Letters

America's Best: Science & Medicine

I was thrilled to see scientists and doctors highlighted so prominently in a national magazine [AMERICA'S BEST, Aug. 20]. Too often they are overlooked, despite the fact that they make some of the greatest differences in our lives. CHRISTIE COLSTAD Aurora, Ill.

Your feature on America's Best in Science and Medicine was about as useful to me as the endless credits at the end of movies and TV shows. I care as much about the efforts of those working in genomics and biology as I do about key grips and transportation coordinators. Let these people bask in the adulation of their peers. Don't burden TIME readers with them. RAY WIEMER Rocky River, Ohio

I enjoyed your excellent article. These are the types of people who should be making decisions on stem-cell research and other scientific matters, not the clergy or a bunch of "Bush leaguers." RUSS CARDWELL Fort Myers, Fla. Your list reflected a rather anthropocentric view of the scientific world. More than half the awardees work directly on questions about humans. But many of America's best scientists are not studying human-centered questions. Why no scientists whose research focuses primarily on plants or fungi? Why no inorganic chemists? There is a persistent notion that the science that most directly applies to humans is intellectually superior to less human-centered endeavors. Your unrepresentative cross section of scientists is symptomatic of society's failure to value all of science. TERRY O'BRIEN Pitman, N.J.

Here are the people our society needs to idolize, not the sports stars who are all too often put on pedestals undeservedly. Have you thought about introducing a line of trading cards featuring these intelligent and driven people? Thanks for introducing them to America and showing that being smart is not as bad as all that. DIANA MANDT GREGG Brunswick, Ohio

--We gave you "The Best," but predictably some of you weren't satisfied, particularly self-selected spokesmen for sectors seen as slighted. An M.I.T. scientist chided us for overlooking physics-related fields other than astrophysics. Labeling the series "ludicrous," a Ph.D. in Boca Raton, Fla., bewailed the absence of a computer scientist. "Are not computers one of the most important developments ever?" A frustrated engineer fumed, "I find the promotion of those who use technology created by engineers and physicists and who take all the credit very disappointing. Without those thousands of engineers developing the technologies that the medical and biological communities use for their work, the world would still be in the 19th century."

Straddling Two Tracks

One can hardly admire the way President Bush reached his shortsighted stem-cell conclusion [THE STEM-CELL DECISION, Aug. 20]. That he brought politics into it at all is deplorable. Manipulating the human genome is a runaway train gathering speed by the minute, but instead of jumping on and inviting global debate, the best Bush could do was to straddle two tracks, hoping Ol' Engine No. 2004 would pick him up. KATHRYN H. HOLLEN Leesburg, Va.

The debate really comes down to whether U.S. companies will ultimately hold the patents and reap the benefits from medicines and therapies developed through this research, or whether we let foreign scientists and foreign-owned corporations beat us to the draw and the profits. We can soul search over the morality and ethics of this matter until the cows come home, but bottom-line considerations will ultimately determine how far we take this research. HAL GREENFADER Los Angeles

Stem-cell research, while promising, still lies on the fringes of science. I imagine the Bush Administration is glad for any debate that turns attention away from its dismantling of environmental legislation for its friends in the power industry, its scrapping of the ABM Treaty, its support of the expensive and useless missile-defense shield, its lack of a Middle East policy and so on. I hope that in the future the news media will use better judgment about what needs to be in the national spotlight. BRIAN STEBLEN Rochester, N.Y.

Speaking of a "narrow escape" and a "nifty loophole," Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy were able to write of the wisdom of Bush's decision without ever admitting that Bush was wise. (THE REV.) PAUL PORTER, PASTOR Van Meter Baptist Church Van Meter, Iowa

Use only the stem-cell lines that already exist? These lines will eventually be exhausted. With no legal way to gather new embryonic stem cells, the greatest hope for cures will perish. My son Roman Reed is paralyzed. Shall a Republican House and a Republican President be allowed to make it illegal for my son to be healed? DON C. REED, CHAIRMAN Californians for Cure Fremont, Calif.

If funding stem-cell research is controversial, just wait until the therapy is available--and it will be--and the question arises as to who will pay the exorbitant fees for treatment. Will it be private insurance? Medicare? Medicaid? Or will the wealthy seek cures by flying to another country where ethical questions are not so political? This is only the beginning, folks. MURIEL MANUEL Morgan City, La.

We all started as just a few dozen cells. None of us would be here without that stage of development. If those cells aren't precious, then we aren't either. If it's O.K. to experiment on human embryos, then where do you draw the line? Will the next experiment be on demented older patients in nursing homes to better understand the pathology of aging and develop new treatments? MIKE MCINTYRE, M.D. Santa Cruz, Calif.

A Nun Takes On the Church

In supporting the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church, Sister Joan Chittister is a prophet for our times [RELIGION, Aug. 20]. The Vatican's attempts to suppress discussion of women serving as priests and to silence those who favor it are not only a violation of the church's own social-justice teachings; these attempts are also likely to backfire (think Galileo and Martin Luther). In addition, at a time of a growing, worldwide shortage of priests (only 400 were ordained in the U.S. this year), such a ban is shortsighted. I am grateful that Sister Joan and her congregation are willing to accept the risk of speaking out on this issue. Many of us (myself included) who work within the church are afraid to speak out publicly for fear of losing our jobs. In the 21st century, that fact itself is a disgrace. MARGARET SMITH Rochester, N.Y.

