Come One, Come All
Your cover story on “The Wild Bunch” (National Affairs, Oct. 11) was both illuminating and witty. I appreciated your summary of what the Reform Party stands for. I hope it becomes a viable entity in the very near future, so U.S. voters will have an alternative to the present system, which encourages political gridlock and keeps national problems from being solved. Tom Simpson Oakland, Calif.
When I was a child, my teachers told me that America was a country where anyone could grow up to be president. Now it sure looks like they were right. Don Davis Newburgh, Ind.
One of my brothers is a retired trucker and local Teamster president; the other is a Vermont tree-hugging NPR liberal. I am a “right of Attila the Hun” Vietnam combat veteran, and the only thing the three of us have ever agreed upon is that we would all vote for Jesse Ventura for president. Now that’s broad appeal. Erich Schenk Charleston, S.C.
How embarrassing it is to have Jesse Ventura as our governor. If Newsweek would quit putting him on the cover and stop writing about him, perhaps he would shut up and just fade away. Sharon Quale Eagle Bend, Minn.
The reason Jesse Ventura has such a grip on America is that he not only says the things people wish they had the nerve to say, he is also right a lot of the time. He is outrageous, but he stands up for his beliefs and he is honest. I would rather be represented by a person with integrity than one who constantly glances at polls to see which way the wind is blowing. Jason Homorody Worthington, Ohio
Shouldn’t the cover of your Oct. 11 issue have carried a banner proclaiming “The Granola Bunch”? Considering the flakes and nuts involved, it would certainly have been appropriate. Bill Bailey Pasadena, Texas
Only in an America where the office of the presidency has been so cheapened and demeaned for the last seven years could “The Wild Bunch” featured on your cover aspire to the nation’s highest office. Such is the Clinton legacy. Jeffrey Heakin Chicago, Ill.
Warren Beatty, Cybill Shepherd, Jesse Ventura and Donald Trump running for president? Will the last person leaving the country please turn off the lights? Fred Mark Cincinnati, Ohio
Don’t Forget Tibet
After reading NEWSWEEK’s review of the 50th-anniversary observance by the People’s Republic of China (“A Goose Step Into the Future,” International, Oct. 11), I went for a walk to calm down. While you are right to dwell on Formosa-Taiwan-China, how can you not mention occupied Tibet? Congress counts Tibet as an occupied country. Beijing, however, counts on gullible Americans to accept the fiction that Tibet was really always part of China. Only if a free press continues to remind its readers will the world remember: Tibet is a country that Mao’s China has been violating and occupying for most of the past half century. Dale Heckman Sacramento, Calif.
Accidents Waiting to Happen
Your Oct. 11 report suggests that the accident at Japan’s Tokaimura nuclear-fuel-reprocessing plant (“Can It Happen Here?” International) occurred because of human error and also possibly inadequacies in technical design. Technology–which, after all, comes out of human effort–can never be perfect and, as the oft-quoted Murphy’s Law reminds us, “If something can go wrong, it will.” Nuclear power is generated by our exploiting nature to its very limits, and in case of human or technological failure, the consequences are bound to be severe, whether in Tokaimura, Three Mile Island or Chernobyl. The primary lesson that Japan–or any other nation, including the United States–can learn is that no external nuclear threat like North Korean missiles is necessary to create a major catastrophe. The threats are already built in. Kangayam R. Rangaswamy Madison, Wis.
War and Remembrance
Your article about the American massacre of several hundred Korean civilians near No Gun Ri in July 1950 was quite disturbing ("‘I’ve Tried to Repent’," International, Oct. 11).Edward Daily’s defense that he had to follow his superiors’ orders doesn’t wash because a soldier does not have to follow an unlawful order. Killing innocent civilians certainly qualifies. Isn’t it interesting that when American troops do such things, we let them off the hook? We excuse our own atrocities by saying that war is hell. Daily says, “We didn’t want people to think we were a bunch of women- and baby-killers.” Sadly, however, they were. Gary Goodwin Moline, Ill.
