Letters

Death in the Fast Lane

"Dale Earnhardt made NASCAR what it is, and his death is the reason I have cried myself to sleep every night since Feb. 18." JANEY HANSEN Greeley, Colo.

Thank you for your story on the death of NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt [SPORT, March 5]. Reading the anecdotes and stories of drivers, friends and family broke my heart but at the same time brought a smile to my face. I've heard some say, about getting upset over his death, "You didn't even know the man." But sometimes people have a particular effect on you, and Dale certainly did on our family. He will always be a hero in our hearts. We will miss you, Dale. JENNIFER CARTER Wills Point, Texas

Earnhardt was a great driver, a superstar in his profession, well liked and admired by many race fans. But to see him referred to as a hero makes my blood boil. In the world in which I was reared, the word hero was reserved for people who performed lifesaving feats at great personal risk or who laid down their life to protect their country. But thanks to the media, "hero" now describes anyone who can throw a football, shoot a puck or, as in this case, drive a car really fast. GARRETT LINDGREN Carmel, N.Y.

Earnhardt stood alone as the genuine article--a no-nonsense American folk hero for the workingman. He raced hard and died doing what he loved. GLENN RILEY Cincinnati, Ohio

Yes, this sport is dangerous. Yes, there are crashes. But true NASCAR fans know this. We do not watch racing for the crashes. We watch it for the excitement, the jockeying for position, the 16-sec. pit stops that just a few years ago took 22 sec. to complete. We watch it to see our drivers win--not die. NASCAR and the drivers know there are safety issues to deal with. True fans will keep rooting for our favorite drivers, but we will be sad that we can no longer watch them try to get away from Earnhardt's famous black car, No. 3. KATHY NEISSE San Leandro, Calif.

In his piece for TIME, NBC news anchor Brian Williams suggested that people north of the Mason-Dixon line "wondered what the big deal was" after Earnhardt's accident. That was insulting. I live in a small town in Minnesota, far away from the South. Everyone I know has been affected by this loss. Earnhardt was my hero, and I have been in tears ever since the accident. I never met him, but to millions of people, losing him was like losing their best friend. JON MARQUETTE Garfield, Minn.

For NASCAR fans, Earnhardt's death was a special tragedy, but for many other readers, it was also puzzling in its senselessness. "What caused Earnhardt to take such excessive risks--a desire to commit suicide in a publicly acceptable way?" asked a reader in Minneapolis. "Those voyeurs of violence paid their money fully expecting this kind of mayhem, and then shed crocodile tears when it happened," wrote a nonfan of NASCAR from Salem, Ore. "Shame on all of them." "If any other sport had a comparable death rate, there would be calls for legislation to ban the slaughter," declared an Oklahoman, while an Ohio environmentalist found even more reasons to condemn motor sport: "NASCAR is truly the winningest sport of all--it's tops in noise pollution, and beats out clean air and oil conservation. Wherever NASCAR's rubber meets the road, the human race is the loser."

The FBI Spy

Reading about Robert Hanssen, the FBI agent turned spy [WORLD, March 5], gave me a migraine. I have family members who have worked in intelligence. Their biggest fear was that someone would give the Russians the names of U.S. agents. How could Hanssen betray his wife and family? They will have to move to another state and change their names. Moreover, how could he betray his fellow agents? For treason, death is the only response. FRANCES P. CLEMENT Plano, Texas

Spying is an essential activity of our government. As a world superpower, the U.S. must be adept at locating and taking care of its many enemies. Without the CIA and the FBI, our country would be a much more dangerous place. KEVIN STOUWIE Lansing, Ill.

Knowledge is power, and for a country, intelligence about the covert activities of enemies and sometimes of friendly states is power supreme. This makes spying rewarding--so much so that it is institutionalized without an iota of shame by every country in the world. Yet it is a terrible shock to discover an agent spying on his own country and feeding vital information to the enemy. I wonder if all countries will ever have enough respect for one another to render obsolete agencies like the CIA, the KGB and MI6. JAVED ABSAR Leuven, Belgium

Hanssen, like others before him, was responsible for the death of innocent people. Will he get the harsh sentence of the Rosenbergs, who were executed in 1953 on charges of spying for the Russians, or the confinement in prison for 16 years of Jonathan Pollard, who turned over U.S. intelligence secrets to Israel? Or will Hanssen be pardoned? We should not be surprised by anything the justice system delivers these days. MALKA KROLL Netanya, Israel

While most people call Hanssen a spy, a more apt word is traitor. He is no different from a psychopathic serial killer who gets his kicks through wildly destructive behavior without the least regard for the lives of innocent people. ROBERT LACY Tommerup, Denmark

Agony in Afghanistan

Your description of the deplorable situation in Afghanistan's refugee camps stunned me [WORLD, March 5]. In addition to suffering the effects of a three-year drought and U.N. sanctions, Afghans must confront human-rights abuses and appalling treatment of women. Given these factors, why should the world fail to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan just because it houses a hated enemy of the West? To hell with Osama bin Laden. We cannot justify victimizing millions because of one terrorist. We must help the Afghans, and we will. SAVI MULL Lucknow, India

You told a truly harrowing tale of Afghan refugees in Herat and those pouring across the border into already impoverished Pakistan. It is indeed gracious of TIME to give information for making donations for the Afghan drought victims at the end of the article. But would someone with a conscience please ask Uncle Sam to stop the onslaught of reprisals against just one man, Osama bin Laden? RIAZ JAFRI Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Farewell to the Don

The late Sir Donald Bradman was the greatest cricketer of all time [MILESTONES, March 12] and had the respect of all who played the game, with him and after him. He changed the face of cricket. There are not many nondignitaries whose family receives a personal and private message of condolence from the Queen of England, but that is what happened to Bradman's. PETER HATLEY Sydney, Australia

John Edward on His Own

The staff of the TV show Crossing Over with John Edward aims to present a truthful and accurate representation of John's work as a psychic medium. We wish that TIME, in Leon Jaroff's article about the program [BEHAVIOR, March 5], had done the same for the magazine's readers. Jaroff's piece was a mix of erroneous observations and baseless theories. Your readers should know the following: No information is given to John Edward about the members of the audience with whom he talks. There is no eavesdropping on gallery conversations, and there are no "tricks" to feed information to John.

