Letters

THE G.O.P. PARTY CRASHER

"The Republicans may have a David and Goliath battle here. Run, John, run! You are a refreshing addition to the presidential race." PAMELA S. LACEY Denver

No one should be surprised at the emergence of Senator John McCain as a serious contender for the presidency [CAMPAIGN 2000, Feb. 14]. McCain is joining the long line of war heroes who aspired to that office, starting with George Washington and continuing through Andrew Jackson, Ulysses Grant and Dwight Eisenhower. The Vietnam War was unpopular, but it created its own heroes as well as victims. The country is again longing for a heroic figure. McCain fits the picture, as both victim and hero. SAM TENNENBAUM Miami Beach

In his autobiography, Faith of My Fathers, McCain shows that he possessed, as a youth at the Naval Academy and later as a POW, a degree of defiance that is alarming. His behavior demonstrated more than merely poor judgment; it bordered on rank stupidity. Such a characteristic is hardly a qualification for the Chief Executive of the world's superpower. McCain's insolent behavior as a POW in Vietnam contributed nothing to the honor of the U.S. but did add to his misery. JACK D. WALKER Antioch, Tenn.

McCain is like a cool glass of water on a hot day and a shot of brandy on a cold winter's night. He will be there for you, especially when you need him most. ALGIS K. POVILAIKA Coleman, Wis.

While the media rats run squeaking behind this Pied Piper, let's take a look at McCain's record. He voted to cut funding for toxic-waste cleanups, supports mining on public lands, supports logging in national forests. He voted against the Brady Bill and against the assault-weapons ban. He voted against the minimum-wage increase and against equal pay for women, as well as against a woman's right to choose. Shall we all go running over the cliff after another grinning, cunning trickster? CAROLE HILL Crystal Lake, Ill.

I am appalled that McCain is being attacked for accepting special-interest money while George W. Bush implies that the tooth fairy left $68 million in campaign funds under his pillow. ROB JOHNSON Mount Vernon, Wash.

I am incensed at the way the media have pushed for the nomination of McCain, advertising his "story" as he tells it. Are all you people so celebrity driven, so desperate for copy, that you give this charlatan hours of free airtime and volumes of print? This nation has suffered through seven years of Bill Clinton, and we don't want another supremely egotistical, disgusting self-promoter in the White House. MARY L. RAKE Fort Campbell, Ky.

I am a conservative Democrat. It has been a long time since I could support a candidate because I believed in him as an honorable man, not merely because he was the lesser of two evils. If McCain does not make it through the primaries, I guess I'll have to go back to selecting the lesser of two evils. ROBERT TAYLOR Delta Junction, Ark.

Earth to the G.O.P.: George W. Bush is not electable. If you want to win in November, nominate McCain. DEREK HYMEL Bellevue, Wash.

McCain's plan for campaign-finance reform won't be any different from cutting the tips off ragweed, which creates more shoots and a 1,000% increase in hay-fever attacks. Getting legislators to vote for reform and turn down big political donations will be like keeping hungry hogs away from a full feeding trough. THOMAS L. WASINGER Titusville, Fla.

Whether McCain wins or not, he has proved that the average voter is far from being the fool many of the ruling class would have us believe. Let all publicly elected officials heed this warning: tell the truth. RICHARD L. CARLSEN Ephrata, Wash.

What McCain has is the simple desire to do the right thing. That counts for nothing with the pols and media types, but it's the main thing for the rest of us. STEPHEN C. HAGEN Ridgewood, N.J.

BELIEVERS VS. NONBELIEVERS

Hurrah for Charles Krauthammer's criticism [ESSAY, Feb. 14] of the Super Bowl ad showing Christopher Reeve walking! As a rehabilitation psychologist and a quadriplegic for 42 years, I strongly urge anyone with a spinal-cord injury to live as if there is no possibility of a cure. It is a terrible mistake simply to wait for a magical cure. If one comes in your lifetime, wonderful! If not, then you haven't wasted your time waiting for something that may happen eventually but too late to help you. Life in a wheelchair is definitely worth living! I believe even Reeve would agree with that. LANI DEAUVILLE Vero Beach, Fla.

In his piece "Restoration, Reality and Christopher Reeve," Krauthammer chastised me for appearing in a commercial in which I am seen walking sometime in the future. He accused me of raising false hopes. My guess is that Krauthammer is unaware of the many published studies documenting the remarkable progress being made toward repairing a damaged spinal cord. A few months ago, you published an article by Jeffrey Kluger on spinal injury that was a less biased report [VISIONS 21, Nov. 8]. In it, in response to a statement I made that I hoped to be on my feet by my 50th birthday and that there was a chance this might happen, Kluger wrote, "Skeptics warn against too much giddy hope...Most researchers, though, are more optimistic. Over the course of 10 years, they say, the riddles of the cord have been solved." I wish to reassure the public that I fully realize how important it is not to make statements that are misleading or irresponsible. CHRISTOPHER REEVE Bedford, N.Y.