As a Korean-born U.S. citizen, I must ask: can we not forgive the nation that sent her sons and daughters to defend and die for a small country? And how many U.S. soldiers lost their lives? A lot more than 300. As I have said many times before, I might not be here if it weren’t for you, America! Antoinette Lee Decatur, Ind.
A Thoroughly Modern Mary
I’m glad you chose to print a photo of Chris Ofili’s “The Holy Virgin Mary,” because it’s too easy to condemn something that you’ve never seen (“A Shock Grows in Brooklyn,” Society, Oct. 11). I was prepared to be offended and outraged after hearing about his dung-decorated rendering of Mary. To my surprise, I think it’s a terrific work. Yes, it’s different. But this very contemporary rendering tells me that if Mary were a young woman today, she would be bombarded and surrounded by sexual images at every turn–television programs and commercials, movies, pop-music lyrics and magazine ads, to name a few. The title of the work–“The Holy Virgin Mary”–says it all, that a contemporary Mary would reject the barrage of temptations, remain a virgin and do God’s will. If Mayor Giuliani and the U.S. Senate can’t see this, I feel sorry for them, and for the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which has to deal with such narrow minds. Susan Loughran Lewiston, N.Y.
Hold the Bun, Hold the Crackers
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your article on celiac disease (“The Perils of Pasta,” Focus on Your Health, Oct. 11). As a person who got a diagnosis of this condition nine years ago, I was thrilled to read such a thorough, comprehensive discussion of the ailment. So many times, people just don’t get it–you order a hamburger with no bun, explaining that you can’t eat wheat. So the chef puts the meat on a piece of bread, with crackers on the side. Aaarghh… Christy Flaim Queens, N.Y.
As a longtime sufferer from celiac disease, I read with great interest your article on the condition. Americans need to recognize that unfortunately, many U.S. physicians are unaware of this inherited disorder as a possible diagnosis–an oversight that can sometimes lead to serious complications. But people living with the disease can get information by calling a toll-free hot line, 1-877-CELIACS, or logging on to www.celiacsolutions.com. Annette Bentley, President American Celiac Society West Orange, N.J.
Recovery for Rover
Your story “When Pets Pop Pills” (Business, Oct. 11) illustrates the money to be made on our pets’ health care, especially with the development of new medications for such diagnoses as canine cognitive disorder and separation anxiety. Having watched Brandy, my 15-year-old Shetland sheepdog, deteriorate and become increasingly confused and incontinent, I was thrilled to learn about Anipryl. The $2 daily cost is nothing compared with the fact that I got my dog back. My message to the pharmaceutical companies: keep up the good work! Sandy Shore Flagstaff, Ariz.
I never realized how many pets were succumbing to society’s stressful situations and how frequently they’re phoning their pharmacists for a refill of their Prozac. I just wish the article had been more specific about what psychological circumstances are pushing our pets over the edge. How do you know when your dog’s dumb behavior has deviated into a disturbing disorder? Are there 10 ways to tell when your canary has flown into the cuckoo’s nest? I guess only a pot-bellied pig’s psychotherapist can successfully assess whether the “little pork chop” is suffering from the mental manifestations of an eating disorder or a gluttonous gene inherent in his breed. By the way, when you take your animal to the therapist for treatment, which “troubled soul” is put on the couch… the pet, or the person? Karen Coleman-Brown Katy, Texas
Your article on elderly dogs’ requiring medication inspires me to suggest a couple of names for insuring these worthy creatures: Medicur for the basic policy. AARF for the supplemental. Wilfred Couzin Laguna Niguel, Calif.
A Memory of Yogurt
So yogurt is now available in squeezable tubes, brightly colored in rainbow hues (“Yogurt Goes Tubular,” Business, Oct. 11). When I read your story, I couldn’t help reflecting on the yogurt of my childhood. Way back, in the old country (Austria), my mother filled a wooden tub with tepid milk, added some cultures and covered it with a thick wool blanket. And there it stayed until it turned firm and deliciously tart. The stuff lacked screamy packaging and kid appeal, but its calcium probably helped me keep my own teeth for the next eight decades. Frances Nunnally Richmond, Va.
