THE BLAME THROWER

"I hope that machine-stamped politicos are listening to Pat Buchanan's message. He is speaking about American concerns." MICHAEL STATON Gallup, New Mexico

OF ALL THE DECLARED PRESIDENTIAL candidates today, only Pat Buchanan has the courage to attack the real sacred cows of U.S. politics [COVER STORIES, Nov. 6]. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to see that American jobs were sacrificed on the altars of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in the interests of increasing corporate profits. Nor does one need 20/20 vision to see that the motivating factor for these ill-conceived and damaging agreements was the pervasive and corrupting influence of campaign donations from Big Business. Only Buchanan has aggressively addressed the necessity for massive and meaningful campaign-finance reform that will help reinstate the principle of government of the people, by the people and for the people. MICHAEL CORBETT Highlands Ranch, Colorado

BUCHANAN AND HIS SUPPORTERS DO NOT see that all markets are now global and that guaranteed employment is incompatible with technological progress. Carrying out his ideas would ensure that in 20 years the U.S. would be a Third World country, selling grain and buying high technology. Of course, being a computer professional, I could always move to a country that would more highly value my skills--any of the former Soviet republics, for starters. Their gain would be President Buchanan's loss. ILYA TAYTSLIN Boston Via E-mail

THAT WAS THE WORST HATCHET JOB ON an American politician in memory. Buchanan is the only presidential candidate willing to address the crux of American problems: falling real wages. He is willing to take on the corporate-political elite, including the media and your magazine, and those who have benefited from economic policies that are ruining the country. The information revolution is destroying jobs just like the Industrial Revolution did. Combine this phenomenon with the glut of labor and you get lower real wages. The only way to reverse this trend is to create more jobs by reducing the standard work week. Shrinking the work week from 40 hours or more to 30 hours would help solve the employment problem caused by the information revolution. JAMES W. RENDER Pontiac, Michigan

IF THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS, WHO haven't had a real raise in years, see their choice as between Newtonian trickle-down economics and Buchananist nativist-protectionism, they'll take the latter. The economy is growing, but almost nothing is trickling down. Even though Buchananism would stifle growth, some might find a larger slice of a smaller pie better than a shrinking slice of a growing pie. Is there a third option? Can we have our growing piece of pie and most of us eat it too? Yes. The basic problem is an oversupply of unskilled workers and a shortage of skilled workers. So we need to subsidize college loans for low-income students and provide school-to-work apprenticeships for the non-college-bound workers and vouchers for the unemployed to spend on retraining. Next we need to make work pay for those at the bottom by expanding the earned-income tax credit and raising the minimum wage. And finally, we need to craft a new social compact between labor and management, one that gives workers on-the-job training as well as a share in productivity gains. This is our agenda, and it's the only one of the three that makes sense for America. ROBERT B. REICH Secretary of Labor Washington

BUCHANAN SAYS EXACTLY WHAT HE means and will stick by what he says. That alone puts him head and shoulders above most of the candidates for President. If Buchanan is able to make other Republican candidates for President dance to his tune, it's only because he's the one humming America's hit parade. RICHARD HOWTING Bloomfield, Michigan

BUCHANAN HAS BECOME THE CHIEF nabob of negativism at a very critical time in our history. Scoffing at our country's effort to act affirmatively to assist those who are struggling to achieve the American Dream, whether their problems are racial, economic, educational or physical, is wrongheaded. Buchanan's insisting that we fence off our borders and isolate ourselves economically from the rest of the world is foolish demagoguery. America must remain committed to the welfare of its own citizens and continue to be a leader in world affairs. FRANCIS X. CONLON Honolulu

LOVED YOUR COVER: A PICTURE OF THE stomach-churning Buchanan beneath a presumably unrelated headline, heartburn wars. I should say! THOMAS WALTON Bowling Green, Ohio

BUCHANAN A HUEY LONG FOR THE '90S? Your comparison could not be more misleading. Louisiana Governor and U.S. Senator Huey Long dedicated his life to helping people who could not help themselves. He worked hard to shrink the gap between rich and poor in Louisiana. Buchanan's approach is just the opposite, and his meanspirited ideas can only bring about a more divided nation, with the rich at one end and the forgotten poor at the other. America, down here in Louisiana, we knew Huey Long. Huey Long was a friend of ours. Pat Buchanan is no Huey Long. MATTHEW F. BLOCK Thibodaux, Louisiana Via E-mail

THE NEW BETSY ROSS?

