LETTERS

We receive a sizable supply of the Weekly here at our sandwich shop. The copies usually last the full seven days with one exception: the latest issue featuring your photograph of Desiree Diaz on the cover. On Friday, a mere 30 hours after the stack (no pun intended) was delivered, we had three copies left.

As of today (Monday), we are now down to but one (which I stashed in our office so as retain your e-mail address ... how do I explain that to my wife/co-partner here?). I'm sure that our customers grabbed (can I use that word here?) extra copies because of the overall attractive layout of the entire publication, font styles, use of shades of gray in between black and white, the way the pages go in numerical order, as well as to admire the precision with which the two staples are applied that hold the pages together in a neat, tidy fashion.

I suspect that what really caused this rush was for our customers to read sandwich reviews, which regrettably did not include Eat 'Em Sandwiches! Nevertheless, we enjoyed the issue and increasing our knowledge of "Queer Sex for the Straight Girl."

BTW, nice snowcapped peaks on the cover (they piqued our interest), but sadly Desiree was in the way.

Keep up the good work, folks. Our customers have now found yet another thing to like about a visit to our shop: our sandwiches!

Last week's feature on 10 great local sandwiches brought this mildly outraged response:

Has Max Jacobson ever tasted a real New Jersey Italian hoagie?

Having grown up in Southern New Jersey, I remember that the best ones came from local Mom-and-Pop type of places, not from franchises that succeed only in creating a "virtual concept of authenticity." I didn't hear any Jersey accents when I tried out Jersey Mike's, and found the food to be mediocre at best. Anyone who's spent time around the Jersey/Pensey/Delaware area knows that out there they are called hoagies, not subs. Sub sandwiches come from other parts of the country, the bread is different (real Italian bread), the cold cuts are different (authentic Italian stuff, from local brand-name vendors) and the fillings are so plentiful that you cannot close the bread, and the seasonings are different. The closest thing to the authentic would be the Italian cold cut at Capriotti's, which "imports" supplies from Delaware vendors (like Boar's Head products).

Thanks for your time and attention in reading this.

I enjoyed your January 6-12, 2005 issue very much. However, I would like to point out one small correction to your Gray Matters column. McCarran International is not the first airport in the nation to offer free Wi-Fi.

While I am not certain which airport provided this service first, I can tell you that the Long Beach Airport (and downtown Long Beach) have been providing free Wi-Fi access for several years now. I often enjoy this convenience when flying back and forth to Las Vegas (Jet Blue Rocks!).

The following arrived in response to last week's cover story, "19 Ways to Enrich Your Love of Las Vegas." Specifically, it takes issue with No. 11 (Marvel at the City's Capacity to Honor the Not-So-Honorable) and our comments on McCarran and the man it's named after:

"McCarran International Airport: Every time you step on or off of a plane in the gorgeous airport dubbed McCarran, think about the xenophobia of the man it's named for. In the 1940s, Sen. Patrick McCarran worked to prevent millions of European war refugees—including scads of Holocaust survivors—from entering the U.S.

"From there, it was on to the Red Scare—McCarran wrote an omnibus bill that pretty much outlawed the American Communist Party. The 1950 McCarran Act, or 'Internal Security Act,' was denounced even by some Republicans as the biggest threat to liberty in America since the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts ..."

Denounced by even some Republicans ... ? Why wouldn't he be, as McCarran was a DEMOCRAT, a fact your writer conveniently neglects to include. Why? Your writer makes sure to include a reference to Republicans: "Even ... Republicans." Does it offend the tender sensibilities of some to have to admit that Democrats have often been racist, intolerant reactionaries? Nah, better to leave that fact aside and simply ascribe the worst of intentions only to Republicans.

Usually enjoy your rag, but this was PC pandering of the worst sort.

In keeping with the tradition of fairness, the words "Martin Luther King Day" cannot be spoken. The same goes for "Christmas," right? Say goodbye to "Washington's Birthday" and "Lincoln's Birthday" also, in favor of the generic, meaningless "President's Day." In a land where everything offends everybody, it doesn't leave much to say.

Josh Bell's pan of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou got the dander of this reader up:

Add this to the pile of similarly themed e-mails you must be receiving. You're a bitter idiot (bad combo).

In an As We See It piece last week, about encountering a fundamentalist preacher on the Strip during New Year's Eve, Steve Friess made a throwaway quip about KLAS Channel 8 anchor Paula Francis:

While I find most writers in the Weekly to be intellectually stimulating, I take exception to a statement by Steve Friess. "Even a nutcase from Bellingham knows that nobody watches Paula Francis anymore." Is that off the top of his head, or has he actually read the statistics?

I watch her all the time, and on seeing her perform as a moderator, I admired her all the more. She is a consummate professional. Who does he like—Rikki Cheese, perhaps?

As for comments [on the letters page] about the cover being less racy, it's a welcome change.