MEANWHILE, FIFTY-TWO ISSUES LATER… Meanwhile, Fifty-Two Issues Later… ...

Are You There God?

I thought that the press, like the government, was so totally saturated with Christian zealots that it would be impossible to see any material printed for atheists like myself and my comrades ("Cage Match," 12/17). Undoubtedly you are receiving a huge amount of hate mail from Christians (and other religious groups) who feel that they should dominate every aspect of public discourse.

I do not know how many articles I have seen that support atheism, aside from those sites that advertise themselves as being atheist. In today's America, atheist are the last group that can still be oppressed, something we can see in our government, our currency, even the media. I'm glad you are working to create an America that is what it advertises itself to be. And while the X-ians may still be the majority, atheists are the fastest-growing group in America, and deserve the equal time Taibbi called for. Until I read this article, I was beginning to lose hope.

Jason Sanchez, Manhattan

This Letter Is So '03

I am writing regarding Mark Ames' criticism of Chuck Klosterman ("Flip Flop King," 8/27). Why is Ames so angry? Klosterman's book is just that: a book. If you don't like it, don't read it. If the material is so infuriating, and Ames read the entire thing, who comes off looking more like a jackass? Klosterman or Ames?

Clay Dillard, Athens, GA

Long Walks, Short Piers

Highbridge was closed well before the 70s, when that rock-throwing murder C.J. Sullivan describes took place ("Bronx Stroll," 12/3). I lived on University Avenue and W. 170 St., close to the bridge, from 1962-65, and it was completely closed off to the public at that time and before. There may not have been a steel wall until the 70s, but access was blocked by, I believe, a fence when I lived there. I suppose the rock-throwing punks climbed the fence.

Michael J. Greene, Salem, SC

She Used to Live with Him

I believe that it would be safe to characterize your publication as "liberal." And though I find the terms "liberal" and "conservative" as used in today's political atmosphere to be not terribly descriptive, I can still hear the accusations leveled by some liberals at Republican politicians and conservative opinion-shapers in the media as being "mean spirited."

I could not imagine a more mean-spirited reply than the one your relationship columnist gave to the guy ("Dategirl," 12/10) making a good-faith effort to avoid the pitfalls of past failed relationships, being careful not to make sex the whole focus of a hopeful, new relationship. And your columnist, with an utter lack of compassion, proceeds to verbally assault the fellow.

What are her qualifications for giving advice?

Larry Garde, Brooklyn

That's Gross, Even if We Did Say it First

Alexander Zaitchik's review of Chomsky vs. the Brookings Institute ("Books," 11/19) is a brilliant and funny analysis. I would love to sink my toothless jaw into Dick Cheney's forearm.

Kennedy Christian Connor, San Jose, CA

Mea Culpa

Your rag reached a new low, if that is possible, with its Page Two article finding "humor" in the tragic death of a baby. (12/24) I can only hope that the family was spared the final indignity of reading it on Christmas Day, as I did. At least scumbags like Taibbi and Krassner have the balls to sign their mindless rants, unlike the sniggering juvenile who penned that filth.

I always wondered what became of the obnoxious assholes I went to college with in the late 60s and early 70s, the ones who believed in peace and love and tolerance, except for those who disagreed with them. Now I know: They write for you. The "free" press once again proves the old adage that you get what you pay for.

Ronald T. Thomson, Manhattan

The editors reply: At press time, we did not know that this was a fatal accident. We should have, but we didn't. Had we known, the piece would never have run. We deeply regret any appearance of finding humor at this tragedy's expense.

Mugged by Thorwald

MUGGER may have missed someone (though I doubt it) as he seemingly went through all the journalists and world leaders he could think of and flogged them within an inch of their wimpy lives (MUGGER, 12/24). He even included humanitarian hawk Tom Friedman-who favored our invasion of Iraq-and pictured him having dessert at a four-star restaurant with Kofi Annan and Chairman Arafat, which might be a bit much for readers expecting a logical explanation for this little tableau. I couldn't find any. In any case, I am sharing MUGGER's column with several of my email correspondents. Perhaps some of them will be able to grasp the reasoning hidden in his column and expose it to the light of day.

Thorwald "Tory" Esbensen, Edina, MN

MUGGER and the Middle East

I love how you see truth in all its ugliness. It's refreshing to read someone who thinks for himself. On terror, it is obvious to me that they have no creed ideology or religious convictions. Bin Laden moves from Sunni to Shiite to secular. He is nothing more than a cult leader known as Old Man of the Mountain. The Arabs and Persians have finally figured out that his tactics match perfectly with the Old Man of the Mountain of the 1300s, otherwise known as the Assassin who sacrificed his followers all the time, just like suicide bombing. Why seemingly intelligent people can follow a cult leader blindly is beyond my comprehension.

Dr. Lowell M. Somers, Calexico, CA

Glad We Could Help

Matthew Callan's article on Jean Shepherd's radio days ("New York City") and Jim Knipfel's experiences with the Johnson Smith catalog ("Slackjaw") in the 12/24 New York Press was the one-two punch that made my Christmas Eve commute home memorable and enjoyable. As one of Shepherd's younger "night people," I remember listening to his stories on WOR. I have all of Shepherd's books and recall his two public television shows and columns in Car and Driver. Shepherd was versatile but, as Callan's column underscores, his main element indeed was radio. I was listening to Shepherd around the same time I was on the Johnson Smith catalog list.

