I had always assumed that Salon readers were the "independent thinker" type. But then I read the screeching, howling reactions to Paglia, sometimes even vicious, personal attacks. Most of these letters seem to be complaints that Paglia has a Salon column. Get rid of her, she's out of date, I'm canceling my subscription, die, Camille, die, etc. This is Salon's readership. Congratulations, Salon.

Normally I would defend Paglia against the PC hordes, but I have to admit this entry was weak. Paglia notes that Paris Hilton has the ability to pose for the camera, to stage a decent picture. Big deal. This vapid poser did not deserve any praise, especiallly not from the normally astute Camille Paglia. Paris Hilton could use her position as a famous heiress for cultural good, but all she demonstrates is the worst attributes of our current culture. Paglia is in praise of vapidity!

Paglia also needs to give Gore more respect. The achievements of this man deserve more than Paglia's shallow dismissal. Even if she wants to disagree with him, she should do so with more respect than this.

Overall, Paglia's opinions seem to lack fresh insight.

I like Keillor's columns. One thing I have noticed about his writing is that you have to figure out what he is saying. He prefers to imply rather than state directly. I suppose it goes along with the whole Midwestern modesty/politeness aspect of his persona.

If someone were to ask me to sum up what Keillor said in this column in one sentenece, I would say, "These young people are dreamers that don't appreciate the value and wisdom of simple, persistent hard work." I think that pretty well sums it up.

I am 31, on the cusp of generations X and Y as defined in the media (and here is Keillor's column.) I have 2 statements to make.

1. I highly regard the value of persistent hard work. I am a persistent hard worker.

2. I highly regard the value of a creative job, a good life, a life spent working at something you love.

In other words, it doesn't have to be either/or. You can value both. You can do both depending on your situation and oppurtunity. And I don't think Keillor's tired generational stereotypes are entirely correct. One thing I would agree with is that most of the young-ish people I know are not anxiously scanning the markets and getting very anxious.

Anxiousness is a lack of faith, but that's another topic. Maybe Keillor remembers that from his Christian upbringing.

Remember, Mr Keillor?

As someone who appreciates good writing in all its forms, I want to say that I find Zacharek to be the best film writer today. Regardless of whether I happen to agree with her ultimate assessment of a film, she is thoroughly descriptive, and one senses a real intelligence behind the reviews. I guess I find most film reviewers to be a film geeks who taught themselves to write; Zacharek strikes me as first a writer who happens to write film reviews. She has none of annoyingly self-referential and whiny aspects that I associate with current journalism; to me she comes across as well-researched, and, again, just plain smart. One of the best of Salon's regular contributors. I like good writing.

The photo that accompanied this article (of a laughing Hillary Clinton) made her look candid, unguarded, and human -- for a change. I don't care that it made her look like a "chipmunk", as another reader observed. And I disagree that such a photo is bad for Clinton's image. On the contrary, it is very good for her. Everyone knows by now: her biggest problem with the voting public is her hyper-controlled, false, manipulative manner. A more relaxed, unguarded, and humorous Clinton wold be formidable candidate indeed.

Does a completely entrenched, Machavellian strategist ever just retire? This is the architect, the brain, and the driving force behind this administration. I don't think someone like this can just drop it all and walk away. It's a nice thought that Rove would just go away, but I don't think we should get too excited.

Just a random thought, but Rove could be compared to Henry Kissinger: an expert of strategy and realpolitik who advises an unpopular President, and then distances himself from the President and administration as it goes down. This is what we see Rove doing now: finally abandoning the sinking ship. But I think that Rove still has plenty of ideology, fight, and plain old meanness left in him, not to mention all those connections, all that influence. Just a hunch, but I think we will be hearing from Rove again.