As a practicing physical therapist who has worked with spinal-cord injury patients, I privately cringed when Reeve stated he would walk again. I believe that the Super Bowl commercial was inappropriate. Reeve should instill hope for a life that those with a spinal injury can realistically expect to attain in their lifetime. The $2 million spent on this TV ad could have gone to finance research or a more realistic commercial. JULIE EBERLY Owings Mills, Md.

CORRECTION

Our story about a patent dispute between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Time Domain Corp. [NOTEBOOK, March 29] mistakenly said former Livermore researcher Thomas McEwan was not the first to invent "micropower impulse radar" technology. The U.S. Patent Office, which initially rejected Livermore's key patent claims, has now concluded that McEwan's patent for the technology is valid and reaffirmed Livermore's patent claims.

A previous challenge to McEwan's invention by Time Domain was published last April in a House Science Committee minority staff report that has since come under fire. McEwan's invention is a low-cost sensor technology used to "see" through solid objects and for high-accuracy measurements. More information on it is available at www.getradar.com

FOR GLOBAL VILLAGESPEAK

You called the name of Lisa Marie Presley's fiance, John Oszajca, "unpronounceable" [PEOPLE, Feb. 14]. But if 40 million people can pronounce the name Oszajca correctly, why can't you? Please don't let your Anglo-Saxon bias impair your ability to pronounce Slavic names, especially Polish ones. Not being able to pronounce a name correctly denigrates and debases not only its bearer but also the country of its origin. Ethnocentricity isn't funny in our rapidly shrinking global village. We all need to make the effort to pronounce names correctly and not make fun of them. Because, frankly, it's not funny! TONY KRETOWICZ El Cajon, Calif.

AGAPE AT THE GAP

I was surprised that sales at Gap Inc. stores lagged for a while last year [BUSINESS, Feb. 14]. As a teen, I get most of my clothes from Gap. Clothes from Gap's Old Navy outlets aren't as popular because they are not as trendy; also Gap has so much more quality. It has a variety of styles that everyone loves. All the teens love Gap, especially their commercials. You will soon see a rise in Gap profits, because people like Gap--for its quality, colors and prices. Since Abercrombie & Fitch raised all its prices, more people are buying at Gap. So just wait to do an article on the fall of Abercrombie! MARIE NOLL Ballwin, Mo.

Shame on you for focusing on the Gap as a paragon of marketing. This corporation has a well-documented history of exploiting sweatshop labor, which has sparked protest. Maybe if the Gap pared down its ridiculous $500 million marketing budget and provided safe working conditions and a living wage for its employees, I could actually buy those "fashionable" clothes and have a clear conscience. Until then, it's simply not worth it to be "in style." ERIN GAEL CHAMBERS Arcata, Calif.

ABOUT LOVE ONLINE

There are more differences between today's online chat rooms and the parlors used for courting in the 19th century than your article "The Love Machines" admits [LIFESTYLES, Feb. 14]. Today it is relatively easy to find love online, and the sheer quantity of prospects would absolutely thrill the 19th century suitor. But will the cybermarriages last just because both parties like country music? Human compatibility is more complex. In the 19th century, a suitor had to earn his way into a parlor by showing he was worthy. There had to be evidence of success and proper living. You couldn't "fake it until you make it." No spin: people knew you. The classic question from long ago still applies: Is this the person you want to be with during the best and worst experiences of life? JOSEPH DRAGO Western Springs, Ill.

Your report opened with a description of a couple who met online, married and settled down to a rural idyll. But you gave the wrong Web address for our online service, which matches people with an interest in rural life. The correct address is countrysinglesonline.com SUSAN GENTRY Country Singles Online Washington, Utah

An interesting and often painful result of online chatting is the phenomenon of closeted gays and lesbians, who feel trapped by their marriage to straight spouses, freely exploring their sexuality in cyberspace. Much as "Carl" lost his wife to an online boyfriend, many of the spouses in the Straight Spouse Network (an international support network of heterosexual spouses and partners and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender mates) share stories at ssnetwk.org of losing husbands to online boyfriends or wives to online girlfriends. It happens more often than many people imagine. KURT A. BODLING Tuckahoe, N.Y.