Inbox

Will Gore Get on the Trail?
I hope al gore will run for president in 2008 [May 28]. He has the intelligence a President needs to deal with complex situations both domestically and internationally. I am heartbroken that I did not realize that in 2000. I hope Gore will give me and many other voters the opportunity to make things right in 2008. I am surprised that our current President’s thinking and reasoning have mostly remained dualistic, regarding people and nations as either good guys or evildoers, with us or against us, resolute or wimpy. The leader of the free world needs more than just conviction and resolve.
Jane Lin,
Northborough, Massachusetts, U.S.

You called Gore “Improbably Charismatic” and an “Environmental Prophet,” which couldn’t be further from the truth. A wooden, pseudo-scientific charlatan would be more accurate. This is not your finest hour.
Rick D. Smith,
Buhler, Kansas, U.S.

If my fellow democrats want a presidential nominee long on experience, vision and brains, they will persuade former Vice President Gore to throw his hat into the ring. President George W. Bush’s disastrous terms have shown us all how hazardous it is to pick a President with very little relevant experience. Good intentions, handsome hairstyles and slick sound bites don’t help much when the chips are down.
Douglas C. Kelley,
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.

To run or not to run is indeed the question, but Gore answered it when he said, “If the crib is on fire, you save the baby!” American democracy is the baby, and the future of the free world is at stake. A somewhat cooler globe will be uninhabitable if the values we cherish are on fire. Run, Al, run!
Sheenu Srinivasan,
Glastonbury, Connecticut, U.S.

The world is grateful that time has bestowed sainthood on the former Vice President. We now have a patron saint of hyperbole.
Andrew Stigaard,
Tarpon Springs, Florida, U.S.

Gore said he has “fallen out of love with politics,” and many people are concerned that he might not run for President. In a way he has just made his politics specialized, and his current work addressing climate change confirms his leadership qualities. But let’s be realistic: the environment would be only one of many problems he would have to face if he were to run. There are other promising Democratic candidates, and isn’t global warming an issue important enough that there should be someone as competent as Gore to give the U.S.—and the rest of the world—an ecological conscience? It is a tough challenge to save the world. Please, let him focus on that! He shouldn’t be distracted by a run for the presidency.
Tanja Schwarze,
Oldenburg, Germany

Thank you for your excellent article on Gore. Please, U.S. citizens, do not draft this decent man to run again. I do not want him to be soiled by the dirt of U.S. politics. Recent history has shown that a man like him can be cheated out of an election victory by a much less capable contender.
Norio Ohta,
Takatsuki City, Japan

Moore Zooms In on Health Care
Filmmaker Michael Moore romanticizes the government-run health-care system in Canada [May 28]. I wonder if he really understands what a single-payer system would mean for Americans. The government would hold a monopoly over health-care coverage, offering one insurance plan with no alternatives. If the government decided to reduce funding or deny coverage for certain medical technologies or procedures, patients would have to forgo their use or pay for it out of pocket. Under the current system, if people are dissatisfied with their plan, they can simply switch insurance carriers. No one denies the moral imperative for reform to provide health-care access to all Americans, but a single-payer system is not the answer.
Janet Trautwein, CEO, National Association of Health Underwriters,
Arlington, Virginia. U.S.

Multinational pharmaceutical companies are out of hand with their pricing. While it is acceptable that they should make a reasonable profit, they have gone beyond that in what they charge in the U.S. Some of their profit margins reveal their obscene greed. Why do medications cost 77% more in this country than they do in Canada? We have the best politicians money can buy.
Phyllis Ray,
Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.

Moore stated that he was not sure what he would produce next, possibly a romantic comedy. Since he always seems to hound so-called crooks in government and every industry but his own, maybe he should uncover some truths about the entertainment industry. Let’s talk about the outrageous ticket prices and concessions at the movie theaters that show his films. Let’s look at the excessive profits he and his colleagues make from the people he claims to be looking out for. Does he believe it is right for mega-media companies and entertainers to reap the financial benefits they do?
Matthew Casto,
San Antonio

Chrysler’s Crash
Re “Buying a Used Chrysler” [May 28]: The automakers have to stop thinking in terms of breaking their contracts with retired workers, who devoted their lives for these promises. The industry’s problems cannot be solved by the unions or private takeovers. The U.S. car industry is just another casualty of insurance and pharmaceutical companies that have bought the White House and Congress, rendering medical treatment and insurance unaffordable.
Paul R. Del Vecchio,
Gunnison, Colorado, U.S.

The collapse of U.S. carmakers sounds eerily similar to the impending bankruptcies of Social Security and Medicare. By failing to act now, the government is condemning us all to a worse future. There are fewer workers to support an increasing number of older retirees. What does the demise of the Big Three portend?
Anthony Trujillo Escareño,
Tustin, California, U.S.

Farewell to Falwell
In “Jerry’s Kids,” Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs dismissed Jerry Falwell’s influence and wrote him off as a ranting, Bible-toting demagogue [May 28]. Falwell’s rich life was about 5% politics, with the rest spent preaching biblical truth and establishing homes for alcoholics and unwed mothers. But his greatest living legacy—aside from the massive Thomas Road Baptist Church—is Liberty University, a growing Christian college that has 100,000 graduates and more than 21,000 students. They will be his final tribute, bearing his standard for decades. As for Falwell’s “politics of division,” Jesus said, “Do not suppose I have come to bring peace to the earth! I came to bring trouble, not peace” (Matthew 10: 34). As Falwell knew, the word of God is often at odds with the twisted schemes of mankind.
Brian Robinette,
Van Nuys, California, U.S.

