Coup Deja Vu I think the US administration’s reaction in the Venezuela case is revealing, for the immediate recognition of the new government calls to mind the government’s immediate reaction to the coup in Cyprus during the mid-1970s. In that case the United States was the only government to recognize the coup orchestrators (whom received the support of the US government) as the legitimate political leaders of that island nation. Consequently, I am led to wonder whether the Venezuelan coup leaders received official state recognition from any other countries, or whether the US was alone in this diplomatic adventure. Manuel Vallee I am alarmed that MotherJones.com, of all publications, did not mention anything in this article about President Chavez’s treatment of the media. Chavez has been an opponent of freedom of the press. His shutdown of the television broadcasting during the demonstrations prior to the coup is one blatant example and another is his “legislation” to make “errors” in reporting illegal in Venezuela. Interestingly, Chavez openly admits to wanting governmental control of Venezuela’s oil company whereas Bush protests that he is not controlled by the oil companies in the US. So it looks like we have two treasure hunters, and I would suggest, that as is most often the case, we should follow the money to get the truth of a complicated matter. D. Wilson
Re:“Whose Coup?”
05/02/02
Outing the Church I loved Mark Fiore’s cartoon about the New York Fire Department’s Father Mike. I didn’t know Fr. Mike was gay. I’m a gay black male who lives in New York City, and this is a great revelation. I myself entered the seminary, but left because to misquote Bill Maher, “I’d be Catholic if the Catholic Church were catholic.” Steeped and shrouded in mystery the church unfortunately has become a joke holding on to the past with both hands yet attempting to reach for the future with what? Its chin? Kim Joseph Lonzo
Re: “Queer Catholic Thinking”
05/10/02
A Step Toward a Solution Thank you for your editorial on victimhood. Finally! A voice of reason, a thread of reason in the ocean of hysteria and misinformation. Everyone, Palestinians, Jews, Americans alike are hooked on the call and response loop of measure and counter-measure, violence met with violence. We are being pushed by our fears, our own narrow points of view. I am not saying that Mr. Gitlin has single-handedly solved all of Palestine’s problems, but he is pointing out something that is essential to the process of discovering peace, discovering a sane way out of the violence. He is quite right. The Israelis and Americans are “inciting the murders of the future”, fueled by our own fears. Kimberly Hill
Re: “The Politics of Victimhood”
05/08/02
