OK Salon, now you owe us.

You have a wonderful enterprise here, with some terrific writers - Blumenthal, Grieve, Greenwald - and some not so - Dickerson and in my opinion Ms. "I, Icon" Paglia herself.

When you put such faith and import in a writer as provocative and high-profile as Ms. Paglia (whose main skill seems to be in pissing off the majority of your readers and vicariously entertaining the few rubberneckers who like to watch), and when said icon takes on the scientific community regarding the (arguably) most important issue facing us as a planet - well you owe us a forum that will debate Ms. Paglia's glib demurrals seriously.

Not as tit for tat, not as a right or left wing echo chamber, but as a public service on a subject that has profound implications for us all.

Poor Amanda Griscom Little publishes a piece about a bipartisan bill to investigate the national security implications of global warming, and gets a measly 16 letters. Camille is 125 and counting.

She's got the floor, and so do you dear Salon. Use it wisely, or you are well on your way to becoming part of the problem on this one.

And a big PS: When you get this amount of letters - impassioned and articulate as well as "ad hominem" - the vast majority against Camille's specious handling of a life-threatening subject, and you cherry pick 3 out of 4 of your starred letters as pro-Camille.............

...you are either supremely disengenuous or seriously sizing up some shark-jumping yourself. At least as far as the inviolable Paglia goes.

So three times the charm. It is the drill after all:

- free-range Paglia posting

- outpouring of legitimate and detailed outrage from long-time readers

- requests for balance on essential subject which is actually NOT A MATTER OF OPINION

- page-links to Drudge and various other really weird sites with really tricked-up agendas

- increasing right-wing and outre sniping

- flame wars break out

- Salon does not answer requests for balance, nor will Camille ever clarify her insights

- page clicks spiral to infinity

- crowd starts to mill away in the afternoon

- show's kind of over but for some pushing and shoving

- letters column takes on smell of stale beer and elephant dung

- page click, page click

- wind whistles through the tent

- discourse, Paglia style

It really depresses me to see Salon use its influence and talent like this. Got to stop in at Greenwald for some fresh air

a tremendous, and tremendously chilling, article. It's not over yet - more end-run appointments and departmental deconstruction possible, perhaps certain, in the remaining term. Sydney's deft montage of the proliferation of hacks and cronies into the nooks and crannies of our governmental agencies reminded me of the movie Gremlins - the break-neck cloning of amoral little critters all over that perfect little town. The Bushies have got that gig down.

And when the mini-monsters are all partying in the theater near the end, oh but just to see the long tall shadows of John Conyers and Henry Waxman at the lobby doors, striding in, saying...."All youz busters are comin' downtown!" A guy can dream.

Thanks for the memories Sydney.

Sorry, that just slipped out. Hard to read about Wolfowitz without having an unchecked moral eructation. Thanks to Mr. Blumenthal for serving him up with panache. Reveals Neo Primo for the man of substance that he is. I'm afraid, though, that Wolfie may go down hard.

Wiener.

ooh, scusa.

Ms. Joyce, you just made my day, and maybe my month. What a great article, and what a great pair of subjects, Willie Mae and John Currence. You are so right about New Orleans having to justify its continued existence, when for some of us, it's never stopped being just what it is - a strange and disorderly and loving experience of some very, very wet ground. That chicken is truly dusted in gold. Thanks so much.

I've got to go with something by the Beach Boys over Britney. Good Vibrations is a watershed, but Don't Worry Baby is one of the purest shots of bliss to hit the airwaves, and single-handedly invented Power Pop. And although it's minor, Barbara Ann did coin an entire foreign policy. For What It's Worth, as they say.

Wow. Condi-on-the-spot. That great squealing sound you hear emanating from the White House is the sound of a real corner being turned. I am so there.

Is it possible that we're trapped in a DC Comic? Is the anti-Superman really our inglorious unleader?

Saying just I'm.

Here on Planet Htrae, Hsub proclaims victory at the beginning of his Bizarro war, and works hard to jump-start it at the end. He is not encumbered by the responsibilities of his position, but freed by them. His nominees for public service must be the least qualified to gain his support. He has a mandate from a minority. And his press agents speak backwards much, much better than forwards.

If it weren't so funny, it would be true.

there's no need to read further than the deep-sixing of the Democratic debates by touting the Republicans' bizarre "mastery" of that particular issue. Already regretted the damn page-click.

Since CP brought up the geo-scape, I'd like to ask Salon to give her slot to a recurring feature on global warming. Once a month in-depth ought to be enough. Make it sassy, too, but with internal logic and demonstrable facts. It would certainly be the proactive thing to do, and my geopolitics would be a lot better informed then my take on Rosie and black soap opera. I'm good on those.

The 60's chestnut that keeps popping up for me is, "ain't gonna work on Paglia's farm no more". Gimme back my click.