This is the latest effort among many, albeit one of sheer desperation, to shape public perception that Democrats are "effete," "emasculated," or even "effeminate." I remember one photographic incident in particular where the heads of Clinton and Gore were placed on buffed and toned shirtless torsos, with the explanation by Republicans that these two were too "pretty" -- or even possibly, gasp, "gay!" -- to be effective leaders of the world's superpower.

It is so bizarre that these same Republicans perversely overlook the sexual picadilloes of members of their own party. In a strange defense of Jeff Gannon's presence in the White House as a gay prostitute posing as a journalist, it was Ann Coulter who actually attacked liberals as being homophobic for even bringing up the issue. One wonders what she would have said about Clinton had Mr. Gannon entered his White House 168 times in two years... with 12 visits lacking sign-outs that could be interpreted as overnight stays.

I won't even dissect the bizarre duet between George W. Bush and Junichero Koizumi... involving the lyrics "I want you... I need you... I love you."

I believe Coulter's incendiary comments like this are a form of Bushco tourette's. Another sip of the Kool-Aid and one more remark to distract us from atrocities committed by an administration that William Rivers Pitt so eloquently describes as one of "incompetent design." Don't look over here, look over there.

Dear Editor:

Salon's shameful two are Farhad Manjoo and Joan Walsh. Despite the overwhelming evidence of vote suppression through a variety of tactics in the 2004 election, Mr. Manjoo wrote not one, but two articles that fiercely maintained the status quo while condemning those that raised very legitimate concerns about such tactics and their impact upon the outcome.

In a bizarre new world of theory and conjecture, Swift Boat Veterans get away with their so-called "truths," but those on the "left" who dare float plausible opposition are immediately cast as fringe lunatics. Mr. Manjoo even went as far as to appropriate my own protest to his first article as an example of what people in his position need to do to better explain themselves.

Following the second article, which definitively asserted that the election was not stolen, one reader wrote that, conversely, there was no evidence that existed that would prove that it wasn't. Following a very vociferous defense of Mr. Manjoo, Ms. Walsh acknowledged that this person was correct, and that the headline and/or article should have reflected this. Too little, too late.

So, here we are again... on the surface we're debating issues of terrorism and morality as though George W. Bush was delivered some sort of mandate, when in reality we should be talking about real democracy and election reform.

The so-called right has nurtured and promoted their own disastrous conspiracy theories for far too long now. When those on the left promote their own in search of a kernal of truth, it is long past time to re-draw this line in the sand.

I challenge the writers and editors of Salon to further explore the nuances of the issues that confront us in these uncertain times.

Sincerely,

Michael Carr

Dear Editor:

I was admiring the latest models in the Simple Shoes brand of footwear during a recent visit to Nordstrom, and only mildly annoyed by the cloying "Granola not included" tagline imprinted inside the tongue. Further examination escalated the annoyance to rage: another stamp revealed the shoes as "Made in China."

While I admire the efforts of this "nice little shoe company (TM)" to use "green" materials," and promote environmental sustainability, I feel that this progress is offset by the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from importing the finished product from China, and an overall contribution to an unsustainable global trade imbalance that threatens the future security of our country.

While I have been guilty of buying leather shoes from Italy in the past, I'm not going to change one questionable behavior for another -- especially when one is promoted on a false premise of sustainability that is the marketing ploy of Simple-mania.