Indeed! While I don't qualify as either spinster or Austen fanatic, I do respect

and enjoy the novel. Here's how I knew it was a botch: The previews were lush, full

of authentic looking period furnishing, clothing and featuring some attractive

women. And a sweeping vista or two. Vistas!? There aren't any vistas in

Jane Austen. Wrong! Terminally Wrong! Don't intend to go there.

Well, yes, Kudos to Salon for publishing Mr Sprayregen's reprehensible letter which pretends to find justification for torture in the Salon article and proof that Times and the press in general are anti- or un-American. "Torture is of course repugnant, but vigorous interrogation..." (I invite anyone to read his entire sentence, which is just as repugnant as the portion I quote) is the standard rhetoric of the right on this topic.

Certainly it proper to have the correct attribution of the victim in the photograph and to correct the record if necessary. That does nothing to change the fact of the photograph itself, however much Sprayregen would seem to think. Getting the name of a torture victim wrong — even if done deliberately — does nothing to change the fact that he/she was tortured. And torture is wrong. I am more disgusted by the Sprayregens of the world than I am by the sloppy reporters, although there probably is a connection/cause and effect in there somewhere.

By all means, let's begin a serious discussion of Immigration issues. First, however, let us be clear on who is "confused" and who is not. Brad DeLong quotes Krugman at length, picks a particular sentence to disagree with and reveals that he appears not to have understood a word, much less understood who is the enemy and who is not. Krugman would have been dead by friendly fire if DeLong had actually hit anything. Does he think that Krugman would consider so much as a penny spent on border walls as anything other than a penny wasted? Does he think that Krugman isn't in basic agreement that America is need of more progressive income distribution and a more robust social safety net. DeLong wastes his own and everyone elses time by going after Krugman. I would at least temporarily demote him from my list of economic guides.

Camille Paglia is Salon channeling William Bennett, another tiresome scold. Oh, did I mention long winded, self-important and overly impressed with herself for precious little discernible reason? If she were to become a regular staple of Salon again, I would seriously rethink my patronage.I can't say that she has ever had anything of much, much less lasting, merit to say about anything.

Oh gods and godesses, spare us. Proto web-blogger? Web narcissist is more like it. A complete waste of bandwidth. To extend on the late lamented Molly Ivins, the occasional dribble of insight utterly lost in oceans of self-regarding drivel. One almost yearns for that asshole Horowitz, instead. And this in the same week you bring us the superb Glenn Greenwald.

Say it won't last.

Kid Geezer

Doctrow loses no opportunuity to dump on Apple since he decided to go with a Linus distro after years on a Mac. His reasoning then was tortured and overblown, to say nothing of lengthy. He elevated a snit to the equivalent of Luther nailing the theses on the door. For what it's worth, not a single selection on my wife's iPod comes from the iTunes store. All ripped from our own cds. Just like most people. No mess, no fuss.

kidgeezer

Dear Ms. Walsh:

Ok, I have no problem with the registration, especially if it will cut down on the more egregious trolls. I'll take my chances and still post the occasional letter pointing out what an overrated boring twit Paglia is. What I do have a problem with, as a Premium Subscriber, is the sudden appearance of ads in the middle of a page of letters. Not to the side, no problem there, easy to ignore, but smack in the flow. And animated ads at that. I might just as well revert to unpaid status. Please re-think this.

kidgeezer

Paglia must get a bonus payment for every letter generated in reaction to her predictable and ever dreary drivel. Those of us complaining know better (like watching a roadside wreck) but we also feel compelled to point it out so as to live with ourselves (and Salon). Actually, I almost never read more than the blurb and I know I haven't missed anything of note much less worth. The woman is a fraud and a bad cartoon act, pure and simple.