Correspondence

0 Comments | Insight on the News, August 2, 1999

Children Need to Be Shielded From Unwholesome Books

In regard to "Kids Get Lessons on Explicit Sex" [July 19] by Kelly Patricia O'Meara: Since the 1960s, American culture has suffered a radical "do as you please" permissive influence, so it should come as no surprise that some books which should never have been written nor published are available.

Isn't it true that childhood is precious and brief? All children and young teenagers deserve to be presented with the very best and shielded from types of books that are neither wholesome nor good literature.

In one's lifetime there is not sufficient time to read all the outstanding books that have been written, thus constructive encouragement in selective reading is always in style. Whether we are parents, teachers or librarians, we all can benefit from continually updating book-review skills. Although now retired, I have been part of the library world for many years and have issued bibliographies, among them a bibliography of children's literature. In addition, I have belonged to the American Library Association. Even today, I wish there was more time for reading and study.

Ann Clark Alexandria, Va.

Will the Silent Masses Unleash Their Wrath?

The waste & abuse and Fair Comment articles [May 31] were particularly timely because of the release of the Cox report. If I said I am surprised about the revelations in Fair Comment by Charles Smith concerning sales of technology to Red China, I would be lying. What does surprise me a bit were the revelations by Sean Paige in waste & abuse concerning the truth about Chinese espionage that was out there but ignored by the Department of Energy.

Your articles and the congressional report go hand-in-hand, and each one by itself should be enough to awaken an indifferent America. In the news this week is compelling evidence of incompetence, neglect and political skullduggery, but is it enough to cause the silent masses to unleash their wrath on the Congress and this administration? Only time will tell.

Smith's article is not lacking in detail, but I wonder if he has just scratched the surface. Former secretary of defense William Perry has been around for a long time in some high and responsible positions and is still hanging around in some capacity involving national security -- as a special presidential envoy to North Korea.

Paige could do all America a favor by naming names of recipients of the General Accounting Office reports and letting the revelations fall where they may. There will never be a better time than now to hang out all the dirty linen, regardless of who it belongs to. The Clinton administration is heavily involved, but there might be others and it is time we know the entire sordid story.

James W. Waggoner Garden Ridge, Texas

Ignoring the Need for Missile Defense Imperils the Nation

Kosovo and the plight of the Albanian refugees grab the headlines, but buried in the news are articles about North Korea's coming test of another long-range ballistic missile.

The ability of North Korea to attack the United States with ballistic missiles affects our security. These missiles also are unsettling to Japan and South Korea, which initiated peace negotiations with the recalcitrant North Korea.

North Korea can attack us at will. We have no defense against even a single long-range ballistic missile. Instead of pouring billions into a minor civil war in Yugoslavia, why don't we build a defense against the missiles that threaten us?

Leaving ourselves open to attack is saying something about our arrogance. There is more to life than the economy, stupid.

James H. Hughes Parker, Colo.

Write: Insight, Correspondence Editor, 3600 New York Ave. N.E., Washington, DC 20002. E-mail: Insight@wt.infi.net. Fax: (202) 529-2484. Please include an address and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for space.