Roll Over, John Bunyan

[davemarc]

Muckraking is at the heart of much great journalism.  But, sadly,
muckraking journalists sometimes end up "becoming the muck."

Jeffrey (Steelhead) St. Clair is one such journalist. 

He has recently polluted the Pynchon list with base (and baseless)
insinuations that *something* unethical (he naturally can't specify what)
occurred on an evening when list participants met with each other.  Most
recently he has declared that, if his insinuation was in fact baseless, his
original source was lying.  This pathetic excuse for an investigative
reporter neglected to mention a third alternative--the truth:   Chris, the
original source, was mistaken. 

Unless someone stole some silverware or filched soap from the washrooms,
nothing even remotely unethical took place the night that we (not St.
Clair) dined together.  We were polite and friendly to each other.  We
delighted in each other's company.  We treated our guests to their meals. 
And we tipped our mind-reading waiter generously.  (Naturally, he wasn't
surprised.)  As I wrote previously, I had a recorder with me, but I didn't
use it until after we had parted company, when I muttered notes into it.  

It seems that, upon seeing that I had brought a recorder with me, Chris
mistakenly concluded that I had used it to tape the conversation.  What
neither she nor St. Clair seemed to consider is that, had the recorder been
on, it would not even have picked up the conversation.   I've sent email to
Chris to point that out to her; she's free to disagree with me in public or
in private.  (I've yet to be confronted *privately* about any of this by
Chris, but I hope that will change soon, and I welcome the opportunity to
set the record straight after all these months.)

Jeffrey St. Clair spreads rumors, picks fights, presents fiction as fact,
and wallows in uncivil behavior.  The evidence of this continues to
accumulate in the Pynchon list archive, where the whole wired
world--including the journalists who are lurking here in anticipation of
Mason & Dixon--can review it.  Cyber-noseplugs are recommended.

davemarc