Letters

Torture gets cold shoulder

Thanks to Nat Hentoff for exposing the Bush administration's hypocrisy regarding human rights ["Anatomy of a Murder," Liberty Beat, February 8–14]. While George W. Bush and his team keep telling us that the U.S. does not engage in torture, Amnesty International and other human rights groups keep collecting more and more evidence to the contrary. In his 2006 State of the Union address, Bush never even spoke the word "torture." Despite pressure from the grassroots, he did not tell the truth about the CIA's interrogation tactics and he did not take a stand against those tactics. Instead, he just kept telling us that he is spreading "freedom" around the world. Freedom? Would someone please give the president a dictionary?

Mary Shaw
Philadelphia Area Coordinator Amnesty International USA
Norristown, Pennsylvania

Editor in chief wanted:

The Village Voice, America's flagship alternative weekly, is seeking an editor in chief to carry on the paper's storied tradition of investigative journalism, feature-length storytelling, and cutting-edge cultural criticism. Applicants should have a fine touch with copy, significant experience crafting stories in magazine style, and strong reporting chops. They should be able to help staff generate superior in-depth stories that explain how New York City works, and guide beginning writers as well as accomplished ones. The ideal candidate will be able to edit and write, leading by example rather than by dictate.

Qualified candidates should send a cover letter, résumé, and clips to:

Christine Brennan
c/o Westword
969 Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80203

Rebels yell: Don't fuck with Bush Beat

Are you morons, morons? Cancel Bush Beat? Do you realize what little you have to offer your readers, of which there are many, who do not live in New York City? Yes, of course, you've got Michael Musto (don't screw that up you jerks). But James Ridgeway and Ward Harkavy! That's a one-two punch to the political solar plexus of this messed-up nation. Dudes, wake up! Politics is coming back into style. People are going to start getting political again and then The Village Voice is going to be in trouble. Has the Voice been taken over by self-absorbed poseurs? So it would seem.

I was hoping the Voice would remain substantive rather than become derivative, but it seems you are selling out.

Rabbi Soren Katz
Austin, Texas

So, it didn't take long for "new management" to muzzle one of the best features about the Voice. I'm talking about Bush Beat.

Instead of selling out the paper to new masters, maybe it would have been better to let the Voice die. It'll be a long, slow death to be sure. Just know this—I won't be reading.

Diane Maher
via e-mail

I cannot believe you have canceled Bush Beat. It seems you are following the trend of many papers that are intimidated by this regime. I depended upon this excellent column for information about this administration's criminal activities. I am very upset and disappointed.

Beverly Kile
Half Moon Bay, California

Preying from the pulpit

Congratulations to Kristen Lombardi and The Village Voice for investigating a sector of society riddled with hypocrisy—the Catholic Church ["Outing Cardinal Egan," February 8–14]. I often wonder how gay priests can preach from the pulpit each week about the evils of homosexuality while being gay themselves. That must grind at the very core of one's being. I shudder to think of the damage being done to their spirits. I hope more men of courage like Reverend Bob Hoatson will stand up and change the culture to one of respect for all lifestyles and individual ways of thinking. Freedom leads to healing.

Laura Breault
Hull, Massachusetts

Racial cock-tales

Re Naomi Pabst's "Black and White and Read all Over" [February 1–7]: Black people and white people in America are all mixed. I have Jamaican friends who will not check off African American on a census document of any sort and resort to the "other" or "mixed" race category. The term mix is emerging because white people have agreed to acknowledge the other, but God forbid they call their children black. For the true essence of being black and American is being mixed in the first place. I have lived in Africa and as a black American woman I can't tell you how many times I am called "white" because of where I come from instead of who I am or think I am. So folks, get over it. Americans have always been mixed in the separatist view of the word and we (black Americans) will always be black—tell folks who ask to fuck off, and call it a day. My rule of thumb is, if you were born from a black woman (from anywhere in the world) you are black.

Natalie Leb
Manhattan

Playing the piano man