Alex Cockburn writes....

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Nov 17 17:00:16 PST 1999


The lead of Alexander Cockburn's column in this week's New York Press, which starts on the front page, of all places:

<quote> "The New York Press is a foulmouthed and stupid rightwing giveaway paper here In New York, for which Alex, for reasons best known to himself, writes a column. It's read by media junkies like Doug [Henwood] and the kind of guy who you suspect Is building bombs In the garage--or more likely, wishes he could but his mom won't let him." So now you know. And who issued this genial assessment? None other than Katha Pollitt, who has thus far eschewed substantive debate of my strictures of her, but Instead resorted to Doug Henwood's email list, where she posts snippy comments of the type quoted above, plus tiny arrows discharged Into the smoking ruins of my past personal life. It seems that participants in Henwood's list have welcomed debate on populism and my supposed right-wing red-neckery, since it offers welcome respite from the Lacanian flights of fancy to which Henwood and his mates have become horrifyingly enamored. </quote>

That last phrase sounded familiar. A quick search turns up:


>From: "Steve Perry" <sperry at usinternet.com>
>To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
>Subject: re: NYP and its writers
>Date: Sat, 13 Nov 1999 15:28:13 -0600
>
>[...]
>
>one thing, though--this whole cockburn/pollitt/henwood row of the past
>few days has been a welcome respite from the logorrhea of the
>lacan openers.

I must write a letter to NYP and clarify: my tastes are more Zizekian than strictly Lacanian, but who can tell one continental egghead from another anyway?

Doug



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