Saturday, June 9, 2007

Not Exactly a Secret

Regarding the May 23 Metro article "Rachel Carson Bill From Cardin on Hold":

I'm a knee-jerk liberal, but sometimes I find myself sympathetic to conservatives who see bias in The Post.

Does The Post lack the reportorial resources to confirm whether Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is a physician? The story reported Coburn's opposition to a resolution to honor environmentalist Carson on the 100th anniversary of her birth, and his pithy rationale, "junk science."

The next paragraph began: "Coburn, whose Web site says he is a doctor specializing in family medicine, obstetrics and allergies . . . ." The Web site attribution of such an easily confirmed fact seems intended to cast doubt on the senator's medical credentials. Would you report, "Sen. Barack Obama's Web site says he attended Harvard Law School"?

-- Philip Evans

Kensington

Cash for Trash

I am disappointed that The Post chose to accept the trash-seeking full-page advertisement from Larry Flynt that ran in the A-section on June 3. I would expect that your publication would have higher standards than to run an ad whose sole purpose is to dig up dirt and discredit members of Congress or high-ranking government officials. It is purely a fishing expedition.

-- Susan Waring

Vienna

Books From Crooks

Regarding the June 2 Style article "Other People's Money; Ex-Con Michele Fletcher Hopes to Cash In With Her Tale of Greed":

At a time when many people suffer as victims of identity theft, why would The Post glamorize someone who has stolen the identities of 40,000 people and help her profit from it by promoting her book?

-- Merry Cavanaugh

Washington

Reilly Stole the Show

The May 29 obituary of actor Charles Nelson Reilly understandably could mention only a few of his life's many performances. One that was omitted but which I believe deserves mention was his performance as a popular writer named Jose Chung in a brilliantly written 1996 episode of the television show "The X Files" called "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space.' " Many fans of "The X Files" consider this to be one of the best episodes, if not the best.

Reilly's gentle and understated performance in this episode practically stole the show.

-- Ronald O'Rourke

Washington

Tilted Toward Wealth

I feel that The Post's June 4 Business package of articles on the shopping habits of teenagers was flawed because of the lopsided demographics of the participants. The emphasis solely on fashion, to the exclusion of other commodities, such as electronics and music, and the ratio of females to males was troubling, but the most serious issue was the affluence and privilege of the participants.

Clearly, teens who have the most money spend the most money, but this experiment was unrepresentative of the shopping habits of teenagers as a demographic group. A necessary complement to this package would be to run the same exercise at a venue that attracts a different socioeconomic group from that at Tysons Corner.

-- Winthrop Rodgers

Falls Church

Ever Been to Portland?

Regarding Stephen Hunter's June 1 movie review in Style, " 'Mr. Brooks': Kevin Costner Will Slay You":

I was astonished to read that Portland, Ore., has become a "coastal Oregon city."

I hadn't realized that the rapidly rising sea levels caused by global warming have already swallowed the roughly 60 miles from the Oregon coast to Portland. It must have been quite a sight to behold -- the waters of the Pacific Ocean cresting the Coast Range mountains, inundating the Willamette Valley and now lapping at the shores of downtown Portland.

I hope that the movie is better than The Post's sense of geography!

-- Sean D. Schrock

Quantico