What do you expect of the crooks?

First, let me apologize for writing you two months after this article (The Byrne Report, "Feinstein Resigns," March 21) was published. I read the article just two days ago, but my letter on the subject will be brief. I am a registered Republican. However, I do not consider myself a conservative; I would vote Democrat in the coming presidential election, if I could find another Truman. Now that this despicable person, Dianne Feinstein, has been exposed, will the voters in California do an "Oh, my, tsk-tsk," send her hate mail or demand her recall? I'm sure there are men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan who have relatives in California, who are deeply concerned for their relatives and friends, who should find themselves in the same situation the service personnel in military hospitals find themselves in. Or will the voters in your state sit back and say, "Well, what do you expect from these crooks, anyway?" I dread knowing the answer.

Rosemonde E. Fase, Honolulu

Myth of the Universal Library

Thank you, thank you, Annalee Newitz (Open Mic, "All Human Knowledge," May 23, print edition). There is so much BS about this (even Dvorak has participated in the BS, and he is one of the best) that it frightens me.

The digitization of information, and the way the existence of digitized information encourages the discarding of other forms, is creating the biggest memory hole since the invention of writing eliminated the transmission of history through the telling of stories, aka "myths."

Now if only we can make Ms. Newitz turn them into a meme, maybe there will be hope for the preservation of a greater part of out history, culture and still useful even if outdated technologies.

Jim Pivonka, La Crosse, Kan.

Of museums and money

George Rose is not a bad photographer; he is also no Cartier-Bresson (Critic's Choice, "Making Sense of the Place," May 23, print edition). Here in the North Bay, we know what vineyards look like, we are surrounded by them, and they are very beautiful as they go through their seasonal changes. However, it seems that to mount a show at the Sonoma County Museum, all you need is money. What happened to the heady days when the museum actually showed some art, as with Hassel Smith, James Tyrell and the fascinating "Botany 12" show, which featured artists from New York, San Francisco and seven from Sonoma County--none of whom, to my knowledge, has ever had a solo show at the museum. Yet again, big business holds the reins, and this, to my mind, is somewhat of a tragedy for the hard-working and talented artists living here. I would like to see some art, please; I don't want to see anymore vineyards, no matter how fat the checkbook.

John Clifton, Sebastopol

Taste of his own medicine?

Yes, Alberto Gonzales has been, shall we say, less than forthcoming in his responses to questions put to him in the course of investigation into his alleged misdeeds. Luckily, Gonzales himself, having been notoriously sanguine regarding torture (as long as we don't call it that) has provided us with a solution to his reticence. Various "interrogation techniques" such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, mock execution and forcing people to stand in agonizing positions for hours could surely loosen his tongue, and since he has essentially championed such enlightened methods, neither he nor his supporters could conceivably object to their use on him. There is nothing wrong with Alberto's memory that can't be remedied by judicious electrical stimulation of his genitals (if they can be found).

And, as he's the head of the Department of "Justice," we can expect that he'll have a keen appreciation of the justice of this solution.

Dixon Wragg, Santa Rosa

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