From the Mar 25 – Mar 31, 2004 issue

Columns

Letters to the Editor

WHEN DID WE GET SERIOUS?
DEAR EDITOR: According to Jim Romenesko at poynter.org, Stephen Glass claims the interview with Jayson Blair never took place. The Stranger isn't the Onion--at least I didn't think it was. So what's the deal: Did Christopher Frizzelle pull a hoax? If so, don't you think that it tends to undermine The Stranger's standing as a somewhat serious alternative publication?

Adam L. Penenberg

THE REAL BLAIR
HEY FOLKS: The both of them having staked their opposed claims on media bulletin board Romenesko, who do we believe: Dan Savage--who raised a ruckus claiming in 2000 in Salon to have licked Gary Bauer's doorknobs in Iowa to give him the flu, only to retract [the claim] once it hit the fan--or Stephen Glass (who, well, you know)?

Too bad The Stranger joint interview with Glass and Jayson Blair is apparently a hoax, 'cause it's a well-executed one. Reread it, though, and author Christopher Frizzelle shouts in neon that it's fiction.

First is the name of the "dive" where they supposedly met: Pentimento. Aside from the meaning of the word itself, the reference is obviously to Lillian Hellman's memoir of the same name which was revealed by Mary McCarthy to be less than truthful. The phone company has no listing for such a joint in Brooklyn.

Closing his story--where he should--Frizzelle gives the game away. He wrote: "The task that now fell to me, a person suspicious of narratives, was to add another narrative to the innumerable narratives that have been written about these two and to make it the truest story I knew--in spite of overwhelming evidence that there is no 'true' story."

And in his ending is this bald-faced admission: "Worst comes to worst, I figured, given who the article was going to be about, I could always make it up. Maybe mix in some factual elements, too--to make it seem a little more real."

Should anyone still be interested, I had a real interview with Blair, including his discussion of who the sex-for-drugs was with, as well as my take on the creepy racial dynamic of his public reading in Harlem last Friday. Entitled, "Blair Talks Turkey," find it at: www.drugwar.com/forbesblair.shtm>.

Dan Forbes

WE FOOLED SOMEONE
CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE: Excellent piece. Very cool premise.

Blair claims NYT is a flawed system. NYT is not broken, merely distasteful. Blair's behavior was rewarded. His only crime was getting caught and thereby embarrassing his superiors. Any paper carrying William Safire is clearly not concerned about honesty.

Cheers,

Jason Osgood FUCK THE ARCHBISHOP
EDITOR: With regard to Eli Sanders' piece about the Catholic Church defeating the gay civil rights bill yet again ["Hateful Shepards," March 18], I find it fascinating that a few phone calls from the American Taliban can defeat bills that support gay interests. On the other hand, I find it more fascinating that the LGBT community as a whole watches such events with little interest and goes back to whatever it is they find more important than their lack of civil rights. It MUST be noted, however, that there are those of us in the LGBT community that are activists (hence your reference to the town hall meeting) and that are fighting for equality. Let the record show that I'm publicly chastising Archbishop/Mullah Brunett. Shame, shame, shame on Brunett.

Karl Derrick

DAMNED DOGMA
EDITOR: I've got a minor nitpicky correction on Eli Sanders' "Hateful Shepards" article--the Catholic Church's position on homosexuality is not that it's inherently sinful. The idea is that "being gay" is not a sin in and of itself, but acting on homosexual feelings is in fact immoral. I happen to think that the Church's position is wishy-washy bullshit... but there you go. Done nitpicking.

John Duffell

FLASHY FLUSHER
TO ERICA C. BARNETT: Thanks for your story about the efforts of the Tenants Union to retain their funding ["Rat Pack," March 18].

After reading your story, I immediately thought of the new French street toilets the city is paying for. Why? On a recent outing to Broadway on Cap Hill, I had the good fortune to park next to the shiny new loo. Call us weird, but my son and I were rather excited to see if the interior was as spiffy as the newscams depicted. Alas, the door opened to a tragic scene: overflowing can, wet floor. We genuinely felt bad for the little rest stop. The opening-day news reports didn't mention how easily one high-priced toilet can be damaged by a drunk with an empty.

My point? Please stay focused on the city budget process. I realize the [city] council is often forced to make thankless decisions, but cutting the TU shouldn't be one of them, especially in light of their drive to subsidize high rents. It's hard to be poor and find safe, decent housing in Seattle. Not so long ago, this wasn't an issue.

WenG

DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS: Due to a production error (just one in a series, collect them all!), a massive, humiliating spelling error appeared in a headline in last week's paper. "Hateful Shepards" should have read "Hateful Shepherds." The Stranger's editorial department regrets this error on the part of The Stranger's production department.