POLITICAL ACTIVIST ARIANNA HUFFINGton is the Betsy Ross of America's current conservative risorgimento [REPUBLICANS, Nov. 6]. In a recent TV debate, she was impressive as she made cogent and compassionate arguments in a heated exchange with veteran leftists Betty Friedan and Karen Burstein. Huffington for President in 2000? ROBERT D. LEVINE New York City

IF THIS WOMAN IS ON THE VERGE, I SINcerely hope she is teetering on the brink of obscurity, where she belongs. I am amazed that otherwise intelligent and accomplished politicos can fawn over a person of such small discernment, limited experience, vacuous observation and rare rudeness. JANICE PETERSON Santa Barbara, California

CLARIFICATION

OUR ARTICLE ON HUFFINGTON REFERRED to a Washington think tank as Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's Progress & Freedom Foundation. Although the Speaker is associated with this organization, he is not a board member, officer or employee of the foundation, nor does he own or control it.

LESS IS MORE

"PERILS OF THE SIMPLE LIFE'' [SOCIETY, Nov. 6] was a sarcastic, bitter and misleading denigration of a positive, empowering and growing movement toward living a less complicated life. Simplicity isn't just a "new fad,'' but its time may have come. A growing number of people are realizing that working more, earning more, doing more and owning more do not result in greater happiness or an increased sense of well-being. It's been said, "We are spending money we don't have to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like.'' Voluntary simplicity, living a life that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich, is based on how you use the only life you will have. And if you make choices that require less money, you will need to use less of your time to earn money, and you will have more of your life to do other things--spend time with family and friends, volunteer for your favorite causes, create, think and be! JODY GRAGE HAUG Seattle

ALTHOUGH MY WIFE AND I WERE MENtioned in your article, I was confused by its message. My reuse of plastic sandwich bags, as noted in the story, is just a tip: reuse of items leads to one bag of garbage a week where there used to be four, and to saving $22,000 by meeting a mortgage obligation early, and to hours of helpful community service because we don't need to spend that time buying more sandwich bags and similar things. That's an all-round win-win situation. I was disappointed that messages like this did not make it into your story. I feel you missed a grand opportunity and a chance for others to find ease in a busy life. MICHAEL G. LENICH South Holland, Illinois Via E-mail

MEN WHO KEEP THEIR PROMISES

AT LAST SOMETHING POSITIVE HAS BEEN written about men in America. I was delighted to see the article on the Christian men's movement Promise Keepers [RELIGION, Nov. 6]. Though the emphasis on religion exists, the true focus of the movement is men. Not only does the Promise Keepers program reassure men of their natural role as leader, provider and protector of their home, family, community and nation, but it also reassures their wives, mothers, sisters and children of their safety and security for the future. Our nation's leaders have lost their focus. Hollywood, the media and the music industry are not interested in portraying the good, wholesome and positive but are quick to blame others for our nation's condition. Promise Keepers provides hope. At last a few courageous men are interested in changing things. It begins in the home. SARAH S. FULLER Houston

YOU SAID SOCIOLOGIST WILLIAM MARTIN was somewhat uneasy about the Promise Keepers' position on a man's authority within the family. Martin has obviously missed the point. Husbands are called upon to follow the example of Christ. Just as Jesus served the church, Christian men are to serve their wives. My wife has no complaints about the fact that I am ready to defend her with my life. None of the leaders of Promise Keepers have ever advocated that men should be dictators as they lead their homes. It is emphasized that men need to listen to their wives and respect their intuition before making decisions. If a Promise Keepers' husband is going to treat his wife as his own body, about what are Martin and feminist critics so uneasy? JOHN O. KOWALSKI Chicago

