Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________ STARR CHAMBER BY MOLLIE DICKENSON (02/24/98)

I just want to commend your magazine on publishing Mollie Dickenson's excellent exposé on the Whitewater affair. I have always believed there was a conspiracy against our president but I couldn't understand why our nation's most respected newspapers remained so silent about it. I wonder after all of this mistreatment of our president, will competent men or women choose not to run for office to spare themselves of all the embarrassment. I hope this story is promoted all over the country!
-- Harriet E. Gaines
Before you get too carried away with bashing Ken Starr, you might consider that Clinton is his boss, and that he could easily replace him at any time. Also, you might bear in mind that the expansions of his investigation have had to be cleared with Janet Reno. Come on, Salon, you're supposed to be reporting, not giving a one-sided view. Why not come right out and say, "Hey, were liberals and we're gonna bash Starr as much as we can!"
-- G.E. Lee
Editor's note: Salon has received many letters asking why our coverage never mentions that President Clinton can fire Kenneth Starr, as Richard Nixon fired Watergate independent prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973. The law was changed in 1978 to prevent just such a firing. Starr answers to a three-judge panel, not to the president. For more on the independent counsel's authority, see Bruce Shapiro's story, "It's time to investigate the investigator."

_______________ LADY MACGRUNGE BY MICHELLE GOLDBERG (02/25/98)

Michelle Goldberg never makes clear what is so endearing about Courtney Love: Her obsessive ambition (not to be great, but to be famous)? Her commitment to surgery-aided beautification? Her thoroughly feminist practice of using men for self-advancement? I don't get it.
In a generous mood, I might agree that she's worthy of pity for thinking that marrying well, fixing her nose and doing a Versace spread make her a successful human being. It's bad enough that L.A. is full of pathetic people like her; you shouldn't admire her for it.
-- C. Chamberlain
You could have saved your readers a lot of time if you'd printed the short version of "Lady McGrunge," which would have been something like: "I don't care what ANYBODY says about Courtney Love. I love her because she's so COOL!" How about some actual THOUGHT about what Courtney Love's done to herself and her image during and since her relationship with Kurt? And tell me, do you have a deal with this writer's high school, where they print it in their weekly newspaper and you get the online rights?
-- David Riedy
SALON | March 3, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| SALON'S COVERAGE OF KENNETH STARR (02/24-27/98)

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_______________ STARR CHAMBER BY MOLLIE DICKENSON (02/24/98)
	I just want to commend your magazine on publishing Mollie Dickenson's excellent exposé on the Whitewater affair. I have always believed there was a conspiracy against our president but I couldn't understand why our nation's most respected newspapers remained so silent about it. I wonder after all of this mistreatment of our president, will competent men or women choose not to run for office to spare themselves of all the embarrassment. I hope this story is promoted all over the country! -- Harriet E. Gaines Before you get too carried away with bashing Ken Starr, you might consider that Clinton is his boss, and that he could easily replace him at any time. Also, you might bear in mind that the expansions of his investigation have had to be cleared with Janet Reno. Come on, Salon, you're supposed to be reporting, not giving a one-sided view. Why not come right out and say, "Hey, were liberals and we're gonna bash Starr as much as we can!" -- G.E. Lee Editor's note: Salon has received many letters asking why our coverage never mentions that President Clinton can fire Kenneth Starr, as Richard Nixon fired Watergate independent prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973. The law was changed in 1978 to prevent just such a firing. Starr answers to a three-judge panel, not to the president. For more on the independent counsel's authority, see Bruce Shapiro's story, "It's time to investigate the investigator."
_______________ LADY MACGRUNGE BY MICHELLE GOLDBERG (02/25/98)
	Michelle Goldberg never makes clear what is so endearing about Courtney Love: Her obsessive ambition (not to be great, but to be famous)? Her commitment to surgery-aided beautification? Her thoroughly feminist practice of using men for self-advancement? I don't get it. In a generous mood, I might agree that she's worthy of pity for thinking that marrying well, fixing her nose and doing a Versace spread make her a successful human being. It's bad enough that L.A. is full of pathetic people like her; you shouldn't admire her for it. -- C. Chamberlain You could have saved your readers a lot of time if you'd printed the short version of "Lady McGrunge," which would have been something like: "I don't care what ANYBODY says about Courtney Love. I love her because she's so COOL!" How about some actual THOUGHT about what Courtney Love's done to herself and her image during and since her relationship with Kurt? And tell me, do you have a deal with this writer's high school, where they print it in their weekly newspaper and you get the online rights? -- David Riedy SALON \| March 3, 1998