Ana Menendez, The Miami Herald

July13, 2008

Ana Menendez
The Miami Herald
One Herald Plaza
Miami, Florida 33132-1693

RE: Cairo’s gain – Miami’s loss?

Ms. Menendez,

It is a source of amazement to me that people in journalism get away with a narcissism bordering on solipsism. That, plus the modern American Liberal syndrome, “non-malodorous fecal matter syndrome”, enables them to pass through our culture like a stealth bomber on steroids.

The flaccid economic prospects of the Miami Herald prompt me to ask a question.

Have you ever been hired by a poor person?

The Miami Herald hired you in 1991 because they thought they could make money from your efforts. Only fabulously wealthy people, men like George Soros, can afford to hire people to explain medieval ivories to them because they want to know about them. Employment is a symbiotic relationship. I am sorry that the tomato pickers are abused and exploited. [Do suppose they caused the salmonella outbreak to get back at us for not caring enough?]

I am sorry that “respected colleagues are losing their jobs”. When the first wave of layoffs came did you volunteer to work for less? Did you toss some of your own money into a communal pot for redundant “FTEs”? I am taking a guess here when I assume that “FTE” means Full Time Employee. You never translated it.

If “the ways this paper has disappointed you” has enough material for a book I have one question. Why did you stay? It seems to me that that is the ultimate self compromising sell out. Was your workplace hostile to your gender? You say that your colleagues “work long hours for little pay, little recognition and almost constant abuse”. Who does the hiring down there? Mother Teresa?

Your next assignment is in Cairo, Egypt as opposed to the one in Illinois. You say you will have “a conversation with the next generation of journalists in the Arab world”. Your first assignment is to ask them what happened to the last generation of Arab journalists.

See if they can find an Arab Tom Fiedler. See if a Fuzzy-Wuzzy P.J. O’Rourke is luring behind the Aswan Dam.
“Corpus Christi” is a play whose road shows are sometimes partially financed by the taxpayers of America. The premise is that Jesus and Judas were homosexual lovers. They had a lovers’ quarrel. Judas dropped a dime on Jesus. Jesus was crucified. Many, many people find this to be blasphemously offensive. We, since I am one of them, are told that freedom of speech must tolerate offensive things.

When you get to Cairo would you try to pick me up a set of the cartoons about the prophet Mohammed, blessed by his name? I particularly want the ones that have him humping the goat.

You say “openness, courage and a willingness to confront power” is “what our business stands for”. You go on to say that “these values are endangered here at home”. Are they? Please send me a copy of any Cairo newspaper criticizing Mubarak the way that the New York Times criticizes Bush.

Last is a fun assignment for someone who makes a living with words.

Find out how the word WOG came to be.

Hint. It involves Sudan.


PS – How about an autographed picture of you wearing your formal burqa?