SAVAGE: It is a little strange to be writing a letter about some letters, but in last week's mailbag I saw reiterated the same tired labels directed at you--"racist," "Republican," "capitalist," "reactionary"-- that lefty drones always pin to anyone whose opinion does not satisfy them ["...And Pass the Ammunition," July 4].

Why should you have such a guileless attitude toward the Muslim world? They don't have one toward you. The whole gist of it seems to be that we must blame ourselves for being a victim of a branch of Islam that has conducted terrorist attacks the world over, the vast majority of them in countries that have no ties with Israel. Yet, if we see them as the perpetuators of injustice or violence, we are "Islamaphobic." That's like saying black people are "Europhobic" and "anti-Christian" for their negative feelings toward the KKK and Aryan Nations.

As a woman, I have no apologies for being somewhat "Islamaphobic," in the literal definition of the word--being afraid of how Islam is practiced in much of the world would be the natural reaction of any woman or homosexual who gives some thought to what their life would be like in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, etc. Would one criticize an African American who felt mistrust while in Alabama in the 1950s? Or feel that a homosexual who feels bitter and angry at the Reverend Fred Phelps (of "God Hates Fags" fame) is showing blind hatred toward all Christians?

All of this "Read Chomsky and see how it's all the fault of the West and Israel, or be a Muslim-Arab-hating racist" is tiresome. Strangely enough it comes from the same people who keep pointing out to us that anti-Israel and anti-Zionism aren't anti-Semitism. So why can't they understand that one can be anti-Saudi Arabia and against Islamic extremists without hating Arabs and Muslims in general? This seems like a simple concept.

Jane March, via e-mail

EDITOR: So this is what happens when I miss a week!

I didn't read anything but the I Saw u's (still none to me), and then the next two weeks noticed all these vituperative letters to you from the thousands of local Chomsky wannabes. So today I read your article. It was perfect. Thank you! It's sad that nowadays (I know that makes me sound old, but I'm not) being a lefty means having to pretend you don't know what you know and see what you see.

I just had an argument with my boyfriend last night where he kept saying that we have to ignore their women/gay/Christian/Jew/Hindu/ Buddhist/atheist-hating ways or else they (being the residents of Islamic nations) might think we are against them. All these people who believe that pretending we're not offended as fuck over their hatred of us (being anyone who fits into any of the preceding seven categories) AND that if we meditate to be extra kind and loving, it will zonk them out of their hatred of all things non-fascist and love will spread like a fire in their hearts.... Holy shit. Scary. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you've heard it before.

Greg Patton, via e-mail

FRANK CASSANO: Regarding your response to the imbecile to whom you posed the question, "Do you or do you not agree with the Republicans' welfare proposal, which would renew block grants to states that run assistance programs?" ["Imbecile Parade," July 18]. What fucking rock have you been living under? Only an imbecile would not know how to spell "Pokémon." Try using your dictionary rather than wasting time picking at the left-over food in your stupid, stupid beard. Why don't you use your fucking glasses and read what you write, you asshole, or at the least fire your incompetent editor! You make me want to vomit you're so dumb. My colleagues and I vote that they make you Grand Marshal of the Imbecile Parade, you dickwad!

And by the way, there are 251 Pokémon characters, and no, I don't agree with the Republicans, ever!

JA, via e-mail

EDITOR: Frank, you big fat fuck, did you lose your dictionary in your beard full of nits? You misspelled Pokémon, and besides, there are 251 Pokémon characters, not the 150 you claim. If ZZ Top ever needs a fourth member then you better get some cheap sunglasses to replace those Coke bottles you're sporting now--and grow a real beard for Christ's sake. You get my hands-down vote as Grand Pooh-Bah of the Imbeciles.

L. King, via e-mail

EDITOR: If I knew nothing about amateur porn, then I might be impressed by Bradley Steinbacher's article about the folks making amateur XXX in Puyallup ["Gang of Four," July 18]. But that is not the case, since I am president of the original amateur porn company called Homegrown Video. I happen to live and work in Seattle, and I was lucky enough to pick up the article in the world's greatest video store, Scarecrow, where some of my videos are available for rental.

Now, even Newsweek magazine was astute enough to observe that "Homegrown Video is the longest-running series in the history of porn," so Bradley ought to get out and actually pay closer attention to the facts rather than the naked writhing bodies lost in profitable, lustful abandon.

If Allure chooses to think it is Washington's largest porn producer, no problem--I am quite used to such delusions of grandeur; it is a common porn malady, and debilitating to writers for alternative papers as well.

Farrell Timlake, Homegrown Video

AMY: I have a bone to pick with you and your ilk--the mindless, left-liberal, whining-will-save-the-world crowd (pardon the ad hominem). In your worldview, Weeks and Clark are just two more insensitive, bourgeois white guys out to mock the plight of the larger world's reality. Insensitive, cowardly, crass... the standard list of non-PC bad-guy adjectives ["Mild Kingdom," Amy Jenniges, July 18].

And here's my beef. You (guys) are excellent at pointing out what's wrong with the world and, more particularly, other people's behavior-- but you never have anything positive to say that doesn't come out with an obvious grudge. Feeble censure does not amount to constructive criticism.

These two guys have actually caused me to again consider the plight of the legitimately homeless, after years of no longer giving a damn about the panhandlers that assault me downtown every day. In your world, I wouldn't have been given even that opportunity.

So, my suggestion--try to put down the political agenda every now and then and approach human-interest stories as a human being, not a predictable moral mouthpiece. "People are people" runs the now-trite phrase, but there's truth yet in it: We're more alike than we are different, we humans. Maybe the world isn't so bad, even if it doesn't fit your mold.

Anonymous, via e-mail

MIN: Your column [Chow] kicks ass. You are hilarious, your writing is superb, and you're not afraid to talk about how much you love food. You win.

Just thought you should know.

Meghann, via e-mail

EDITOR: Not that you would know, but does Min Liao always like the stuff that she puts into her mouth? If all the restaurants she attempted to review served great food, then why did she bother to write the reviews at all?

She could have just spurted, "Cassis is good," and called it a day. I for one want to know what is bad and what should be avoided. Besides, her "everything is delicious" reviews make her look out of place in an often critical publication such as The Stranger.

Anonymous, via e-mail

DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS: In last week's article "Hedreen Update," by Josh Feit, we misspelled the name of Mayor Nickels' spokes-person. Her name is spelled Marianne Bichsel, not Bischel. Also from last week: In Bradley Steinbacher's article "Gang of Four," Allure Pictures' first release was stated as having been released in 1993, when in reality it wasn't released until 1996. We regret these silly errors.