_______________HELLFIRE FROM THE RIGHT BY HARRY JAFFE (08/20/98)
	What else can we expect from the followers of Jesus Christ whose mean-spirited interpretation of the seventh commandment against adultery is staggering: "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). His proposed solution to this problem of lust in the verses that follow is even more staggering. Before Bible thumpers impugn the sexual mores of President Clinton they should read more closely about the philandering of Abraham, the profligacies of David and the debaucheries of Solomon also found in the Bible. Abraham had a son by his maid, Hagar (Genesis 16:1-4), and shared his wife, Sarah, with King Abimelech (Genesis 20:1-12). King David had an affair with Bathsheba and even arranged to have her husband die (2 Samuel 11). David also had a homosexual affair with Saul's son Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-4, 20:41-42, and 2 Samuel 1:25-26). King Solomon had a harem of 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3). He also wrote frankly erotic poetry in the Song of Solomon. Sanctimonious prudes should not hold President Clinton to sexual moral standards that even the greatest biblical patriarchs and rulers did not follow. The Bible itself exposes their religious hypocrisy. -- Jim Senyszyn I am one of those right-wing nuts and proud of it; the flip-flop of logic, intellect and freedom is something you support. All you are capable of doing is calling names, accusing people without any proof other than a pair of left-wing nuts' willingness to lie under oath for your fascist-Marxist agenda. You are the hypocrites and fools. You are all victims of value-clarification classes sponsored by the state. Thankfully, right-wingers are home schooling, and teaching their children basic logic and right and wrong. You Marxist junkies may be saved from your own foolishness by our children. Clinton is scum and I believe the American Spectator's denial a lot more than your spin. Interesting that you always said it was a "he said, she said" case with Bill and Monica, yet look what you do with the David Hale conspiracy. Are you really this dumb? You're just another left-wing propaganda outlet for the angry and morally challenged. Don't you ever feel really stupid? Report some real news. -- Greta Morrison Here we go again! Falwell the video hustler and his crackpot notion that, among other things, Clinton is guilty of murder, is now being replaced by two new paragons of virtue and morality, Dobson and Sheldon. And let's also throw in the choir boy Ashcroft and his equally scary cohort, Gary Bauer. I've been around a long time, I've lived through 11 presidents and I have learned in those years that moralistic, holier-than-thou finger-pointers are usually guilty of a lot more than the people they are pointing the fingers at. Forget Clinton. May the lord protect us from these jokers, plus Ken Starr, the preacher's boy. -- C.B. Abrams Sommerville, Tenn.
_______________FIRST FAMILY ON THE COUCH BY LORI LEIBOVICH (08/20/98)
	Enough! I'm tired of the armchair intellectuals from the left and the right posing as the objective media. Clinton shouldn't apologize to us; the press should apologize for shoving their mental masturbatory musings on us every day. I appreciate Salon's coverage of the real happenings of the investigation. But now you've brought in "expert" psychologists and commentators to analyze the so-called story. This is not journalism. This coverage is an excuse for laziness. It is easier for the press to write about their so-called outrage and betrayal over the scandal and masquerade it as high journalism than it is for them to actually write about something of substance. I'd be happy to supply you with a list of 100 more important things happening right now in the world than the Clinton scandal. One topic may be the eroding trust and respect people have for the media. -- S. Khan Washington
_______________AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER BY NELL BERNSTEIN (08/20/98)
	Monica Lewinsky told friends she was going to Washington to "earn her presidential kneepads" before ever meeting Clinton. Staffers describe her pursuit of him as relentless and almost bordering on stalking. Apparently he is not the first married, older man she has targeted like this. She selected Linda Tripp as the one person in the White House to "secretly" confide in. This would be the same Linda Tripp who was already notorious for trying to get the press and others to believe then-President Bush was having sexual relations within the White House, and was recently frustrated by the loss of a potential book deal because it wasn't juicy enough. I don't know how it is where you work, but had a co-worker tried to rat out the big boss at my place of employment, I know it would be hours at most before new folks knew that tidbit. It is damned unlikely that Lewinsky did not know this about Tripp. Lewinsky knew she had already spilled the beans to the one individual most likely to spread the information when she allegedly discussed ways of "avoiding" telling all with Clinton and/or staffers, intentionally misleading them into believing her only goal was to keep this affair she had already knowingly leaked secret. Either Monica Lewinsky is incredibly stupid -- much, much more so than any normal young adult woman I have ever met -- or she got exactly what she hoped, planned and executed for. It undoubtedly blew up into more than she expected, but I really don't think this conniving sexual manipulator who very likely set up not only the president but her "friend" Linda Tripp deserves any apology -- only our contempt! We should blast Clinton for the sleazy things he's done. Not apologize to the person who carefully and expertly set him up. -- Susan L. Reynolds
_______________CLINTON'S SILVERY WEB OF WORDS BY KATIE ROIPHE (08/19/98)
	This country is suffering from Attention Surfeit Disorder: We have heard enough. We are either satisfied by the president's speech or we are, like Roiphe, dissatisfied because he didn't bleed sufficiently to assuage our guilt, the guilt we feel over wanting and yet not wanting to know all the sordid details. Roiphe seems to fall into the category of demanding more from this man than she would expect of anyone else. In fact, everyone seems to have preconceived an acceptable apology that would make everything "right" again and now that Clinton has fallen short of their individual expectations, they are damning him for disappointing the entire world. Isn't it ironic that the man who first came to our attention by droning on and on with a nominating speech at a long-ago convention has now provoked our collective ire by being too brief in his remarks? -- Judith Spencer Fort Worth, Texas
_______________EVEREST CONTROVERSY: DEWALT'S LATEST RESPONSE BY WESTON DEWALT (08/20/98)
	Thank God this "Exclusive Controversy" is finally over! If I wanted to read endless "I-said, you-said, no-I-said" exchanges peppered with disguised ad hominem attacks and allegations that can never be proven I would still be reading USENET news. -- Chris Lott
_______________SUICIDE WATCH ON THE NET BY DAVID CASSEL (08/20/98)
	I recently read a mind-blowing essay by Phil Agre, a UCLA professor and moderator of the Red Rock Eater listserv, that pointed out a simple reality: Cyberspace doesn't exist. It is a metaphor of limited usefulness, and it has outlived its value. It confuses far more than it clarifies, and it is occasionally downright dangerous because it assumes that when we fire up our computers and dial up our ISPs we somehow enter some "Star Trek"-like alternate universe where the normal rules of decency, morality and ethics do not apply -- like some big D&D game (to switch metaphors) where the money and the feelings aren't real, and people can be injured and die only to recover again an hour later in time to go out for more beer, soda and chips. Lo and behold, what should cross my screen a few days later but the recent "Suicide Watch on the Net." What are the obligations of an ISP or chat room attendee when witnessing an online suicide threat? Why should they be any different than the obligations of anyone when witnessing a suicide threat anywhere? I think most people witnessing a suicide threat -- "I'm going to walk right out of this bar right now and kill myself!" -- would try to intervene in some fashion, and the same should be true online. -- Mitch Wagner SALON | Aug. 25, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| HE SHOULD STAY BY KATE MOSES AND HE SHOULD GO BY ANDREW ROSS

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