DEAR EDITOR: I rarely write to publications to express my opinions. And I have never been interested in politics. But there's always a first time for everything, and so I write The Stranger (one of the most addictive publications in Seattle) to tell you that I was glad to see your endorsement of Rep. Velma Veloria ["Primary Endorsements 2000," Sept 14]. Not only have I heard good things about her (including her accomplishments as a representative of the 11th district), I have met her myself during the three-week long Filipino film festival in Seattle. Being exposed to dirty politics in my country, the Philippines, I can't help but notice that Veloria truly values the importance of people. I have found her to be warm, very down-to-earth, sincere, and very professional. I personally believe we need more people like her in the public service, and though I don't vote here in America, I want to see her re-elected to her post.

Elvert C. Bañares, Seattle

HOW DARE YOU! You people are an asinine collection of hate-filled, ignorant savages, endlessly flinging mud-strewn slander. In your election guide you wrote, "a vote for Slade is a vote for Satan." How dare you impugn the name of a hardworking creature who is only doing his job! Slade Gorton is a man who is dedicated to making the lives of Americans everywhere as miserable as possible so he can feed his petty, ego-mongering lifestyle. Comparing him to Satan is an insult to a grossly misunderstood supernatural creature who, as I said, is only trying to do his job, fulfilling God's Will. You pathetic losers should pray to have Satan replace Gorton in the senate, for he would do an infinitely better job than the craven, criminal, heartless, lying sack of manure that is Slade Gorton.

You owe Satan an immediate apology!

Mr. Righteous Indignation, via e-mail

EDITORS: First I just have to tell you to lay off the religious crap. The September 7 issue was loaded with it ["The Department of Lost Objects," Samantha Shapiro; "The American Way Is a Devil Way," Tamara Paris], and I have had my fill for a long, long time. It doesn't matter which way the story is spun, when you talk about God or the Devil, it is religious (and boring for us atheists). The only Devils I want to hear about are from Murder City.

Anonymous, via e-mail

EDITORS: Your new column ["Win Any Fight with Betty White," Sept 7] was a very remarkable promotion for mind-numbing brutal violence. Coincidentally, on the same page, Last Days deplores the mind-numbing brutal murder of Erik Toews in Tacoma. Both were done "for the fun of it." Though many of us are aware that writers at The Stranger are proud of their lack of integrity, I wonder if it is just immaturity that makes you forget that "violence begets violence."

Nevets Muni, Seattle

DEAR EDITOR: After reading the Stranger article about Al Gore and health care ["Gory Details," Nathan Thornburgh, Sept 7], I couldn't help but be bothered by all the liberals who are mindlessly planning on voting for Gore when there is another option: Ralph Nader. I am voting for Nader because he is not Gore. Many of my liberal friends keep warning me that this is the same as voting for Bush. I think they are wrong.

Under the current political arrangement, the "minority of the center" rules. The center's "swing voters" will vote either Democrat or Republican , while "core voters" generally will vote against the candidate furthest from his or her ideal. This means that core voters can be counted on to vote for their respective parties while swing voters must be sought. For the far-left to be considered as important as the center's swing voters, we need to stop auto-pilot voting. The truth is that the Democratic Party can't win without its core voters. If we leave the party, the party will be forced to move back to the left. Voting for Nader is about demonstrating that there is a limit to how far center (or right) we'll go.

We can afford four years of Bush to avoid 16 years of Clinton-Gore.

Tom Kertes, Seattle

EDITORS: My relationship with The Stranger has been a long and rocky road. I've gone from raving to all my friends about Seattle's best newspaper to an all-out boycott, and then back again. This has always been the place I've turned to for the city's local calendar of events, but I also need good feature articles and columns. Don't get me wrong, sometimes you can really put the Weekly and the Times to shame, but lately they have been putting you to shame. Well, it seems that in the last issue (September 7) you have really redeemed yourselves. Keep up with that kind of work and I will keep reading.

Andrew Kimmich, Seattle

DEAR STRANGER: I loved your vengeance articles ["Vengeance Is Ours," Music Quarterly, Aug 31]. Ya know, I'm not above a bit of the dish best served cold. Hell, I once shit in a guy's hubcap because he gave me the finger. It's my own goddamn business if I want to drive like an old lady. Anyhoo, to clarify a piece of an article, Liz Fraser is not fat as a cow ["When She Backs up She Beeps," Jeff DeRoche]. Unless she porked out in the last four years, she is still a petite, angelic songstress. I've been to a few shows and believe you me, I know a fatty when I sees it. You rule.

Steakhouse, Seattle

I don't know what tabloids Jack Mitz reads to get his Beatles information, but his letter [Letters, Sept 14] is laughable junk mail. John Lennon's albums were critically lauded, whereas McCartney only received favorable reviews for his first solo album, McCartney, Band on the Run, and a small handful of his latest works. How Mitz can be unaware that Plastic Ono Band and Imagine are considered all-time classics is bizarre. How he can reduce the multitude of topics covered in Lennon's "How Do You Sleep" to one single photograph on Ram signifies why Mitz is no music critic nor historian. And his attacks on Yoko are tiresome; we've heard it all before, and most people got over it long ago. He can't even get his quotes correct: He misquotes lines from a song called "Dear Boy" and attributes it to another song, "Too Many People." And apparently he hasn't noticed that Wings have NOT been inducted into the Hall of Fame, yet Lennon was inducted years ago. Freedom of speech does not preclude one from the necessity of research prior to shooting off one's mouth.

Joseph Huston, Capitol Hill

EDITORS: Recently, Real Change and The Stranger printed articles about the Metropolitan Improvement District's Safety Ambassador program ["Going Private," Pat Kearney, Aug 24]. It would be quite easy for a liberal left-winger like myself to buy into the clandestine/hidden-agenda theory implied by both publications... were it not for one simple fact: I AM a safety ambassador. I have kept journal entries of every day I've been on the job at MID for the past seven months. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of these entries are... BANAL.... "Which bus to Seattle Center?" "Where is the Public Market?" "Can you recommend a good seafood restaurant?" AND, of course the inevitable "What is a safety ambassador?" THAT question I will address here and now! As a safety ambassador, I walk about 15 miles per day. I answer questions and give directions to tourists and those new to our city. I offer referrals to panhandlers and the homeless--locations of food banks and shelters. Sometimes I merely "lend an ear" to someone who needs to talk about their day. I radio for medics when someone is injured or experiencing a seizure. I call DETOX for anyone requesting this service. I also STAND BY with moral support when a situation requires additional services en route. While it is true that I must sometimes request an individual to "MOVE ON," this ONLY occurs when he or she is blocking the entrance to a building or behaving aggressively toward passersby. I NEVER harass nor provoke. I invite ANYone reading this letter to approach me out "in the field"... on the streets of Seattle to further question me about my job, about my motives, about my experiences, about my priorities, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, about my conscience and convictions. Thank you Seattle.

Lainne, Safety Ambassador

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: We're not sure how the hell this happened, but in the Aug 31 issue [Chow Bio Box], we misquoted Jade Pagoda's bartender Burt Clemans. When asked, "How do you like to announce last call?" our crack(head) reporter thought Clemans said, "Fuck like you know how to fuck." He actually said, "Suck like you know how to suck." You can see how this makes a lot more sense.

Also, we made a few boo-boos in last week's primary endorsements. Jay Inslee did, in fact, vote for gun control. Maria Cantwell has not been endorsed by NARAL--her opponent Deborah Senn received that honor.