Turner's TV

To the Editors:

Ted Turner [Aug. 9] has done in two years what the Big Three networks could not do in 30. He has given the American people nonpackaged news reports 24 hours a day. Eventually, network news executives will learn that flashy video graphics and handsome anchors by themselves do not constitute good journalism. Go get 'em, Ted.

Francis P. Ruggiero

Delhi, N. Y.

For years the West Coast had to be content with stale news from tapes that were hours old. Now CNN delivers news with old-fashioned objective reporting. It makes no attempt to preform viewers' opinions, as the networks do. It permits us to form our own. This may be the greatest contribution that could be made to the electronic news industry.

Leonard I. Kercheval Jr.

Bellevue, Wash.

I cannot believe TIME wasted a cover story extolling such a cold, mercenary personality. The boom in cable TV is due to its buying up broadcast rights to sports events and movies; the public used to watch them for nothing, and now we are charged for them. All too often cable manifests the same mentality that converts apartments into expensive condos or encourages gas stations to charge us for air.

Josh Critzer

Pittsburgh

Ted Turner may be changing the face of TV news, but I'll bet Anchor Roz Abrams was certainly surprised to see her face used with Reynelda Muse's name in the picture with Bob Cain. Indeed, both ladies are beautiful and articulate, but each has her own special identity, and their viewers know which is Rey and which is Roz.

Mrs. Noel Pfeifer

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Middle East Mission

I am deeply dismayed by the coverage of the congressional fact-finding trip to the Middle East [Aug. 9]. TIME failed to report the range of our activities and the numerous leaders we met. Ours was the first American delegation to see the destruction in West Beirut. We were also the first group to tour Lebanon under American and Lebanese auspices only. Among the findings of our mission: 1) the senseless bloodshed and destruction are overwhelming, 2) humanitarian aid is desperately needed and is not reaching those who have been victimized by the war, and 3) there is a unique phenomenon in Israel promoted by civilians and politicians seeking peace, the Peace Now movement.

I also take issue with your suggestion that I am anti-Israel by calling me and Representative Nick Rahall "persistent critics of Israel." When I voted against the AW ACS sale to Saudi Arabia, did that mean I was anti-Arab?

Mary Rose Oakar

Representative, District, Ohio

Washington, D.C.

Your article inaccurately indicates that all members on the congressional fact-finding mission to the Middle East were in agreement in their perceptions of the situation there and that they acted in concert in dealing with leaders of the warring factions. That was clearly not the case. From the beginning, I saw the meeting with Yasser Arafat as a propaganda ploy by the P.L.O., and I chose not to attend it. I immediately denounced the document that Congressman Pete McCloskey obtained from Arafat as nothing new and possibly a harmful deception.

Elliott H. Levitas

Representative, Fourth District, Georgia

Washington, D.C.

Your piece on Congressman Pete McCloskey and those accompanying him to Lebanon was less than fair. Pete is not a naive bumbler unfamiliar with war and international affairs, nor is he deficient in his understanding of the written word. Arafat wrote that he "accepts all the U.N. resolutions relevant to the Palestinian question," and that is what McCloskey stated. The fact that Arafat later claimed that this plain language said something different is a reflection on Arafat's lack of integrity, not on McCloskey's judgment.

Harold S. Sawyer

Representative, Fifth Michigan

Washington, D.C.

Coping with Herpes

I was shocked to read that some doctors advise their patients with herpes [Aug. 2] not to warn prospective sexual partners about their condition. Shame on them. This advice will contribute to the spread of an incurable disease, and it will inflict upon herpes sufferers additional guilt and psychological trauma if they transmit herpes to innocent victims through deceit and lies. Such advice is reckless and unprofessional.

Pat Kelly

Lexington, Mass.

Your article on herpes was a real service to the many sufferers in this country. We think that better understanding of this disease will lead to fewer feelings of guilt and unnecessary recriminations.

Robert S. Scott, M.D.

Los Angeles

Balancing Act

Lance Morrow's Essay [Aug. 9] is a timely, thoughtful and incisive piece that portrays the amendment for a balanced federal budget as what it really is: a hoax. The drive for a constitutionally mandated balanced budget is a perfect example of an election-year gimmick designed to divert attention from our nation's economic woes.

Daniel H. Pink

Columbus

Everyone knows that the balanced-budget amendment is not a panacea, but it could give Congress the backbone it needs to say no. The Constitution is our Govern--ment's framework. What is more basic to its structure than the budget process?

John L. Song

Indianapolis

If we decide to adopt the balanced-budget amendment, it will be like putting a chastity belt on a nymphomaniac.

James B. Leftwich

Houston

Missouri Stakes Its Claim

Leadwood has its problems [Aug. 9], as those of us who live near by know, but they are not so severe that the town has been forced to move to Mississippi. I can assure you that Leadwood is still located in St. Francois County, Mo.

Kern Waller Bonne

Terre, Mo.

Out to Lunch

It's high time for businesses that cut wages and lay off workers to come down to the level where some of us have been living for the past few years [Aug. 9]. The amount they spend for one lunch has to feed my family for one week. Even with less of a tax deduction, businessmen will still be able to eat their expensive lunches and have no bellyaches.

Lennys Vilcinskas

St. Louis

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR should be addressed to TIME, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, N.Y. 10020, and should include the writer's full name, address and home telephone. Letters may be edited for purposes of clarity or space.

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