Letters

75TH ANNIVERSARY

Congratulations on your 75th! The reasons for your success are twofold [75TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE, March 9]: you consistently corral great writers, and you get away with telling people what to think without making most of them mad--no mean feat in this, the most independent-minded country in the world. I don't like your new, light, jazzy format. But you can't fight success. I'll be reading TIME, no doubt, for years to come. JOEL LAYNE Boise, Idaho

Your 75th-anniversary edition was a winner. On long, dark, lonely nights around Phu Cat air base in Quen Yan, South Vietnam, in 1968, my friend--along with my M-16 rifle--was my closest companion. Today if I leave the house without my friend, I feel I have forgotten something. I'm sure you know that friend is TIME. FRED KING East Northport, N.Y.

As I pored over the array of covers representing TIME's reporting of 75 years, I was intrigued by the historic events and people captured by that panoply. But I noticed how few women appeared on the covers you selected. Out of 89 covers, there were eight featuring identifiable women. "Let's see," we could tell our daughters, "you could be a glamorous sex symbol (Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna or 'All-American Model' Cheryl Tiegs), a 'Living Saint' (Mother Teresa), an outlaw (the fictional Thelma or Louise) or a princess (Diana, of course)." Thank goodness for Jackie Joyner-Kersee. BARBARA HEALY SMITH Milton, Mass.

Your anniversary issue taught me more about certain aspects of American history than I learned at school. An absolutely excellent issue! ELISABETH SZENTKERESZTY DE ZAGON Brussels

Bravo! It took me an entire day to savor this issue, and it was well worth it. Lots of great stuff--much of it I have lived through. Thanks, and I can't wait for the 100th-anniversary issue. IRIS POLLACK Philadelphia

The 75th-anniversary issue is obligatory reading if you want to be a man of this time. Thanks for your concise lesson on our global-village history. Thanks for your master class in intelligent journalism. Happy birthday, TIME! All of us wish you live at least another 75 years. LUIS CASTANEDO ACEVES Mexico City

Everything about your anniversary issue is a delight. One thing I learned from it is that TIME and I made our debuts on the same day. On March 3, 1923, TIME's first issue date, my father took my mother to the hospital in a horse-drawn sleigh through a raging blizzard just in time for me to make my entrance into the world. I never realized until now that I was in such exalted company! TIME certainly looks a lot better at 75 than I do! JANET MCKONE Dover, N.H.

Thank you for all those great old articles on Coke and communism, Cadillac fins and atom bombs, on cocaine, the Kennedys and prefab homes. Thank you for not forcing your writers to aim for a third-grade-level audience. Keep your standards wonderfully high. GRANT RAMPY Chicago

Congratulations on this issue of all issues! I spent six years in Belgium during the early '30s and witnessed the rise of Nazism there. I recalled and relived so many of the news items you deemed worthy of including. ANDREW BOAS Toronto

I loved your nostalgic romp through the pages of the past 75 years. I think time is on your side, provided you realize that in this changing world, status quo is a dead language. Best of luck! JAMES GAULT Canberra, Australia

LETTERS MAKE HISTORY

In any era, letters to the editor reflect praise and prejudice, hope and despair, doubt and certainty, love and hate, and make up a part of the history of that time [75 YEARS OF LETTERS, March 9]. It was a marvelous effort to combine and condense the newsworthy events of 75 years of TIME, but it was very thoughtful to include selected letters in the historical 75th-anniversary issue. The letters prove that values have shifted, thinking has changed, and outlooks are more insightful. Without the letters, the anniversary issue would have lacked a part of the history. MUSHTAQ A. CHOHAN Richmond Hill, N.Y.

OF GIRLS, GIFTS AND THE GAME

If women's sports "don't need gifts from men," they probably don't need opinions from Joel Stein in his condescending article about basketball star Nykesha Sales, "Shooting Like a Girl?" [SPORT, March 9]. Geno Auriemma's UConn teams are made up of scholar-athletes who excel both in the classroom and on the court. Since all of Auriemma's players can do math, they know that salaries in the ABL and the WNBA are infinitesimal compared with men's salaries in the NBA. Auriemma's own salary is subterranean compared with that of the coach of a comparable men's team. Obviously, Auriemma and his team play for the love of the game, and Stein seems to find that distasteful. SHARRY L. GOLDMAN Storrs, Conn.

To those who say the record-breaking basket by Nykesha Sales was unsportsmanlike, I say, "Gimme a break! The basket was exceptional sportsmanship. A tribute to a hardworking, talented athlete." Good piece. Thanks, Joel. LARRY LEISE Cary, N.C.

MOTIVES IN IRAQ

RE your article "Parade of the Dead Babies" [WORLD, March 2]: We ride in with our white hats to save the world from Saddam and his "weapons of mass destruction," yet it is precisely our weapons and policies that have led to the suffering, destruction and death of millions of innocent Iraqi civilians. When did Iraqi lives become so expendable? Aren't we the country that touts the value of human life? Are we to believe that Iraq is the only country in the world developing chemical and biological weapons? Just what is our real agenda? DOUG WAGNER Beaverton, Ore.

Many of us are deeply disturbed by the constant threats and arrogant utterances directed at Iraq by the U.S. government. No one can be convinced of America's motives, especially since the entire world knows what the American-sponsored U.N. sanctions are doing to innocent civilians in Iraq. America is behaving like a bully. RAGHAVAN SHANKAR NARAYAN Ahmedabad, India

Has anyone considered the possibility that Saddam is luring our armed forces to regions within the scope of his short-range missiles? I believe that Saddam, as a twisted dictator, would not hesitate to use his biochemical weapons on nearby troops. Certainly he is doing a fine job of playing cat and mouse to draw within deadly reach as many of our troops as possible. JENNIFER SMITH Livingston, Mont.

OUTLOOKS ON INTERNGATE

Monica lusted for publicity, and now she worries about her privacy [CLINTON'S CRISIS, March 2]. She did not seem to care much about the privacy of others. About privacy in general: When will Americans learn and accept that each person--even the President of the U.S.--has a right to privacy? ROSEMARIE SILVIA VOLKLE Zurich

Oh, Lordy, what a furor! If America wants a peccadillo-free President, there's no problem. Simply raise the qualifying age for office to 80 or 90. I believe there are a few candidates on Capitol Hill. BRYAN HAY Chesterfield, England

While it is true that past presidents have had their girlfriends, they kept them out of the public eye. President Clinton seems to delight in exposing himself to public scrutiny, and then waffles when his deeds are revealed. A man who shades the truth, pressures associates and bends the law is hardly qualified to be a moral example for American youth and even less qualified to be the leader of the last big power in the world. ROGER W. FALK Tochigi, Japan

It is shocking that Americans are not demanding the resignation of President Clinton after accusations of sexual misconduct. The President leads the nation, and it is his paramount duty to uphold the model code of conduct of every citizen and set an example for his countrymen to follow. As the American people look the other way, I ask, Does American society have any morality left? VIDYANANDA KUMAR Madras, India

PAYING YOUR DUES

Now that Kofi Annan has saved the American people millions of dollars in fighting a war [WORLD, March 9], maybe the U.S. should cough up its overdue subscriptions to the United Nations and pay Annan's salary? MAISIE CASWELL Avoca, Ireland

AND ALL THAT HOOEY

I was really disgusted and angered by Daniel Kadlec's column describing the new CPI [MONEY IN MOTION, March 9]. The index ought to include only the most basic costs of living, not cell phones, fax machines and the rest of this hooey. BRIAN P. DUMAS Easton, Conn.