While time constraints mandate that we edit gallery sessions for broadcast, we cut both hits and misses to honestly reflect John's true level of accuracy; we don't edit out of sequence. And while Crossing Over is a hit and one of the Sci Fi Channel's stronger shows, it is not the "highest rated show," as Jaroff claimed. Our aim is not to persuade anyone to believe in psychic phenomenon. We encourage viewers and guests to approach Crossing Over with a healthy sense of skepticism and then make up their own minds about what they see. CHARLES NORDLANDER EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Crossing Over with John Edward New York City

Shooting the Solar Breeze

Your article on plans for a solar-sail vehicle, the world's first spacecraft to fly powered by direct solar radiation [SCIENCE, March 5], noted that the idea goes back many years but failed to mention the contribution of science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke. Back in 1964, he published a short story about an international race to the moon via "sun yacht." In The Wind from the Sun, Clarke detailed the competitors' various sail designs and their resultant difficulties in tacking to keep the sails facing the sun while making one orbit around the earth to gain escape velocity for breaking away and heading out to the moon. WILLIAM M. STEIN Arlington, Mass.

Presidential Roller Coaster

Roger Rosenblatt's piece on Bill Clinton, drawing a comparison between the former President and the "exciting, tragic" neighborhood of Harlem [ESSAY, March 5], captured the essence of the extraordinary personality that has kept us in a state of astonishment and bewilderment for eight years. Each day's headlines had us outraged or applauding. With each speech, Clinton won us over, but then lost us in a cloud of dust as the next unsavory episode unfolded. We never had a chance to go into restful, neutral gear. Maybe we never will. NANCY BAKER Columbus, Ohio

And maybe that's an argument for the 22nd Amendment.

Lay Off the Old Folks!

In your coverage of the recording industry's Grammy Awards [PEOPLE, March 5], you noted there were no formal protests against Steely Dan's winning album of the year, "unless you consider a nation of people asking, 'Are they still alive?' a form of protest." I know of no one who does not have a Dan album. On top of that, Steely Dan's songs are still getting major airplay 30 years after the band began recording. So what if they are skeevy older guys? I'm one myself, and I'm delighted they finally received the public acclaim they deserve. MICHAEL FRUEH Lima, Ohio

In citing instances of "exuberant tastelessness" at this year's Grammy ceremony, you included Madonna's "writhing on a hood ornament," noting her age and the fact that she is the mother of two. But you didn't give the same information about the other performers. Does being 42 years old and a mother of two have any bearing on the tastelessness of some particular behavior? LYNNE A. MCVEY Pleasantville, N.Y.

Only if you're Madonna.

Living with a Labyrinth

Your item on our family corn maze [TREND ALERT, March 5] incorrectly stated that we created the maze to "save the family farm." I am proud to say that it didn't need "saving," owing to the fact that for the past 50 years my parents and grandparents have, through wise management and hard work, been able to create and maintain a productive working dairy farm. Our decision to create the Great Vermont Corn Maze was aimed at getting me and my husband back onto the farm and having our kids live closer to their grandparents. We hope that in time the maze will help diversify the farm. At the very least, we now give locals and visitors a unique way to experience the beautiful Vermont countryside. DAYNA PATTERSON BOUDREAU North Danville, Vt.

If you're interested in taking a trip through the maze at the Boudreaus' farm next summer, you can visit their website at www.vermontcornmaze.com

Pardongate Debate

Years ago, I came across a bit of wisdom: Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely; it just attracts the corruptible. The behavior of Bill and Hillary Clinton over the past years is perhaps the best proof that this is true [NATION, March 5]. And before we elect Hillary to the highest office in the land in 2004, we should take a good, hard look at her motives for seeking power. ROGER TERRY Orem, Utah

Her Brother's Keeper?

Margaret Carlson noted that Hillary Clinton may escape from the pardon mess unscathed but it could be at the cost of confirming that "being a Senator is more important than being a sister" [PUBLIC EYE, March 5]. I have four great brothers. But if one of them were the freeloading ass that Hughie Rodham appears to be, I'd have cut the big-sister apron strings long ago. Too bad Hillary didn't take a firmer stand while her brother was staying at the White House. Perhaps if she had limited Hughie's access to the President, she wouldn't be scrambling now. MAUREEN KINNEY Coopersburg, Pa.

It was not Hillary but Hugh Rodham who put $400,000 ahead of his family. He is the one who decided that using his sister was more important than being a good brother. I'm appalled that you would criticize Hillary for being exploited by someone she trusted. LISA MALKIEWICZ Beverly Hills, Calif.

Correction

Margaret Carlson's piece about Hillary Clinton's brothers and the controversy over presidential pardons [PUBLIC EYE, March 5] contained some inaccuracies. It said Tony Rodham and his estranged wife Nicole Boxer were embroiled in a custody dispute over their son Zachary. However, the couple amicably resolved the custody issues last summer. Also, it was incorrect to say that during the ceremony in which Hillary was sworn in as Senator, Zachary sat next to President Bill Clinton. That child was another nephew, Tyler Clinton, the son of Clinton's brother Roger Clinton.