Castro's Legacy
Mortimer B. Zuckerman's missive "My Dinners With Fidel" [August 14-21] talked about the Cuban World Series with Fidel, Fidel's mistake of "aligning himself too closely with Moscow," and other inane topics. Zuckerman even went so far as to say that the Generalissimo was "one of the most intellectually curious men" he had ever met. But what struck me was Zuckerman's comment: "Cuba's improved economy, thanks to its surge in tourism, has led to a relative degree of contentment in the country." This from a man who wrote in the same issue that "Israel must continue to press its attack on Hezbollah" ["A Matter of Timing"]. I doubt many Cubans share Zuckerman's view of the dictator.
CHRISTOPHER T. HICKS
Long Beach, Calif.
I hope that Zuckerman and Castro have not only "deep political differences" but ethical ones as well. In his decades of tyrannical rule in Cuba, Castro ruined and ended the lives of countless people; many children among them. One may study such a man, but he can't "bond" with him.
SCOTT KASHKIN
Passaic, N.J.
Imprisoned at age 13 for questioning the Marxist regime in Cuba, I feel that Zuckerman's piece shows disregard for the common people. His notion of "bonding" with Castro is as disturbing to the victims of that tyrant as any bonding to Hitler would be to the Jewish people.
JUAN CUELLAR
Miami Springs, Fla.
Please do not make a "great man to remember" out of Castro. Behind him there is a long history of bloodshed, cruelty, deceiving, bullying, aggression, and subversion, and you should evaluate him based on the result of his actions, not for his impressive personality.
ROBERTO MARTIN
Melbourne, Fla.
Wind Power Woes
There is more to the objection to industrial wind turbines than problems with the Federal Aviation Administration and Defense Department mentioned in your story ["Ill Winds Blowing," August 7]. Here in Perry, a small town in western New York State, we are overrun by wind turbine companies pushing government-subsidized economics and scare-tactics ecology that do not stand up to careful examination. Imagine a 410-foot tower (the size of a 40-story building) with three 160-foot blades rotating at almost 200 mph that sound like a loud washing machine in your front yard. Now imagine 60 of these machines within a few square miles of relatively heavily populated, pristine dairy country in the eastern migratory flyway of the United States. Wind power is not the magic bullet many hope will slay the energy dragon.
RICHARD BARTH
Perry, N.Y.
Managing the Mortgage
"A Reckoning With Risk" [August 7] was right on target regarding increased homeowner foreclosures. The Homeownership Preservation Foundation and its counselors in agencies across the country hear from more than 100 families a day who face the threat of foreclosure. About 40 percent of the calls our counselors receive come from individuals and families with adjustable-rate mortgage loans. If homeowners are uncomfortable calling their lenders, they should consider calling the Foundation's toll-free, confidential hotline, 888-995-HOPE, to speak with a counselor from a Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved counseling agency. This service is free.
COLLEEN HERNANDEZ
President
Homeownership Preservation Foundation
Minneapolis
Iraqi Triangle
"Can Iraq Be Fixed?" [August 7] is a hard question to answer.Not if we stayed 100 years could we leave behind a stable, unified, secular Iraqi democracy of cooperating Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. Everyone knows this but the alchemists in the Bush administration. The best we might hope for is that Sunni battalions in the Iraqi Army control insurgency in Sunni areas, allowing a Sunni theocracy, and Shiite battalions do the same in their districts for their theocracies. Kurds, in any case, will continue their separate way toward eventual independence, hopefully not shattering U.S.-Turkish relations.
COL. TOM DESHAZO
(U.S. Army, Ret.)
Lincoln, Neb.
Culture Club
As mentioned in "The Most Influential Song You Have Never Heard" [August 14-21], "Rocket 88" may have been about an Oldsmobile, but a song written in 1905, also about an Olds, perhaps laid the groundwork for songs of the rock era with risquÃÂé lyrics or a double meaning. Imagine a turn-of-the- century song with the line: "You can go as far as you like with me in my merry Oldsmobile." The writer of the song, "In My Merry Oldsmobile," my great-uncle, Gus Edwards, departed the highway of life in 1945, six years before "Rocket 88" started its cruise down the road to rock-and-roll history.