Sister Joan is just another horn blower with a bunch of blind mice following her. JOSEPH A. TOFFANELLO Tinley Park, Ill.

In your article "A Nun's Dangerous Talk," I was expecting to see a reference to a book by Miriam Therese Winter, Out of the Depths: The Story of Ludmila Javorova, Ordained Roman Catholic Priest. According to the book, during the cold war women were validly ordained as Catholic priests behind the Iron Curtain. The Vatican may ban the discussion of whether there should be female priests; it cannot deny the precedent. ALEXANDER CUDZEWICZ Scottsdale, Ariz.

Sister Joan and her community may disregard their vows by defying church authority and church teaching, but rebellious groups like theirs are slowly dying. Most of their members are at or near retirement age, and their orders are simply not attracting new members. In contrast, those orders loyal to the church's teachings are growing. What's more, the newer Catholic religious orders, both female and male, are invariably orthodox, faithful to the church and thriving. Also, those Catholic dioceses loyal to the church are attracting seminarians. RON BRUNOEHLER Mendota, Ill.

On a recent visit to Montana, I found that there were three Catholic churches about a 20-minute drive from where I was staying, but the nearest church with a priest and Sunday Mass was an hour away. Jesus' command is "Do this in memory of me." Instead of trying to silence discussion of the ordination of women, church leadership should be discussing ways to provide the Eucharist in all Catholic churches every Sunday. If there are not enough celibate male clergy, then the ordination of women and married people should be discussed. I offer my prayers to Sister Joan and all who will not be silenced until the command of Jesus is realized. JOE GUYON Rock Hill, S.C.

The Continent Lights Up

America's "War On Drugs" has cost untold billions, made a mockery of the Bill of Rights and been a total failure. Congratulations to those European governments that have dropped this bankrupt policy [WORLD, Aug. 20]. The only ones who ever benefited were the police, the prison industry and drug dealers. RICHARD WEIL St. Paul, Minn.

The U.S. ought to take a page from the book of countries like Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal (and a puff or two wouldn't hurt either) and decriminalize marijuana. Our local, state and federal authorities need to focus more time and money on the real criminals, not on busting a guy for possessing a tiny amount of "happy smoke." TODD SHIKORA Pittsburgh, Pa.

Your article about Europeans' legalizing or decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana does a terrible injustice to the thousands of American parents who are waging a small war with their children about drug use and abuse. Marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to the abuse of other drugs. I should know, since all four of my children started using marijuana and have progressed over the years to more powerful drugs. NAME WITHHELD ON REQUEST Volant, Pa.

Although drug use is perhaps morally reprehensible, it should be legalized. Making drug possession criminal is a hydra, begetting yet more crime. Through legalization, huge savings can be realized from crime reduction. Revenues gleaned from taxing legal profits can be used for antidrug research, and standardized products will reduce drug deaths. Governments formerly beneath the heel of drug cartels can once again begin to function for their own constituents. DONALD H. RUDICK, M.D. St. Marys, Pa.

Info-Highway Disaster

I disagree that the information highway had a "construction error" exploited by the authors of the Code Red virus [TECHNOLOGY, Aug. 20]. The fundamental structure of the Internet was not the problem in this case. It was Microsoft's error that resulted in a security hole. Perhaps it is time that Microsoft stop focusing on swallowing yet another segment of the electronics market and instead make sure its 300 million-plus current customers will have secure, uncompromised computers when they wake up tomorrow. ABE JELLINEK Newton, Mass.

Three Clinton Authors

I wouldn't spend $30 for either Hillary or Bill Clinton's book [NOTEBOOK, Aug. 20]. However, I could be talked into buying one by Chelsea--the only Clinton with class. AUGUSTA LITWER Seattle

Out of the Niche

Like your critic James Poniewozik [ESSAY, Aug. 20], I am a hipster from the '80s who took pride in my knowledge of alternative rock. I proudly bought import records at the "cool" record stores and knew all about the right bands and songs. And though I genuinely liked the music, I also liked what it wasn't: accessible. People like me are the ones who now get to put that music in movies and commercials. But in doing so, we've taken away the edge, the hipness in simply knowing it. Somewhere, right now, a 15-year-younger version of myself is listening to 2001's equivalent of How Soon Is Now? I wonder if the listener knows it will be used to sell cars in 20 years. PAUL GIORGI Los Angeles

Mouth-Organ Master

Larry Adler was one of the great musical virtuosos of the 20th century [MILESTONES, Aug. 20]. In the item on his death, you stated that "by the late 1930s he was performing in Carnegie Hall." But that was only the beginning. In 1942 Darius Milhaud wrote Suite Anglaise for Adler, and in 1952 Ralph Vaughan Williams composed Romance for Harmonica and Orchestra. Ravel left provisions in his will for Adler to be allowed to play Bolero whenever he liked, without paying royalties. When George Gershwin heard a youthful Adler play Rhapsody in Blue, he said, "The goddam thing sounds as though I wrote it for you." THURSTON MOORE Madison, Tenn.