Falwell argued that “the Supreme Court was in favor of abortion but not prayer in school,” as Duffy and Gibbs put it. Falwell typically prevaricated on the truth for his own purposes. The court doesn’t care about school prayer as long as it is not an official activity that requires unwilling people to endure it. Lots of praying goes on in schools across the U.S. The problem is not prayer but attempts by some Christians to control everyone else. That leads to theocracy, something the settlers of New England tried and found wanting but that Falwell seems to have thought was O.K.
Karl E. Moyer,
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Falwell was a mean-spirited bigot, and the world is better without him. If he was correct that one is judged on adherence to the Gospels, he is in Hell for his failure. Jesus said nothing about homosexuality, yet Falwell delivered famous tirades in Jesus’ name against gays. Jesus did say, “Love as I have loved.” Falwell promoted his version of Christianity, raised lots of money and built an empire, yet he missed the point of Jesus’ rhetorical question “What does it profit a man to have everything, and yet lose his soul?”
(The Rev.) Charles Jones,
Chicago

In a Land Far, Far Away …
James Poniewozik was absolutely right in saying that the Shrek movies are really for him and not the kids [May 28]. Tex Avery’s cartoons (starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig) and many other cartoons of the 1930s and ’40s include jokes that kids don’t have the cultural experience to understand. Shrek is the same. Do kids still need wonder and magic? Of course they do. Do they need classic stories turned into happily-ever-after tripe that doesn’t even resemble the original? Absolutely not. Poniewozik only alluded to the fact that the Grimm brothers’ fairy tales were originally quite grim and scary. So where can we find healthful magic for kids? Outside in nature and in books that don’t insult the intelligence of children or their parents.
Vonnie Shallenberger,
Mahomet, Illinois, U.S.

Less Is More
In “Undersize Me,” Joel Stein explained how some restaurants have gone against the current trend by offering smaller portions [May 21]. What reason would restaurants have to offer less food at a lower price? Do they really care about our health, happiness or financial security? Just as with any other business, they want to see how much money they can get out of our pocket and leave us wanting to come back. In response to every marketing strategy hurled our way, we must always ask ourselves, Why? It isn’t about what’s in it for us but what’s in it for them.
Carolyn Morton,
Barrie, Canada

At an Impasse?
I was interested to read “The Dying of the Light,” about how Mansour went from being Baghdad’s glitziest neighborhood to one of its most dangerous [May 28]. It seems impossible for any side to win the war in Iraq. If the fighting were about land or money, maybe it would be easier for the U.N. or powerful nations to intervene and negotiate a settlement. But this war is about dominance and will. The Western countries involved have the technology and firepower, while the jihadists have the manpower and a willingness to die. I don’t see how President Bush and incoming British Prime Minister Gordon Brown can come up with a better battle plan or a good exit proposal.
Lee Toon Hian,
Ipoh, Malaysia

Inflating Football Salaries
I was flabbergasted to learn the sum of sponsorship money pocketed annually by the Premier League, National Basketball Association and National Football League [May 21]. The salaries of top players are augmented the same way. The majority of us would take a lifetime to make the amount of money these players earn in just one week. It is truly astonishing. I wonder whether they deserve such large sums. Wouldn’t the money be better spent combatting poverty, global warming, aids? The list goes on and on.
Lee Boon Siew,
Kuala Lumpur

I can offer two simple reasons that Britain’s Premier League is dominating. Football is the world’s sport, and English is the world’s language.
Justin Eckl,
Pusan, South Korea

What’s Ahead for Blair?
I agree with Michael Elliott’s point that the British will miss Tony Blair [May 14]. I have lived and worked in Britain for 61/2 years and enjoy following its political scene. I am always amazed by how easily senior politicians can lose their jobs once problems are reported in the papers—regardless of whether the politicians are capable. I am not a fan of Blair’s, but I wish he could stay on as Prime Minister. After he leaves office, I hope he can serve like Al Gore, as an environmentalist and observer of world politics.
Yan Wang,
Cardiff, Wales

Desperate for a Way Out
“Dreams of Leaving” revealed the sad story behind illegal Chinese immigrants [April 30]. With the help of unscrupulous snakeheads and dazzled by the tales of immediate riches, these people found themselves digging in foreign soil and toiling from sunshine until sunset, believing “fortune only comes from leaving home.” While thousands of Fujianese are seeking every means to leave their homeland, more foreign investors are eagerly pouring their resources into this Middle Kingdom. People are seizing the chance to leave and put their lives at risk to send big bucks back home. The lure is great, but it would be better to think twice than live with regrets.
Chern Nee Chua,
Singapore

An Article of Faith
Romney’s accomplishments and lifestyle show that he values kindness, family, community, citizenship, hard work, honesty and love [May 21]. No other candidate has had his faith subjected to such scrutiny, yet Romney has not backed down or wavered. If he were the flip-flopper he is made out to be, he would not take on the task of being a Mormon in the public arena.
Kalli Hakes,
Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.

How can one ridicule the mormon belief that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri without objecting to the beliefs that men turned the Nile into blood, parted the Red Sea, walked on water, turned water into wine and rose from the dead? To the unbelieving, the tenets and traditions of any religion may seem strange or even absurd. Believers understand those teachings on a spiritual level that transcends scientific fact. That’s why it’s called faith. Condemning one religion’s inherently unverifiable beliefs without subjecting other religions’ equally unverifiable beliefs to the same scrutiny is nothing less than bigotry.
Jeff Mangum,
Poway, California, U.S.