EVAN EDWARDS
New York
As someone who was around at the time, I don't believe Elvis Presley, as mentioned in your story, was critical to the birth of rock-and-roll. When Presley came on the scene, whites were already listening to black music by black musicians. With the success of the civil rights movement and integration, black artists received more exposure among mainstream audiences. Elvis represents a marketing, not a cultural, breakthrough.
SANDRA MALONE
Los Angeles
I enjoyed "The most Influential Song You Have Never Heard" but think you missed the piÃÂèce de rÃÂésÃÂÃÂstance by not including a link to your website where we could listen to "Rocket 88."
KEN LEVIN
Novato, Calif.
Hail to Which Chief?
In examining Washington's No. 1 status in the article, "Washington? Get in Line" [August 14-21], you emphasized the differences between the Articles of Confederation and the current U.S. Constitution, rather than the more specific differences between the presidencies under these two governments. Under the Articles of Confederation, the president was elected not by the people but by the members of Congress, to simply preside over the congressional proceedings, a job equivalent to that of the modern-day speaker of the House. George Washington was the first person to serve as president as we know it today. He was the first person to hold the American executive power, creating lasting precedence in all aspects of the job, and for that he has certainly earned the unique designation of first president of the United States.
ELLEN V. LEHMAN
New York
I suggest that the so-called presidents under the Articles of Confederation were merely what we might refer to today as speakers of the Continental Congress, holding the position of head of state, but not the stature of the president of the constitutional era. Though their success is worthy of mention, the mere fact that the Articles failed and the Constitution's president rose from the ashes of the Articles, we would be remiss to grant them the status afforded presidents post-Constitution.
JOHN DUNN
Lilburn, Ga.
Star Flag-Waver
I can speak for the whole family in saying thank you for the fine article, "The Signs Still Point to Ross" [August 14-21]. The Charles H. Weisgerber family sent documents and photographs to John B. Harker for his book Betsy Ross's Five Pointed Star. As the grandson of artist C. H. Weisgerber, who painted the Birth of Our Nation's Flag in 1893, I would like to say that much has been done to upgrade the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia. A visit to Philadelphia's many historic sites is very worthwhile.
CHARLES H. WEISGERBER II
Treasure Island, Fla.
Computer Geek Peeks
Your excellent and concise computer history article, "After Lots of Small Steps, It Adds Up" [August 14-21], left out two names of those who made important contributions. John von Neumann, the physicist and mathematician who made major contributions to the atomic bomb, designed a computer at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., that first introduced a random access memory, RAM. The real contribution to implementation of von Neumann's computer was made by Julian Bigelow, whose engineering genius made the speed (at that time) of the computer possible. The machine has been in the Smithsonian for decades.
SY WONG
Tarzana, Calif.
"No, it was not Al Gore" who invented the Internet, but you didn't even mention him in your piece. While he didn't invent the technology behind the Internet, Gore championed the Internet in Congress and sponsored legislation that encouraged the development of the Internet for commercial (as opposed to academic and military) use. He continued to vigorously champion the Internet as vice president.
BEN JONES
Bowie, Md.
A River Runs Through It
I found "The Mystery Of 4,000 Miles" [August 14-21] on the source of the Nile to be interesting, but the Nile is not the only major river that flows north. Along the U.S.-Canadian border, the St. Lawrence River runs north from Lake Ontario for almost 2,000 miles before it reaches the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While only about half the length of the Nile, the St. Lawrence discharges about four times as much water every year.
PAUL FINKELMAN
Albany, N.Y.
Superhero Salutes
"When Famous Beats First" [August 14-21] had a picture of the first automobile and credits Ransom Eli Olds as the inventor of the assembly line and the Oldsmobile pioneer. My father owned an "REO," a predecessor to the Olds, when I was born and liked the car so much he named me Millard Reo Christenson. In grade school, a boy teased me by calling me Mildred. It annoyed me so much that by high school I signed my name Reo Christenson, what friends still call me.
REO M. CHRISTENSON
Miamisburg, Ohio
As to "The First Superman," it is certainly possible that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche to create their iconic comic-book character in 1938. It is, however, more likely that Hugo Danner, the superhero created by Philip Wylie in his book Gladiator (1930), served as a prototype for the Man of Steel.
RICHARD KELLOGG
Alfred, N.Y.
This story appears in the September 4, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.