoint was fired by the state of Pennsylvania when it was learned that the company had sold citizens' personal information to "unauthorized individuals." ChoicePoint has plans to expand its "services" across the nation. Let's be sure and give them a big hearty Seattle welcome when the LEIU comes to town on June 2.
Karen Q.
DEAR STRANGER: Funny, we thought that your readers would be interested in the fact that former Annex actress Amy Gordon, now touring internationally with the three-person circus Daredevil Opera Company, was coming back to town, or that Ki Gottberg, Casey James, Carol Clay, and Rose Peterson have created a new "poperetta." Odd, we thought your sophisticated music audience might like to know that high-energy saxophone maestro Lágbájá and his 16-piece band from Nigeria and Los Patita de Perro from Mexico would be performing. Strange, we thought that dance fans might appreciate knowing about the authentic re-creations of turn-of-the-century cancan and Loie Fuller's choreography performed by Claire Duport and her Troupe de Mlle. Clairette from France, and that they and Chura from Okinawa would be making their North American debuts.
But rather than provide any serious editorial coverage, you chose to run a snotty little listing that primarily derides our young audience [Theater Listings, May 8].
Well, "ingrateful" is not a word and it's not in the dictionary. And the festival runs 10 days at the Seattle Center and in Tacoma from May 12-20, not five. You've once again proven that even our youngest audience members, "little monsters" as you called them, are more discerning, intelligent, and thoughtful arts aficionados than you are.
Maybe you should go to your room, take a time out, and let us know when you've thought about what you've done.
Andrea Wagner, Executive Director, Seattle International Children's Festival
DAN SAVAGE RESPONDS: We've thought about what we've done, Andrea, and we've concluded that we would do the same thing all over again--except, of course, for getting the dates wrong. We like our listings to be accurate even when they're snide. Still, The Stranger is a publication for adults and we simply don't have the real estate to cover arts festivals for children. We hope the festival was a success, however, and we hope the little monsters--no wait. We're not going to use that phrase anymore. We hope the little shits had a grand time.
ERICA: A friend forwarded your article ["Wrung Dry," May 8] in The Stranger to my attention today. He did so because I've had an ongoing battle with Minol-MTR and R. P. Management over water, sewer, and garbage billing. I moved out of an apartment in January 2002. Just yesterday I received yet another bill for the water, sewer, and garbage at that old apartment. They continue to charge me current charges, as well as late fees. The "current bill" is just shy of $1,000. I notified them in a timely manner that I was moving out. I was current in billing prior to moving out. I have called Minol-MTR, written Minol-MTR, called the resident manager and the property management company, and written the property management company, all to no avail. The process has been quite frustrating. I was heartened to see you shedding some light on this subject; perhaps officials will give this some much-needed attention. Keep up the good reporting.
Wilhelm Dingler, via e-mail
DAN SAVAGE: There are a great many qualms that I could cite regarding your publication, but I have noticed recently a far more dire affront to journalistic ethics: you allow your columnists to ANSWER letters from the readers. It seems to me that the only response that should be made to these letters ought to be technical corrections (e.g., wrong dates, names, credits, etc.); anything else is a difference of opinion.
While I understand that your writers may feel that they have been misconstrued, the fact is that an opinion is an opinion. The discourse of any reputable paper should be article/reader's response. PERIOD. If a columnist finds a miscommunication so great that he or she wishes to open discussion about it, he or she should write another article about the dispute. We should not have to witness petty bickering on your letters page. It is unprofessional and, frankly, just plain weird.
You get to control what you put out there, not the reaction or comprehension of those who read it. To try to do so is infantile, not to mention a HUGE faux pas.
Yasmeen O.
DAN SAVAGE RESPONDS: Allowing writers and columnists to respond to letters is a common journalistic practice. There is a great deal of bickering in the letters sections of the New Republic, the Nation, the New York Review of Books, National Review, the Atlantic Monthly, Harper's, Adult Video News, and other reputable publications. To write letters to editors concerning a subject you apparently know nothing about is not only infantile, Yasmeen, it also makes you look like a HUGE dope.