THE YEARS CATCH UP TO US ALL

ONLY GARRISON KEILLOR'S WONDERFULLY written "In Autumn We All Get Older Again" [ESSAY, Nov. 6] could lure me into wittingly reading about burdock, the fiddlehead fern, Holsteins, exhausted houseflies, Spam, George Gershwin, a frozen lake, a Manhattan cocktail and a cigarette--all leading to the obvious conclusion that life is not fair, truth is not pretty, justice can be bought and "in autumn we all get older again." LENORE NIXON Bay City, Michigan

CHALLENGE OF CURING POLIO

YOUR ARTICLE "WHEN THE VACCINE Causes the Polio," discussed the tragedy of vaccine-associated polio cases and noted that on average, six babies a year are stricken in the U.S. [MEDICINE, Oct. 30]. But you made no mention of an even greater tragedy, the estimated 100,000 children paralyzed by polio around the world this year. These youngsters are crippled because no polio vaccine was available for them. The World Health Organization is working with other groups and the governments of many countries to bring both these tragedies to an end by eradicating polio. Once that happens, there will be no more cases of polio and immunization can then be stopped. Cases of the disease associated with the vaccine will also cease.

Although the U.S. has been free of polio for 15 years, the disease remains a continuing threat to Americans. Highly infectious polio viruses are endemic in Asian and African countries, only a day's airplane journey away from New York City or Los Angeles. As long as polio exists anywhere, the U.S. must spend more than $200 million a year on polio immunization. Once polio is eradicated, there will be an annual global saving of $1.5 billion; who estimates that an additional $500 million is needed to eradicate polio by the year 2000. This investment can be recouped in less than one year, and will accrue forever. Clearly it is in the self-interest of the wealthy, polio-free countries to support the global polio-eradication initiative. JONG WOOK LEE, M.D. Global Program for Vaccines and Immunization World Health Organization Geneva

PEACE NOW IN THE BALKANS?

THE PEOPLE IN THE BALKANS HAVE BEEN at one another's throat for a thousand years [BOSNIA, Nov. 6]. Who thinks they are going to change? Let us study the Monroe Doctrine, which in part renounced U.S. interference in the affairs of Europe, and take wisdom from the men who founded the U.S., men of stature and principle. GAYLORD MAINES Wellston, Ohio

AMERICAN POLITICIANS SAY THEY DON'T want boys from their states dying for an unjustifiable cause. But the risk of dying in combat is one that every member of today's all-volunteer force willingly accepted in signing up. As the most powerful nation on earth, the U.S., whether it likes it or not, has the responsibility of protecting the innocent and weak against tyranny and aggression. Who else can be the "meanest dog in town,'' as Defense Secretary William Perry put it? SCOTT M. NEWMAN Annapolis, Maryland

WHILE TALKS ARE THE BEST OPPORTUNITY for a lasting peace, until the U.S. shows its support with troops, the peace will not hold. The U.S. does have a moral obligation to help the people of the Balkans. Americans cannot allow the mass slaughter of innocent civilians to continue. The isolationism practiced in the West in the 1930s cannot be repeated. But President Clinton should seek congressional approval before sending in military forces. Without this, neither Congress nor the American people will give their full support to troops in Bosnia. SARAH FRANKLIN Auburn, Alabama

DEVIL IN A NEW SUIT

FIDEL CASTRO COULD TAKE MANHATTAN if you let him [CUBA, Nov. 6]. He could persuade the U.S. to lift its trade embargo if he set Cuba free. How nice of him to shed his fatigues and don dapper new clothes. But he is still a devil--even if in a suit. The people he manages to impress never had to live in a communist country, never had to go hungry or be separated from their family. I am sick of people glorifying a man who is a criminal and who violates human rights. He tries to impress businessmen who want to invest in Cuba: Come to Cuba, frolic in the sun while Cubans starve. Someone stop him. ANA FISHMAN Los Angeles

SOME QUESTIONS COME TO MIND regarding Castro, the darling of New York capitalists and (some) minorities: Would the poor people of Harlem trade their civil liberties and freedom of speech for Cuba's socialized health care? Would the elite of American capitalists find Castro so charming if they had to live in Cuba, where the economy was destroyed by the socialist dictator's micromanagement? Can they imagine living on an island that hasn't experienced free speech since 1959? It's time for Castro's enthusiasts to do some soul searching. MARTIN LOPEZ Miami