I never mustered an order, but a boyhood friend did get a small box of smoke bombs. Each bomb, slightly larger than a large jawbreaker, shot off smoke for about 10 seconds.

Knipfel's linking the gorilla mask with the one Ernie Kovacs wore in a public television rebroadcast of that comedian's shows was also the same late 70s period when affiliates were airing "Jean Shepherd's America" or "Shepherd's Pie" in New Jersey. Both Knipfel and Shepherd share the sudden dashing of raised expectations. For the laughter and the memories, I give Callan and Knipfel a hearty "Excelsior" in Shepherd's honor.

Walter Elliott, Orange, NJ

Live, from Sin City!

I was just commenting to someone the other day, "If I hear one more pundit or self-righteous Christian blather on about 'the morality and values upon which our country was founded,' I will scream."

Lo and behold, last week's mail had not one, but two letters from such idiots ("The Mail," 12/24): Jack Seney and Bill Everitt. It is typical of members of any political or religious group to engage in the rewriting of history in order to convert minions and support questionable points of view. This holds true for every fringe element from the Green Party to neo-Nazis.

On this particular point, I find myself so irritated that I feel the need to spread the news: This great nation of ours was not founded by Christians. Look it up in the fucking library, you Jesus-freaks. The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were largely Deists and Unitarians who fled England to get away from?guess who? Religious freedom was the original motivation for the foundation of America, or have you forgotten that from third grade?

Here's some more news for you: Thomas Paine, John Adams, whore-lover Benjamin Franklin and James Madison were not Christians. Ethan Allen stopped his own wedding ceremony and demanded that the priest replace the word "God" with the word "Nature." George Washington, our first president, was not a Christian and refused to allow a priest in the room while on his deathbed.

Thomas Jefferson, our third president, notorious slave-fucker and author of the Declaration of Independence, absolutely hated Christians and was widely quoted on the subject. His greatest wish was that every man born in the United States would die a Unitarian. Here is one of his many quotes on the subject in a letter to John Adams: "The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter." He also referred to the Revelation of St. John as "the ravings of a maniac." Or how about this one: "I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature? What has been the effect of [Christianity]? To make one half of the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth."

Not clear enough for you? The Treaty of Tripoli, passed unanimously by the Senate in 1797, contained the sentence: "The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion." The text of the treaty was reprinted in many newspapers and received no recorded opposition.

Christians did not become a dominant force in America until the Industrial Revolution, when half of Europe moved here. The word "God" did not appear on all of our money or in the Pledge of Allegiance until the McCarthy era-only 60 years ago. And I'm sure you don't really need to be told what a "moral foundation" of theft, genocide and slavery our country has.

I love my country as much (if not more sincerely) than any Bible-thumper. But loving our country doesn't mean we must live in denial of our own actions or denounce any criticism as unpatriotic. In fact, it means the opposite. Real Americans fight for improvement-of themselves and of our nation. Collectively, our brave soldiers fight for freedom, not Jesus. And despite misdirection from our own government and religious leaders, they do not necessarily fight for school vouchers, anti-drug legislation, Scout-funding, oil or marriage protection acts.

Ever heard of the separation of church and state? It exists because as long as there is even one person in this country who does not believe in a dominant faith, that person deserves fair treatment and opportunity. This is the discovery that our founding fathers made the hard way. It's called democracy. And enforcement of this ethic does not count as "discrimination against Christians." Nor does it mean that tomorrow people will be able to wed their dogs or fuck children freely. (There is something called "consensual behavior" that is useful for drawing those kinds of lines.) Hysteria and ignorance are unattractive and should be considered un-American.

I'm not a liberal, nor do I hate all Christians. You can be educated in the ways of the world and still believe in God. (Consider it a test of your faith.) But I have to wonder, does Bill Everitt really think there were no whores 200 years ago? No drugs? No rape, pregnant teens, homosexuals, pornography, lying politicians, murder, theft or venereal disease? Get real. There were transvestite whorehouses next to opium dens on the Barbary Coast in 1875. What's more, they were legal. "Sin" has always existed in one place or another, and even the most sainted are guilty of something, so get over it and get tolerant. If you want respect, you have to give it as well. If our founding fathers were around today, they would round up people like Bill Everitt and ship them to Antarctica. (And then afterwards they'd go to a "massage parlor" in Chinatown. Culture changes. People, not so much.)

In my view the main difference between atheists/agnostics and fundamentalists of any sort is that the fundies are essentially insecure about their own morality. Most Christians need a peer group, an evangelist and an old book to tell them what is right and what is wrong. I don't. Our founding fathers didn't either. They relied on experience, unrestricted education and self-control (or lack thereof).

So, a message to certain zealous Christians: Stop painting the history of this country with your own brush. Wake up from your amnesia. Keep your lies about history and your "moral values" to yourselves. Attempts to take over American culture are futile. You don't own America and you never will. America belongs to all of us, so-called saints and content sinners alike.

Jack Pretzer, Las Vegas