What Europe Hath Wrought
Re the cover story about Europe since the Treaty of Rome [March 26]: I was sad to see that my favorite magazine has fallen for the European Commission spin. While the report cited 20 benefits from the European Union (E.U.), it was a pity the article did not list the 40 things the E.U. has not done. Auditors have not been able to approve the annual accounts for the European Economic Community because of fraud and corruption. Democracy has been destroyed, since most of our laws are now made by bureaucrats in Brussels who are not elected and are not accountable to us. All our history and traditions are being destroyed by this monster organization. Of course the new members are overjoyed at being able to join. This means that in Britain the citizens can enjoy free health care, housing, education and many other benefits, all paid for by the British taxpayer.
David John Hastings, NORWICH, ENGLAND
It is difficult to imagine where your correspondent Michael Elliott has been these past 50 years. The E.U. is a 1950s solution to 1930s problems. It is a cumbersome, profoundly undemocratic, unitary system of government by unelected bureaucrats. Endemic corruption is beyond repair. Is that the price of easier travel and cleaner beaches? Free trade and freely negotiated agreements among sovereign nations — that’s what we need. Not this lumbering, inefficient dinosaur that has too much in common with the former Soviet Union. The Europeans are neighbors of us Brits. They should be our friends. They cannot be our masters. Many Europeans want us to leave the door open when we exit — as we surely will.
Ashley Mote, Member of European Parliament, BRUSSELS
The babes-in-the-wood approach to the outdated monster of the E.U., which is stripping away 1,000 years of Britain’s history and the very foundation of all our ancient freedoms, raises my worst fears about who controls TIME these days. My wife’s comment was, “Well, they are Americans.” Does this, I wonder, say it all?
Michael A. Clark, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND
As a European expatriate, I am watching with horror and disbelief as Europe is being transformed through left-wing ideology against the will of most Europeans. Europe is inexorably coming to an end. It is now nothing more than a socialist dictatorship governed by a political élite that is among the most corrupt in the world. What’s happening in the E.U. today is not in accordance with the principles of democracy.
Giorgio Corazza, ORANGE GROVE, SOUTH AFRICA
TIME Turns Another Page
TIME’s redesigned layout is very slick but reminiscent of New Coke [March 26]. That product was eventually withdrawn in favor of the return of Classic Coke. Clear titles in the old format made it easy to pick out the articles of interest for immediate reading. Headings like Briefing and Dashboard are meaningless. Please bring back TIME Classic!
Bob Gottesman, CAROLINA BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA, U.S.
Kudos on your redesign. as a designer, I notice page layout as others might not, and your latest issue is everything I expect from TIME magazine — elegant, simple, unfussy and easy to read. Thanks for giving the rest of us a look to strive for.
Kathy Barkey, ST. LOUIS, MISSISSIPPI, U.S.
Congratulations to all of you, especially Luke Hayman, Arthur Hochstein, Cynthia Hoffman and D.W. Pine. The new layout is beautiful, elegant and easy to read. Let us not go back to the hodgepodge it has been in recent years. TIME readers are not people with millisecond attention spans. We can manage to read an entire story, even if it covers more than one page. We do not like to be fed abbreviated snippets. Thank you for the redesign.
Ellen K. Parrella, NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT, U.S.
Doing Unto Others
Joe Klein’s column about Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee served up an excellent snapshot of today’s Republican way of thinking [March 26]. Republicans give tax breaks to oil companies that pocket record profits but scoff at a candidate who looks out for his fellow citizens. Honest Abe must spin in his grave every time the G.O.P. refers to itself as the party of Lincoln. Huckabee, unfortunately, has little chance of getting the nomination with his do-unto-others mentality. That kind of thinking just doesn’t pass muster in today’s Republican Party.
Mark McKay, PASCOAG, RHODE ISLAND, U.S.
Hope in an Antihero
Mexican President Felipe Calderón projects an antihero image that contrasts sharply with the populist Presidents in Latin America [March 19]. It means that there is hope for Mexico to achieve social and economic growth without ruining its future.
Rogelio Pardo-Evans, SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA
A Scholar and a Gentleman
James Graff’s profile of François Bayrou [March 26], although most interesting, seemed to give an unfair and somewhat distorted impression of the French presidential candidate’s intellectual background. I am writing here as an academic, not a politician. Bayrou is a farmer’s son, for sure, and a gentleman farmer, probably. But while he is no product of a French administrative or political grande école, he is a doctor of literature. He is, therefore, quite an erudite individual. No nitwit! And an excellent, learned writer in his own right.
Françoise Aubert Greer, FERNEY-VOLTAIRE, FRANCE
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